Edward Norton and Michael Keaton will star in the black comedy 'Birdman'
It would be unfair to describe Michael Keaton as being out of work. He to star in the adaptation of video game series , alongside Dominic Cooper and Aaron Paul 鈥� and though nothing has officially been announced by Disney, it鈥檚 suspected that he鈥檒l reprise his role as Ken in .
Perhaps it鈥檚 because his career is relatively healthy at the moment that Keaton is willing to deliver a self-deprecating performance in another of his upcoming projects. Fox Searchlight has announced that principal photography has begun this week on Birdman (alternative title: The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), a new comedy from听Alejandro Gonz谩lez I帽谩rritu. Here鈥檚 the official synopsis, courtesy of the press release:
鈥淸Birdman is] a black comedy that tells the story of an actor (Keaton) 鈥� famous for portraying an iconic superhero 鈥� as he struggles to mount a Broadway play.听In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself.鈥�
Also appearing in the film is Edward Norton, who, according to , was cast as an 鈥�egotistical lead stage actor鈥� who disrupts Keaton鈥檚 attempts to create the Broadway play that will rejuvenate his career. Norton has something of a reputation for being difficult to work with 鈥� so much so that Kevin Feige more or less explicitly for dumping him in favor of Mark Ruffalo when casting Hulk in . It will be interesting to see whether Norton is willing to indulge in a little self-parody for his role in Birdman.
Norton and Keaton aren鈥檛 the only superhero movie veterans on the cast list. Emma Stone, a talented comedy actress who took on the role of Gwen Stacy in听, will play Keaton鈥檚 daughter 鈥� an actress who has just gotten out of rehab and who is hired as an assistant by her father. Stone has never been at the center of any drink or drugs scandals, so it鈥檚 possible that her character is a bit of a dig at starlets like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. There are a couple of photos of Stone filming听Birdman听over at听, if you want to get a sneak peek at what she鈥檒l look like in the movie.
I帽谩rritu is a Mexican director, best known in English-language cinema for drama film听21 Grams, which starred Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts, and his 2006 global drama,听Babel. Watts is also listed as one of the stars of听I帽谩rritu鈥檚 new film, along with鈥榮 Andrea Riseborough and Gone Baby Gone听actress Amy Ryan. The final name on the cast list is comedian Zach Galifianakis, who displayed a skill for slightly darker comedy in Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck鈥檚 2010 indie听It鈥檚 Kind of a Funny Story, in which he played a long-term resident of a psychiatric ward.
The great cast that has been assembled, and the high quality of I帽谩rritu鈥檚 past films,听definitely make Birdman a project to look out for in the future 鈥� as does the potential for in-jokes and wink-wink references. Let鈥檚 just hope that it turns out a little better than My Name is Bruce.
Hannah Shaw-Williams blogs at .
