Investment in Batman pays off 30 years later

More than 30 years ago, Michael Uslan took a gamble. A self-proclaimed comic book fanboy who first identified with Batman as an 8-year-old boy, Uslan, one of the executive producers of The Dark Knight Rises, decided to bet everything on his passion.
Teaming up with a partner and wrangling up some investment capital, he bought the film rights to the Batman franchise from DC comics in 1979. Uslan, who had worked as a comic book artist while still in college and later as a production attorney at the then-bustling United Artists film studio, had the vision of creating a more serious comic book film with a human story.


Today, with the most successful Batman reboot ever about to release the last movie in a trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan, Uslan’s investment has turned out a considerable return. While he would not discuss his personal financial stake in an interview with FORBES at Comic Con 2012, Uslan says he feels vindicated that a 30-year bet has resulted in a trilogy that has already grossed $1.3 billion worldwide.



The third film, The Dark Knight Rises, will be released in the United States next Friday.
While Uslan’s investment may seem obvious now with comic book film hype reaching fever pitch, Uslan’s push for creating darker superhero movies was met with laughs and derision in the late 1970s. Back then, on-screen productions that originated from comics were meant to be lighthearted and silly, akin to the Adam West version of Batman complete with slapstick and “KAPOW” onomatopoeia to boot


Uslan, who was horrified as a teenager that his hero from Gotham had turned into a court jester of sorts, vowed to make something heavier and more meaningful after buying the Batman film rights from DC. He then began to court every major Hollywood studio with his idea.


Uslan, who was horrified as a teenager that his hero from Gotham had turned into a court jester of sorts, vowed to make something heavier and more meaningful after buying the Batman film rights from DC. He then began to court every major Hollywood studio with his idea.


Fortunately for the 61-year-old Uslan, in an era of plenty of comic book movie reboots the executive producer and author of The Boy Who Loved Batman has a little more time—and justification. While he was mum on any future Batman series, Uslan called this “the golden age of comic book movie making.”
“This is our modern day mythology,” he says.  ”This is American folklore and it’s becoming international folklore. The ancient gods of Greece, Rome and Egypt still exist, except now they wear spandex and capes.”

Moral- Don't give up on your dreams....and follow your passion...who knows!