BIRDMAN Concept Art & Construction Of The Superhero Costume
Concept art and behind-the-scenes images detailing how Spectral Motion built the superhero costume for Michael Keaton's (Batman, The Other Guys) character in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman. Hit the jump to check it out.
Spectral Motion is a special effects company that specializes in creature designs, prosthetic makeup effects, and animatronics. They were hired to work on Fox Searchlight Pictures' Birdman, which was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Their main responsibility was constructing the superhero costume. It is seen in the film harassing Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), who is haunted by the role.
Mike Elizalde, the owner of Spectral Motion, chatted with HitFix about what director Alejandro González Iñárritu wanted the costume to look like. "He said he wanted to really play off of a little bit of the inherent cheesiness of superhero costumes, but he didn't wanted to be ridiculously cheesy he just wanted a few elements that were a little blingy," Elizade explained. "He still wanted something heroic and cool-looking, but those were sort of the guidelines. So the elements that we focused on were the belt buckle and the wristband that he wears and he's got a little piece of gold bling on his beak."
PLOT - Birdman is a dark comedy that follows a former actor, who once played an iconic superhero, as he mounts a Broadway play based on a Raymond Carver short story in a bid to reclaim past glory. However, the play’s egotistical leading man threatens to throw everything down the tubes.
BIRDMAN is being directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu ("21 Grams"). He also wrote the script with Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo. The cast includes: Emma Stone ("The Amazing Spider-Man 2"), Zach Galifianakis ("The Hangover"), Edward Norton ("The Incredible Hulk"), Naomi Watts ("King Kong") and Michael Keaton ("Batman Returns").