THE DIRTY BEGINNINGS OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS SUPERHERO
THE STORY OF BILL FINGER
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Wikipedia
Noblemania
Dial B
Noblemania
Dial B
I intend to produce a documentary exploring the history of the creation of the comic-book superhero Batman, specifically the fact his true creator has never been acknowledged. Batman was created in 1939 by Bob Kane, although in reality was created by Bill Finger.
THE NARRATIVE:
The two were young friends who met at a party, who joined together to start working in comicbooks. Kane (born Kahn, but changed because of its Jewish connotations) was employed by (what would become) DC comics at the time, as a penciller. After hearing about how much the creators of Superman made in depression era America, Kane stated he was going to create the next superhero.
That weekend he developed a superhero called Birdman, who wore a red suit and flew with attached wings. He showed the drawings to his writing partner Finger, who wasn't impressed. Finger radically altered the designs, by making the costume grey and black, giving him a mask, gloves, and a cape calling him Batman. He then settled on the alias Bruce Wayne, and created various supporting characters to flesh the character out.
Kane took Finger's work back to DC, who loved it. He made no mention of Finger in his pitch, and sold the idea as solely his own creation. The way he saw it, Finger was a ghost writer hired by him and so deserved none of the credit.
Finger was too meek to stand up for himself, and eventually got cornered writing the Batman issues for years, creating the mythology which made his supposed partner rich, while he lived on the peanuts Kane paid him.
Kane eventually grew tired of drawing the strips too, and hired several other 'ghost' artists to do his work, until he was a glorified production manager. He still claimed publicly he was penciling, inking, and writing every issue DC printed.
This went on for many years. Eventually DC found out and hired Kane's crew to work for them directly, but by this point Kane could retire. He'd also arranged a very cushy contract with DC which meant he would always be printed as Batman's creators. The one time Finger attempted to stand up for himself, the much more confident Kane outright called him a liar, bringing up Finger's known drinking problems, and bullied him into submission.
Kane went on to become a very famous, and very rich man. Finger on the other hand died young, a penniless unknown alcoholic. It was only after he died that Kane acknowledged he perhaps should've given Finger more credit, but made no serious attempt to do so.
REASONING:
The reasoning behind making this film is for two reasons. The first is that Bill Finger is a highly enigmatic figure, despite being behind a global icon, very little is known about him. For instance there are only a few confirmed photos and one sound recording of him in existence. Its far more interesting for the film maker as well as the audience to be discovering things about the subject as the film is being made.
The second is to try and get some recognition for the work Finger produced. The attention the film could potentially bring could right some wrongs, such as getting the byline amended to credit Finger for his creation, and also a wider appreciation from the millions of fans of his work, most of who don't know he existed.
STYLE:
The film I want to create has much in common with an earlier film, directed by Alex Gibney called Gonzo profiling the live of Hunter S. Thompson. Both are about recently deceased American writers, providing a through overview of their entire lives. I would face some of the problems Gibney also faced, but in much more extreme ways.
For example, when Gibney couldn't source true material (such as events depicted in Thompson's autobiographical story Fear and Loathing) he would create elaborate reconstructions. Because there is so little actual photography of Finger, reconstruction would be a key part of the film I'd make. I would aim to dramatise key story points, such as the moment Finger first saw Kane's inital sketch.
Another technique Gibney used in the production of his documentary was narration; however this was no ordinary narration. By using Johnny Depp, a famous actor who not only knew the subject, but played him in a popular film adaptation, legitimised the film in the eyes of Thompson's supporters.
Unfortunately because Finger lived and worked many decades ago, few of his peers remain. However multiple options remain to use a narrator personally linked to the subject, such as famed comic-book writers who have followed in his shoes, ala Frank Miller or Denny O'Neil. There is also the possibility of one of the actors from the many Batman films, such as Christian Bale or the voice of animated productions like Kevin Conroy to provide the inner thoughts and feelings of Bill Finger. These actors would be well suited to the role, seeing as they've played Finger's most prized creation, and would also legitimise the documentary.
THE NARRATIVE:
The two were young friends who met at a party, who joined together to start working in comicbooks. Kane (born Kahn, but changed because of its Jewish connotations) was employed by (what would become) DC comics at the time, as a penciller. After hearing about how much the creators of Superman made in depression era America, Kane stated he was going to create the next superhero.
That weekend he developed a superhero called Birdman, who wore a red suit and flew with attached wings. He showed the drawings to his writing partner Finger, who wasn't impressed. Finger radically altered the designs, by making the costume grey and black, giving him a mask, gloves, and a cape calling him Batman. He then settled on the alias Bruce Wayne, and created various supporting characters to flesh the character out.
Kane took Finger's work back to DC, who loved it. He made no mention of Finger in his pitch, and sold the idea as solely his own creation. The way he saw it, Finger was a ghost writer hired by him and so deserved none of the credit.
Finger was too meek to stand up for himself, and eventually got cornered writing the Batman issues for years, creating the mythology which made his supposed partner rich, while he lived on the peanuts Kane paid him.
Kane eventually grew tired of drawing the strips too, and hired several other 'ghost' artists to do his work, until he was a glorified production manager. He still claimed publicly he was penciling, inking, and writing every issue DC printed.
This went on for many years. Eventually DC found out and hired Kane's crew to work for them directly, but by this point Kane could retire. He'd also arranged a very cushy contract with DC which meant he would always be printed as Batman's creators. The one time Finger attempted to stand up for himself, the much more confident Kane outright called him a liar, bringing up Finger's known drinking problems, and bullied him into submission.
Kane went on to become a very famous, and very rich man. Finger on the other hand died young, a penniless unknown alcoholic. It was only after he died that Kane acknowledged he perhaps should've given Finger more credit, but made no serious attempt to do so.
REASONING:
The reasoning behind making this film is for two reasons. The first is that Bill Finger is a highly enigmatic figure, despite being behind a global icon, very little is known about him. For instance there are only a few confirmed photos and one sound recording of him in existence. Its far more interesting for the film maker as well as the audience to be discovering things about the subject as the film is being made.
The second is to try and get some recognition for the work Finger produced. The attention the film could potentially bring could right some wrongs, such as getting the byline amended to credit Finger for his creation, and also a wider appreciation from the millions of fans of his work, most of who don't know he existed.
STYLE:
The film I want to create has much in common with an earlier film, directed by Alex Gibney called Gonzo profiling the live of Hunter S. Thompson. Both are about recently deceased American writers, providing a through overview of their entire lives. I would face some of the problems Gibney also faced, but in much more extreme ways.
For example, when Gibney couldn't source true material (such as events depicted in Thompson's autobiographical story Fear and Loathing) he would create elaborate reconstructions. Because there is so little actual photography of Finger, reconstruction would be a key part of the film I'd make. I would aim to dramatise key story points, such as the moment Finger first saw Kane's inital sketch.
Another technique Gibney used in the production of his documentary was narration; however this was no ordinary narration. By using Johnny Depp, a famous actor who not only knew the subject, but played him in a popular film adaptation, legitimised the film in the eyes of Thompson's supporters.
Unfortunately because Finger lived and worked many decades ago, few of his peers remain. However multiple options remain to use a narrator personally linked to the subject, such as famed comic-book writers who have followed in his shoes, ala Frank Miller or Denny O'Neil. There is also the possibility of one of the actors from the many Batman films, such as Christian Bale or the voice of animated productions like Kevin Conroy to provide the inner thoughts and feelings of Bill Finger. These actors would be well suited to the role, seeing as they've played Finger's most prized creation, and would also legitimise the documentary.
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