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Warren Skaaren was an American screenwriter and film producer. Skaaren wrote the shooting script for Batman.

Bat-History[]

Filming Batman[]

Tim Burton chose Skaaren to revise Sam Hamm's previous drafts while keeping the same basic story. The pair previously collaborated on Beetlejuice. Warren Skaaren wrote the shooting script during the pre-production set up at Pinewood Studios. Skaaren continued tweaking the script as the primary on-set writer, answering day to day logistical and motivation questions. Skaaren and Burton were able to convince Mark Canton to remove Dick Grayson from the movie, even though Ricky Addison Reed had already been hired to play the role. Skaaren also removed Alexander Knox attempt to blackmail Bruce Wayne after discovering his secret. Skaaren carried a copy of The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes while researching the comics history. Skarren considered Knox to be a modern version of Scoop Scanlon, but with a "normalized" name. Skaaren also changed Gotham Square's Lady Gotham statue to John T. Gotham.

Due to a writer's strikes at least two other English writers, Jonathan Gems and Charles McKeown ending up contributing to the Cathedral/Belfry sequence. Kim Basinger and Jon Peters also influenced the Belfry finale after Peters read a Wallstreet Journal article decrying the prospects of the film.

Outside Batman[]

In the seventies Skaaren was an executive director for the Texas Film Commission. After leaving the Commission, Skaaren began his career in the film industry, working as a writer for films like Fire with Fire, Beetlejuice and Beverly Hills Cop II. He wrote a draft for Top Gun, for wich was only credited as an associate producer. Skaaren had also written unproduced sequels to The Jewel of the Nile called The Crimson Eagle and Beetlejuice called Beetlejuice in Love. According to its draft date, Beetlejuice in Love is believed to be the last screenplay he wrote before his death.

Warren Skaaren died of bone cancer on December 28, 1990. Tim Burton attended his funeral in Texas.

Legacy[]

Skaaren & Burton

The Warren Skaaren Charitable Trust, funded by his earnings, continues his work on behalf of children and the environment. Part of the trust funds a recurring scholarship at RCTC: the Skaaren Scholarship, a nod to the continued relationship Skaaren enjoyed with Robert Wise, Associate Dean of Students at RCC.[1]

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