Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1469382
22 cgw a p r i l • m ay • j u n e 2 0 2 2 I n Gotham City, crime and corruption are at all-time highs. The renewal program that was designed to improve quality of life — now in its 20th year — hasn't delivered, and frustrated city residents are heading to the polls to elect a new mayor. A new hallucinogen called 'drops' is also wreaking havoc throughout the city. Delivered via eye drops, the drug has turned many of the city's residents into zombies while also corrupting Gotham's government and police department, who are doing more to enable the problem than combat it. Batman is doing what he can to keep the city from spiraling further out of control, and in the new film, The Batman, finds an unlikely partner in Catwoman, who has her own motivation for toppling those behind the corruption. At the same time, a new enemy is emerging. Riddler has amassed a dedicated following of those who feel disenfran- chised, and they've set up a series of explosives along Gotham's sea wall, with plans to flood the city on election night, creating further chaos. Matt Reeves directed The Batman for Warner Bros., which runs nearly three hours. Robert Pattinson stars as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman, with Zoë Kravitz portraying Selina Kyle/Cat- woman. Jeffrey Wright is Commissioner Gordon, a key Batman ally, while Paul Dano plays Riddler. John Turturro is crime boss Carmine Falcone, who is behind much of Gotham's corruption, and Colin Farrell is Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot (Penguin). Andy Serkis plays Bruce Wayne confidant and butler Alfred Pennyworth. The film is set in current times, though visual effects are key in creating Gotham City, which closely resembles Manhattan, with its own version of Times Square, 'Gotham Square Garden,' and other familiar landmarks. ILM, Weta FX, Scanline VFX, and Cray Apes all contributed to the feature, with Dan Lemmon serving as the film's visual effects supervisor. New Zealand's Weta created 320 shots for the film, including a long car chase in which Batman pursues Penguin. The studio was also responsible for creating the Batcave and City Hall, where a memorial service is being held. "We've got a long relationship with the filmmaker — Matt Reeves — but the overall visual effects supervisor was Dan Lemmon, work- ing for Warner Bros., and so obviously, he's ex-Weta," explains Weta VFX supervisor Anders Langlands. "We first started talking to them mid-2019 [and] had our first discussions, and then obviously things got slowed down a little bit in the middle, but yeah, we were talking to them from very early on." THE BATMAN INSIDE WETA'S BLOCKBUSTER VISUAL EFFECTS WORK BY MARC LOFTUS Images ©2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.