“Amores Perros,” “21 Grams,” “Babel” and “Biutiful” are each of them meditations on the human condition, the interconnectedness of human suffering, and the threads that bond us through tragedy. Each one of these four films by Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu are generally some form of bruising emotional journey, the latter, “Biutiful” being so bleak it bombed at Cannes in 2010. But some critics, including yours truly, loved it for its punishing but beautiful look at love and anguish (I named it my #1 movie of the year). Does Iñárritu sound like a happy man to you? If not, well, he’s finally changing gears in a big, big way.
THR reports that Iñárritu, obviously known for his heavier than heavy dramas, is set to direct “Birdman,” a comedy project he co-wrote with his “Biutiful” co-writers Nicolas Giacobone, Armando Bo and playwright Alexander Dinelaris. The film, with a distinctly lighter touch, follows a former actor who once played an iconic superhero and mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glories. Evidently it all takes place in one location “over the course of three days as the actor juggles family, career and his sanity.”
Now that’s a gear shift for sure. A March production start is currently being eyed so this one looks like a reality (knock on wood). As for “The Revenant,” his gritty revenge wilderness project that Leonardo DiCaprio has been flirting with? It’s still in development and could be in the cards for the film that follows “Birdman.” Fingers crossed because that one sounds like an incredible pairing as well. Don’t be surprised if Sean Penn‘s name pops up in connection to the comedy somewhere. He and Iñárritu have clearly been looking for the right project to work together on as Penn’s name had been thrown around for “The Revenant” and another project we assume is still in developement called “The Flim Flam Man.”