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Go Home Batman Has No Limits

THE PLANK NOVEMBER 12, 2008

Batman Has No Limits

BY AUTHOR INFO NEEDED

From Variety:

The mayor of an oil-producing city in southeastern Turkey, which has the same name as the Caped Crusader, is suing helmer Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. for royalties from mega-grosser "The Dark Knight." Huseyin
Kalkan, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party mayor of Batman, has
accused "The Dark Knight" producers of using the city's name without
permission. "There is only one Batman in the world," Kalkan said. "The American producers used the name of our city without informing us."

No
one from the town of Batman has explained why it took so many years to
take legal action. Batman first appeared as a comicbook character in
1939 and the "Batman" TV series started in 1966. Tim Burton's
first bigscreen rendition for Warner Bros. came out in 1989.
Undoubtedly the fact that "Dark Knight" is about to pass the $1 billion
mark at the B.O. played a part in stirring the ire of the Turkish
hamlet.

The mayor is prepping a series of charges against Nolan
and Warner Bros., which owns the right to the Batman character,
including placing the blame for a number of unsolved murders and a high
female suicide rate on the psychological impact that the film's success
has had on the city's inhabitants.... The mayor is working on gathering evidence he claims will show that the city of Batman predates the 1939 debut of Bob Kane's superhero in DC Comics.

The suit is being closely monitored by the Republic of Madagascar, residents of Hancock, Iowa, and the Walle Corporation.

--Christopher Orr

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19 comments

including placing the blame for a number of unsolved murders and a high female suicide rate on the psychological impact that the film's success has had on the city's inhabitants....

I'm thinking that might have more to do with living in southeastern Turkey...

- boneill

November 12, 2008 at 2:25pm

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I actually find it pretty plausible that a small village in Turkey wouldn't have heard of Batman until the last couple movies.  Batman's never really made  the kind of international news that small, poor, remote villages would have access to until the past few years, when spreading information has become so cheap that even the most inane data like box office receipts are known around the world.

- Simon Greenwood

November 12, 2008 at 2:35pm

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And suing absolutely no one are the residents of Catwoman, Spain.

- adaglas

November 12, 2008 at 2:35pm

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Boneill and adaglas, what are you guys doing here?!  Shouldn't you be busy suing the band Chicago for sullying your great city's name?

- ratnerstar

November 12, 2008 at 3:04pm

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Another politician blaming the media for his failures.  What's so unusual about that?

- WayneJM

November 12, 2008 at 3:09pm

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Ratnerstar - True story:  The manager of Chicago (the band) used to own the popular hot dog joint on DePaul's campus.  It was a school landmark, and it also provided us college newspaper editors with free food as part of an ad trade.  My last year of college the city was fighting with him to buy the joint's land for "El" train expansion (a fight the city ultimately won), and the newspaper was quite outspoken in support of our meal ticket.  One day I was in there getting a hot dog and the manager, recognizing me from my column headshot, thanked me strenuously and handed over a huge stack of Chicago CDs, which made lovely gifts for my older relatives.

So long story short, I guess I can't harbor any ill will towards the man or his lovably cheesy band.

- adaglas

November 12, 2008 at 3:16pm

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Chicago the band had some really cool stuff early on, ratty, you fucking philistine.  Really innovative, interesting music.  Then they sucked.  

True story: last week adaglas and I were out getting some food and someone recognized him from his mugshot.  "Hey", the vaugely familiar-looking stranger said, "you're the Locker-Room Exposer, aren't you?"  Then he gave us a few Rush CDs and a couple of interesting buttons.  It was a real trip.  

- boneill

November 12, 2008 at 3:47pm

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The first album was good.  I especially liked their version of "I'm a Man" - thought it was better than the Spencer Davis Group original.  The second was OK, but nowhere near as good.

From there, the band descended into a death spiral of suckiness that continues to this day.  And then the vortex spewed forth the ultra-sucky Peter Cetera.

adaglas - Those free hot dogs and CDs didn't compromise your journalistic integrity, did they?

- WayneJM

November 12, 2008 at 4:16pm

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There was a hippie folk band back in the early 70s called "America," but I don't know if it's worth starting anything legal (icarus -- any advice??).  And "Horse With No Name" wasn't such a bad song.

- ironyroad

November 12, 2008 at 4:19pm

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...and then in the early 80s there was Asia.

I can't imagine getting sued for infringement by a continent.

- WayneJM

November 12, 2008 at 4:32pm

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irony, if anyone is going to sue "America" it should be Neil Young for the wholesale theft of his voice.  

But, yeah, "Horse With No Name" is a pretty good song.  But they should have thrown in some stuff about Kent State just to really stick it to Neil.  And the kidnapped Crazyhorse.

- boneill

November 12, 2008 at 4:39pm

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I thought Asia was a country!?!?!?

- boneill

November 12, 2008 at 4:39pm

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boneill FTW!

- nathanirwin

November 12, 2008 at 5:04pm

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Anybody remember that the band Chicago started out as Chicago Transit Authority?  The real CTA threatened to sue so they changed their name.  Meanwhile, Mayor Daley is looking for any loose change lying around so I expect him to sue any day now....

- kenshap

November 12, 2008 at 5:04pm

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No, you're thinking of Africa.

- WayneJM

November 12, 2008 at 5:08pm

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Don't be silly, waynejm, Africa was a SONG, not a BAND - as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.   Sheesh.  And for the record, I have never had any integrity, journalistic or otherwise.  LONG LIVE FREE FOOD!

- adaglas

November 12, 2008 at 5:24pm

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Hmm, I can practically hear the state legislature gearing up to sue the band that uses the name of this state, Kansas.  But the way they work in Topeka, if they sue the band it's likely to backfire so badly that Kerry Livgren ends up as speaker of the House.

- cspencef

November 12, 2008 at 8:23pm

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adaglas - I stand corrected.  Africa WAS a song.  By a band named after Dorothy's little dog, no less.

I'm surprised that they weren't sued by the estate of L. Frank Baum.

- WayneJM

November 12, 2008 at 9:47pm

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Dear Mr. Springsteen,

As attorney general of the State of Nebraska, and thus primary legal counsel for the state's right to control the use of, and obtain profit from, its own name . . .

- ironyroad

November 13, 2008 at 12:47am

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