Maverick Spirit Event - Michael Keaton

Running time: N/A

With Michael Keaton, one always gets the feeling that there?s more going on inside than he?s willing to reveal, no matter his manic sensibility, machine gun like banter, or the sarcastic, oftentimes sardonic lines he spits out like lit firecrackers. Behind those hypnotic eyes and the animated eyebrows that can arch devilishly upward in an instant, more often than not there seems to be information he wants to keep close to the vest, information that enables him to stay one step ahead of everyone else. He?s the ultimate wise guy with the smarts to back it up; a Maverick supremely confident in his vision of the world and fiercely determined to live life on his terms.

A Coraopolis, Pennsylvania native, Michael Keaton moved to Los Angeles as a young man after working for a while at a Pittsburgh Public TV station. He burst into the movies in Ron Howard?s Night Shift, where he virtually torched the screen as the aptly named, fast-talking, wildly inventive morgue worker turned brothel operator Bill Blazejowski. He followed up with starring roles in such popular films as Mr. Mom, Johnny Dangerously and Dream Team.

In 1998, Keaton earned the best actor award from the National Society of Film Critics for Clean and Sober and Tim Burton?s Beetlejuice. In Beetlejuice, Keaton pulled out all stops as the weirdly off-the-wall title character and impressed Burton enough with his talent and intensity that the director cast him as the title character in Batman and Batman Returns amidst howling protests from the comic book?s ardent fans. They needn?t have worried. Keaton silenced the critics with a strong and sensitive, multi-layered performance that set the standard for all others who would don the cape in subsequent films.

Keaton received a Golden Globe nomination for his depiction of Robert Weiner in HBO?s critically-acclaimed Live From Baghdad, based on a true story of the CNN crew who reported from Baghdad during the Gulf War. Keaton was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his recent role in the TNT mini-series The Company, a dramatic story of how the CIA operated during the Cold War.

Over the years Keaton has continued to expand his range as an actor, while maintaining the core brilliance of an intelligent, wisecracking free spirit. With a slight dash of irony, Keaton has returned to his early roots in show business when he worked as a Mr. Roger?s Neighborhood cameraman. He was behind the camera again, but this time it was to direct his first feature film, The Merry Gentlemen, which has already garnered considerable buzz. What territory Michael Keaton ventures into next is anybody?s guess. What is certain, however, is that wherever he?s headed, he?ll likely be going his own way, taking the Maverick path.

Cinequest is honored to welcome Michael Keaton for a spectacular event at the California Theatre. This special moderated event will be followed by a presentation of Cinequest?s Maverick Spirit Award to Mr. Keaton for his continuing career.

Michael Keaton?s event will be moderated by Jennifer Siebel. Jennifer is a producer and actress, having appeared in numerous films and television series (including last year?s Cinequest hit The Trouble with Romance). Jennifer commits herself to social causes around the globe, having worked at a children?s hospital in Ecuador and assisting indigenous communities in Costa Rica, to name just a couple. Jennifer?s abundant energy is apparent in everything she is involved with and her passion and creativity for the arts has no bounds.

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Cinequest Film Festival 18