Producer of "The Dark Knight" Urges Students to Follow Dreams

Athens Ga.--“Forget about the numbers,” said Executive Producer Michael Uslan, in reference to the millions of dollars that “The Dark Night” grossed in theaters, “it’s all about the dream.” Michael Uslan, most well known for his work on all of the modern Batman movies, dating back to the 1989 Tim Burton film, gave a speech Tuesday night at the University of Georgia’s Tate Theatre. Uslan spoke to approximately 250 audience members about his remarkable career path and encouraged students to never give up on their dreams.

“I decided what my dream was when I was eight years old,” Uslan said. Growing up in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, Uslan discovered his love for comic books at an early age, collecting nearly 30,000 issues by the time he graduated high school. Out of all of the superheroes he read about, he figured that he was most similar to Batman because “his greatest superpower was his humanity.” With that, eight-year-old Michael Uslan made the decision that his dream was to write the script for a Batman comic. That’s exactly what he did, a little over a decade later.

Uslan said, “The only thing I can absolutely guarantee all of you is that doors will be slammed in your face.” He then acknowledged that “you can cry about it or wipe off the dust, go back and knock on the door until your knuckles bleed.”

While attending Indiana University, Uslan compared comic books to “mythology and folklore,” when given the opportunity to pitch an idea for a new course that - if given accreditation - he would be able to teach. The audience laughed as Uslan described his appearance at the meeting including “long hair, a Spiderman t-shirt, and love beads.” At first, the Dean of College Arts and Sciences rejected Uslan’s theory. However, after Uslan impressed the Dean by detailing the similarities in the mythologies of Moses and Superman, he was given instant accreditation.

Once he became the first college educator on comic books, he immediately made an anonymous call to a newspaper complaining about “tax dollars being spent on teaching kids at Indiana University about comic books.” By taking the initiative, the story was written and published in newspapers across the country. “I never taught a single lecture without the presence of reporters and cameras.” “Get your foot in the door. Try to get your goal piece by piece,” urged Uslan. This publicity tactic landed Uslan a job working at D.C. Comics, and enabled him to fulfill his dream. “Bringing a dark, serious Batman to the movies,” would be his next project.

Michael Uslan attended law school and became a motion picture production attorney. “If there’s nothing else I can tell you today, always have a plan B.” With the security of falling back on his law degree, Uslan took a calculated risk, moved to Los Angeles, and bought the rights to Batman. After ten years of rejection, movie production for Batman began. Throughout his discussion about his role in the production of the Batman films, Uslan praised others in the film industry, specifically Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan.

UGA freshman, Cody Houseman, who is going dressed as Batman villains for Halloween with his friends, very much enjoyed the speech because of the “background information on Uslan’s career and his life inspiration”. Uslan closed his speech with an excerpt from Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, and stayed after for nearly an hour answering questions from audience members.