'Birdman' director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu drawn to fearful territory | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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'Birdman' director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu drawn to fearful territory

Director Alejandro Inarritu poses during a photo call for the movie The Birdman at the 71st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ AP/Andrew Medichini
Original Publication Date October 21, 2014 - 12:40 PM

TORONTO - Oscar-nominated filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu admits it was "scary" making the dark comedy "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)," and he was warned by one of his peers that he was "running to a possibility of failure" by doing it.

"To make a comedy, first, is always a big challenge, especially for somebody who has never done comedy," the film's director and co-writer said in a recent telephone interview. "And the way I decided to do it, which is this one-take thing, it's a very difficult task in a way that challenges you technically and conceptually, because you have to make a lot of decisions and sacrifices by that, and be very aware.

"As one director told me — you're running to disaster."

Turns out that wasn't the case.

"Birdman," starring Michael Keaton as a former avian superhero film star desperate for validation and a comeback as he heads an ambitious new Broadway play, is flying high in critics' eyes.

Keaton's performance as Riggan Thomson is already the subject of serious Oscar talk, while praise is also being heaped on the rest of the A-list cast that includes Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Zach Galifianakis and Emma Stone.

Rave reviews are also pouring in for Inarritu's "long take" filmmaking style in which the camera follows the actors around the theatre for lengthy periods of time as they rehearse and perform the play, making it seem as if the entire project is one uninterrupted shot.

The Mexican native was delving into foreign territory with the film, which hits theatres on Friday, and says that's just the way he likes it.

"I always find myself much better in an uncomfortable zone," said Inarritu, whose films "Amores Perros" and "Biutiful" received Oscar nominations for best foreign language film, while 2006's "Babel" was up for best picture and best directing.

"When I become comfortable, I become a little angry and depressed and not happy. So I like to be challenged. I like that something excites me or scares me, because if not, I am incomplete."

It's a mentality Inarritu has had since he started his career as a radio host in Mexico.

"Five years after, I was the most successful host and DJ of a rock station, and then I quit and a lot of people said 'Why?' and I said, 'Well, because I know how to do it. It doesn't make me really happy," he said. "Then I did some advertising and I had the biggest production company and was very successful, but I was most unhappy after five years. I said, 'I know this.'

"So in a way, I try to move away from things that I know or I feel that I know how to do it. That's my nature, I guess."

Yet the notion of success has been one that Inarritu has grappled it, and it's a theme he explores in "Birdman."

Inarritu said he's always felt that success is an illusion and subjective, an outlook he got from his father, who always told him: "Watch out with success. When you have success, you taste it and spit it out, because it's poison.'"

"To not have a sense of success, that's what is success," Inarritu said with a laugh. "To be free of that need is successful, that's what I think is successful — to not need to succeed."

Inarritu started writing "Birdman" and its themes of success, ego and relevance in part because of his experiences in turning 50.

"I think that all of us has an ego, a tyrant, a dictator that really questions us and judges us, and we can be really rude and cruel with ourselves," he said. "In my case, I even define my process of that as a very torturous one who can bring me a lot of joy but lead me to one way or the other."

Though he'd never done a comedy before, he felt "Birdman" needed that touch, because the only way to survive the battle of the ego and reconcile with life is to not "take it seriously or bitterly but more with a sense of humour," he said.

He decided to shoot the story in "long take" form — a style he'd never tried before but had admired in Max Ophuls films as well as in Alexander Sokurov's "Russian Ark" — because he felt it was the only way to put the audience in the point of view and mind of Riggan.

"It was very challenging, but it really is the only way to really feel what he's feeling, and it's a beautiful experience," he said. "I hope that the people enjoy it, because it's the way we live our lives, you know, we open our eyes and we are in it continuously all day. We can't escape. That's why we love fiction, because in fiction you can fragment time and space, but our lives, not so.

"We are trapped in our own reality all day."

It took 30 days to shoot the film at New York City's St. James Theater. Inarritu didn't have extra money in his budget to close down part of Broadway for one memorable outdoor scene, so he put a drum band in the centre of the bustling Broadway crowds "to distract tourists and get away with it," he said.

Looking back, he feels all the worry and risk was worth it, and he'd "love to" make another comedy.

"I learned to leave the fear behind," said Inarritu, who's now shooting "The Revenant" in Calgary, where "the scenery and locations are unbelievable."

"I will say that the fear is basically a good part of the creative process. If you don't fear something, then why do it? Why bother?"

— Follow @Victoria Ahearn on Twitter.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2014
The Canadian Press

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