Batman Following
The 1998 indie thriller Following is notable for more than the fact that it’s a critically-acclaimed, award-winning independent film. It also happens to be the first full feature film written/directed by Christopher Nolan, who has now written/directed three of the most popular and successful comic-based movies ever. Seven years before Batman Begins scored big-time with Bat-fans and movie audiences worldwide, Nolan’s Following premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and over the next year achieved a following of its own. Made on a wafer-thin budget of $6,000, Following managed to earn nearly $50K at the box office even with extremely limited distribution. But like you care about any of this. What you might care about, however, is that Following includes a subtle reference in the background that foreshadows… perhaps even predicts the Bat-legacy that Nolan would later achieve. Note the sticker on the door as it appears in the film: