Michael Keaton and Alejandro Inarritu deliver excellent work with Birdman. But then so does the lesser-known Chris Haarhoff...
“A thing is a thing, not what is said of that thing.”
Whatever you think of Alejandro G Iñárritu’s Birdman (Or The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance), it's destined to be one of the year's most talked things. Arriving in UK cinemas on New Year's day, it could have played merry hell with most critics' end-of-year lists if it had been released even a few hours earlier, but it's bound to linger in the memory for the next 12 months.
In the film, Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is a washed-up movie star who has privately and publicly disintegrated since his infamous turn in the Birdman trilogy. Now, he's trying to be a triple threat, by writing, directing and starring in a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver's What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
“A thing is a thing, not what is said of that thing.”
Whatever you think of Alejandro G Iñárritu’s Birdman (Or The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance), it's destined to be one of the year's most talked things. Arriving in UK cinemas on New Year's day, it could have played merry hell with most critics' end-of-year lists if it had been released even a few hours earlier, but it's bound to linger in the memory for the next 12 months.
In the film, Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is a washed-up movie star who has privately and publicly disintegrated since his infamous turn in the Birdman trilogy. Now, he's trying to be a triple threat, by writing, directing and starring in a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver's What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
- 1/5/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
When producer John Lesher first told me way back in June that "Birdman" was a bit of a "magic trick" designed to look like a single take, my jaw dropped. How had I not heard about this? "We're not really talking about it too much," he said at the time, a few months ahead of the film's Venice film festival debut. Which is fair enough. You don't want the technique to overshadow the experience of the film. But then again, the technique of "Birdman" is the experience. It's the thematic soul of its very existence. So naturally, I was dying to talk to cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki ("Chivo") once the season got underway. Only problem: he was stuck in Calgary shooting Alejandro González Iñárritu's follow-up, "The Revenant," a production that runs through April. What??? Suffice it to say I've never been so desperate to get someone on the phone. But...
- 12/20/2014
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
I've been trying to put my finger on just what it is about 2014 that has me reticent to embrace the "it's weak" narrative. First and foremost, it's a narrative that I do understand. Maybe there's something about the overall cultural impact of film product this year that feels beneath bars set in the past, I don't know. But as I've worked through my personal assessment of the year's best over the last few weeks, I've found that I'm revisiting films more often than usual. I'm finding that my favorites are a funky bunch and that the old top 10 isn't clicking into place as fluidly as it has before (not a bad thing). I'm basically just finding my passion for the year in interesting places. And then it finally dawned on me. The reason 2014 doesn't feel "thin" or "weak" to me is less big picture than nuts and bolts: On a purely craft level,...
- 12/8/2014
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Los Angeles, Jan. 9, 2014 — The Society of Camera Operators (Soc) will present its Camera Operator of the Year Awards at their Annual Awards Event, as announced today by Soc Vice President and Awards Executive Producer David Frederick, Soc. The black-tie celebration announcing the winners will be held on February 15, 2014 at the Skirball Cultural Center. The Soc donates all proceeds from the Awards Event to the Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to help children overcome their vision deficits. As previously announced, this year.s Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are Chris Haarhoff, Soc/Camera Operator (Saving Private Ryan, Fight Club, Almost Famous), William Coe/Camera Technician (The Avengers, J. Edgar, Jersey Boys), Barry Wetcher, Smpsp/Still Photographer (Goodfellas, Quiz Show, Sherlock Holmes) and Jack Carpenter/Mobile Camera Platform Operator (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Crash, The Matrix). The Distinguished Service Award recipient is Stan McClain, Soc (National Security, Almost Famous, Any Given Sunday...
- 1/9/2014
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
The Society of Camera Operators has announced the recipients of its Lifetime Achievement Awards for 2014. The Camera Operator Award goes to Chris Haarhoff, whose credits include Saving Private Ryan, Fight Club and Almost Famous. Other honorees are William Coe (Jersey Boys, The Avengers, J. Edgar), Lifetime Achievement as Camera Technician; Barry Wetcher (GoodFellas, Quiz Show, Sherlock Holmes), Lifetime Achievement as Still Photographer; and Jack Carpenter of Carpenter Camera Cars (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Crash, The Matrix Reloaded), Lifetime Achievement as Mobile Camera Platform Operator. The society’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Service goes to Stan McClain, founder of Filmtools Inc., and the President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement will be presented to Leonard Chapman, founder of Chapman–Leonard Studio Equipment, for his support of the camera operator. The awards will be handed out February 15 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
- 12/3/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
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