by Erin Essenmacher via National Association of Corporate Directors
Michael Uslan has been many things: a lawyer, a professor, an executive producer, and—most recently—a global media mogul; but he identifies most closely with the moniker that became the title of his 2011 memoir: The Boy Who Loved Batman. During an interview at the 2015 NACD Global Board Leaders’ Summit, Uslan reflected on his experience in media—ranging from Hollywood as a case study on how to think about competition to the danger of losing sight of the story to the rise of China as an indispensable partner in long-term strategic growth. In the process, he shared valuable insights that apply across industries.
A self-described “comic-book geek” even before he could read, by the time Uslan graduated from high school, he had amassed a collection of more than 30,000 issues. “They were stacked floor to ceiling in our garage,” he recalls. “My dad never could get a car in there.” While Uslan would read almost any superhero rag within reach, he developed an early and enduring love for the caped crusader. That love drove him, at age 28, to buy the rights to the Batman franchise. He was able to purchase them for a song, even as the president of DC Comics tried to talk Uslan out of the deal, telling him that Batman was “as dead as a dodo.” Uslan was undeterred. He believed in the potential of showing a darker, more human side of Batman, to say nothing of the revenue the franchise could generate in ancillary toy, comic book, video game, and other product sales.
Armed with what he saw as a self-evident blockbuster idea, Uslan made the rounds of the Hollywood studios. He was rejected at every turn. “I was told I was crazy. They told me it was the worst idea they had ever heard.” In fact, it took 10 years to get the first film, 1989’s Batman, greenlighted; but that break gave Uslan the chance to launch, almost single-handedly, a franchise that has achieved No. 1 box-office rankings and grossed billions of dollars worldwide. read more…
