Name: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Released: 2014

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014): trivia & fun facts

Fun facts

Birdman director Alejandro G. Iñárritu originally conceived the film as a comedy filmed in a single shot set in a theatre.
The film was shot in New York City during the spring of 2013 with a budget of $16.5 million, jointly financed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, Regency Enterprises, and Worldview Entertainment.
Iñárritu himself described the technique as "almost suicidal", worrying that it would be distracting, instead of immersive.
In another discarded version, Riggan tries to drown himself in Central Park and flies out to save himself.
Andrea Riseborough, meanwhile, described the process as "wonderful", mentioning how it was possible to hear the filming of a sequence from far away before the camera arrived, and then "the magic happens with you, and then everything leaves you, and everything's silent".
Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki believed that the recording time necessary for the long take approach could not have been made with older technology.
Birdman grossed $42.3 million in North America and $60.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $103.2 million, against a budget of about $17 million.
Birdman premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival on August 27, 2014, receiving a limited theatrical release in the United States on October 17, followed by a wide release on November 14.
In the second weekend of October 24, 2014, Birdman expanded to 50 theaters and earned $1.38 million, which translates to a $27,593 per-theater average.
Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph rated the film 5/5 and gave particular praise to the use of long takes by Emmanuel Lubezki, director of photography.
In 2016, the Directors Guild of America ranked the film 58th on its list of The 80 Best-Directed Films since the Guild’s founding in 1936.
The film's supporting cast includes Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts.

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