Michael Keaton Wasn't Impressed The First Time He Read The 1989 'Batman' Script

Kirsten AcunaOct 12, 2014, 10:36 IST

Mike Coppola/Getty ImagesEdward Norton and Michael Keaton on the "Birdman" panel Friday at NYCC. Keaton recalls the first time he read Tim Burton's "Batman" script.

We're learning a lot about Batman at New York Comic Con. George Clooney apologized Thursday to fans for his role in 1997's "Batman & Robin." Friday during a panel for "Birdman," Michael Keaton recalled his first experience with Tim Burton's 1989 Batman script. Though the movie went on to become a big success, Keaton says when he first read the script, he wasn't sure Burton's version of the Caped Crusader could be adapted to the big screen. "When Tim called and I took the first ... the original Batman script home and I read it and I thought, 'Oh, this is interesting. And I, unlike Ed[ward Norton], was mostly unfamiliar with any of the superhero books and wasn't really that big of a comic book reader," recalled Keaton.

"So I went and read it and I thought, 'Oh, well this is never … I mean not the way I see this movie," he added. "I can't imagine anyone making this movie the way I see the character, but I sure am glad to read it." Keaton continued. 'I blew threw it and then I met Tim the next day ... He says, 'What do you think?' I go 'All right. You want me to tell you what do I think?' He goes, 'Yeah.' … And I start to go down the list and I say it's this, it's this, he's this, he's this, and this.'" Keaton said he couldn't really read Burton's expressions. "Tim used to have that really long, great hair," said Keaton. "And all I remember is him … we were sitting in a window and he was just going …" Keaton started bobbing his head back and forth for the crowd. "His hair was going up and down," Keaton continued. "He just kept nodding. And I go, 'Is he nodding because he agrees with me or is he just nodding you know ... I don't know why he was nodding." Keaton described the director as smiling and getting uneasy and "kind of looking excited" before finally going, "'Okay ... They're not gonna make that are they?' and he says, 'I don't know. Let's find out.'" Of course, Warner Bros. gave the film the green light.

"Batman" ended up making $411 million worldwide on an estimated $35 million budget. Burton and Keaton returned for 1992 sequel "Batman Returns" which made under $270 million at theaters.

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Michael Keaton Wasn't Impressed The First Time He Read The 1989 'Batman' Script