Michael Uslan is a major Hollywood producer. He bought the film rights to Batman when he was in his 20s. And he has served as executive producer on all the Batman films, and now, the Joker films.
But he started out as a boy with a dream. Uslan grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He was a major comic book collector. At one point, he’d amassed 30,000 of them in his garage.
And this was at a time when there was a campaign to rid families of comic books, which a man named Frederic Wertham claimed caused juvenile delinquency.
Uslan’s memoir, “The Boy Who Loved Batman” reads like a work of fiction, because of all of the amazing things he’s accomplished.
And right now, The Straz Center is presenting the world premiere of the inspirational comedy play of the same name starring Dan Fogler of “Fantastic Beasts” and “Walking Dead” fame as Uslan.
It’s a play its producers hope to take to Broadway and London’s West End.
The Straz Center has an essential role, according to information it shared with WUSF.
“The Straz Center is more than a host of the production, as this is not a show that yet exists in full. Straz is the lead producer of the world premiere developmental production of the show in association with commercial producers Bob Nederlander and Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment, whose goal is to take the show to Broadway and the West End following the engagement here in Tampa.”
Put another way, the producers bring the content and, according to an email from Natasha Brown of the Straz Center, its responsibility is "bringing that content to life on stage."
"Often, commercial producers start in collaboration with a nonprofit such as Straz for an 'out-of-town tryout' to see what they’ve got," the email read. "Straz is invested not only in the local engagement for which they are taking financial risk, but because the Straz is investing in this developmental production, we also have a stake in future productions.”
Drawing inspration from a prolific comic book writer
When Uslan was a young teenager, he and his best friend, Bobby Klein, finagled an invitation to visit the home of Otto Binder, who according to the New York Review of Science Fiction was one of the most prolific writers of comic books. And many of the stories he wrote were about the families of Captain Marvel and Superman. Uslan and Bobby Klein spent at least 10 hours talking with Binder that day.
This passion for stories eventually led to Uslan becoming the first person in the world to teach an accredited college course on comic book lore. He persuaded his professors at Indiana University to allow it by comparing the story of Superman to the biblical story of Moses.
“Yeah, you know, it's all about once you've explored and discovered your passions in life, it's about looking for any door open, that little crack that you could just shove your foot into.”Michael Uslan
But then he had to sell the dean on the notion.
“He rejected me. He rejected the idea. I knew I had nothing to lose, and so I stood my ground," Uslan said. "And that was probably the individual life changing moment for me, when I asked him the two questions. He thought I was crazy. Moses, what are you doing? Where are you going with this?”
Once that was greenlit, he realized he had to market himself. So he rang up a reporter at the local newspaper and the story got out.
“And that led me to Stan Lee calling me and becoming my mentor, and that led to the president of DC Comics calling me and offering me a job, and that led me to write Batman comic books while I was still in school, and that opened the door for all the hierarchy at DC to get to know me and realize how passionate I was about comic books and DC and Superman and Batman,” Uslan said.
And that’s how he wound up buying the rights to the Batman films and a bunch of other works, including “Swamp Thing.”
The dream Uslan carried from the time he was 8 came true when he got a chance to write a Batman comic after he wrote one for “The Shadow,” a comic book that influenced the creators of the Dark Knight.
He was working for DC Comics when legendary comic book editor Julie Schwartz called him over.
“ 'Hey kid!' 'Yes, Julie,' I responded trying to remember how he liked his coffee. 'I read your Shadow script,' he grunted. 'You did?' I gulped. 'Yeah,' he said, 'it didn't stink!' 'Really?' I exclaimed. 'Wow, thank you.' 'How'd you like to take a crack at writing Batman?' ' Schwartz said.
Uslan said he makes his own luck.
“Yeah, you know, it's all about once you've explored and discovered your passions in life, it's about looking for any door open, that little crack that you could just shove your foot into,” Uslan said.
A far cry from the 1960s 'Batman'
But it took many years and a long journey through “development hell,” before he would see his dreams of returning the Batman to his dark roots and erasing people’s memories of the “Pow, Zap and Wham!” Batman of 1960s TV.
During what he calls his “10-year human endurance test,” which culminated in the 1989 blockbuster movie "Batman," starring Michael Keaton, Uslan faced financial struggles.
He and his wife had a son and lost a baby daughter, and then had another daughter. His mother and mother-in-law developed cancer, and as a result, many people told him to let his dream go. But his wife and family believed in him.
His brother Paul encouraged him to use the “negative reinforcement” from others to move forward. His mom told him to “Believe in yourself, market yourself, have a plan B and stick to a commitment even if you have to march through hell.”
Uslan said his story is remarkable because he’s a “blue-collar kid from New Jersey who had no friends in Hollywood, and no money.”
He said he was talking to his brother the other day and they were reflecting on all their parents, Joe and Lil Uslan, had done for them.
“They were behind us, and they were in front of us to take any bullet that might come by," Uslan said. "And I got to tell you, I think I used it in the introduction to my book, or the dedication to my book. Maybe my mom's favorite expression was ‘the two greatest gifts we can give our children are roots and wings,' and she really lived by that."
"Now I'm telling you right now, the word ‘yes’ never escaped my lips at a faster clip. It was out in .000 seconds and that was the beginning of it. That was the beginning of the process. I've been in the movie and TV and animation business 48 years, and now suddenly, I have a brand-new career.”Michael Uslan
Uslan said the idea of turning his life story into a play came about after a mutual friend introduced him to Nederlander. The two had dinner and Uslan gave Nederlander a copy of his memoir. Before Uslan went back to Los Angeles, Nederlander asked him to stop by his New York office to discuss something.
“And he said to me, what would you think about turning ‘The Boy who Loved Batman’ into a Broadway play?” Uslan said.
Uslan had told his wife Nancy he was going to pitch the same idea to Nederlander.
"Now I'm telling you right now, the word ‘yes’ never escaped my lips at a faster clip," Uslan said. "It was out in .000 seconds and that was the beginning of it. That was the beginning of the process. I've been in the movie and TV and animation business 48 years, and now suddenly, I have a brand-new career.”
He said hopes the parents and grandparents who come to see the play.
"(I) will insist that their kids and grandkids go to see it. It's very funny, and ... every time we've done a reading, (it) has brought tears to everyone's eyes," Uslan said. "I think it's powerful. But boy, is it fun.”
“The Boy who Loved Batman” is playing at the Straz Center from now through Nov. 10. It’s written by Asa Somers and is based on Uslan’s memoir. The play is directed by Jeff Calhoun.
