Should-be Oscar winner Michael Keaton may have been robbed of his divine right to win an Oscar for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), but that doesn’t mean he is out of the business. He is still lining projects up, and certainly more than he was a couple of years ago. So, I think, ultimately, everything is going to be all fine. And who knows, maybe his film The Founder will be the one that gets him that golden statue.
The film will tell the story of how McDonald’s became an empire started by Ray Kroc (Keaton) and The Weinstein Company has stepped in and will distribute. They certainly know how to make an Oscar campaign, and you pair that alongside director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks) and it’s hard not to see this as a true contender in the future. Hopefully, that doesn’t make it boring, which it could certainly turn into. I’ll just hope writer Robert D. Siegel (The Wrestler, Big Fan) can make it interesting.
I also don’t know what tone this film could take. Hancock suggests a bland, vaguely cheery vibe, but Siegel suggests something very dark. So, I am very curious about this one. Very, very curious, as I am with any film starring Keaton.
Original report from The Wrap.
