Val Kilmer reported to be a top contender, though just days after Keaton dropped out, Kilmer was cast. Kilmer took the role without even knowing who the new director was and without reading the script. Released in June 1995, "Batman Forever" was a success at the box office, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. There was debate about Kilmer's performance: some critics, like "The New York Times" Janet Maslin, thought Kilmer was a poor successor to Keaton in the part; while others, such as Roger Ebert, had kind words for Kilmer. "Batman" creator Bob Kane said in a "Cinescape" interview that of
John Henry Patterson (author) their behalf, with the following inscription: Patterson considered the bowl to be his most highly prized and hardest won trophy. In 1907, he published his first book, "The Man-eaters of Tsavo", which documented his adventures during his time there. It was the basis for three films; "Bwana Devil" (1953), "Killers of Kilimanjaro" (1959) and the 1996 Paramount Pictures film, "The Ghost and the Darkness", starring Val Kilmer (as Patterson) and Michael Douglas (as the fictional character "Remington"). In 1924, after speaking at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois, Patterson agreed to sell the Tsavo lion skins and