A new report from The Sun is stating that The Batman star Robert Pattinson is close to a breaking point because of director Matt Reeves being a “control freak”. It seems that since The Batman was first announced it has become a target for crazy rumours, clickbait articles and hit pieces. So, is this true or is this click bait? Well, let’s break it down and see if we can find any truths to the rumour. It’s a bit of a long walk around the barn, so try and stick with me here.
Last October it was being rumoured that the news of Robert Pattinson getting Covid-19 was just a cover-up for Matt Reeves being upset at the actor for not working out before The Batman’s production began. I personally find that very distasteful and far fetched. You can read what Edward had to say about that here.
Then that same month makeup effects and director of direct-to-video Hellraiser: Judgement, Gary J. Tunnicliffe chimed in about what he’s heard on the whole situation.
Robert Pattinson Close To Breaking Point Because Of Control Freak Matt Reeves? Click Bait?
Credit: Vassilis Dimitros
Read more: Robert Pattinson Rumoured To Have Been Sent Home From The Batman Set For Not Being In Shape
It’s worth noting that Tunnicliffe has been a makeup effects artist for 30 years. The last film he directed was the direct-to-video movie Hellraiser: Judgement, so Dimension could keep the rights to the Hellraiser franchise. Distributed by Lionsgate, both those companies fall under Disney. But with 30 years in the makeup effects business, I can see him having contacts at Warner Bros.
Okay, so here’s what Gary J. Tunnicliffe had to say in October about the static between Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson:
“All I heard was that there were definitely tensions between Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson,” said Tunnicliffe. “That [Pattinson] was being quite difficult to work with. The person I had spoken to, they almost suggested that the situation was that… Because I said, ‘I hear you shut down due to COVID,’ and they said, ‘It’s not COVID that shut us down.’ Then I said, ‘Oh, is it something else?’ I said, ‘Is it your lead actor?’ And they were like, ‘Maybe’ [laughs].”
He then went on to say it wasn’t uncommon for actors and directors butt heads. He looked into the online rumours circulating and added this:
“If Matt Reeves is having those situations with Pattinson, it can make for very ugly filmmaking, and the stuff I did hear was that was the case and Matt Reeves just wanted to get the thing finished and get it done and get out of there,”
So with that all out of the way, here’s what The Sun has reported recently on the rumours between Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson on the set of The Batman:
Insiders say New York-born Matt has forced Twilight star Robert to do upwards of 50 takes inside the bulky Batman suit, leaving him, and the crew, exhausted. My source said: “Filming has been a gruelling process, especially for Robert, as Matt is such a perfectionist. “He’ll insist on doing scenes over and over again and get bogged down in the tiny detail. Sometimes it’s like he doesn’t know when to stop.”
Obviously, as you can see these are conflicting reports about the direction Matt Reeves is taking on The Batman. Is he a control freak perfectionist or is he trying to get it done as fast, efficiently and safely as possible? I can believe there is some turmoil on set with the stress of Covid-19, the state of the film industry and pressure from executives, but I don’t think it boils down to what all these rumours are about.
The Sun goes on to say that Reeves is paranoid about getting Covid-19 and wears goggles and a puffy coat. The coat can be for any number of reasons and goggles are a sound safety measure. I didn’t even want to mention that last part but I thought it was important to show you the angle of the article.
It’s definitely interesting that this article comes out a few days after the “Warner Bros. Walter Hamada profile piece” in the NYTimes which was meant to put Warner Bros. in a good light. Which actually read more like a hit piece.
What do you make of all these rumours? Do you actually think there is strife on the set of The Batman? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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it is a bullshit.forbes writer mark hughes denied these rumors