Birdman

Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), more simply known as Birdman for short, is a 2014 black-comedy drama film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 87th Academy Awards. It stars Michael Keaton, with a supporting cast of Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts. The story follows protagonist Riggan Thomson, a faded Hollywood actor famous for his role as superhero Birdman, as he struggles to mount a Broadway adaptation of a short story by Raymond Carver.

Aside from a few shots near the beginning and end, Birdman appears to be filmed in a single shot, an idea the director had since the film's conception. This required an atypical production approach, with many elements of post-production needing to be considered before principal photography. As a result the script took two years to write, the cast went through several weeks of meticulous rehearsals, and during shooting takes were cut for the slightest mishaps. It was filmed in New York City during the spring of 2013 with a budget of $16.5 million, jointly financed by New Regency and Fox Searchlight Pictures. The film premiered the following year in August where it opened the 71st Venice International Film Festival.

Birdman was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on October 17, 2014, followed by a wide release on November 14, and has grossed more than $76 million worldwide. It garnered critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed to the cast's performance and Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography. It is widely considered to be one of the best films of 2014, and has received multiple awards and nominations. These include winning Best Screenplay and Best Actor at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards, Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture at the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards, and nine nominations at the 87th Academy Awards, the joint most for the ceremony with The Grand Budapest Hotel. The film won four Academy Awards: for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.