Caffeinated Clint
Anthony Michael Hall enters Batman’s “Zone”
was wondering when the kicks from his comeback would start to roll in.
“The Dead Zone” has done wonders for the-artist-formerly-known-as-Farmer-Ted, 80s icon Anthony Michael Hall (“The Breakfast Club”, “Sixteen Candles”), but I thought his film career might’ve got a swift kicks in the pants a little sooner that it has. Still, who’s to say Tony H hasn’t merely been holding out for something a little squishier than a straight-to-telly “Sixteen Candles” sequel? (Something that he and Molly Ringwald were apparently offered a couple of years back). If so, good thinking, because it’s led to a role in a pricier-than-fried-snails “Batman” movie.
The TV fave tells the L.A Daily News that he’ll be filming a small role in “The Dark Knight” opposite Christian Bale and Morgan Freeman.
“I signed a confidentiality agreement, and I can’t say which part I’m playing because it affects the story,” says Hall. “I can’t give away the suspense — it’s a $200 million surprise, and I don’t want to be the guy to ruin it.”
(Reports on the Filmick website suggest that he may actually be playing a Batman wannabe – one of several Gotham residents trying to pass themselves off as the mysterious Caped Crusader).
“I’m excited about it — Christian Bale back as Batman. Heath Ledger is joining the cast as the Joker. Of course, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine return, and they’re great.”
“My crew agreed to take a three-day weekend so I could fly Friday to go to London,” says the actor, who’s also one of the series’ producers. “It was just a thrill. I felt like a rock star leaving the set, flying to London, going to shoot on a Saturday, you know?” He adds, “My crew really gave me a gift because they had to all vote union-wise to agree to not take a day’s pay to help me out. I felt very honored that they did that for me.”
Hall, whose been developing his own movies of late, says he’s not scheduled to rejoin “The Dark Knight” shooting till August, after “The Dead Zone” is wrapped. “They’re shooting in London, Chicago and Hong Kong. My next dates are in Chicago, the third week of August with Morgan, then I get to go back to London.” He adds he’s never been a comic-book fan, but “I loved the ‘Batman’ series, so Batman has truly always meant something to me. It’s really been one of my dreams as an actor to become Batman.”
And I challenge Hall to snag Maggie Gyllenhaal’s knickers!
