A Hollywood Legend Yelled At A Young (And Shy) Tim Burton On The Set Of Batman

1989's "Batman" was a pivotal moment for superhero movies. Richard Donner's "Superman" established the blueprint for the modern blockbuster back in 1978, but without Tim Burton's late-'80s take on the Dark Knight, the trajectory of the superhero tentpole itself would look a lot different. It's a good thing the film was so influential, too, considering what Burton went through to make it.

Casting controversies, grueling shooting schedules, and the fact that Batman as a character had yet to prove himself as a box office draw all made for what was surely an extremely stressful time for the director. Recall that, at that point in his career, Burton had only helmed two major studio movies: "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" and "Beetlejuice." While both films are fondly remembered today, they were hardly the $35 million blockbuster that "Batman" represented, and for Burton the whole experience was somewhat of a baptism of fire.

The filmmaker's background as a shy kid from the Burbank suburbs is well-known, even among non-fans. In 2006, he labeled his childhood a "private hell" during a Burbank revisit with the Los Angeles Times, describing his younger self as "quiet and kind of anonymous." That reservedness stayed with Burton even after he became a big-name director, especially in the early years of his career where he could be seen struggling through press interviews (though noted extrovert Michael Keaton mercifully saved him on several occasions during the "Batman" press tour).

You can imagine, then, that being handed a big-budget superhero blockbuster was at least a little daunting for Burton, even with the success of his previous two films under his belt. Well, imagine how much worse he must have felt when he turned up to set only to be yelled at by Hollywood royalty.

Considering everything working against it, it's a wonder "Batman" ever came together. For Tim Burton in particular, bringing his vision of Batman to life was "torture" from the very beginning. The director had to fight to make his dark version of the film at a time when the popular perception of the character had been shaped by Adam West's comical portrayal in the 1960s. It's something Burton talks about in his director's commentary for "Batman," in which he reveals the extent of the pressure he was under — none of which was made better when the filmmaker found himself the recipient of a public dressing down from a Hollywood veteran.

"Batman" already had a bonafide megastar onboard in the form of Jack Nicholson, whose portrayal of the Joker remains one of his most memorable performances to date (even though securing Nicholson for "Batman" put Burton in a less than ideal situation). But he wasn't the only Hollywood vet onboard. In fact, there was someone arguably even more esteemed than the "Shining" star: Jack Palance. The Oscar winner, who passed away in 2006, made his name in the 1950s with roles in "Sudden Fear" (1952) and "Shane" (1953), both of which saw him nominated for Academy Awards. It would take four decades for him to actually win, however, which he eventually did for his supporting role as Curly Washburn in 1991's "City Slickers." Two years prior to that, however, he played crime boss Carl Grissom in Burton's "Batman" and despite the fact he had yet to win his first Oscar, Palance was already a screen legend — something which must have been quite intimidating for Burton, who already needed a Jack Nicholson translator on the set of "Batman" in order to understand his star's idiosyncratic speech.

Lamentably, it wasn't just Nicholson's speaking style that prompted some misunderstandings on-set. Indeed, at one point, Palance became enraged with the comparatively inexperienced Burton.

In "Batman," Jack Napier is one of Carl Grissom's most trusted mob foot soldiers and a second-in-command for the crime lord. But Napier betrays his boss by sleeping with his mistress, Alicia Hunt (Jerry Hall). For this, Grissom sets up Napier by informing the cops about a raid on Axis chemicals led by his second-in-command. Of course, Napier is almost killed by Batman during that same raid, only to return as The Joker. When we first see Napier's new form, it's during a now legendary scene in which he emerges from the shadows having just shot Grissom multiple times in his headquarters. That particular scene begins with Grissom emerging from his bathroom having just showered, and it was this very take that seemingly led to some major on-set drama between Palance and Burton.

In his director's commentary the filmmaker remembered calling "action" on the scene only for Palance to completely miss his direction. The actor evidently didn't hear Burton at all, prompting a discussion between the two which involved Palance delivering what must have been a devastating rhetorical blow to his young director: "I've made over a hundred films, how many have you made?"

It's hard to imagine how belittling this moment was for Burton, who was already under immense pressure and had endured enormous stress just trying to get Warner Bros. onboard with his darker vision for the film. Still, some years later he seemed to have come to terms with what must have been a memory nothing short of traumatic. In the commentary, Burton says that Palance was "good for the part," adding, "I can't think of anybody else who could be Jack Nicholson's boss."

Of course, in hindsight, Burton needn't have worried so much about his movie. Fans seemingly loved the director's dark, expressionistic take on the source material, aided by production designer Anton Furst providing a suitably immersive industrial nightmare Gotham in which Keaton's Batman and Jack Nicholson's Joker did battle. After "Bat-mania" swept the world upon the film's debut, both Burton and Warner Bros. could finally relax — even if Nicholson took most of the profit from "Batman." Still, being publicly chastised by Palance on his own movie set is surely one of those moments that makes Burton flinch at random points even today.