“It’s rare that you get to be part of some amazing experiment like this,” Michael Keaton told The New York Times about starring in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s "Birdman." “The movie gets dark and gets weird, and it gets funny. So you’re constantly on this surfboard, kind of feeling it out. I like that. I just like seeing if I can do it.”
By all accounts (including our review), he does. Keaton leads the film, playing a former movie superhero actor who attempts a comeback on the Broadway stage. And with the former Batman himself in the lead role, he initially had some doubts. “…the first thing he said to me was, ‘Are you trying to make fun of me?’ ” Iñárritu said, but that was far from the case.
“When I finished the script, I knew that Michael was not the choice or option, he was the guy,” the director said. “He’s one of the few guys in the world who has worn that cape. The authority and the relatability that he gave, all those were essential.”
The result is a movie that is definitely essential viewing this fall. Check out two new clips below, along with ten city-centric posters (via Badass Digest). "Birdman" arrives on October 17th.
