The Non-SuperHero SuperHero Movie: Birdman at NYCC

There aren't many moderators at New York Comic Con who receive an ovation comparable to the movie stars they're interviewing, but Chris Hardwick, of Nerdist fame, is one of them. Late in the afternoon on Friday Hardwick sat down with Michael Keaton and Edward Norton to discuss their upcoming movie, Birdman.

The film, which was described separately by all three guests in equally confusing and ambiguous ways has Keaton playing an actor beat known for his run as Birdman in a popular movie franchise. Now, years later, he is directing and starring in a play but he can't escape the influence of the character on both himself and his fans.

Now that description sounds pretty straightforward, but one look at any of the film's footage and it's clear that this movie is a complex and trippy movie. The panel showed the first ten minutes of Birdman as well as a few additional scenes to conventioneers and it definitely piqued their interest. The film opens with Keaton levitating in his dressing room wearing nothing but his tighty whiteys. So let that set the scene.

With Keaton and Norton being comic book film alums, they seemed like a pairing tailor made for Comic Con, but the discussion had a different tone than the day's other panels. There was very little geeking out from the crowd, even when Keaton told a story about when he met with Tim Burton to discuss starring in Batman. Instead Keaton and Norton led each other into descriptions of the rehearsal process for the film and their combined love for the script and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, which drew them to the project.

But for film buffs, this was a great look into a film that promises to stand out as one of the year's most unique. All three on stage claim it to be one of the best of the year too, but that may just be rhetoric.

The artists formerly known as Batman and The Hulk made sure it was clear to the loyal fans that they still have respect for the comic book genre, even though the film does have some criticism of it. Both even left things open to potentially playing a superhero again one day if the role is right. According to them their superhero pasts didn't play a part in wanting to be involved in Birdman. Even if that were a lie, New York Comic Con wouldn't have been the place to admit any negative feelings on adapting the comic personas.

Birdman is scheduled for an October 17th release.

Ron Perlman Holds Nothing Back in New Book and NYCC Panel

Ron Perlman has tended to play gruff characters throughout his career. Appearing at New York Comic Con to promote his new book, it's clear that there is a certain element of art imitating life. With a packed room featuring fans wearing "Sons of Anarchy" shirts, Hellboy cosplay and some other characters from Perlman's past, the actor pulled no punches while speaking his mind and pushing hard for everyone to buy his book.

Titled "Easy Street: The Hard Way," Perlman explains that many see his success and assume he's had an easy path to stardom, but that wasn't the case. Many anecdotes he gave throughout the 45 minute panel, were prefaced by saying you'd need to read the book to get the full story. His bout with depression was addressed as well as the loss of his father and his brother.

Not everything he said was serious though. Perlman joked about how good looking he was on the large screen projected next to the stage. When his role in "Pacific Rim" was brought up by a fan, he complimented his own performance and compared director Guillermo Del Toro to Buddha.

With the high pitched techno beats of a neighboring anime panel echoing through the walls, Perlman touched on many of the audience's favorite topics. He talked about how his work in prosthetics toward the beginning of his career helped him since he was uncomfortable in his own skin at the time. He would later, of course, earn loads of fans as Hellboy, with many prosthetic features. He got big cheers when admitting that he is pushing for a Hellboy 3 in the future.

Notably absent from his discussion was "Sons of Anarchy." (Spoiler Alert) Perlman's character, Clay, had an epic fall from power though out the show up until the character's death in season six. It's clear Perlman is not okay with that. The very mention of show creator Kurt Sutter seemed to anger him. But after a number of very short comments when fans asked about the show, he did give some insight into the show's rise to popularity. But it had the tone of fond memories about a relationship before a bitter breakup.

Ultimately, the panel proved to be one with its fair share of tension, a healthy amount of swearing and a lot of Perlman pushing the book. Even so, it was still interesting to hear about his inspiration from his father and classic actors like Burt Lancaster. Also, if you can believe it, he's claimed to quit smoking. Both Hellboy and Clay Morrow, cigar fans, wouldn't be happy about that.