What if you could use AI to communicate with a deceased loved one? It’s an idea that—just a few years ago—seemed like science fiction. Heck, there was even a Black Mirror episode, “Be Right Back,” built around that idea, which now seems prescient. With AI evolving so quickly, how long until it can create avatars of our lost loved ones that we can speak to? It’s a strange thing to consider—but what would that even be like? One person keen to explore the question is none other than Michael Keaton, whose short film, Sweetwater, premieres this weekend at the Leander Film Festival in Texas.
In the movie, which Keaton directed from a script by his son, Sean Douglas, Keaton plays Robert Rogers, a man who returns to his childhood home and winds up meeting a holographic, internet-trained AI projection of his deceased mother, a celebrity named Bettie Rogers, played by Kyra Sedgwick. The project is backed by Google’s “AI on Screen” initiative, although the film was shot traditionally, with no generative AI used to replace actors.
Michael Keaton and Sean Douglas on AI
Keaton and his son took the time to chat with us via email about their project. One thing I was curious about was Keaton’s own perspective on generative AI, considering that videos using the technology to recreate his version of Batman are already floating around. What would it be like to see his own likeness used in such a way? Keaton admitted he’s not a huge participant in current technology of any kind, but he does find the ideas surrounding AI “potentially” interesting.
“Potentially is the key word.”
Douglas sees AI as transformative, but acknowledges that not all the possible outcomes are good ones.
“I don’t think I’m qualified to be a prognosticator on the long term outcomes but clearly it’s already proving to be transformative. It seems like it will be a mixed bag of some incredible breakthroughs in science, medicine, etc as well as a lot of the scarier scenarios people have predicted as well. And somewhere in the mix, people may have surreal personal experiences like the one Robert (played by Keaton) has in our story.”
Yet the film itself notably did not use generative AI for its performances. Keaton admitted the shoot was a challenge, as he and Sedgwick only had two days together to make the movie. In the end, though, it was just “two actors working.”
Growing up with Michael Keaton as your dad
The collaboration between Keaton and his son is interesting in the context of the film, which follows a man whose mother was a celebrity—an experience Douglas can speak to firsthand. I asked him what it was like growing up with his father as a household name.
“Both my parents were actors and what they always stressed about their work was that, while it was an unconventional job, and one they were very fortunate to make careers of, that it was a job at the end of the day. They legitimized the idea of an artistic pursuit as a viable career without putting it up on a lofty pedestal. I would visit set a lot as a kid so I saw how it was all made while still being wowed. As far as my relationship with my dad’s movies, I loved them as a kid and still love watching them now. Johnny Dangerously is a personal favorite of mine.”
Keaton, for his part, said he loved working with his son and hopes to collaborate with him again. “He’s a wonderful collaborator, and I honestly cherished the experience.” Douglas is an in-demand songwriter, having written songs for everyone from Demi Lovato to Selena Gomez and Kelly Clarkson. With Douglas composing the soundtrack, I asked for his thoughts on the current state of scoring in the industry.
“Some of my favorite contemporary composers are Jonny Greenwood and Jon Brion. I think Nathan Micay’s music for Industry is great and I loved Ari Balouzian’s score for You Can See Everything.”
Michael Keaton on sharing a name with Michael Douglas
One interesting detail is that Sean uses his father’s birth surname, Douglas. Michael Keaton, famously, is actually named Michael Douglas—the same as the legendary actor and producer. It turns out the two have been friends for years and have shared a laugh over the situation.
“He’s a wonderful dinner pal even though he and I have only shared a few,” Keaton said.
On the experience of sharing the name, he added: “Absolutely weird (I guess would be the word) and really don’t like it much as I age.”
He did mention, though, that for his directorial work, he goes by Michael Keaton Douglas, the name he has registered with the DGA.
Looking back at Clean and Sober
One of my favorite Keaton performances has always been in the addiction drama Clean and Sober, which was arguably the movie that put him in the running for Batman, as it showed he was more than up to the task of headlining a drama.
Keaton is currently directing and starring in the Western Road to Ruin, and it reunites him with his co-star from that film, Morgan Freeman. Keaton says he recently introduced a screening of Clean and Sober at a fundraiser in Santa Fe.
“I really like that movie.”
The inaugural edition of the Leander Film Festival wraps up this weekend.
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