Michael Keaton is back, though he didn't really leave
Actor Michael Keaton earned high praise for roles in "Beetlejuice," "Clean and Sober," "Mr. Mom," and Tim Burton's 1989 "Batman," among others. But then, it seemed, he disappeared from the Hollywood landscape.
Where has he been? For much of the time, at his Montana ranch, where Keaton says he's been living a regular life while fielding offers for movie parts -- just not the kinds of roles he wanted.
On CBS' "Sunday Morning" October 12, correspondent Lee Cowan catches up with Keaton, who says he's just been "a person living life. It's not very complicated. I mean, certainly, I didn't drop out. There were a lot of people who weren't knocking on my door, but there were some people knocking on my door, and I was going, 'That's not really what I want to do.'"
Keaton also admits he lost interest in the business. "Yeah, I got tired," he tells Cowan, "I got bored of hearing myself."
But Keaton finally found something he couldn't turn down, and is back on the big screen with the critically-praised "Birdman (or, the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)," in which he plays an actor who became a household name for playing a comic book superhero, the Birdman, a role that haunts the rest of his career. The film (having its U.S. premiere this Saturday at the New York Film Festival, before opening in theatres Oct. 17) revolves around the actor trying to mount a comeback on Broadway to prove himself.
The similarities to his "Birdman" character and his own career are pure coincidence, Keaton says, adding that nothing in his career has been as demanding as "Birdman," because the film was shot in long, unbroken takes.
"It was the most intense thing I'll probably ever do," he said.
In addition to his latest film and to life in Montana, Keaton talks with Cowan about his career, his film choices, and why he turned down "Batman III."
Keaton says he's not one of those "I hate Hollywood guys," adding, "People make, I think, more out of that than, 'I gotta get away.'" Indicating his Montana ranch, "I don't know how not to live like this."
To watch a trailer for "Birdman" click on the video player below.
"Sunday Morning," hosted by Charles Osgood, is broadcast on Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET on the CBS Television Network. Repeat broadcasts are also carried by the Smithsonian Channel.
For more on the show go to cbssundaymorning.com.
For more info:
- "Birdman" (Official site)