This is my favorite photo to come out of last weekends SAGs … Michael Keaton and Edward Norton hanging out with their best ensemble awards. Both of them were Oscar nominated for Birdman, and it’s going to be over three weeks before we find out the winners.

Keaton did an Oscar-promoting feature in the February issue of Esquire. The interview is all over the place. I was very excited to read this article, but it’s terrible. The journo flew to Montana (because Esquire can’t do a freaking normal interview) and hung out at Keaton’s ranch, and still, nothing. A big void of nothing. Whereas other journos have recently extracted some rather compelling discussions from the man. I apologize for this vat of nonsense. The journo doesn’t like Keaton because he “speaks like a lot of water going over a cliff.” One part of this talk sticks out for me:

Tim Burton on Keaton: “Michael is always on, he has an intensity of discipline. He doesn’t follow any traditional path. He refuses. My original thought for Beetlejuice was Sammy Davis Jr. But then I met with Michael and he immediately started making the character. Blew me away. He’s a master improviser. And then when it came to Batman, I’d been meeting with these beefy action-hero types, then Michael arrives, working at the opposite pole from Beetlejuice. He comes in with this whole psychology, approaching it with an almost manic-depressive quality in mind. I thought: Now I get it. There’s a reason that guy dresses up like a bat. Those crazy blue eyes, peering out of that rubber cocoon. It’s a terrible thing to do to a good actor. Michael handled it with his eyes. That time with Michael, working on Beetlejuice and Batman, that was the most profoundly creative time in my career, every day was exciting. I miss it.”

Keaton on his hiatus: “I don’t know. That’s what I always say. I mean, that’s where I was. I just decided that I won’t do a lot of things. Financially there were probably parts where I could have done quite well, and I thought: That’s not what I am. It’s bullsh*t. I’m lying. I won’t do it. And you pay a price financially. And I go: That’s okay. I’m gonna put that on me. You’re gonna fail or you’re not gonna fail. You’re gonna win. Or you’re not. And I love to win. I f***ing love to win. And when it comes down to it, I’m gonna find a way. So there was no real plan. I didn’t want to be bored. And I get bored easily. And I’d hear myself. I see myself. I’d think: You’ve done this a thousand times. You know. That voice. That trick. So I always tried to find things that were hard enough that I remained interested. Sometimes I won, sometimes I didn’t.”

On being recognized: “Guys will come up to me and say, ‘I’ll always remember you in this, for that one kinda guy.’ I’m not saying I don’t like it. Anyone who says they don’t like it when people compliment you is a f***ing liar. But what I really like is when someone says, ‘You did this thing once, this thing that nobody ever did before. I believed it.’ I like it when people get specific about things.”

On photoshoots: “I hate it, most actors do. There’re only a few photographers I’ve ever felt really comfortable with. You know, I don’t like doing that big, jumping-around, smiling, happy thing, let’s-play-some-sh*tty-music, dance around the studio like we’re all digging it. I really kind of hate it. Uh, so I’d rather just, you know, make it simple, straightforward.”

[From Esquire]

Esquire has a long history of throwing celebrities under the bus. The journo for this piece was Tom Chiarella. He’s the same guy who picked apart Matthew McConaughey after McConaughey put him up for the weekend and let him attend a celebrity party. He also made us question Brooklyn Decker’s intelligence and made Bruce Willis look neurotic. In this piece Chiarella notes that Keaton calls and emails him several times before and after the interview. Keaton was very specific about what he wanted from the shoot and kept talking about how worried he was. Chiarella and his editor seemed puzzled: “Movie stars, don’t do this, you know. They don’t call. They just don’t, not to help.” For the record, I don’t think Keaton was trying to be overbearing. He’s nervous about being “a movie star” again. I think he was also trying to be a good host to Chiarella (who wasn’t having it) in Montana. Esquire’s feature was a lost opportunity (and rude to Keaton).

The one part I enjoyed was Tim Burton’s admission. Working with Keaton was “the most profoundly creative time” for him! More than working with Helena or Johnny Depp. Interesting. FYI: Winona Ryder confirmed Beetlejuice 2 is happening.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN