What If Batman

Palestine, Texas | Film Short

Fantasy

JJ Gauthier

1 Campaigns | Texas, United States

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This campaign raised $15,085 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.

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A Batman Elseworlds fanfilm, set in a world where Bruce Wayne was killed in the alley, and his father, Thomas Wayne, is locked in Arkham Asylum, and the Bat-villains run the asylum. A dark and imaginative tale like none you have ever seen!

About The Project

  • The Story
  • Wishlist
  • Updates
  • The Team
  • Community

Mission Statement

Our main focus has always been giving back to the community through education. The best way to learn is hands on, on set. We provide the space and invite underprivileged students age 6-16 to operate the equipment. We teach the guardians the rules and regulations.

The Story

I’m Samuel Ali. I’ve been making films for over ten years. With my team, we’ve made hundreds of short films and produced three feature films in all kinds of genres. Now though, I have a very special one that I want to share with all of you - and I need your help making it.

THE FILM

This one is very close to my heart - It’s a Batman fan film, but it has a story like you’ve never seen before. An Elseworlds tale, set in Arkham Asylum, where Thomas Wayne is locked inside, and the Asylum is run by all the Batman-villains. I’ve always loved DC Comics and especially Batman, as I know many of you do, and this a film I’ve been working towards making for years.

THE PRODUCTION

We have the perfect location, a haunted former prison in Texas.

We have an incredible cast of actors from Central Texas, including Wally Welch as Alfred and Lorelei Linklater as Harley Quinn. We’ve got our character designs and almost all the costumes already in place to shoot.


And, one of the coolest things is- we’re shooting this on film. 16mm, old-school film. We want the texture and the organic reactions to light that give film a more unique atmosphere.


For years, we’ve been running a kids’ program to teach filmmaking. Including having them write, create, and shoot scenes in the films we produce. 

This will finally give them a chance to work with actual film though, not digital.

 

SYNOPSIS

Thomas Wayne (aka the Flashpoint Batman) is a dark-haired, brown-eyed man in his 40s. While out seeing a movie with his wife Martha and their young son Bruce, a mutant gang member kills his beloved boy, sending him into madness, landing him in the Arkham Asylum. We see Thomas talking to his hypnotherapist Dr. Jervis TETCH aka The Mad Hatter. He encourages Thomas to talk about his trauma while recording the session.

Thomas is now in group therapy. He is surrounded by a group of other inmates, Waylon Jones aka Killer Croc, Antonio Diego aka Bane, Basil Karlo aka Clayface and Dr. Edward Nygma aka The Riddler who is flamboyant with pink hair. They listen as Thomas reveals it's been over 4 years since his sons death.

Thomas now lies in a hospital bed. Machines and sensors are attached to his head. Dr. Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow is taking notes and asks about his nightmares. Flashback to the hypnotherapy session we see Thomas being hypnotized by The Mad Hatter. Flash back to group therapy. All the convicts are getting out their feelings with Thomas, revealing that the killer was never brought to justice, leaving him unable to cope. Flash forward to the sleep study with Dr. Jonathan Crane aka the Scarecrow we see Thomas waking up screaming from a nightmare. Dr. Crane writes a prescription for sleeping pills.

Harvey Dent aka Two Face, an orderly, takes Thomas to get his meds, along the way they run into Warden Roman Sionis aka The Black Mask and Victor Fries the AC repair man aka Mr. Freeze working on the A.C.,they converse for a moment and continue to the pharmacy. Once inside Harvey flirts with Dr. Harleen Quinzel Aka Harley Quinn with no luck and proceeds to read a magazine while Thomas receives his meds. Thomas refuses until Quinzel bribes him with a bag of shrimp flavored chips.

Thomas is taken back to his cell, and hands his meds over to his cellmate, Killer Croc, who claims he can finally get some sleep around Thomas' night terrors.

Later on, we see a tiny little man, Oswald Cobblepot, mopping floors. He is the janitor. Thomas calls him over to his cell, and manages to bribe the little man into giving Martha, who is in solitairy, a handwritten note in exchange for the shrimp chips. Distantly, we hear Martha laughing hysterically.

Flashback to night of Bruce's death. Thomas and Martha exit the theater with their son Bruce. While walking back to their car a Mutant, Joe Chill, shoots the boy in the chest during a botched attempt to rob them. Stricken, Martha's cries turn to a bloody, Joker like grin and starts to laugh like a maniac sending her into madness.


Flash forward to Thomas waiting to see a visitor. Damien, his son from an affair with the babysitter years ago, has come to see him about Wayne Enterprises. He informs his father that the business is doing well. Unhappy to see him due to the fact it brings back bad memories, Thomas gladly sees him leave.

Another visitor stands outside, Alfred Pennyworth, Thomas' Butler. He comes in to see Thomas and tells him a bombshell. Bruce is not his son. He then pulls out pictures of Alfred and Martha in loving embrace holding her growing belly and kissing. He tells Bruce that Martha knew about Damien even though he tried to hide it by sending Damien away. Heartbroken she fell into the arms of Alfred and they created a child…Bruce. Taken aback Thomas goes insane, trying to attack Alfred, only to be dragged away by Harvey and given a shot of sedative by Nurse Pamela Eisly aka Poison Ivy. Thomas fades to black.

Martha in a straight jacket undone, holds the note from Thomas. Laughing like a maniac she reveals that Jokeresque Smile.

COVID GUIDELINES

Strict COVID guidelines reuired by the State of Texas, the Screen Actors Guild, and IATSE will be followed for all cast/crew/students on set. 

 

Samuel Ali recently worked on set before and after shutdown from COVID-19 on the Warner Brothers series, "Claws," Season 4 on TNT/Hulu.  Samuel has leaned what it takes to work and run a Union Set maintaining strick protocols during these new times.

A list of protocols required by the State of Texas, SAG, IATSE, that will be implemented can be found here: 

texas.gov/OpenTexas-Checklist-Media-Production.pdf

sagaftra.org/covid-19/safety-first

iatse.net/COVID protocols

 

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

We will be filming from April 23-25. We plan to have post-production finished by August 1st.

FESTIVALS

The film will be sumbitted to Fan Film Festivals, including the Fan Film Awards (FFA), Azure Lorican Fan Film Awards, and the Indie Boom! Film Festival. In addition, the complete story is being drawn into Samuel Ali's first comic book. 

CONCLUSION

So, what about you? If you contribute to our campaign, you’ll not only get updates throughout production, but there’s also special rewards! So I hope you’ll join us on this journey to create a unique and incredible fan film! You're not only helping create this amazing project, you're helping teach the next generation of filmmakers.

Wishlist

Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.

Cash Pledge

Costs $0

Lodging

Costs $1,000

Our cast and crew will be coming from all over the country to Texas. Including Louisiana and Kansas.

Crew Pay

Costs $3,000

Here's what we'll need to properly pay our incredibly talented and hardworking crew.

Equipment Rental / Insurance

Costs $1,000

Equipment rentals and insurance for the production.

Film Processing

Costs $2,000

The cost of the 16mm stock we'll need, processing, and telecine fees.

Post-Production

Costs $2,500

Funds for Editing, Visual Effects, Sound, and other post-production costs.

Location

Costs $1,000

The cost of using the amazing location we've reserved.

Food

Costs $500

Gotta feed the cast and crew!

COVID Testing and Protection

Costs $2,000

For the safety of everyone involved in the pandemic, we'll need to do testing and more.

Cast

Costs $2,000

Payment for our incredible cast's work.

About This Team

THE STUDENTS

Daniella Winkle

IMDb.com/Daniella

Devin Deschenes

imdb.com/Devin

Steffee Villarreal

imdb.com/Steffee

Tristan Riggs

imdb.com/Tristan

THE CAST

imdb.com/Wally

We are so humbled and thankful. This will be our 4th film with the amazingly talented Wally Welch. 

imdb.com/Lorelei

Lorelei Linklater has filmmaking in her blood and this is her 7th film with Samuel Ali. She and Wally also worked on the last Texas Made Films project "Animal Sactuary."

imdb.com/Brent

The talented Brent Rock will be playing Orderly Harvey Dent. You might recognize him from Hey Dude! on Nickelodeon or from the back of a horse in the Young Guns movies. 

imdb.com/Michelle

Digging deep in the Arsenal of actors who have collaborated with us. Michelle is a gem and has been working hard in Texas for many years. She has made so many films with Samuel we don’t even remember how many. 

imdb.com/Jason

Jason C Campbell has been a producer and supporter of Texas Made Films since its launch.  He even starred in the 48 hour film project musical western "Crimes of the Heart" created by the Kids Program. 

imdb.com/Mattias

Samuel Ai met Mattias while working on the Alita Battle Angel Live Experience as improv actors. Mattias came to the “The King” music video, and was a man of many different hats. He continued working with us as the director of photography on our next project,  “Animal Sanctuary”. 

imdb.com/David

David and Samuel met working together as improv actors on the Alita Live Experience in Austin. David was also a part of the "The King" Music video. 

imdb.com/Eric

Eric Wieder is a hard working actor in Texas. He will soon share the screen with Samuel Ali in the feaure Butcher's Bluff. Texas Made Films is excited to collaborate more with him!

imdb.com/Robert

Robert joined the crew and worked background on the music video "The King" . He continued working on the crew and acting with Samuel and the kids on the short film "Iris" with Lorelei. Robert even had a speaking part in the short film "Animal Sanctuary." 

imdb.com/Kylee

Kylee came to work on the crew for Samuel's debut feature film "Spring Breakdown." He returned to help with the kids program on the crew of "Iris" with Lorelei Linklater.

imdb.com/Samuel

Samuel has trained and preformed as an impov comedian and actor in Honolulu, HI and Austin, TX. He spent the past eight years researching Super Heroes to write this film.

imdb.com/Sean

Graham met Samuel and JJ while working on the feature "Four My Brothers." While working on this film Samuel and JJ decided to come up with this film based on this location. 

imdb.com/Larissa

She posted a video of herself singing and he cast her in a Musical Western 48 hour film made with the kids program as the lead. 

imdb.com/Tristan


CREW:

 Samuel Ali - Director, Writer, Designer 

imdb.com/samuelali

 

JJ Gauthier - Producer, Director of Photography, VFX  

imdb.com/JJ

 

Mike McCullough - 1st Assistant Director 

imdb.com/Mike

 

Christina Hinton - 2nd Assistiant Director, Art Director  

imdb.com/Christina

 

Paul Ferreti - Special Effects 

imdb.com/Paul

 

Jessamy Cook-Tate Ferreti - Makeup Department Head  

imdb.com/Jessamy

 

Elizabeth Gribbon McCullough - Wardrobe Supervisor  

imdb.com/Elizabeth

 

Jessica Avila - Gaffer  

imdb.com/Jessica

 

Antonio Polacios - Hair Department Head  

imdb.com/Antonio

 

Chris J. Knight - Set Designer 

imdb.com/Chris


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Current Team

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