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A riddle is a statement or question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: enigmas, which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that require ingenuity and careful thinking for their solution, and conundrums, which are questions relying for their effects on punning in either the question or the answer.

Ancestry[link]

Riddles occur extensively in Old English poetry, drawing partly on an Anglo-Latin literary tradition whose principal exponent was Aldhelm (c. 639-709), himself inspired by the fourth- or fifth-century Latin poet Symphosius. Riddles thus have a distinguished literary ancestry, although the contemporary sort of conundrum that passes under the name of "riddle" may not make this obvious. In the Anglo-Saxon world, the wis had wisdom due to their wit – their ability to conciliate and mediate by maintaining multiple perspectives, which has degenerated into a species of comedy, but was not always a mere laughing matter. This wit was taught with a form of oral tradition called the riddle, a collection of which were bound, along with various other gnomic verses, poems and maxims in the tenth century and deposited in Exeter Cathedral in the eleventh century - the so-called Exeter Book, one of the most important surviving collections of Old English manuscripts. The riddles in this book vary in significance from childish rhymes and ribald innuendo, to some particularly interesting insights into the thought world of our archaic linguistic ancestors, such as the following (Riddle 47 from the Exeter Book):

An answer, however, is not implied by the poem, though it is in this sense unlike most of its era; the riddle is instead an elaborate pun, and philosophizes on the subject of language and its virtues. The general technique of the riddle form is to refer obliquely to the subject by kenning and other sorts of figurative language; since kennings formed such an important element of alliterative verse forms in the Germanic languages, the riddles served the dual empirical purpose of puzzling the poet's audience and teaching the lore needed to successfully use or understand the poetic language. But riddles also served a more abstract role in Anglo-Saxon education, for they taught their listeners how to track two (or more) meanings at once in a single semantic situation, and a fortiori their very existence demonstrates that the Christian Anglo-Saxons were not inhabiting a thought-world lacking in subtlety and complexity. There are at least eighteen distinct Anglo-Saxon words describing aspects of cognitive skill [frod, ferð, onhæle, degol, cunnan, dyrne, hyge, hygecraft, hylest, heort, þencan, gleaw, sceolon, giedd, mod, sawol, heofodgimme, wis, snot(t)or, wat, swican - the list could be extended], a fact which attests to a culture valuing cognitive skills, albeit in an oral and not literate context.

Old Norse literature, though closely connected with Anglo-Saxon literature, attests to few riddles: almost all occur in one section of Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks.^[1] However, Norse mythology attests to a number of wisdom-contests, usually involving the god Odin.

Tree of the year -- a Faroese stamp depicting a traditional Faroese riddle.

But riddles were not exclusive to the Anglo-Saxons and Old Norse; they are an ancient and ubiquitous cultural phenomenon. Oedipus killed the Sphinx by grasping the answer to the riddle it posed (Oedipus Tyrannus, lines 380 onward); Samson outwitted the Philistines by posing a riddle about the lion and the beehive (Judges 14:5-18). In both cases, riddles, far from being mere child’s play, are made to decide matters of life and death. Although Plato reports that ancient Greek children did indeed engage in riddle play (Republic 479c), he also recognized the important function that riddles can play in showing what cannot literally be said about ultimate truths (Letters, book 2, 312d), as does the Hebraic Book of Proverbs which shows "how to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles" (Proverbs 1:5-6). Aristotle considered riddles important enough to include discussion of their use in his Rhetoric. He describes the close relationship between riddles and metaphors: “Good riddles do, in general, provide us with satisfactory metaphors; for metaphors imply riddles, and therefore a good riddle can furnish a good metaphor” (1405b4-6). Archer Taylor says in his book English Riddles from Oral Tradition “we can probably say that riddling is a universal art” and cites riddles from hundreds of different cultures including Finnish, Hungarian, American Indian, Chinese, Russian, Dutch and Filipino sources amongst many others. Hamnett analyzes African riddling from an anthropological viewpoint in his article “Ambiguity Classification and Change: the Function of Riddles” [Man 2(1967)pp. 379–391]. Scott analyzes Persian and Arabic riddles in “On Defining the Problem of a Structural Unit” [Genre 2(1969)pp. 129–142]. Athenaeus of Naucratis (fl. C. 200 AD) compiled a copious anthology of ancient Greek riddles citing some 1,250 authors under the title Epitome.

Charades[link]

"My first, tho’ water, cures no thirst,

My next alone has soul,

And when he lives upon my first,

He then is called my whole."

The answer to this charade is "sea-man". Another, composed by Miranda Plowsworth,^{[citation needed]} is this:

When my first is a task to a young girl of spirit,

And my second confines her to finish the piece,

How hard is her fate! but how great is her merit

If by taking my whole she effects her release!

The answer is "hem-lock".

This form of charade appeared in magazines, books, and on the folding fans of the Regency. The answers were sometimes printed on the reverse of the fan, suggesting that they were a flirting device, used by a young woman to tease her beau.^{[citation needed]}

Later examples omitted direct references to individual syllables, such as the following, said to be a favorite of Theodore Roosevelt:^{[citation needed]}

I talk, but I do not speak my mind

I hear words, but I do not listen to thoughts

When I wake, all see me

When I sleep, all hear me

Many heads are on my shoulders

Many hands are at my feet

The strongest steel cannot break my visage

But the softest whisper can destroy me

The quietest whimper can be heard.

The answer is "an actor".

The name "charades" gradually became more popularly used to refer to acted charades.^{[citation needed]} Examples of the acted charades are described in William Thackeray's Vanity Fair and in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.^{[citation needed]}

Poetic form[link]

On the Indian subcontinent, Amir Khusro made the poetic riddles popular.^{[citation needed]} An example:

(In Hindi)

Nar naari kehlaati hai,

aur bin warsha jal jati hai;

Purkh say aaway purkh mein jaai,

na di kisi nay boojh bataai.

English translation

Is known by both masculine and feminine names,

And burns up without rain;

Originates from a man and goes into a man,

But no one has been able to guess what it is.

The highlight here is nadi, or "river".

And in the form of a contemporary, English language example:

Cyanide sibilance.

Satan’s equivalence.

Folly to trust a swiller of dust.

Stripéd ambivalence.

Here, the riddle is merely implied while certain formal structures of poetry are maintained. The riddle above is one of a series of riddle poems following the same poetic rules.^[2]

Riddles as a game[link]

The Riddle Game is a formalized guessing game, a contest of wit and skill in which players take turns asking riddles. The player that cannot answer loses. Riddle games occur frequently in mythology and folklore as well as in popular literature. One prominent literary account of a riddle-game, drawing on a wider literary tradition of mythological wisdom-contests, occurs in the Old Norse Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, where the god Odin challenges King Heidrek to answer his riddles. This was influential on later literature: disguised, the god plays one such game in Richard Wagner's Siegfried. In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit Gollum challenges Bilbo Baggins to a riddle competition for his life. Bilbo breaks "the ancient rules" of the game but is able to escape with Gollum's magic ring. As happens in the Norse tale, although Bilbo asked more of a simple question than a riddle, by attempting to answer it rather than challenging it Gollum accepted it as a riddle; by accepting it, his loss was binding.

In The Grey King, the third book of Susan Cooper's fantasy sequence The Dark is Rising, Will and Bran must win a riddle game in order for Bran to claim his heritage as the Pendragon.

In Stephen King's The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands and The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass, the ka-tet must riddle against Blaine the Mono in order to save their lives. At first Blaine can answer all riddles posed to him by the ka-tet easily, but then Eddie Dean, one of the ka-tet, gains the upper hand when he starts to ask "joke riddles", effectively frustrating Blaine's highly logical mind.

A Riddle Game plays a key role in various versions of Turandot. The suitors need to answer all three questions to gain the Princess's hand, or else they are beheaded - In Puccini's opera Turandot grimly warns Calaf 'The riddles are three, but Death is one'.

Modern television[link]

In the Batman comic books, one of the hero's best known enemies is The Riddler who is personally compelled to supply clues about his upcoming crimes to his enemies in the form of riddles and puzzles. Stereotypically, they are the kind of simple riddles as described below, but modern treatments generally prefer to have the character use more sophisticated puzzles.

Contemporary riddles[link]

Contemporary riddles typically use puns and double entendres for humorous effect, rather than to puzzle the butt of the joke, as in:

When is a door not a door?

When it's ajar (a jar).

What's black and white and red (read) all over?

A newspaper.

What's brown and sounds like a bell?

Dung.

(Repeated in an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus)

Why is six afraid of seven?

Because seven eight (ate) nine.

What is yours but your friend uses more than you do?

Your name.

These riddles are now mostly children's humour and games rather than literary compositions.

Some riddles are composed of foreign words and play on similar sounds, as in:

There were two cats, 1 2 3 cat and un deux trois cat, they had a swimming race from England to France. Who won?

1 2 3 Cat because Un deux trois quatre cinq (un deux trois cat sank)

The previous plays on the fact that the French words for 4 and 5 are pronounced similar to the English words "Cat"and "Sank", hence the pun being the cat sank while also counting to 5 in French.

In other cultures[link]

Quite similar to its English counterpart, the riddle in the Philippines is called Bugtong. It is traditionally used during a funeral wake together with other games such as tong-its or the more popular sakla, later generations use Bugtong as a form of past time or as an activity. One peculiarity of the Filipino version is the way they start with the phrase Bugtong-bugtong before saying the riddle, usually it is common to create riddles that rhyme.
An example of a Tagalog Bugtong

Similarly, a bit south, in Sulawesi, Indonesia, among the Pendau, riddles are also used at funeral gatherings.^[3]

• Missing dollar riddle
• Newspaper riddle
• Oedipus and the Sphinx
• Rumpelstiltskin
• The Da Vinci Game
• Why did the chicken cross the road?

References[link]

1. ^ Alaric Hall, 'Changing Style and Changing Meaning: Icelandic Historiography and the Medieval Redactions of Heiðreks saga', Scandinavian Studies, 77 (2005), 1-30, at pp. 9-10.
2. ^ http://yaddlezap.com/riddlepoems
3. ^ [1]

External links[link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article Riddle.

Look up riddle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Riddles at the Open Directory Project – An active listing of riddle links.
• Isbell, Billy Jean. "Riddle Games among Quechua Speakers." Journal of Latin American Lore 3:1 (1977), 19-49. (pdf)

Gigi D'Agostino
Background information
Birth name	Luigino Celestino Di Agostino
Also known as	Dottor Dag, Il Folklorista, Lento Violento Man
Born	(1967-12-17) December 17, 1967 (age 44)
Origin	Turin, Italy
Genres	Italo Dance Eurodance Lento Violento House
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Arista Records, ZYX Music
Associated acts	Luca Noise, DJ Pandolfi
Website	http://www.gigidagostino.com/

Luigino Celestino Di Agostino (born 17 December 1967), better known by his stage name Gigi D'Agostino, is an Italian DJ, remixer and record producer. In 1986, he started his career as a DJ-spinning Italo Disco, and releasing his first mix, titled "Psychodelic".^[1]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Born in Turin, D'Agostino spent his childhood between his native city of Turin and Brescia, where the Media Records studios are located. As a child, D'Agostino wanted to be someone in the world of disco music. Starting out working as a stonemason and a fitter, he began his musical career as a DJ by organizing parties in clubs. His debut was in a club near Turin called "Woodstock". He was a resident DJ of an Italian disco named Ultimo Impero from 1993 to 1998.

1990s[link]

D'Agostino's first release was Noise Makers Theme, a double-A sided record with a track by Daniele Gas on the other side, which launched the Noise Maker label, under the direction of Italian house producer Gianfranco Bortolotti. D'Agostino would continue working with Gas, as well as Mauro Picotto's production team in the following years. His 1999 single "Bla Bla Bla" became a major hit in Europe. He described the single as "a piece I wrote thinking of all the people who talk and talk without saying anything!"^[2] As a DJ, D'Agostino is known as one of the "pioneers of Mediterranean Progressive Dance,"^[3] consisting of minimalistic sounds and Latin and Mediterranean melodies. As a record producer, D'Agostino's uses the pseudonym "Gigi Dag"; he transforms a piece, originally destined for the discos, into a success for the mainstream public.

After successes like the track "Sweetly", he joined the team of Bortolotti, the general manager of Media Records and suddenly reached the top of the hit parades. His single "FLY", published in 1996 with BXR Noise Maker, the label created by Media Records for the Mediterranea progressive house, reached the top of the sales in Italy. This was followed by his single "Gigi's Violin".

Subsequently, D'Agostino released the song "Angel's Symphony" with R.A.F. by Mauro Picotto, a friend from Media Records. His biggest project was the self-titled album Gigi D'Agostino, consisting of 19 tracks, which sold over 60,000 copies.

After his rise to success, D'Agostino's musical style changed, with his sound becoming more melodic, at midway between house and progressive, with more energetic and melodious sonorities and less obsessive rhythms, also known as Italo dance.

In 1997, he released the single "Gin Lemon", followed by "'Elisir (Your Love)" (1998), "Cuba Libre" (1999), and "Bla Bla Bla" (1999). He later released the album Eurodance Compilation, which contained five unpublished tracks. With this compilation, he earned a platinum disc and was awarded with the "Best Producer in 1999" award at the Italian Dance Awards. In October, D'Agostino released another hit single, entitled "Another Way".

In 1999, his album L'Amour Toujours (released in 2001 in the United States) included 23 tracks on two CDs, with the hit song "L'Amour Toujours" bringing him to the 10th position in the sales parade in Italy; as a result, he earned another Platinum Disc.

2000s[link]

In 2000, his remake of the Nik Kershaw song "The Riddle" sold 1,000,000 copies in Germany and 200,000 copies in France.^{[citation needed]} He also released the albums Tecno Fes (August 2000) and Tecno Fes - EP, Vol. 2 (December 2000).

In 2001, he released L'Amour Toujours EP, consisting of three songs: two new versions of "L'amour Toujours" and "Un Giorno Credi", a single made in collaboration with Edoardo Bennato. "Un Giorno Credi" reached the top of the parades in Italy and became one of the most played songs in the national and international music networks. He was also awarded with "Best DJ-Producer of the Year" at the "Red Bull Awards" in Italy.

In 2001, he also released the hit "Super", as a result of a collaboration with Albertino (an Italian music artist), which won him the awards "Best Dance Producer" at the PIM (Italian Music Award) and "Public Award" at the Danish DJs Award in Copenhagen, Denmark. In December of that year, he released Il Grande Viaggio, a compilation of his favourite songs, including old electronic pieces and new rhythms and melodies. As a result, he was awarded with "Best Dance Producer" at the Italian Dance Awards. D'Agostino stated during an interview with MTV that he enjoys cycling with his pigs in Rome.

In 2003, he released the song "Ripassa" in the EP Underconstruction 1: Silence, a hit which is very important for his next productions. This song helped influence Lento Violento, a subgenre that had yet to be distinguished.

On 15 July 2004, his compilation "Euro Dance" won Platinum certification with 120,000 copies sold in just a few weeks.^{[citation needed]}

D'Agostino has played in some well known clubs throughout Europe, including in Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic at the Karlovy Lázně, Germany, Switzerland, and England (in 1996, he played at the Ministry of Sound in London with Mauro Picotto).

In 2006, he created his own new record label called "Noisemaker Hard" to differentiate the style of music released under his older record label, "Noisemaker".

In 2007, D'Agostino released Lento Violento e Altre Storie, a compilation which contains two CDs and his new 35 Lento Violento songs. The most important hit is "Ginnastica Mentale"^{[citation needed]}

After some months, he released the compilation La musica che pesta under the name "Lento Violento Man", which contains two CDs for a total of 38 unmixed tracks.

From 2005 until January 2010, he had radio programs, on the Italian Radio m2o Musica allo Stato Puro (in English: "Music at the Pure State"), called "Il Cammino di Gigi D'Agostino" and "Quello che mi piace ". They consist of DJ sets played by Gigi, and featured new remixes of his songs and songs by Italian and international artists.

In August 2011, he released a digital single Stay With Me. This was released a few months after he postponed the release of his upcoming album Mondo Reale.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• A Journey into Space (1994)
• Gigi D'Agostino (1996)
• L'Amour Toujours (1999)
• Tecno Fes Vol. 2 (2000)
• All In One Night (2001)
• L'Amour Toujours II (2004)
• Disco Tanz (2005)
• Per Sempre: The Hits (2005)
• The Greatest Hits (2006)
• Some Experiments (2006)
• Lento Violento ...e altre storie (2007)
• La Musica Che Pesta (as Lento Violento Man) (2007)
• Suono Libero (2008)
• The Essential Gigi D'Agostino (2009 - Austria and Germany only)
• Ieri & Oggi Mix Vol. 1 (2010)
• Ieri & Oggi Mix Vol. 2 (1 December 2010)

EPs[link]

• Le Voyage Estate (1996)
• Gin Lemon (1997)
• Tanzen (1999)
• Tecno Fes EP (2000)
• Il Grande Viaggio EP (2001)
• Underconstruction 1: Silence E.P. (2003)
• Underconstruction 2: Silence Remix (2004)
• Underconstruction 3: Remix (2004)

Compilations[link]

• The Greatest Hits (1996)
• Il Grande Viaggio Di Gigi D'Agostino Vol. 1 (2001)
• Il programmino di Gigi D'agostino (2003)
• Benessere (2004)
• Laboratorio 1 (2004)
• Laboratorio 2 (2005)
• Laboratorio 3 (2005)

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Val Kilmer
Kilmer at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Val Edward Kilmer (1959-12-31) December 31, 1959 (age 52) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	Juilliard School (1981)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1981–Present
Spouse	Joanne Whalley (1988–1996)

Val Edward Kilmer^[1] (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer is best known for his role as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's The Doors, as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever. He became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! (1984), then the cult classic Real Genius (1985), as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a lead role in Willow.

Early life and education[link]

Kilmer was born in in Los Angeles, California,^[2][3] the son of Gladys (née Ekstadt) and Eugene Kilmer, an aerospace equipment distributor and real estate developer.^[3][4] Kilmer's grandfather was a gold miner in New Mexico;^[5] the poet Joyce Kilmer is a distant cousin of Kilmer's.^[6] Kilmer is of German, Swedish, Irish, and Cherokee descent.^[7][8] He grew up in the San Fernando Valley with his two siblings, older brother Mark and younger brother Wesley (who died at 15 due to an epileptic seizure in a swimming pool). His parents divorced when he was nine years old.^[9]

Kilmer was raised a Christian Scientist^[10] and attended Berkeley Hall School, a Christian Science school in Los Angeles, from nursery school until graduation from the 9th grade. He then attended Chatsworth High School—where his classmates included Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham—as well as the Hollywood Professional School.^[3] At the age of 17, he became the youngest person at the time to be accepted into the Juilliard School's Drama Division, where he was a member of Group 10 (1977–1981).^[11]

On May 5th, 2012, Val Kilmer was awarded an honorary doctorate of Fine Arts from William Woods University^[12].

Career[link]

1980s[link]

In 1981, Kilmer co-authored and starred in the play How It All Began,^[13] which was performed at the Public Theatre at the New York Shakespeare Festival. Kilmer turned down a role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film, The Outsiders, as he had prior theatre commitments.^[14] That same year, his first off-stage acting role (excluding television commercials) came in the form of a television short titled One Too Many, which was an educational drama on drinking and driving;^[15] it also starred a young Michelle Pfeiffer. His big break came when he received top billing in the spoof comedy Top Secret!, where he played an American rock and roll star. Kilmer sang all the songs in the film and released an album under the film character's name, "Nick Rivers".^[16]

During a brief hiatus, he backpacked throughout Europe before going on to play the lead character in the 1985 comedy Real Genius. He turned down roles in Dune and Blue Velvet^[17] before being cast as naval aviator "Iceman" in the action film Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise. Top Gun grossed a total of $344,700,000 worldwide.^[18] Following roles in the television films The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains, Kilmer played Madmartigan in the fantasy Willow; he met his future wife, co-star Joanne Whalley, on the film's set. Kilmer published a book of his poems, My Edens After Burns, in 1987, and starred in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival production of Hamlet in 1988. In 1989, Kilmer played the lead in both Kill Me Again, again opposite Whalley, and in TNT's Billy the Kid.

1990s[link]

After several delays, director Oliver Stone finally started production on the film The Doors, based on the band of the same name. Kilmer memorized the lyrics to all of lead singer Jim Morrison's songs prior to his audition, and sent a video of himself performing some Doors songs to director Stone. Stone was not impressed with the tape, but Paul Rothchild (the original producer of The Doors) said "I was shaken by it" and suggested they record Kilmer in the studio. After Kilmer was cast as Morrison, he prepared for the role by attending Doors tribute concerts and reading Morrison's poetry.^[19] He spent close to a year before production dressing in Morrison-like clothes, and spent time at Morrison's old hangouts along the Sunset Strip. His portrayal of Morrison was praised and members of The Doors noted that Kilmer did such a convincing job that they had trouble distinguishing his voice from Morrison's. Paul Rothchild played Val's version of 'The End' for Robby Krieger, and he told him "I'm really glad they got 'The End'. We never got a recording of that live with Jim and now we've got it." However, Doors keyboardist, Ray Manzarek, was less than enthusiastic with how Morrison was portrayed by director Oliver Stone's interpretation.^[20] In the early 1990s, Kilmer starred in the mystery thriller Thunderheart, action comedy The Real McCoy and again teamed with Top Gun director Tony Scott to play Elvis in True Romance, which was written by Quentin Tarantino.

In 1993, Kilmer played Doc Holliday in the western Tombstone alongside Kurt Russell, in what is credited as one of Kilmer's finest performances. 1995 saw Kilmer star in Wings of Courage, a 3D IMAX film, and that same year, he starred opposite Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat, which is now considered one of the best crime/drama films of the 1990s.^[21] In 1996, he appeared in a largely unknown film, Dead Girl, and starred alongside Marlon Brando in the poorly received^[22] The Island of Dr Moreau. That year, Kilmer starred alongside Michael Douglas in the thriller The Ghost and the Darkness. The next year he played Simon Templar in the popular action film, The Saint. In 1998, he lent his voice to the animated film The Prince of Egypt as Moses, before starring in the independent film Joe the King (1999) and playing a blind man in the drama/romance At First Sight, which he described as of then, the hardest role he had ever had.^[23]

Batman[link]

In December 1993, Batman Forever director Joel Schumacher had seen Tombstone and was most impressed with Kilmer's performance as Doc Holliday. Schumacher felt him to be perfect for the role of the Caped Crusader, though at the time, the role was still Michael Keaton's.^[24]

In July 1994, Michael Keaton decided not to return for a third Batman film after 1992's Batman Returns,^[25] due to "creative differences."^[24] William Baldwin (who previously worked with Schumacher on Flatliners) was reported to be a top contender, though just days after Keaton dropped out, Kilmer was cast.^[25] Kilmer took the role without even knowing who the new director was and without reading the script.^[24]

Released in June 1995, Batman Forever was a success at the box office,^[26] despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.^[27] There was debate about the performance of Val Kilmer; some critics charged that Kilmer, while physically fit to play Batman, more so than his predecessor Michael Keaton had been, gave a wooden performance as Bruce Wayne. Other critics though, such as Roger Ebert, had kind words for Kilmer. Batman creator Bob Kane said in a Cinescape interview that of all the actors to have played Batman up to that point (before the series was rebooted in 2005 with Christian Bale in the lead role), he felt Kilmer had given the best interpretation. Film critic Leonard Maltin (who heavily criticized the dark tone contained in Batman Returns) complimented Kilmer's portrayal when he reviewed the film for his expanding collection of film reviews, as well as being very favorable of the film as a whole. Defenders of Batman Forever praised the film for portraying Batman as a more heroic, less ruthless, and more human character than in the Tim Burton films. The film also brought the film interpretation of Bruce Wayne more into line with his comic book counterpart, showing him as a seasoned celebrity of the media and a very public figure rather than the neurotic recluse of the previous films.

In February 1996, Kilmer decided not to return for another Batman feature film, feeling that Batman was being marginalized in favor of the villains.^[28] Kilmer went on to do The Saint with a salary of $6 million.^[28] George Clooney replaced Kilmer as Batman in 1997's Batman & Robin.

2000s[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2011)

Kilmer's first role in 2000 was in the big budget Warner Bros. box office disaster^[29] Red Planet. That same year, he had a supporting role in the film Pollock and hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time. In 2002, he starred in the thriller The Salton Sea, which was generally well-reviewed,^[30] but received only a limited release.^[31] The same year, he teamed with his True Romance co-star, Christian Slater, and the two starred in the low budget film, Hard Cash, also known as Run for the Money.

In 2003, Kilmer starred alongside Kate Bosworth in the drama/thriller Wonderland, as well as appearing in The Missing, where he again worked with Willow director Ron Howard. The next year, he starred in Spartan, where he played a United States government secret agent who is assigned the task of rescuing the kidnapped daughter of the President. He received Delta Force-like training in preparation for the role.^[32] Subsequently, he had a role in the drama, Stateside, and starred (again with Slater) in the thriller Mindhunters, which was filmed in 2003 but not released until 2005. Kilmer next appeared in the big budget Oliver Stone production, Alexander, which received poor reviews.^[33] Also in 2004, Kilmer returned to the theatre to play Moses in a Los Angeles musical production of The Ten Commandments: The Musical, produced by BCBG founder Max Azria.^[34] The production played at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and also featured Adam Lambert. Kilmer had previously played Moses in the animated film The Prince of Egypt. Finally in 2004, Kilmer appeared in an episode of Entourage, where he played a Sherpa whose primary source of income was the growing, harvesting and distributing high-quality marijuana, all under a guise of metaphysical insights.

Kilmer with 50 Cent at the AMAs 2009

Kilmer was in negotiations with Richard Dutcher (a leading director of Mormon-related films) to play the lead role in a film entitled Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith, although the project never materialized.^[35] Kilmer performed in The Postman Always Rings Twice on the London stage from June to September 2005.^[36] In 2005, he co-starred with Robert Downey, Jr. in the action-comedy film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. His performance was praised and the film was well reviewed,^[37] but the film received only a limited release.^[38] It later won the award as "Overlooked Film of the Year" from the Phoenix Film Critics Society.

In 2006, he reunited with director Tony Scott a third time for a supporting role opposite Denzel Washington in the box-office hit Déjà Vu. The song "Val Kilmer" was named after him on Bowling for Soup's 2006 album The Great Burrito Extortion Case,. The song was later used for one of the Ford commercials on season 10 of American Idol in 2011. In 2007, he guest-starred in hit TV series Numb3rs episode "Trust Metric" as torture expert Mason Lancer.

In 2008, Kilmer starred alongside Stephen Dorff in the Sony and Stage 6 film Felon. The film was given only a limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles in 2008, but it developed into a success secondary to positive word of mouth.

Kilmer was the voice of the car KITT for the 2008 Knight Rider TV pilot film and the following television series. He replaced Will Arnett, who had to step down from the role due to contractual conflict with General Motors. In keeping with tradition established by the original Knight Rider series and original KITT actor William Daniels, Kilmer was uncredited for the role on-screen.

He next starred alongside Nicolas Cage in the Werner Herzog film Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and alongside Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in Streets of Blood. Both were released in 2009. He appeared as the main antagonist "Mongoose" in a live TV series adaptation of the comic/video game of XIII on NBC in 2009.

2010s[link]

In 2010, Kilmer starred in the horror film from Michael Oblowitz, The Traveler, where he played the vengeful spirit of a man who had been tortured and murdered while in police custody.

In November 2010, Kilmer was filming in Kelseyville, California; he is the lead role in the Francis Ford Coppola film Twixt. The film is being filmed mostly on Coppola's estate in Napa County. The filming is expected to take five weeks and is being independently funded by Coppola.

In 2010, Val Kilmer appeared as the villain Dieter Von Cunth in MacGruber.

In 2012, Val Kilmer appeared in Tenacious D's music video "To Be The Best" as a small cameo role.

In 2012, Val Kilmer spoke at the May 5 commencement ceremonies of William Woods University in Fulton, MO where he also received an honorary doctorate.

Mark Twain/Mary Baker Eddy project[link]

Since 2002, Kilmer has been working on a film about the life of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science church,^[39] and Mark Twain, one of her most famous critics. Kilmer is still working on the film, which is about the lives and relationship of Mary Baker Eddy and Mark Twain as "a quirky, tender, tragicomic portrait of two contrasting lives, set against the backdrop of Gilded Age America."^[40]

Personal life[link]

Kilmer reigning as King of Bacchus Parade in New Orleans during Mardi Gras in 2009

Kilmer was married to actress Joanne Whalley from March 1988 to February 1996. The two met while working together on the film Willow. The couple had two children: a daughter, Mercedes (b. October 29, 1991), and a son, Jack (b. June 6, 1995).

Even though he has had a reputation of being difficult; Warwick Davis, Kilmer's co-star from the 1988 fantasy Willow, in his audio commentary for the film said that the question he's most asked is what it was like working with Kilmer, Davis describes him as a very funny man and a hard working, dedicated actor.

Other actors have noted that he prepares for his roles extensively and meticulously. Irwin Winkler (director of At First Sight) talked about his decision to hire Kilmer. "I'd heard the stories, so I checked him out. I called Bob DeNiro and Michael Mann, who'd worked with him on Heat, and they both gave him raves... I had a wonderful experience in spite of all the naysayers."^{[citation needed]} Jeffrey Katzenberg (producer of Prince of Egypt) talks about the actor. "Val was one of the first people cast in The Prince of Egypt. He was there every step of the way; patient, understanding, and phenomenally generous with his time."^{[citation needed]}

Kilmer is also an avid musician, and released a CD in the fall of 2007, proceeds of which went to his charity interests.

Kilmer owns a ranch in New Mexico, where he hunts, tracks, hikes, fishes, and raises bison.^[39] Kilmer is also involved with The Wildlife Center of New Mexico and assists in rescuing animals and releasing them on his ranch.

He briefly flirted with running for Governor of New Mexico in 2010, but in the end declined to run.^[41]

On January 30, 2009, Kilmer was chosen to be the King of Bacchus, a parading Krewe in New Orleans, that in 1969 began the tradition of having celebrities ride in their parade as King.^[42]

Filmography[link]

References[link]