10 Things You Didn’t Know About Tim Burton’s Batman
2. Nicholson Made Up/Stole His Dance Moves
There are loads of interesting facts about Jack Nicholsons Joker. One of the funniest is that the weird dance move he does in Vicki Vales apartment (when throws his arms in the air, blows a raspberry and runs off) is a movement called the bird dance that Nicholson stole from a friend of his, the late actor Clegg Hoyt. Nicholson improvised this baffling and brilliant moment of pure Joker nonsense on set, proving just how perfect a fit he is for the role, even though he wasnt Warner Bros first choice. Apparently, the unpredictability of the character allowed Nicholson free rein to improvise, making this one of his favourite roles from his career. Jokers impression of the mob leader Grisson was another improvisation that made the final cut. Heres another fun Joker fact: an earlier version of the script included an interesting revelation about the iconic parade scene, wherein the Joker memorably throws away loads of money into a surprised crowd. That cash is actually counterfeit, a longer version of the scene reveals, and has the Jokers image on it. This was intended as a humorous pay-off to the Jokers earlier line about wanting his face on the dollar bill. This scripted gag didnt make the finished film, but the bird dance did. Go figure.
