‘Dark Knight’ parody wins local actor YouTube fame

Wesley Freitas, an aspiring actor from Maui living in L.A., views his music video "Batman Maybe" as a marriage made in pop culture heaven.

But he’s stunned that the video he wrote, directed and starred in — a parody of "The Dark Knight Rises"set to Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit song "Call Me Maybe" — has become a viral sensation on YouTube.

By week’s end "Batman Maybe" had been viewed more than 814,000 times in less than two weeks.

"I just wanted it to be made and do something funny and watch people watch it," Freitas said. "Now I’m being asked in emails, ‘Would you mind directing something for me, this music video or commercial?’"

Of course he says yes, but with a small disclaimer: The sum total of his directing experience is in that video.

The 30-year-old Freitas describes himself as a Batman nerd. He had purchased tickets two months before the premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises" and was spinning potential lyrics through his head.

He was so inspired after the midnight screening, he went home and wrote until dawn, blending material from the movie and humor for Batman afficionados. But after the theater shootings at the film’s premiere in Colorado, Freitas nearly scrapped the project.

A few days later, though, he concluded he was simply making his video as a Batman fan.

"Batman Maybe" focuses on a scene from the movie where Blake, the character played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, confronts Bruce Wayne about his secret identity as Batman. Freitas plays the part of Blake and sings in the video.

He cast Russ Russo as Wayne because he closely resembled the movie’s star, Christian Bale.

In fact, Freitas had specifically kept Russo’s contact information after he met him three years ago while working on "CSI: Miami" because of the Bale resemblance.

Russo had to be convinced that this whacky concept was worth doing and agreed in order to support Freitas in his creative journey. But now Russo can’t go to his favorite coffee shop without being recognized.

FREITAS, a Kamehameha Schools alumnus who graduated from Chapman University in 2004 with a degree in mass communications and a minor in film, has been in a handful of indie shorts as well as a few TV commercials, including one for Old Navy and another for Johnnie Walker. He pays his bills, though, as a partner in Sires Eyewear and makes wood frames for sunglasses.

His video was put together largely with the help of former Chapman classmates with production expertise and a few who just fell in love with the lyrics. "I begged, borrowed and asked for favors," Freitas said.

When he realized his business partner’s wife looked like Catwoman, she got the part. The musical instruments were on loan from musicians he knows. He found the Batman costume, valued at $2,500, through a friend of a friend — but Freitas first had to assure the owner there would be no combat involved in the shoot.

"I recorded the song at my friend’s house in his closet," Freitas said. "And I’m not a singer by any means, although I frequent karaoke bars."

The project came together over a two-week "run and gun" process, including two long days of shooting, Freitas said. It was available on YouTube on Aug. 5.

"I had all the faith in the world that if people saw it, they would love it," he said.

But that’s a big "if." Unless your video is connected to an established online presence, it could easily vanish in the large volume of material on YouTube, Freitas said. And that’s what makes his little ditty special.

"It’s unbelievable," he said. "I was really just hoping and praying that people would see it."

AND that’s a wrap. …