Edward Norton Page 5

Edward Norton joins the team of David Sampliner's poignant forthcoming documentary 'My Own Man' as executive producer, as it prepares to air exclusively on Netflix this Spring having premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year.

Academy Award nominated actor Norton returns to film production with 'My Own Man', having previously worked on the Primetime Emmy winning documentary 'By the People: The Election of Barack Obama'. This new movie, a Netflix Original Documentary, is a little more personal, detailing the ever changing relationships between fathers and their sons, as it follows director Sampliner's difficult journey into parenthood.

Continue reading: Edward Norton Produced Documentary 'My Own Man' Set To Debut On Netflix

When approaching 'Birdman', director Alejandro González Iñárritu decided that to fully get into the mind-set of his main character, his introspective film would be shot as a continuous piece. Or rather, six continuous pieces that could be stitched together in order to resemble one continuous piece. But when confronted with the monumental task of filming large sections of a motion picture in one sitting, there were certain, fairly obvious challenges to follow even if you had, as actor Michael Keaton describes, "an Academy Award-winning cinematographer who is kind of a genius".

Michael Keaton stars as Riggan Thomas in 'Birdman'

Keaton plays the starring role in 'Birdman', one Riggan Thomson - former superhero movie star, currently attempting to reinvigorate his career by writing, directing and starring in his own Broadway debut. "Everyday was one scene," explained Keaton, "and all the actors were petrified constantly." 'Birdman' boasts a fine cast of actors, including Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis amongst others, so Keaton's statement has even more resonance. 

Continue reading: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone And Edward Norton Discuss The Filming Of 'Birdman' [Exclusive Featurette]

With movies and theatre embodying the very essence of escapism, it is a time-honoured idea to set a play or film within the entertainment industry (2011's 'The Artist', for example). This is a chance to play around with ideas and themes often reflected on and behind the screen or stage, or so actor Ed Norton believes. "I think it's always fun when you have a movie about people inside the trade of entertainment," says Norton, "and then you have people who are obviously inside the business themselves and are willing to stick a fork in it a little bit. This is very much in that tradition."

Ed Norton spoke about his role in Birdman

Norton is currently promoting 'Birdman', where he stars alongside Michael Keaton and Emma Stone. 'Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)', tells the story of Riggan (Keaton), an aging actor, best known for his appearance in an old superhero film series. In an attempt to maintain relevance, Riggan adapts a novel for the stage and prepares to make his Broadway debut. From there, the film expands on writer/director Alejandro González Iñárritu's own fears of irrelevance within the entertainment industry. 

Continue reading: Ed Norton Explains Birdman’s Intricate Connection To The Entertainment Industry

After the trailer hit, there was always the sense with Birdman was probably going to be very, very impressive but perhaps a little too avant-garde for the Academy. A sort of Synecdoche, New York situation. That may still prove the case, though a slew of five-star reviews at the Venice Film Festival has done nothing to hurt its chances as Hollywood gears up for the long campaign to the Oscars.

Michael Keaton in 'Birdman'

Alejandro González Iñárritu's follows Michael Keaton - a former Batman, remember - playing an actor once known for portraying an iconic superhero. He struggles to mount a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver's What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and, in the days leading up to opening night, battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, career and himself. 

Continue reading: Venice Film Festival: So 'Birdman' Just Joined The Oscars Race. Big Time.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is preparing to throw its doors open to the world, having premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. Director Wes Anderson has built his career upon his idiosyncratically quirky, colourful and surrealist movies and the eagerly-anticipated Budapest looks to be no different.

Critics Have Heaped Praise On To 'The Grand Budapest Hotel.'

Early reviews have bathed the movie in a warm glow of praise, loving the kitsch details, kooky plotline, and star-packed cast, which includes (deep breath), Ralph Fiennes, Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Harvey Keitel.

Continue reading: 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' Is An Instant Hit With Critics, In Praise Of Wes Anderson's Delightful New Movie [Trailer + Pictures]

This week’s SNL was not just the Halloween episode – which is usually more treat than trick – but also Edward Norton’s very first time hosting the sketch comedy show. Despite Norton’s lack of any kind of comedy background, he pulled off quite a funny show. His Woody Allen impression in the opening monologue was spot on and, of course, he did have plenty of help.

Norton did great, despite not having a comedy background.

And we’re not talking about Jenelle Monae demonstrating her impressive vocal chops or killer style here, though she did do both of those things. There were two celebrities that popped by during Norton’s opening monologue, to provide the greenhorn host with some oldschool SNL wisdom – Alec Baldwin and Miley Cyrus. And while Baldwin definitely has some experience to back him up – and his jokes got a good round of laughs – Cyrus did seem a bit nervous and too scripted, her tongue gag raising eyebrows, more than prompting laughs.

Continue reading: Edward Norton Does A Surprisingly Good Job Hosting Halloween-Themed SNL

A documentary addressing the life of famed late poet, J. D. Salinger, entitled Salinger has been released in the US. The feature-length, Shane Salerno-directed piece depicts the author's life through interviews, clips, photographs and his novels and also addresses the reasons why Salinger effectively went into hiding.

Salinger: Dissecting The Life Of The Author You May Know Little About.

Jerome David Salinger, AKA Jerry, found unbridled success with his 1951 story of adolescence, The Catcher In The Rye as well as 1961's Franny and Zooey. However, he chose not to publish any more work after 1965 and led an embattled life as he struggled with the publicity his novels garnered, perpetuated further by his notoriously prickly disposition and dislike of attention.

Continue reading: 'Salinger' Documentary Puts Reclusive Author's Life Under Magnifying Glass [Trailer + Pictures]

'Fight Club' star Edward Norton doesn't think that his role in 'Kingdom of Heaven' should have been credited, in order to add mystery to the character. Norton portrays King Baldwin in the Ridley Scott epic - the masked king of Jerusalem afflicted with leprosy. The 'Best Actor' and 'Best Supporting Actor' nominee believes, however, that if the role had gone uncredited, it would have added to the characterisation of Orlando Bloom's lead role.

Related: Ed Norton Explains Birdman's Intricate Connection To The Entertainment Industry

Norton explained the reasons behind these thoughts to 'Empire' magazine, saying: "I didn't want to be billed because Orlando Bloom's character keeps hearing about him. There's this anticipation, this big mystery about him. It's the whole point. And it was a free trip to Morocco!"