"Birdman" cast on "meta" Broadway-set drama
Michael Keaton's latest film is soaring towards the front of this year's Oscars race.
The former "Batman" star is playing a very "meta" character in the acclaimed Broadway-set drama "Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" from filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu -- the director behind 2000's "Amores Perros," 2003's "21 Grams," 2006's "Babel" and 2010's "Biutiful."
Keaton plays Riggan, a faded actor famous for once playing the superhero Birdman, a persona he now takes on whenever he talks to himself backstage in his dressing room. Riggan is directing and starring in a new play (an adaptation of the Raymond Carver short story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love"), a production which he desperately needs to become a hit to help jump-start his career.
At several points in the film, Keaton's character floats into a fantasy world where he saves the day just like he used to in the old Birdman films.
"As Alejandro pointed out the other day, I actually play four people in the film," Keaton said in a recent interview with CBS News. Keaton, 63, admitted it was a challenge playing a character who is in turn playing a character.
"It's odd, it's really odd. You think 'Oh, that will be easy.' It's really hard," Keaton revealed. "I'm an actor playing an actor who's also in a scene and while he's in a scene acting, he's also watching the other actors because he's a director. So there was a lot going on."
Keaton isn't the only "Birdman" cast member who has superhero film credits under his belt.
Emma Stone, who plays Keaton's troubled daughter in "Birdman," starred as Peter Parker-love interest Gwen Stacy in the "The Amazing Spider-Man" films. Edward Norton, here portraying an eccentric performer who takes method acting to the extreme, previously starred as Bruce Banner in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk."
"You can do some satiric things," Norton explained of his take on "Birdman." "It's a little bit 'meta' as people have been saying, but in a lot of ways, it's not. It's just like coming up with any other character."
For Naomi Watts, who plays an actress in the Broadway play within the film, the "Birdman" script hit close to home. "I've played actually an actress a few times now and it does feel like you bring in some previous censorial moments," Watts said.
The "St. Vincent" star said she connected with the material as it reminded of her of an experience she had as a young girl, when she saw her mother in a production of "My Fair Lady."
"I didn't really notice what was going on, I just noticed that she was speaking in a funny voice and had lots of fancy dresses on and she wouldn't wave back at me. I was like 'Why isn't she being my mom?' But after persistent waves, she gave me a little wink," Watts said. "And I understood that world suddenly, I thought it was a play pretend world that just felt wonderfully magical and imaginative and something I wanted to do."
One of the more unique aspects of "Birdman" stems from the fact that the film is presented as one continuous take from beginning the end -- the camera never "blinks." Entire shots often last several minutes as the camera follows the actors from room to room.
Amy Ryan, who plays the sympathetic ex-wife of Keaton's character, said cast and crew had to spend a lot of time rehearsing in order to get the shots down pat.
"For everyone it was a big new adventure," Ryan said.
Zach Galifianakis, co-starring as a loyal friend to Keaton's character, also was excited by the challenges of long takes and making the film as a whole, even if he "still hasn't got paid" for his performance, or so he claims.
Watch the video at the top of this story to see the stars describe what it was like shooting on location in the close quarters of Broadway's St. James Theatre.
"Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" flies into theaters on Friday.
