Michael Keaton – the second-best big screen Batman of all time, and certainly the finest Beetlejuice ever – may not be a big star anymore, but he’s still a quality actor, and Empire’s always heartened when he signs onto any new project, such as The Post-Grad Survival Guide, for instance.
Keaton today signed on, along with US comedy legend Carol Burnett, Friday Night Lights (the TV version) Zach Gilford and 300’s Rodrigo Santoro, to co-star alongside Alexis Bledel in the comedy, which is about a young girl who is forced to move in with her wacky family, while she re-evaluates her life after graduating from college.
There’s no official word yet on Keaton’s role, but we’d give you pretty short odds that he’ll play Bledel’s father, while Burnett may well, given her age (she’s 74), play Bledel’s grandmother. Surely she can’t be married to Keaton’s character? That’s just… icky.
Gilford is in final negotiations to play Bledel’s love interest, while Santoro will play a neighbour who becomes her friend and confidante. But, if Empire is any judge of romantic comedy conventions (and God knows, we are), we’d say that he’ll compete for her affections and turn out to be something of a cad.
The movie, which begins filming on Monday in LA, will be directed by Shrek co-director Vicky Jenson, marking her first foray into live action. Fox Atomic will pick up the cheque.