2 Men Plead Not Guilty to Filming of ‘Batman’

Two men pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of sneaking into Warner Bros. studios with fake passes and illegally shooting photographs and movie film on the set of “Batman and Robin”--then selling the material to the television show “Inside Edition.”

Michael Carri, 26, of Studio City, who had been an extra on the movie, and Gary DeRosa, 35, of Hollywood, were arraigned on charges of burglary, trespassing, possession of stolen property and forgery of government documents, a Burbank Municipal Court clerk said.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled Dec. 16.

An alleged accomplice, Kimberly Weiant, 29, of Hollywood is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on counts of burglary, trespassing and forgery, the court clerk said.

The studio also will pursue the case in federal court and seek damages for copyright infringement and trade-secret violations, said Rob Friedman, a studio spokesman.

Studio executives first learned someone had been sneaking onto the set when “Inside Edition” aired behind-the-scenes film, Friedman said.

One segment was shot Sept. 13 at a Long Beach location and featured actors George Clooney--playing Batman--Elle MacPherson and Uma Thurman. The second installment was shot Oct. 4 at Warner’s Burbank studios, and featured Clooney, Thurman and Chris O’Donnell, who plays Robin.

After studio attorneys contacted “Inside Edition” and the show refused to reveal its sources, Warner security and production personnel came up with Carri as a suspect after reviewing film from studio security cameras.

Friedman said Carri and his accomplices returned Oct. 19, because they knew that was the day Arnold Schwarzenegger was due to play the character “Mr. Freeze.”

“They had become really bold,” said director Joel Schumacher. “[Carri] marched in, came up to Arnold and took several pictures.”

Security and production personnel apprehended the three as they tried to leave the lot and handed them over to the Burbank Police Department, Sgt. Doyle Holm said.

“When we announced they were caught, there was a big cheer [on the set],” Schumacher said.

Police allegedly found a still camera--with 35 exposed frames of Schwarzenegger--in Carri’s sock, and his hat was equipped with a wire to operate a hidden camera, although no camera was found, according Friedman.

Carri allegedly also had a note in his pants that read: “Batman only--$35,000” and a scribbled phone number.

Weiant allegedly had several 8-millimeter film cases with footage of Clooney, and more film in her car, Friedman said.

The film’s release is scheduled for June.