Entertainment

January 7, 2005

By PHILIP WUNTCH / The Dallas Morning News

Michael Keaton's affable yet authoritative demeanor suggests a high-school teacher who's liked by most of the students. He doesn't seem like someone who would attract the supernatural.But one of his first big hits was playing "the ghost with the most" in 1988's Beetlejuice. He was the Dark Knight in the first two Batman movies, 1989's Batman and 1992's Batman Returns. And now, he hears the voice of his murdered wife in White Noise, which opens Friday.

The film explores Electronic Voice Phenomenon, commonly called EVP, the process by which the dead allegedly communicate with the living, courtesy of modern technology. Mr. Keaton hadn't heard of it until he read the script.

"I didn't know it existed," he said in a recent Dallas visit. "Then, six weeks into filming, I learned how fascinated people are by it. My housekeeper is totally intrigued by it, and I didn't even know she knew what it was. There are Web sites devoted strictly to EVP."

In the film, Mr. Keaton's character goes from skeptic to zealot, and he feels that his early ignorance of EVP helped him progress convincingly onscreen.

"When you think about how much technology there is, with cellphones, satellite dishes, DVDs, VHS, you realize that we've evolved technologically 20 times faster than we have emotionally."

Mr. Keaton was born 53 years ago and grew up in Pittsburgh. He was the youngest in "a big Catholic family that went to church all the time," an upbringing that may sound at odds with the fundamentals of EVP.

"I'm not truly sold on EVP, but not because it goes against some religious beliefs. I don't understand organized religion. I have respect for it. I would never put down anyone who believed in it. But I don't understand it. They all say that theirs is the only way. I think religion should be very open-handed."

A complicated issue to be sure, but it's actually the simplicity and smaller scale of White Noise that satisfies him. It's a path Mr. Keaton has been on since relinquishing the Batman franchise.

"That's one of the things I like about White Noise," he says. "It's done in a straight-forward, linear style. People don't admire complicated thought. They have to go home and feed the family. They don't want complications. That's why John Kerry wasn't elected. People felt that he thought too much."

Even with Batman Begins scheduled as a summer release, starring Christian Bale in the title role, he says he never regrets surrendering the role.

"I saw the last two Batman movies, and they were just what I thought they would be. Just a lot of special effects. I wanted them to do what they're doing now with Batman Begins. I wanted them to go back and tell the origin of Batman.

"I'm looking forward to the new Batman," he says convincingly. "Christian Bale is such a good actor. He can brood and he can be droll, which is what you need for Batman."

And as with Batman's onscreen sex appeal, Mr. Bale should prepare himself for a wave of interest from women moviegoers.

"I've got a strong female following due to Batman, and I'm sure Christian will, too," Mr. Keaton says. "I still get letters. Funny is attractive to women. That's something I learned early, and I tried to make Batman wry and droll."

Though he is divorced from the mother of his 21-year-old musician son, Sean, he maintains that he has a "great opinion of the female gender," similar to his current character.

"In White Noise, I have three solid relationships with women," he says. "There's my wife. There's a woman I become friends with through EVP. And, hey, I even get along with my ex-wife. Dr. Phil has seen this movie, and he loves it."

E-mail pwuntch@dallasnews.com