Oscar glory may have eluded him this year, but Michael Keaton has other reasons to celebrate.
The Golden Globe-winning actor's planned biopic of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc has been snapped up by the Weinstein Company, reports The Wrap.
The Founder will be directed by John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr Banks, The Blind Side) and is based on a script by Robert Siegel (The Wrestler).
Kroc was responsible for turning a hamburger restaurant in California, run by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald, into the franchise empire.
Having met the brothers in 1954 when he was a multimixer salesman, Kroc saw the potential to grow the company and came on board as their franchise agent. He eventually bought the chain from the brothers in 1961 for $2.7 million. There were 700 McDonald's outlets in the US by 1965.
The Founder will reportedly be made in the same weighty tone as The Social Network and There Will Be Blood and has "all the makings of a strong awards contender", according to The Wrap.
Keaton's fresh wave of popularity follows his Oscar-nominated role in Birdman, which won the Academy Award for best picture.
He also made headlines recently with an embarrassing clip showing Keaton pocketing an acceptance speech after the best actor Oscar was awarded to Eddie Redmayne for his performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.
