Generally known for his tough, harrowing dramas like “Amores Perros,” “21 Grams,” “Babel” and “Biutiful,” we’ve been waiting patiently to see what Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu would be doing next. His options of late have included the con man/criminal drama “Flim-Flam Man” and the period vengeance tale “The Revenant,” but it looks like his next feature will find him changing gears in and taking something a lot more lighthearted.
First announced at the end of last year, “Birdman” reunited Innaritu with “Biutiful” co-writers Nicolas Giacobone, Armando Bo and playwright Alexander Dinelaris with whom he wrote the comedy, based on a Raymond Chandler short story, centering a former actor who once played an iconic superhero and mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glories. And now, an ace cast is coming on board the film with Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis all slated to star. Keaton will play the egotistical former star, with Stone as his recently rehabbed daughter and assistant. Galifianakis takes the role of the play’s producer, with Watts as one of the actresses. Damn.
Previous reports said the film will take place over three days and on a single location, but no word if that’s still the case. But either way, this sounds great, and with lensing starting in April we’ll be seeing it sooner rather than later. Best of all, it has a home with Fox Searchlight already so we’d guess about a year from now, you can keep an eye on the festival circuit for it to appear, if not in theaters. [THR/Screen Daily]
