The Venice Film Festival 2014 lineup has been announced, and the US flick "Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance" has landed opening night honors.

The film, by Alejandro G. Inarritu, features an impressive cast - Michael Keaton stars in the black comedy, supported by the likes of Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone and Naomi Watts.

But despite the film's credentials, it wasn't the Venice Film Festival 2014 artistic director's first choice. Alberto Barbera, who spoke with Screen Daily, said that he was aiming to snag David Fincher's "Gone Girl" and Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice".

"The reasons films don't come is not always clear - sometimes it's because Venice is too early for their release strategies, or perhaps the studios are focusing more on a US release rather than an international one," said Alberto Barbera, as quoted by Indiewire.  "I get the sense that the US is increasingly focused on domestic productions and the local market rather than international."

The Venice Film Festival 2014 artistic director also noted that a possible issue with getting the films he wanted was that "European festivals represent big costs without big returns".

The allocation of "Birdman" to the forefront of the lineup may have been a case of good timing - and while it wasn't Alberto Barbera's first choice, he's upbeat about the opening date film.

"I knew Fox Searchlight didn't want to take the film to Cannes because it was too early for the US release in October. I kept asking and asking if could see it and Fox Searchlight eventually obliged....I loved it immediately [and] perhaps, my enthusiasm helped as well but we're very pleased to have it at the festival," Indiewire quoted Barbera.

The dates of the Venice Film Festival 2014 are August 27 to September 6. The full line-up can be viewed on La Biennale di Venezia.