Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu‘s "Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)," has quickly skyrocketed to the top of the year’s most anticipated films along with "Inherent Vice," and "Gone Girl" (a trifecta that will hopefully make this year’s New York Film Festival one of its best years ever). Why? Well, outside a stellar cast (which we’ll get to), it’s a pitch black comedy about a washed up actor famous for a superhero role who tries to mount a comeback on Broadway. Trailers so far suggest a delusional dark psychology that the hero has to battle and possibly even a sly meta commentary in the nature of super hero hegemony on screen.
The film’s shot by academy award winning DP Emmanuel Lubezki ("Gravity," "The Tree of Life"), the movie is said to feature massive long takes meant to look like its one long shot, a la Alfred Hitchcock‘s "Rope." That alone should be enough to get any paying audience member in the door considering Chivo’s immense cinematography skills.
"Birdman" stars Michael Keaton as the actor in question plus a supporting cast that features Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Ryan and many more. The film opens the Venice Film Festival in late August and opens in theaters in October. Watch the new trailer below, along with a new poster.
