There's just something about Batman that gets Whether he's in comic-book form, a playful 1960s TV character, or the focus of a brooding feature-length blockbuster, the Dark Knight is a character we just can't get enough of - even in Lego That was evident when one of the highlights from the 2014 "The Lego Movie" was the appearance of the Lego Batman, a self-centered hero who did everything on his own terms and was voiced perfectly by Will Arnett. He was so popular, in fact, that once the movie came out it was obvious Warner Bros. should make a spin-off movie dedicated to Batman. Tasked with pulling that off was Chris McKay. animation world for directing episodes of the Adult Swim show "Robot Chicken," as well as working on the visual effects and editing side of the show's "Star Wars" movies, McKay was also the editor and codirector on Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's "TheMcKay was even in charge of the movie's animation
and rendering when Lord and Miller had to go and direct "22 Jump Warner Bros. was very bullish on getting another Lego movie out the door following the success of "The Lego Movie," and McKay worked closely with Lord and Miller in developing "The Lego Movie" sequel and a Batman spin-off. However, when the trio went in and pitched their ideas for both projects at the studio in the early summer of 2014, it was evident the release plan needed toThe ambitious "Lego Movie" sequel with its big musical numbers needed more time. That led to the idea for the Batman movie to be released first. But it needed a director. "At one point Chris and Phil were going to direct 'The Lego Bagman Movie,'" McKay recently told Business Insider, but they were about to embark on making the young Han Solo "Star Wars""Everyone turned and looked at me and I said, 'Are you guys asking me to direct "The Lego Batman Movie"? Catwoman tattoo, so, yeah, I'm in.'"
McKay dove right into storyboarding and developing a script with screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith in August of 2014, as the February 2017 release date loomed large. "As far as turning around a feature animated movie with all these moving parts, two and a half years is a very, very short amount of time," McKay said. But he was familiar with tight deadlines. Back in his "Robot Chicken" days, his team worked at a breakneck speed to pull off 12-minute episodes every week, often only having six days for the animation portion of production. However, there were other things McKay needed to factor in to make a Lego movie. McKay said he always had to be mindful that the movie is for young kids (very different in tone than the adult-focused comedy on "Robot Chicken"), but there also had to be elements sprinkled in for the adults to laugh at, as well as for the "Batman"Then there was the challenge of connecting every live-action Batman movie (and TV show).
"This premise where Batman has been around for 78 years in Gotham City and all the timelines are all in our movie in some way, I was constantly monitoring that it was all working," McKay said. In the movie, we follow Batman on his latest crime-fighting adventure, but things become more complex when he suddenly is responsible with raising a boy he adopted and his greatest nemesis, the Joker, turns himself in. McKay compared directing "The Lego Batman Movie" to how directors like Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg operate as producers, overseeing everything and making sure the department heads are on"There's no 'We edited something today and it's in animation tomorrow and then in lighting and it's done.' constantly running around trying to figure out how to use all the teams to their potential at the same time." And as this all went on, jokes for the movie were constantly being added or tweaked, causing Arnett to be on call with his
Batman voice at all times. "Will was literally shooting a movie in Wales and I would call him up and get him to go into someplace private on set where he's shooting so he could record new lines," McKay said. This was vital when he needed Arnett to give him a few lines for the rap Batman does at the end of the movie. "It was like 10 at night in Wales and he had just got off a day of shooting outside and it had been raining all day and he went and put a coat over his head with a microphone and did some of But all that work looks to have paid off. 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, "The Lego Batman Movie" is getting Arnett's Batman compared to some of the best who ever put on the cape and mask. And with the great supporting cast - including Michael Cera as Robin, Rosario Dawson as Batgirl, Zach Galifianakis as the Joker, Channing Tatum as Superman, Jonah Hill as Green Lantern, Adam Devine as The Flash, and Conan O'Brien as The Riddler - McKay hopes all this talent
can be utilized in a bigger capacity in future movies. "I did cast some of these actors with an eye to make other movies in this world, like Justice League or Super Friends, because I really love these actors and it would be fun to play off each other and go on some adventures," McKay said. But for now he's thinking of more immediate projects for himself, like that vacant director chair over at the Warner Bros. feature-length "The Flash" feature. "I love the live-action superhero movies," McKay said. love to do 'The Flash.' I'm always trying to get meetings to see what's coming up because I would love to do any of their DC The way McKay sees it, he was at the right place at the right time for "The Lego Batman Movie." Why couldn't lightning strike "The Lego Batman Movie" opens in theaters on Friday.LEGO Architecture Trevi Fountain (21020) – Official Images Here are official images of LEGO Architecture Trevi Fountain (21020) courtesy of Amazon UK.
Construct a detailed LEGO brick model of the world-famous Trevi Fountain, the largest fountain in Rome. Designed by Nicola Salvi, the ‘Fontana di Trevi’ took 30 years to build and was completed by his friend – the sculptor, Pietro Bracci – in 1762, 11 years after Salvi’s death. This stunning Baroque monument carved from Travertine stone has been the backdrop for many classic movies, including Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. And, today, over 250 years later, the 49-meter-wide fountain still draws thousands of visitors to the small Trevi square. Below is the real building for comparison: LEGO Friends Summer 2014 Sets – Official Images Here are the official images of LEGO Friends sets for the summer. This is a big theme with 9 new sets coming out. As with the rest of the summer sets, these should be released in late May. Check out all the official images of upcoming sets on our Summer 2014 page. 41030 Olivia’s Ice Cream Bike – 98 pcs – $10
41031 Andrea’s Mountain Hut – 119 pcs – $10 41032 First Aid Jungle Bike – 156 pcs – $15 41033 Jungle Falls Rescue – 183 pcs – $20 LEGO City Arctic 2014 Sets – Official Images We also have official images of LEGO City Artic sets that are coming out this summer. Check out our previous posts to see images of a polybag set and store exclusive sets like the Arctic Ice Breaker. These sets should be released in late May. 60032 Arctic Snowmobile – 44 pcs – $7 60033 Arctic Ice Crawler – 113 pcs – $15 60034 Arctic Helicrane – 262 pcs – $40 60035 Arctic Outpost – 374 pcs – $50 60036 Arctic Base Camp – 735 pcs – $90 LEGO City Trains 2014 Sets – Official Images Here are official images of the upcoming LEGO City trains. There will be 3 new sets coming out this year with 2 motorized trains and a new train station. These should be released by late May according to Amazon UK. 60050 Train Station – 423 pcs – $65
60051 High-Speed Passenger Train – 610 pcs – $150 60052 Cargo Train – 887 pcs – $200 LEGO Ninjago Summer 2014 Sets – Official Images Here are the official images of the last 2 LEGO Ninjago sets for this year. These images come from Amazon UK and they should be released in late May judging by the ship date. 70727 X-1 Ninja Charger – 426 pcs – $40 70728 Battle for Ninjago City – 1223 pcs – $120 LEGO Creator Bike Shop & Cafe (31026) – Official Images Thanks again to Amazon UK, we have official images of LEGO Creator Bike Shop & Cafe (31026)! While we’ve seen the main model previously, this is the first time we’ve seen clear images of the 2 alternate models. As a bonus, we’ve also discovered the 3 different models of LEGO Creator Yellow Racers (31023) and LEGO Creator Roaring Power (31024). Be sure to check out all the official images of upcoming sets on our Summer 2014 page. 31026 Bike Shop & Cafe – 1023 pcs – $90
LEGO Star Wars Summer 2014 Sets – Official Images Here are the official images of the summer wave for LEGO Star Wars. The majority are remakes of previous Original Trilogy sets but there are 2 based on the new Star Wars Rebels cartoon. How many of these sets will end up in your collection? 75048 Phantom – 234 pcs – $25 75049 Snowspeeder – 279 pcs – $30 75050 B-Wing – 448 pcs – $50 LEGO Ultra Agents – Official Images Check out official images of LEGO Ultra Agents coming out this summer. These sets are the 3rd incarnation of the Agents spy theme. 70160 Riverside Raid – 88 pcs – $12 70161 Tremor Track Infiltration – 241 pcs – $20 70162 Infearno Interception – 313 pcs – $30 The LEGO Movie Summer 2014 Sets – Official Images Images of The LEGO Movie summer wave have also surfaced today. As far as we know, these are the final The LEGO Movie sets being released in 2014. 70814 Emmet’s Construct-o-Mech – 708 pcs – $60