Brow Beat

Michael Keaton Is the Man Who Made McDonald’s in the Trailer for The Founder

In 1954, mixer salesman Ray Kroc was so impressed by a revolutionary fast-food restaurant in San Bernardino, California, that he convinced its owners, Mac and Dick McDonald, to turn it into a franchise. Sixty-two ears later, McDonald’s is now a household name, with locations in more than 100 countries and a net worth of tens of billions of dollars. The Founder tells the story of how Kroc (Michael Keaton) manipulated his way into taking control of the company that he would then make world-famous.

The trailer depicts Kroc as an often-villainous businessman who tricks the McDonald brothers (John Carroll Lynch and Nick Offerman, sans mustache) out of their own creation through unsavory deals and devious contracts. Keaton strikes a nice balance between earnest up-and-comer and wolfish opportunist that looks promising for the film as a whole: When Laura Dern, who plays Kroc’s wife Ethel, asks him, “When’s enough gonna be enough for you?” he replies sincerely, “Probably never.” The movie was directed by biopic specialist John Lee Hancock (The Rookie, The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks) and written by Robert D. Siegel (The Wrestler, Big Fan), and the last two movies that Keaton starred in both went on to win Best Picture. We’ll see whether Keaton might be able to pull off a hat trick when The Founder comes out on Aug. 5.