Madness descended over the Dolby Theatre in L.A. on March 10, as all of Gotham’s best and brightest were held captive in a discrete location which was infiltrated by two of the most notorious villains ever seen in all the rogue’s gallery. Translation: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, who played Mr. Freeze and The Penguin in Batman & Robin and Batman Returns, respectively, descended upon the stage to present the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
The two film icons reuniting side-by-side in delightful height-contrast onstage, this presenter duo worked on multiple levels: For one, this was a Twins (1988) reunion. On another level, they were able to commiserate over getting their respective asses handed to them by Batman: Schwarzenegger by having his weakness (love) used against him, DeVito by getting tossed out a dang window. They would have gotten away with a flawless villain team-up, if it weren’t for that pesky Batman, Michael Keaton, sitting in the audience. When Schwarzenegger said, “You have a lot of nerve showing your face around here,†Keaton gave ‘em the stink-eye and a kind of “come and get it†hand thing.
So tonight wasn’t just a big night for Christopher Nolan, but a vindictive one for the pre-Nolan Batman oeuvre.