By Mary Ann Georgantopulos

As producer of the Batman films, Michael Uslan took the stage Tuesday night in the Curry Student Center Ballroom and blurted out two numbers: 528 million and 1 billion, the numbers “The Dark Knight” made in US theaters and the closing numbers in international theaters, respectively.

“Forget the numbers,” he then said as he ripped a sheet of paper. “It’s not about the numbers. The numbers ruin the point. It’s all about the dream.”

Uslan was on campus as part of the Council of University Programs (CUP) HallowEEK and seemed to inspire a crowd of about 50 students with a recount of his journey from a self-proclaimed comic book geek to producer of blockbuster hits.

“We wanted to bring Michael Uslan to Northeastern as a change-up in the events because of the election going on,” said CUP Lectures Chair Alexis Tashjian. “We thought it would be a fun event for people to go to during HallowEEK.”

Uslan said by the time he was in the sixth grade he had collected about 20,000 comic books. Growing up he said he always dreamed of bringing the darker side of Batman to the big screen, but he said the problem was that he did not come from a family of wealth or status and did not know anyone in Hollywood.

“My name is not Warner and I don’t have any brothers,” he said.

Throughout the lecture, Uslan stressed the importance of getting one foot in the door and seizing opportunities.

Uslan said when he was a junior at Indiana University in the early ’70s, he proposed the idea of teaching a course on comics. When he showed up in front of a panel to present his proposal, fully decked in a Spiderman T-shirt and love beads, he was called “crazy” and rejected.

He said he did not give up and continued to persuade the panel that comic books are an indigenous American art form, comparable to jazz.

“It’s modern day mythology,” Uslan said. “The ancient gods of Greece still exist, but now in spandex and a cape. They then called him Poseidon, I call him Aquaman.”

Uslan became the world’s first comic book professor and he said his new teaching gig made headlines across the country.

Throughout his undergraduate studies and later through law school, Uslan said he never let go of his dream of bringing the darker side of Batman to the silver screen.

Freshman physical therapy major Bryan Munoz said he was impressed by Uslan’s persistence.

“He never gave up,” Munoz said. “He had the guts and was hard working. He had a dream and believed in it, and look at him now.”

In October 1979, Uslan bought the rights to Batman, but was rejected by most major Hollywood studios. It was not until seven years later that director Tim Burton grew attached to the idea of a Batman movie, he said.

When Jack Nicholson was cast to play the Joker, Uslan said he was on cloud nine, and when Michael Keaton’s name was presented to play Batman, he said he thought it was a joke.

“Yeah, that’s a great idea, cast a stand-up comedian to play Batman – that will do well for the dark side of the story,” he said.

But once Uslan watched Keaton’s performance in the film “Clean and Sober,” he said he was convinced the actor would make a great Batman.

When talking about “The Dark Knight,” and the the death of Heath Ledger, who played the Joker in the film, Uslan said it was a performance of a lifetime.

“When you see the work an actor is capable of doing, it’s almost enough to make your head spin around,” he said. “I hope the Academy honors him for that.”

Uslan ended the night by reinforcing the ideas of hard work and persistence.

“The only thing I can guarantee you is that doors will slam in your face,” Uslan said. “It will happen, I promise you. You then have two choices: go home and cry about it, or pick yourself up, dust yourself off and knock on doors again and again until your knuckles bleed. I can’t fathom any other way your dream can come true.”

Some students said they were inspired by Uslan’s story of how he went from zero to hero.

“The Batman movies changed my life,” said Jesus Rodriguez, a junior music industry major. “It’s so interesting to see the evolution of all his struggles and to see where he’s come to today.”