Q&A Hollywood
Q: I was watching the 1989 version of “Batman” and noticed that Jack Nicholson was mentioned in the credits before Michael Keaton, who played the main character. How is the order of the names in the credits decided?
A: There are a few factors that go into the billing order, and a couple of them came together to get Jack Nicholson top billing in 1989's “Batman.”
Nicholson actually had it written into his contract that he be billed first (he had a lot of other wacky stuff written in there, such as the stipulation that he not be scheduled to film during Los Angeles Lakers games).
He was (and still is) a far bigger star than Michael Keaton, who played the titular Batman, so the studio was probably happy to give him top billing — they might have even done so voluntarily, as they often do.
Another prominent DC Comics hero-villain pairing got the same treatment in 1978's “Superman,” in which Gene Hackman, who played Lex Luthor, was billed above acting newcomer Christopher Reeve in the Superman role. (However, neither of them got top billing — that went to much bigger star Marlon Brando for his much smaller role as Jor-El.)
These are all exceptions to the general rule of giving top billing to the person playing the main character. That usually lines up with the fame factor — the biggest role usually goes to the biggest name.
But when it doesn't, what we see is there really aren't any rules — it's all deal-making and compromise.
Q: I feel like I've learned a lot watching “Perry Mason” reruns. Are all the legal statements made in the shows true? The writers must have included a lawyer.
A: If you're facing down a murder charge, don't cite a “Perry Mason” episode as legal precedent — indeed, no one would ever tell you to take anything you see on TV as legal advice. That said, the “Perry Mason” writers room was pretty strict about legal accuracy.
(A quick note before we proceed: Since you said “'Perry Mason' reruns,” I'm assuming you mean the original `50s-'60s series, rather than the recent HBO reboot. The HBO version spends less time in the courtroom, anyway.)
As you suggest, there were a number of lawyers among the “Perry Mason” writing staff, including the boss himself, Erle Stanley Gardner.
Gardner, who created the Mason character in a long series of novels that were only later adapted for TV, passed the bar in 1911 and worked as a trial lawyer for years before his writing career took off. (Though it should be noted that he studied for his bar exam independently, after being kicked out of the Valparaiso University School of Law.)
Gardner himself worked as a writer on the show and was reportedly the final set of eyes on each script, particularly to ensure legal accuracy.
His job was made easier by the fact that other staffers had legal backgrounds as well. Producer Ben Brady, executive producer Gail Patrick and story editor Gene Wang all studied law before working on the show. Wang and Brady were only around for the first two seasons, but Patrick stuck with the show right up to its end in 1966.
For the record, Raymond Burr (who played Mason on screen) didn't have a legal background, but he became a fast student of the courts.
“I spent two months watching the judges and lawyers in Los Angeles courts to get the feel for the role,” he told the Detroit Free Press around the time of the show's debut in 1957.
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