The 'Knox Goes Away' star opened up about working with his 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' co-stars and directing his latest film.
Michael Keaton has nothing but good things to say about his co-stars for the upcoming sequel to Tim Burton's 1988 cult classic, Beetlejuice. The long-awaited flick, titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, is set for theatrical release on Sept. 6 and returns to the afterlife to continue the story of Keaton's titular "bio-exorcist."
Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara return for the sequel, with Jenna Ortega -- who worked with Burton on Wednesday -- joining the cast as the daughter of Ryder's character, Lydia Deetz.
The actor shared a little bit about working alongside his new castmate while chatting with ET's Cassie DiLaura at the Knox Goes Away premiere on Thursday.
"Oh man, she's good, she's just got it, you know? She's got the tone," Keaton said of Ortega. "She showed up and just immediately knew what the tone was and just slipped in like she does every day. She's really special."
Ortega previously gushed to ET about working on the sequel, which she called "some of the most fun I've ever had on a set." She added, "Visually, so exciting. Everything was practical."
"I think we're not using very much CGI or something like that at all," Ortega noted.
Speaking on the cast, Ortega said, "Everyone did an incredible job. I felt so lucky to be there, it was insane ... I can't wait for people to see."
"It took a while to get there," Keaton previously told ET. "I didn't really think we were gonna do it and didn't want to do it, various times [in the] last few years, but it was more fun than the other one."
"[Tim] was really, really great -- back in his comfort zone," he added. "I could tell he was having fun. Which is really contagious, when you're around that."
While waiting for Beetlejuice to creep into theaters on Sept. 6, fans can check out Keaton as he returns to the director's chair for Knox Goes Away, his first time behind the camera since 2009's The Merry Gentleman. The star plays the titular hitman, who struggles to help his estranged son (James Marsden) after being diagnosed with a rare form of dementia.
Sharing his experience directing the film, Keaton told ET that "it's hard to make a bad movie."
"It's just work but so what? Work's work," he continued. "Things are hard and so what, just go do it. But anytime you only have 25 days and not a whole lot of money, it's a challenge. But we've heard this story 1,000 times and people have done it in less time than I had, probably. But this is good, this is really good. This cast is so terrific."
The noir-inspired film features a host of Keaton's famous friends, including Marcia Gay Harden and Al Pacino as Knox's mentor.
"I know it sounds arrogant or stupid on my part," Keaton previously told ET of casting the Hollywood legend, "but you have to think about all the details. So when I run through the scene in my head and say, 'What am I, nuts?' Of course. You know, this is going to work."
"I knew him a little bit, and I called him and we had a nice chat," he added. "He was just easy to work with, as you can imagine, and flexible, and always shows up with ideas."
Speaking at the premiere, Keaton echoed the sentiment, telling ET that Pacino is "a sweet guy -- a really, really good guy. And just a dream to direct."
"We had a big, long conversation before he started and then we jumped in and it was like we did it 1,000 times," he gushed.
Knox Goes Away is now in theaters.
RELATED CONTENT:
