The dramedy “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” out in D.C. on Oct. 24, tells the story of Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), a formerly successful Hollywood actor who is hoping to reignite his career by staging a Broadway play. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (“Babel”), the film stars Keaton (“Beetlejuice”), Edward Norton (“Moonrise Kingdom”) and Emma Stone (“The Amazing Spider-Man 2”).
The Eagle’s Luke Hoheisel participated in a conference call with students from 12 other universities in which questions were posed to Iñárritu. Below are some of the highlights.
On incorporating comedy into “Birdman”
Alejandro González Iñárritu: I think the comedy was, more than anything… it’s the same source or the same theme of meaning of life and it’s a painful kind of thing, but I wanted to approach it in a lighter way. It will be unbearable to [make] a film about that [the downward spiral of a character’s sanity] and not [have] a sense of humor. It becomes a much more attractive thing to be explored and observed. And after having made so many dramas, I needed a vacation, and I wanted to add some sugar to the plate and I really enjoyed it. [It was] the first time that I laughed in a set, so that was great.
On the film’s influences from stage plays
AI: I don’t think that there was a particular play. I think I wanted actually even to escape from the conventional theater, because I thought that Riggan Thomson, the character, will be trying to do something very pretentious and very, in a way, ambitious.
And at the same time I wanted something very cinematic. None of the kind of plays that I have seen recently really matched with the idea…[but] as you know, Raymond Carver [the author of the play that Riggan stages in the film] is very realistic and so there’s a part of that, but then there’s a part of madness in it. So I will say that the wrong choices were made deliberately to obviously show how wrong everything will be going.
I think lighting-wise, it was interesting that we put these LED screens on top of [the set], which really helped us a lot to go around [the actors] with a 360-degree shot and have great lighting as we were moving lights in the LED. At the end the LEDs helped us design part of the stage in the motel room, so basically that’s it.
On the challenges of blocking and shooting the film
AI: Basically it was a very short shooting. It was 29 days, so it was a very, very, very fast shooting, very effective. We rehearsed a lot before arriving to the set and so basically it was a very intense and meticulous work of precision. The actors[,] camera[,] the crew and everything were designed to match the needs of the film; that was basically pre-decided in rehearsal, so it was an inverse process.
…But at the same time when you do a film like this in one single shot, certainly the stakes are high, and as a crew and cast, you get connected much more. You like to be playing live in a concert instead of rerecording in the studio, so the experience is much more. There’s a brotherhood that is different. We laughed a lot, too, because really we were laughing at ourselves as we’re doing the film about the industry that we are in, so we were reflected.
On the decision to present the entire movie as one long, fluid take
AI: I wanted the long take to make the people really feel the experience of this guy [Riggan]. I think it’s important for every director and every film to choose the point of view, and in this case I wanted a radical point of view. The people wear the shoes of the character and experience his emotions. I thought that was the most effective way to do it.
On casting Michael Keaton
AI: Keaton adds a lot of reality to the film, and that was great, but at the same time he had a lot of authority. He is one of the few persons that has worn that cape and is a pioneer of that superhero thing, but at the same time he has the craft and the range to play in drama and comedy. Very few actors in the world can do that. He played a prick in this film, and I needed somebody who was adorable. Somebody who really you can like, and he has that likeness and that lightness that was required, so all these things made him the perfect choice for it. He’d add a lot of fun and greatness. I think he was very bold accepting and trusting me in this role.
“Birdman” (R, 119 min) is now playing at Landmark Bethesda Row and Landmark E Street Cinema.
