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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (March 10, 2017)
PAGE2A14,2KEIZERTIMES,2MARCH210,22017 Where does Batman get such wonderful toys? David2Sherman2knows,2and2he’s2sharing2 his2collection2at2the2Keizer2museum By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes David Sherman can pick apart a Batman movie likefew can. And not just as it relates to the plot holes and poor per- formances. Sherman has an eye for detail when it comes to spot- ting what makes up the indi- vidual pieces of a character’s costume. For proof, look no further than the current ex- hibit at the Keizer Heritage Museum. It’s fi lled with bits and pieces of Batman movie nostalgia, including a few bits actually used on screen in the 1989 Batman movie. It’s all on display through April 29. Sherman’s passion for mov- ie props and costuming arrived at an early age with iconic special effects movies from the 1980s like the last two entries in the original Star Wars tril- ogy, Nightmare on Elm Street, Beetlejuice, Legend and Dark Crystal, but especially with the 1989 Batman movie featuring Michael Keaton as the caped crusader. “I would watch that movie and go home and try to make batarangs out of cardboard that matched as closely as I could get them,” Sherman said. “Af- ter it came out on video, I would walk home from school just to rent the movie again so I could watch it, pause it, and look at things in detail.” He remembers vividly thinking he would one day have a Batman suit like the one C Keaton wore in the fi lm, but nev- er would have suspected to fi nd himself in pos- session of a full- scale replica and one of the suits actually used in the fi lming of the movie. The replica suit is one of several pieces on display in the exhibit, and it features components like the cape that were molded off pieces used during fi lming. “Now, there are whole communities who spend time building the costumes. The thing the internet gave us was access to people making the actual movies. It’s kept very private among collectors, but there is access to people who have the molds used for origi- nal productions,” Sherman said. In addition to the full-size B batsuit, the ex- hibit features replicated bits and piec- es from the more mod- ern Christian Bale-led Bat- man produc- tions – like utility belts, a grappling gun, batarangs, a Gotham City Police De- partment badge – alongside collectors items like action fi g- ures, a pinball board from the 1989 Batman pinball game and a one-third scale reproduction of the Keaton batmobile. There are also two items with Hollywood provenance: a pair of boots and a pair of long gloves used by Keaton during fi lming of his movies. “A lot of the pieces in the exhibit are replicas I put to- gether from kits made by other people, like the utility belts from the (Christopher) Nolan Batman movies. Others are components I’ve worked on myself playing around with resin,” Sherman said. Sher man doesn’t just col- lect these items. In many cases, he’s actually worn them him- self in charity ap- pearances around the region and especially at Keizer’s own To- ny’s Kingdom of Comics. He spent many years working on his own costumes, but he purchased a replica util- ity belt from an eBay seller sev- eral years ago who introduced him to the underground net- work of costuming enthusiasts. “Small groups of us will buy in to fund projects to get more and more screen- accurate pieces. They were crowdfunding things like these before crowdfunding was a thing,” Sherman said. Given the sometimes- fraught nature of online trans- actions, some gambles don’t pay off the way Sherman hoped, but others feel like windfalls. When he was putting together a Joker costume inspired by Heath Led- ger’s perfor- mance 2008’s The Dark Knight, he wanted it to be as close to ex- act as possible. He found the company that produced Led- ger’s socks for the role and or- dered a pair for himself. He’s witnessed arguments over the precise color of the vest Led- ger wore, and even found a clothier in Italy producing replicas of the suspenders used in fi lming. Those might seem like sim- ple tasks, but consider this: the suspenders are only partially visible in a single scene of the movie. Sherman and his fellow enthusiasts take details like that to heart. The attention paid to detail is what gave him confi dence A when he purchased a produc- tion-used suit from the 1989 Batman fi lm. Tony Grove, the owner of Tony’s Kingdom of Comics, sent him a cell phone shot of the timeworn suit with tell- tale details. While the suits in the fi lm appear to be all black, what the audience sees is pleather glued over top of the white bodysuit. The suit’s age had given way to the white bodysuit and that’s how Sher- man knew it was legit. “I was driving up to Port- land when he sent the photos and I turned around and came back,” Sherman said. Not only did he purchase the suit, the Marion-Polk Food Share benefi tted from a $1,000 donation from the sale Grove secured as a fi nder’s fee. While Sherman takes per- sonal pride in his collection, it’s sharing it with others – whether he’s wearing it or not – that makes all the effort he goes to worth it. “I actually have diffi culty fi nding places that want me to wear the Joker suit because some people think it will be too scary, but it’s not really about who the character is. It’s about the person wearing it, and I don’t think many kids fi nd me all that scary when I show up in costume,” he said. D A:2Keizerite2David2Sherman2 shows2off2a2Joker2fi2gure2with2 articulated2eyes.2 B:2A2full-size2replica2of2the2 Michael2Keaton2batsuit.2 C:2A2replica2Gotham2City2 Police2Department2badge. D:2Machined2batarangs. E:2A21/3-scale2model2of2the2 19892batmobile.2 F:2Replica2socks2and2sus- penders2from2a2Joker2cos- tume.2 F E Buy One Footlong Meatball Marinara V E H I C L E W R A PS FOR ONLY Plus Chips & Drink 7 $ 00 SUBWAY at Keizer Station 2535 Jorie Lane - Keizer 503.991.5316 Must present this coupon to redeem offer. Coupon Expires 4- 18-2017. Valid only at Keizer Station location: 2535 Jorie Lane, Keizer, OR 97303. (KT-TMC-0310) FIND US BY Point S Tires 3818 River Rd N, Keizer ENJOY THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, QUIET AND CONVENEINCE OF A DUCTLESS SYSTEM NOW THROUGH MARCH 31 MITSUBISHI GL – 12,000 BTU 2,899 Installed $ Cool Deals Additional charge for over 15 feet. 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