It's been nearly two years since writer, actor, producer and real-life ninja
Eric Gable first teased the CBM community with an exclusive
first look at his labor-of-love fan film
Batman Evolution, but the short film is finally completed. The short premiered Friday in Berlin, Germany, but Eric granted CBM the North American exclusive first look at what is sure to be a fan film classic.
Here's a few words from Eric:
Batman Evolution was super fun to make! And although it IS a comedy, in the midst of all the silliness we get a chance to show off authentic ninjutsu techniques for the first time on film. This is the martial art Batman supposedly trained in, yet we’ve never seem him use it…before now. I traveled to Japan to study ninjutsu years ago, and I'm really surprised no one has brought it to film yet. Literally, all the "ninja" movies to date are actually using karate. And, I truly mean no offense to anyone by saying this, to me it's like having a movie about baseball where everyone's actually playing football! I really do have a sense of humor about it though. Anyway, creating the real "ninja Batman" is something I've been dreaming of for years.
I know some of you have questions about the costume, the lack of cape, etc., and most of those questions should be answered in the video itself. One of the challenges was to find a Bat-suit that wouldn't fall apart under all the strain. The motorcycle Bat-suit was chosen for this because we knew that it could take a beating. The suit was a size smaller than what you'd want to wear, and I was only at about 40% mobility, but luckily that's all we needed this time out. The cowl was donated by a friend.
There were a few other major challenges. First of all, the reason for the long delay is that this was a film that got made based on favors, not cash, and you can’t really rush people who are willing to work for free. So, it was in limbo for the better part of a year while we waited for some of those favors, but I'm not complaining because we got the best in the biz on this!
We did have some other troubles along the way, but overall it worked out the way I envisioned it and it was a blast to make. Hopefully, the fans will forgive anything that's less than perfect and just enjoy it for what it is. After all, it's virtually a no-budget project!
We're currently gearing up to shoot a feature in Australia this summer. A horror-action movie with a real budget and resources. (To be announced at Berlin this weekend). Even though it's not Batman, I have a feeling the Batman fans are going to love it. So, stay tuned CBM!
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Banner Photo by LJ Kim