On a cloudless January day in 1966, Los Angeles was such a dull small town that children could be alerted to something as small a skywriter at work. My parents must have been watching the Rose Bowl, as they did every New Year's Day. In those days we lived five miles or so away from the arena, on the heights over the Arroyo Seco. They saw the plane on TV buzzing the big game and urged me to go outside and have a look. Up in the sky, the small plane, low enough that you could hear the drone of the engine, spelled out the words in smoke B-A-T-M-A-N I-S C-O-M-I-N-G.

Finally. After God knows how many trailers, TV spots, viral sites, movie posters, merchandise, fan art, contests, Batman Anonymous meetings ("Hi, my name is Earth ... and I'm addicted to Batman), and an assortment of tomfoolery, The Dark Knight will officially arrive in theaters this Friday. And I've heard shows are already sold out through March 2011. Right on! That said, this might be the week you want to reflect back and read your favorite Batman comics, watch your favorite Batman movies, or spend some alone time with your favorite Batman.

Which brings us to this week's super awesome Monday Morning Poll: Who is your favorite Batman? For this we're sticking solely to folks who've played the Caped Crusader on the big screen. Since a lot of Bat-fans have come to adore Kevin Conroy's voice performance, we'll include both live action and animated versions. For me, it's a toss up between Christian Bale and Michael Keaton. Bale has the looks and the charm, but Keaton had that "insanity factor" -- one look in his eyes and you knew this guy had a few screws loose. Tough choice. Where do you stand?

The title of Michael Keaton's directorial debut -- The Merry Gentleman -- is meant to be pretty ironic, because the only true gentleman in the movie is anything BUT merry. He is, as a matter of fact, a cold-blooded assassin who contemplates suicide after completing every contract. Even the normally perky Kelly Macdonald is generally quite miserable too, here playing a woman on the run from an abusive husband -- and a woman who just (unknowingly) became friends with that assassin guy.

Professional hitman Frank Logan is at the end of his rope. Clearly fed up with a life spent taking lives, Frank finishes up his latest contract, and then hops onto a rooftop ledge and considers a long plunge. At that same moment, on street level, a sweet young lady named Kate looks up to appreciate the new snowflakes -- and catches a glimpse of Frank. She screams, he slips and falls (backwards), and when the cops show up they find pretty much nothing. But the next morning (once a corpse is found in an upstairs office) two smart detectives pop up to ask Kate a few questions about the man she saw.

Needless to say, a killer of Frank's expertise is already well-aware of what the witness saw.

Well, Gilmore Girl and Traveling Pants star Alexis Bledel no longer has a Ticket to Ride. Instead, an early name change has her getting into The Post-Grad Survival Guide for Fox Atomic's upcoming comedy, and the supporting cast is falling into place. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Zach Gilford, one of the stars of the television series Friday Night Lights is in final negotiations to play Rory's love interest. Also joining the cast -- Michael Keaton, Carol Burnett, and Rodrigo Santoro (300). Man, I hope this is decent, just to get a chance to see Keaton and Burnett -- hopefully together.

Bledel stars as a girl named Ryden Malby, who has just graduated from college and has "to move back home with her eccentric family while trying to find a job, meet the right guy, and figure out where her life is headed." Santoro is going to play an infomercial director and neighbor who becomes Ryden's friend and confidant, but there is no word on who Keaton and Burnett will play. Considering the eccentric family angle, I'm hoping for some sort of dad and grandma deal -- Carol would be perfect as Alexis' grandmother. As for the neighbor, will Ryden find a lucrative future in the infomercial biz, peddling special fryers, rotisseries, and weight loss products? The possibilities!

Filming will begin on the project this Monday in Los Angeles, under the directorial eye of Vicky Jenson -- director of Shrek and Shark Tale. It'll be interesting to see what she makes of this live action comedy, but really, I'm just psyched for Carol.

Justice League, Justice League, Justice League... The casting choices are finally coming out, there's no big stars attached thus far, and that's not even the reason everyone's apprehensive. It's just got the mad stink of possible crap. But Kevin Smith has a great idea that he shared with MTV. While he thinks it may be wise to cast the action flick with unknowns, "It's not like you can put Brad Pitt in it and he's gonna be more important than f***ing Batman. Or Superman," he does think that one old pro should return to the fold and take on Batman once again.

Not George Clooney. "For me, it's like, I would definitely cast Michael Keaton as Batman. I thought Michael Keaton was an awesome Batman. And in a world where they don't want to crossover with what Chris Nolan is doing in Dark Knight, I mean, why not cast Michael Keaton?" MTV brings up the age factor, because the guy is 56, but Smith says: "I'd be nice if Batman was the older man. He plays such an integral part in that movie, from what [I heard] -- he's kind of the lynchpin upon which the entire machine turns. So it would be nice to see."

I have to say, I totally agree. Keaton still has the jaw, and has kept himself in good shape, so why not? As long as the script isn't completely terrible, and they put some effort into filming, I bet people would just go to see him again and relive old movie days of Batman. Sometimes the best thing for a franchise is just a little shift to keep things fresh and amp up excitement. I think it would be great if Batman returns, but do you? Sorry about the pun... I couldn't help myself.

We all thought we'd be waiting a full three days for this pic, but turns out JoBlo somehow snagged a look at the Joker image that's slowly being revealed over on Empire Online. Granted, the pic Empire will show looks to be the Joker without all the colorful (and distracting) text, but it is indeed the same pic featured above. Just pretend all that other stuff isn't there. Additionally, as rumors suggested, this pic will grace the cover of Empire's January '08 issue. Not sure about you, but I think he looks rather psychotic ... though I'd prefer a better look at his face. And is it just me, or does Ledger look a little like Michael Keaton in that pic, if Keaton were to take on the role of Joker? I don't know; there's just something about that winking smirk that reminds me of the old Burton Batman. Nevertheless, The Dark Knight is one of my most anticipated of 2008, and so far it's remained on the right track. July 18. Show up to the theater wearing your greatest smile.

Note: Check out the full image by clicking the one above (courtesy of JoBlo), or head on over to Empire to see what's left of the image they're slowly revealing.

You know how Michael Keaton was apparently hanging around the set of The Dark Knight this week? Well, yesterday the old post office building being used as Gotham National Bank caught on fire and was evacuated. Coincidence? Of course it is. As much as the former Batman has reason to be jealous of the new franchise, there is no reason to suspect the actor, even if his movie choices these days could suggest that he's either crazy or desperate. But regardless, the coincidence is rather funny.

According to TMZ, which has a nice picture and video footage of the smoking building, the fire started in an airway duct, causing the roof to appear on fire. Supposedly witnesses thought that it was part of the shoot -- never a good thing with real fires -- but fortunately a sprinkler system was activated and fire trucks did respond to the scene. There were reportedly no actors near the set at the time and the fire was not related to the production in any way. Photos of the Gotham National Bank set, which seems to be the first location being used for the Batman Begins sequel, were first circulated last week. As always, we'll continue to keep you up to date on any other Dark Knight news as it comes about -- especially if the studio decides to release a real picture of The Joker. Also, this week and next Cinematical will be on the scene at Tribeca, where at least two rumored cast members of the film have a full slate of appearances, so maybe we'll be able to bring you a scoop or two -- wish us luck!

Michael Keaton is one of my favorite actors. He is that all-too-rare performer who can make each line and every action feel as if it is happening for the first time. He's genuinely exciting to watch. The only grievances I have with him are that a) he works much too infrequently, and b) when he does work, it's too often in projects that are beneath him (Jack Frost, Herbie Fully Loaded, White Noise...let me just say Jack Frost one more time.) He hit his creative stride in the late 80's, showing his range in under-appreciated gems like The Dream Team and Clean and Sober, and with a very fruitful Tim Burton collaboration. That pairing brought us one of the all-time great comic performances in Beetlejuice and of course, Keaton as Batman in -- for my money -- the two best superhero films ever made. As far as I'm concerned, no other film Batman even comes close to Keaton, and I immediately associate him with the role. Kilmer sleepwalked through it, Clooney looked embarrassed (rightfully so), and Christian Bale bored me to tears. Keaton played the role largely straight, but it's the flashes of madness and manic energy that brought his Bruce Wayne and Batman to life. "You wanna get nuts? Let's get nuts!"

And now it seems Keaton has been spending time around the Chicago set of The Dark Knight! I did some hunting online and found that Keaton is shooting his directorial debut, The Merry Gentleman in Chicago right now, so it's possible he just stopped by to say hello. But the kid in me who saw Batman at the dollar show eight times can't help but hold out some sliver of hope that Michael Keaton might make some sort of appearance in the new Batman flick. I'm being realistic, I don't expect him to suit up and high-five with Christian Bale, or for them to fight crime side-by-side, but wouldn't it be a great touch to have a little winking cameo from (apologies to Adam West) the real Batman? Keaton did a similar fun little reprise of his Jackie Brown character Ray Nicolette in Out of Sight, so why not this? The fans would love it. Of course this is all pure speculation and dreaming, but we'll find out if it comes true when The Dark Knight hits theaters on June 18th of 2008.

I went to see White Noise for precisely one reason -- and it wasn't because I thought the concept of "EVP" was screaming out for its very own "psychological thriller." I walked in because I've been a big fan of Michael Keaton since the Mr. Mom days. (Or if you really want to get obscure, it was since the Working Stiffs days.) I figured Noise was the first time I'd get to see Keaton in a leading role since, what, Jack Frost -- and I didn't want to miss it. Long story short: Keaton was fine, the movie ... not so much.

But here's some good news: According to Production Weekly, Mr. Keaton will not only star in the indie drama The Merry Gentleman; he'll be making his directorial debut, too! Newcomer Keith Kupferer will co-star with the one-time Batman, and production is scheduled to begin in Chicago next month. That's pretty much all the news we have so far, but Keaton's cool enough to warrant this kind of attention.

Although it was recently removed from Universal's January slate (and placed in the "TBD" bin), that won't stop the flick White Noise: The Light from hitting UK cinemas on January 5. The semi-sequel stars Nathan Fillion and Katee Sackhoff; random internet buzz asserts that Universal wants to hold the U.S. release until Fillion's Drive debuts on Fox later this year, but the delay could also be a lot simpler: Maybe the movie stinks.

But while all you Fillion fans scratch your head and pout about not being able to see White Noise 2 next month, here's the flick's first official theatrical trailer. (After just watching the clip, I'm more comfortable calling it a "teaser" and not a "trailer.") You can also add a friend's name to the trailer in order for them to get a "creeeepy" message when the clip ends, but I generally don't bother with such silliness.

The original White Noise (which starred Michael Keaton) inspired a sequel by debuting last January and riding a pretty impressive opening to a $57 million domestic haul. Aside from seeing Keaton back on the silver screen (and in a starring role, no less) I didn't think a whole lot of White Noise, and the sequel looks to be the same deal for me: Big fan of the star; not so interested in dead people who speak through radio static.

For the record, White Noise 2 was directed by the man who brought us Dracula 2000 (as well as its two sequels) and was written by Matt Venne, who has an episode of Masters of Horror under his belt.