Fur flies as Scots rocker stalks Catwoman role

Published on Saturday 4 October 2008 20:01

IT'S a Hollywood cat fight. Scottish rocker-turned-actress Shirley Manson has sent the fur flying in Tinseltown by claiming that she is the ideal person to play Batman's feisty feline adversary.

The Garbage frontwoman has put herself forward for the role of Catwoman in the latest big-screen version of the superhero saga.

But the acting rookie raised eyebrows after she sunk her claws into A-listers Halle Berry and Michelle Pfeiffer, claiming their earlier portrayals of the Gotham villainess were not up to scratch.

The Edinburgh-born star recently made her acting debut in a US TV adaptation of the Terminator series.

But now she has publicly made a bid to wrench the catsuit away from current frontrunner Angelina Jolie.

Manson told MTV News: "I'd love to play Catwoman. I just think Catwoman hasn't really been fully realised yet. She is supposed to be difficult. I certainly haven't seen it.

"Halle Berry wasn't quite right. And while I liked Michelle Pfeiffer to a certain degree, I didn't think she was dangerous enough.

"She was more cute than fierce. Not enough of the beast in her. If you are going to embody a cartoon character like that you have to be a bit more inexplicable, intangible. Make it more of a mystery."

She conceded that she does not have the same level of experience as some of the others vying for the part, but hoped to catch studio bosses' attention.

"It would be good fun. I'm their girl," she said.

Her pitch for the iconic part has sparked a wave of speculation among film fans and has divided opinion Stateside.

One contributor to the influential blog Newsarama states: "Shirley Manson would be a perfect Catwoman."

But another comments cattily: "Talk about getting ideas above her station. Her acting sucks on Terminator. Who does she think she is?"

Filming of the new Batman instalment, provisionally called The Caped Crusader, is due to begin in Vancouver next year.

Manson faces a struggle if she is to land the iconic role.

American actor Aaron Eckhart, who played the villainous Two-Face in the summer Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight, has publicly backed Tomb Raider star Jolie to bring the character back to life.

He said: "I've heard Angelina Jolie really wants to do Catwoman. I think that's a fantastic idea. I'd be a happy audience member."

The 33-year-old actress is reported to have already pitched to British-born Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan.

She has already received the blessing of veteran actress Julie Newmar, who played the purring criminal in the 1960s TV adaptation of Batman.

Newmar said: "Angelina would own the part. My industry friends tell me she has made inquiries about the role. I can understand how it would pique her interest. Catwoman is Batman's one true love. She is tremendously popular with women because she is both a heroine and a villainess."

Rising star Megan Fox has also been mentioned in connection with the role. But Fox, who starred in the sci-fi blockbuster Transformers, has refused to comment on the speculation.

Rumours that Cher was in the running to land the part were shot down by studio bosses earlier this year.

Jim Littler of website Comicbookmovie.com hoped that the whip-wielding felon would be brought back. "If the franchise could use anything, it's a little sexual tension.

"Catwoman is a pretty iconic character and her relationship with Batman is complicated. It is the kind of thing Chris Nolan could handle well."

The sultry superhero was last brought to the big screen by Halle Berry in the 2004 film Catwoman, but it was a spectacular flop and mauled by critics.

Manson, 42, made her debut in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on US TV screens in the summer.

She has already revealed that her portrayal of businesswoman-turned-killer-robot Catherine Weaver was inspired by the Iron Lady.

"For some inexplicable reason I thought of Margaret Thatcher. She was a very powerful and unassailable character when I was growing up. I didn't think very kindly of her.

"She was someone who didn't have the kindest and warmest of hearts and could have been the chief executive of a company, so I looked her up on YouTube as research."

Manson also took inspiration from Glenn Close's "bunny-boiling" mistress in Fatal Attraction for the role.

Manson first came to prominence as a backing singer in the 1980s Scottish group Goodbye Mr Mackenzie. In the 1990s she joined American rockers Garbage and sold millions of albums around the world.

The singer will have to rely on her acting skills to portray a criminal mastermind, but has admitted shoplifting clothes from Miss Selfridge as well as breaking into Edinburgh Zoo in a teenage prank.