I've expressed my love for dark comedies in previous articles and one film from that genre I can't wait to see is the upcoming BIRDMAN from director Alejandro Iñárritu. While he has normally directed heart wrenching dramas like AMORES PERROS, 21 GRAMS and BIUTIFUL I'm very excited for the director to be working on a comedy, especially one that has a fantastic premise and a stellar cast that includes the one and only Michael Keaton.
The film is about a washed up actor who used to play a famous superhero (Keaton) and is trying to put on a Broadway play in order to save his career. Unfortunately an egotistical leading man (Edward Norton) and members of his family (Emma Stone) are not making things easy for the actor and I'm sure hilarity will ensue. Hopefully incredibly dark hilarity.
BIRDMAN is currently filming in New York and some pictures have surfaced from The Daily Mail of Michael Keaton doing his best "Frank the Tank" impersonation, running through the streets wearing nothing but his briefs. I have no clue what is going on in the film when these pictures were taken but Keaton looks absolutely terrified in them. And is that a wig he's holding?
Some other pictures have been revealed from a shoot last week and in them we get a first look at the Birdman costume. What's odd is that it's not Michael Keaton wearing the outfit but an unnamed man who appears to be following the actor around. Is Keaton's character being stalked by an overzealous fan or is the man a figment of his imagination? The later is rumored to be true so we could be in for some surreal moments in the film, which would explain the other images released of Michael Keaton doing some harness and green screen work.
BIRDMAN also stars Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, Amy Ryan and Andrea Riseborough, and should be out sometime this year.