Michael Keaton pumps up for the title...

Michael Keaton pumps up for the title role in Warner’s “Batman,� filming in London in September. He’ll lock horns with Jack Nicholson’s the Joker for director Tim “Beetlejuice� Burton. . . . Writer Kathleen Tynan is writing the screenplay for an as-yet-untitled film for producer David Puttnam. The story centers on a reporter who tracks down silent-screen star Louise Brooks much in the way her late husband Kenneth did. Shirley MacLaine will play the old Brooks with another actress (to be named later) to play her as a starlet. . . . Acting guru Sondra Seacat makes her film directing debut with “In the Spirit,� a comedy-thriller starring Marlo Thomas. Currently filming in N.J. for Castle Hill productions. Script by Elaine May. . . . Once is not enough: Keifer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips--members of Billy the Kid’s gang in Fox’s upcoming “Young Guns�--reteam in the modern-day cop thriller “Lakota� at Universal for producer David Madden. Phillips plays an Indian on the trail of a stolen ritual lance who joins with a young cop to crack a crime ring. Jack Sholder (“The Hidden�) directs. David Rich scripts. To film in Toronto and Philly this September. . . . Madeleine Stowe joins Kevin Costner in Rastar’s “Revenge.� She’s the object of desire for both Costner and a Mexican crime czar. A Tony Scott film. . . . Never Seen a Viking Picture That Didn’t Make Us Laugh Dept.: Python refugee Terry Jones has written and will direct “Erik the Viking� for Orion in September. On location in Norway where it all happened. Erik is described as: “A thinking man’s Viking, nonviolent and idealistic in an age of murder, plunder and war who sets out on a courageous and high-spirited quest to wake the gods and save the world from destruction.�. . . Matthew Modine, Faye Dunaway and Jennifer Beals star in the 18th-Century period romance “The Gamble,� shooting in Rome in August. Written and directed by Carlo Vanzina. . . . Title of the week: Electric Pictures’ “Lobster Man From Mars.� A spoof on Hollywood and monster movies that centers on a producer looking for a guaranteed flop movie as a tax write-off. Tony Curtis, Deborah Foreman, Patrick Macnee and Billy Barty star for producer Eyal Rimmon. Stanley Sheff directs Bob Greenberg’s screenplay. . . . “Heritage,� a story by Meridith Baer on four generations of women brought together by a family funeral, received a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. The first time the NEA has funded the development of a feature, narrative script. Produced by Mindy Affrime’s Godmother Productions and director Sam Weisman.