‘Arthur’ Features 1995 Version of Batmobile

Celebrity Q&A
on May 27, 2011
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Was the original Batmobile used in the movie Arthur?
—Randy Burrourghs, Huntsville, Ala.

It depends on what you mean by original. The Batmobile in the new movie Arthur was the one used by Val Kilmer in 1995’s Batman Forever. Russell Brand, 35, who plays Arthur in the remake, also recycled George Clooney’s Batman outfit. “I enjoyed wearing it because it had Clooney musk in it,” says Brand. “It had the aroma, the pheromones of George Clooney. And I like to think I may have absorbed them.” Russell, who married singer Katy Perry, 26, last October in India, says the movie resonated with him because his life, like Arthur’s, has changed as a result of falling in love. “I know while that is a romantic idea and this is fiction, it has happened to me, and that is why I am so enamored of this story. I think the first thing you do when you fall in love is you realize you are not the most important person in the world. Your focus becomes another person.” A recovering alcoholic, Brand says he could relate to his character in Arthur, who also has a problem with the bottle. “I am such a thorough actor that I did two decades of research just to make sure it was 100 percent right,” he quips, then gets serious. “The difference, of course, is Arthur is a fictional alcoholic and has more latitude for clowning and fun. Often his adventures don’t lead to broken glass and howling women, although he is arrested at the beginning of the film. It was important that we establish the context that the alcoholism was humorous and good fun, but not irresponsibly portrayed. This was 2011 and it is important to see a resolution to the issue of Arthur’s alcoholism. I was happy with how that was rendered.”

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