'Birdman' Spreads Its 'Wings' As Oscar Frontrunner

Let the haters hate (and indeed, I was admittedly one of them early on, as my review makes clear), but Birdman has taken the lead in the Oscar race for Best Picture. And the film openly celebrated its momentum -- and its imminent release on DVD/Blu-ray next Tuesday, as well as this week's Digital-HD release -- this week with a special screening in Los Angeles that included unveiling an art exhibit based on Alejandro González Iñárritu's indie breakout hit, and a live performance of the score by jazz drummer Antonio Sanchez -- who wrote and performed the score for the film's theatrical release -- during the screening. To top it off, the film and Sanchez's undeniably spectacular drumming performance were introduced by none other than the film's star Michael Keaton, whose Oscar-nominated performance I previously praised but which I must say was even more striking to me this time around.