NEW
YORK(Reuters):Find
a
movie
director
with
a
great
script
and
''Batman''
star
Michael
Keaton
is
willing
to
work
for
100
dollar
a
day.That
is
what
Keaton,
Robert
Downey
Jr
and
Bebe
Neuwirth
were
paid
for
the
movie
''Game
6,''
which
opened
on
Friday
in
two
Manhattan
theaters
and
moves
to
the
West
Coast
in
coming
weeks.
Based
on
a
screenplay
by
novelist
Don
DeLillo
and
directed
by
Michael
Hoffman,
it
cost
less
than
1
million
dollar
to
film,
even
though
it
was
shot
in
pricey
Manhattan
and
features
a
special
effects
scene
showing
an
explosion
of
asbestos-laden
steam.'It's
so
hard
to
get
anything
as
well
written
or
as
challenging,
or
a
cast
or
director
this
good,
so
I
just
had
to
do
it,''
Keaton
told
Reuters
in
an
interview.
''It
kind
of
haunted
me.''
The
minibudget
film
focuses
on
New
York
playwright
Nicky
Rogan
(Keaton)
and
his
anguished
decision
whether
to
attend
the
premiere
of
his
Broadway
show
or
watch
fateful
Game
6
of
the
1986
World
Series
between
the
New
York
Mets
and
Boston
Red
Sox.The
baseball
game
in
question
saw
Boston,
one
out
away
from
winning
its
first
World
Series
since
1918,
squander
a
two-run
lead
with
two
outs
in
the
10th
inning,
losing
as
a
routine
grounder
went
through
the
legs
of
first
baseman
Bill
Buckner.
Rogan,
a
perennially
tortured
Sox
fan,
must
also
contend
with
the
potential
threat
of
a
New
York
theater
critic
who
has
already
destroyed
the
career
and
life
of
his
best
friend
Elliot
Litvak
(Griffin
Dunne)
and
his
own
complicated
love
life.Toemented
Playwright
Keaton,
the
54-year-old
star
of
two
Batman
movies
who
reportedly
turned
down
tens
of
millions
of
dollars
to
star
in
the
third
installment,
said
he
''went
into
the
hole''
financially
to
do
''Game
6''
but
reaped
psychic
fortunes
playing
the
tormented
playwright.DeLillo's
script
had
been
kicking
around
for
almost
a
decade
before
it
wound
up
in
the
hands
of
director
Hoffman
and
ultra-frugal
Serenade
Films,
which
offered
all
cast
members
the
same
lowly
pay.
''Everyone
in
the
cast
had
done
a
ton
of
theater,''
Hoffman,
one
of
the
founders
of
Serenade,
said
about
his
actors'
acceptance
of
the
downsized
scale
and
lack
of
creature
comforts
of
''Game
6''.Even
so,
the
cast
may
well
receive
extra
money
if
the
movie
is
sufficiently
profitable,
said
Hoffman.
He
added
that
investors
have
expressed
interest
in
backing
more
than
a
dozen
other
Serenade
movies.With
no
fat
whatsoever
in
the
''Game
6''
budget,
Keaton
said
the
cast
had
to
fend
for
themselves.
''I
know
the
public
restrooms
in
New
York
now
because
I'd
use
them
to
make
sure
my
hair
was
combed
and
my
wardrobe
was
on;
they
were
my
trailers,''
the
razor-thin,
fast-talking
actor
recalled.Likewise,
to
catch
occasional
naps,
Keaton
said
he
would
pitch
a
mat
on
whatever
lawn
or
sidewalk
was
handy.
Neuwirth-who
starred
in
the
NBC
sitcoms
Cheers
and
Frazier
as
well
as
Broadway
productions
such
as
Damn
Yankees,
Sweet
Charity
and
Chicago
--
said
she
was
drawn
to
''Game
6''
by
the
writing
and
her
own
fascination
with
baseball.'There
is
a
romance
and
elegance
to
the
game.
And
there
are
things
in
parts
of
the
movie
about
the
theater
that
were
actually
on
the
money,''
she
said.