Michael Keaton talks Birdman and having zero interest in Batman films

By Jesse Giroux

Posted 12 years ago

There are a bunch of great looking movies hitting theaters this fall, and the one I want to see the most is Alejandro Iñárritu's BIRDMAN. Sorry Christopher Nolan, INTERSTELLAR looks amazing and all, but BIRDMAN is at the top of my list. The film stars Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson, a washed-up actor who use to play an iconic superhero, and is trying to make a comeback with a Broadway play. I've been excited for the project ever since it was announced, and I was sold on BIRDMAN after the first trailer was released.

Michael Keaton is featured on the cover for the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, and EW wanted to know if his Riggan Thompson was easier to relate to compared to other characters he has played, since like Thompson, Keaton's post-superhero movie career hasn't exactly been smooth sailing.

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The truth is that I was playing a person, just a person. And I was both as connected to Riggan and as disconnected from him as you can possibly be. And I have to tell the truth about that.

Keaton went on to talk about how he has never finished watching any of the Batman flicks, and doesn't know why people keep asking him if Ben Affleck will make a decent Dark Knight in Zack Snyder's BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE.

Chris Nolan is great, but I’ve never seen any of the Batman movies all the way through. I know they’re good. I just have zero interest in those kinds of movies. I mean, people are asking me, ‘Is Ben Affleck going to be any good?’ And my attitude is, First of all, why would you ask me? Second, he’s probably going to be very good, and third, frankly, it’s all set up now so that you’re weirdly kind of safe. Once you get in those suits, they really know what to do with you. It was hard then; it ain’t that hard now.

I love how Keaton says "Why would they ask me?" like his opinion on Batman and Ben Affleck playing the character doesn't matter. In the grand scheme of things it really doesn't, but obviously people are curious to know his thoughts on Batfleck.

But who needs BATMAN when you've got BIRDMAN? Early reviews for the film have been fantastic, and I absolutely can't wait to see Keaton's new movie.

BIRDMAN opens on October 17, 2014.

Source: EW

Tags: Alejandro IÃ±Ã¡rritu, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough, Birdman, Comedy, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts, Natalie Gold, Zach Galifianakis

About the Author

Jesse Giroux

2,709 Articles Published

Favorite Movies: American Beauty/Psycho/Splendor/History X, 12 Monkeys, Schindler's List, About Schmidt, Fargo, Blazing read more Saddles, Bringing Out the Dead, Rushmore, Dark City, The Dark Knight, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Funny Games, God Bless America, High Fidelity, Igby Goes Down, L.A. Confidential, Leon, Magnolia, Memento, Shaun of the Dead, Se7en, Reservoir Dogs, Adaptation, There Will be Blood, Happiness, I Heart Huckabees, Grosse Pointe Blank, Frailty, The Vengeance Trilogy, In Bruges, Sunshine, Scanners, Team America, City of God, Four Lions, Requiem for a Dream, The Blues Brothers, The Road, Tae Gook Gi, Children of Men

Likes: Hunter S. Thompson, comics, Doonesbury, anything involving Graham Linehan and Charlie read more Brooker, people having nightmares after I've made them watch Jam, Beck, David Grohl, hard ciders, PT Anderson, Stephen King, Dylan Moran, Big Fat Quiz of the Year, cupcakes, The Boondocks, Andy Kaufman, Bill Murray

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