It was back in 2014 when veteran actor Michael Keaton starred in the role of Birdman alongside Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, and, Emma Stone in Birdman. Being the movie that resurrected Keaton’s career from the dead, Keaton owes a lot to the film.
One thing that the 2014 movie features is a fading superstar who wants to revive his career. Well, as per the meta theory, most people speculate that the film is actually about Michael Keaton playing himself. With the fame that his character receives in the film, Keaton receives in real life with the success of the film!
Michael Keaton’s Birdman Might Be Inspired By Keaton’s Life!
Before we dive into the main stuff of the article, we need to delve a bit deeper into the meta realm of things. With references to events in one’s life and breaking the fourth wall (if you’re in a movie), Michael Keaton’s Birdman is a perfect example of what you’d call a meta-movie.
People know that Keaton was attached to the role of Batman with Tim Burton set as the director. Well, Keaton decided to walk out of the franchise and never look back on that role again. Although it was a commendable decision, Michael Keaton’s fame and relevance in Hollywood went downhill (like many other stars).
It was in 2014 when Keaton starred in the iconic film Birdman and essentially proclaimed to the world that he is still a relevant actor and one that they should take seriously. Following the resurrection of Michael Keaton’s career, the star went on to portray several iconic roles and continues to star in notable movies to this day. Now that the story of Keaton is a bit clear, let’s talk about the character of Riggan Thomson aka Birdman in Birdman.
Michael Keaton Refuses The Birdman-Meta Theory!
Since Keaton and his on-screen character of Riggan Thomson go through the same story, there have been several theories about how the movie was “meta”. In an interview with GQ, Michael Keaton clarified that there wasn’t any personal connection to the film.
“Probably people don’t believe it. But there’s zero connection except that you go ‘oh yeah, I’m in an industry and I am that guy [Riggan Thomson] and I’m not playing that guy. So, obviusly, there’s something'”.
He further continued,
“In a lot of ways, that guys is about as far away from me. But I never give into desperation. And this poor guy, you know, he was living in despair a lot. You know, desperation owned him.”
Although there could be some sort of connection between the success of Birdman and the revival of Michael Keaton’s career but some secrets are best left unopened. The 2014 film received a strong rating of 7.7/10 on IMDB and a whopping 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie that revived Keaton’s career is currently available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
