The Tim Burton thread [Archive] - Palaver - A forum for Stephen King fans & Book Collectors

fernandito

10-16-2008, 08:05 PM

Burton Talks Alice
The director on his version of Wonderland.
by Jim Vejvoda

October 16, 2008 - Director Tim Burton hopes that his live-action/performance capture retelling of Alice in Wonderland will be what he feels other screen versions of the story haven't been: engaging and psychological.

"It's a funny project. The story is obviously a classic with iconic images and ideas and thoughts. But with all the movie versions, well, I've just never seen one that really had any impact to me. It's always just a series of weird events," Burton told the Los Angeles Times.

"Every character is strange and she's just kind of wandering through all of the encounters as just a sort of observer. The goal is to try to make it an engaging movie where you get some of the psychology and kind of bring a freshness but also keep the classic nature of Alice. And, you know, getting to do it in 3-D fits the material quite well. So I'm excited about making it a new version but also have the elements that people expect when they think of the material."

Burton isn't even especially fond of the classic Disney animated version. "Yeah, I know, it's just, 'Oh, this character's weird' and 'Oh, that character's weird.' I can't really recall a version where I felt really engaged by it. So that's the goal, just to try to give it a gravity that most film versions haven't had."

The Alice cast includes Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter, Matt Lucas in the dual role of Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, and Burton's off-screen love Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen.

Unfound One

10-16-2008, 08:34 PM

Woot! I was wondering when somebody was gonna post something about this.

Any Burton/Depp/Bonham Carter grouping is okay in my book. :thumbsup:

ladykatherine

10-16-2008, 08:41 PM

Omygod!
this sounds really cool!
I've always loved alice and wonderland AND tim burton...it's so perfect!
hahaha
:drool:
thanks for making my night!

Unfound One

10-16-2008, 08:48 PM

Hmmm... has anybody seen Mia Wasikowska in anything?

(On IMDB she's credited with playing the title role in the film I Love Sarah Jane - I feel like I should look into that... :cyclops:)

Girlystevedave

10-16-2008, 08:55 PM

I heard about this recently and was super excited. Alice In Wonderland has always been my favorite Disney movie, and I'm anxious to see Tim Burton put his stamp on it. :)

jayson

10-17-2008, 03:52 AM

I'll see it. Adaptations of the Alice stories always interest me, and I like Burton enough to be curious about how he will present it. I do hope he's a little more faithful to the books than Disney was. Not to say the Disney version is "bad" but there was far too much amalgamation of characters (particularly the combination of the Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts into one character) and stuff just left out.

We've already read the books to Ella.

alinda

10-17-2008, 05:00 AM

Ooooooo, a darker Alice I hope ( is that possible to say) TB usually has a dark perception of charactures and events don't you think? I am looking forward to this one. :thumbsup:

Heather19

10-17-2008, 02:50 PM

I am too, I can't wait to see it. Although, I pretty much get excited about any Tim Burton film.
The only thing that bothers me is his constant casting of Helena, I'm just not a fan of hers, and since they've been together he's pretty much put her in every single thing he's done.

Girlystevedave

10-17-2008, 08:11 PM

Yeah, I think it's a rule of his to cast her in any movie he does.....along with Johnny Depp. :lol:

LadyHitchhiker

10-18-2008, 04:33 AM

I love Alice in Wonderland. One of my favorite stories of all time.

Heather19

10-18-2008, 07:22 AM

Yeah, I think it's a rule of his to cast her in any movie he does.....along with Johnny Depp. :lol:

The only reason Johnny doesn't bother me is because I think he's an amazing actor. And I love every film the two of them have done.
However there's just something about her that drives me crazy (and not in a good way).

fernandito

10-27-2008, 04:09 PM

Glover in Wonderland
Back to the Future star to play Knave.
by Chris Tilly, IGN UK

UK, October 24, 2008 - Just when you thought Tim Burton's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland couldn't get any weirder, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that he has cast one of the industry's most eccentric actors to play the Knave of Hearts.

Crispin Glover, star of Back to the Future, Wild at Heart, Charlie's Angels and a classic David Letterman interview (see below) will play the Knave, who is put on trial for stealing the Queen of Hearts Tarts. Alice, who is played by Australian actress Mia Wasikowska, defends him in the trial.

Alice in Wonderland will also star Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter, and is currently being shot using a combination of live-action and performance-capture technology.

Rjeso

10-27-2008, 06:47 PM

That. Is Awesome. News.

Huzzah for Crispin Glover. He'll fit right in with that cast. :lol:

Girlystevedave

10-27-2008, 08:40 PM

Crispin Glover huh? Interesting...in a good way. :)

jayson

10-28-2008, 05:29 AM

I think Glover is PERFECT for a Burton version of Alice. He is certainly quirky, and I think he's an excellent actor. The article Feev posted mentioned his role in Wild at Heart and that is a great example of what Glover can do ("Im making my lunch!")

The Cosmic Geek

01-06-2009, 05:44 PM

I've been a fan of his ever since I saw Beetlejuice when it came out. I just love him, everything about his films. He is the one director whose films I always get on DVD. I have almost every bio book on him and buy the books on his films.

Any other Burton fans on here? Let's discuss his art, genius and beauty of his work.

Heather19

01-06-2009, 05:49 PM

I love Burton! One of my favorite directors. I love the dreamlike feel to his films. The imagery in them is one of things that I love the most.

The Cosmic Geek

01-06-2009, 06:24 PM

Indeed, I feel the same way. I am so excited for his next two films to come out, Alice in Wonderland and the theatrical version of Frankenweenie.

Do you have a favorite film of his? It's hard to choose. I mean, I love every film he has done, some more than others, but I just love them all. If I had to choose my top favorites:

Ed Wood
Edward Scissorhands
Nightmare Before Christmas
Sleepy Hollow

Have you ever read Burton on Burton? Mark Salisbury edits it and it's a great look into Burton's life, a look that he himself wrote. Wonderful book, they update it every so often after new films have been released. I have three copies of it so far.

jayson

01-06-2009, 08:29 PM

I love Tim Burton. I have enjoyed the vast majority of his films - except the two Batman films and Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow bored the hell out of me. It did look cool though, so credit to Tim for that. The rest of his films I have really enjoyed, particularly Ed Wood, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride and Edward Scissorhands. All excellent films.

I'm looking forward to Alice, that's for sure. I have high hopes for it and I think Burton will deliver.

SigTauGimp

01-06-2009, 08:49 PM

Wow...we didn't have a Tim Burton thread until today?? That's crazy! :panic:

I adore Burton. The only film released so far, that I didn't particularly care for, was The Corpse Bride. Other than that, I love everything else.

Top 3:
Beetlejuice
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Batman/ Batman Returns (sorry, had to fit 'em both in somehow.:P)

I too am excited for his take on Alice In Wonderland. Fingers crossed for awesomeness.:excited:

educatedlady

01-06-2009, 11:20 PM

I love everything Burton. The Nightmare Before Christmas is my #2 favorite movie of all time... and I must say that I'm thrilled for the new 9 movie. The short is one of my favorite shorts EVER.

Burton is brilliant.

The Cosmic Geek

01-07-2009, 05:57 AM

9 looks really good, can't wait to see that one.

I also really love Vincent, which is the short stop motion film he made while working for Disney, it was narrated by Vincent Price.

I like his Batman films, Batman is a pretty good comic book film, and Batman Returns is a great Tim Burton Batman film.

I love the look of Sleepy Hollow. That's one of the things I love about his films, each one is just beautiful to look at, they are just visually stunning. Add to that Danny Elfman's scores and you have a great feast for your eyes and ears.

Heather19

01-07-2009, 07:35 AM

I love the look of Sleepy Hollow. That's one of the things I love about his films, each one is just beautiful to look at, they are just visually stunning. Add to that Danny Elfman's scores and you have a great feast for your eyes and ears.

This is exactly what I love so much about him. He really creates these wonderful scenes, that really are visually beautiful. I could get lost just watching his films for this alone.

My favorites would probably be Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, The Corpse Bride, Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood. And of course Vincent! But honestly I've pretty much liked most of his films that I've seen. My least favorite would probably be the Batman ones.

I'm really looking forward to his upcoming films as well. I think he'll do a wonderful job with Alice. If someone's going to do a live action film of that story, Burton would be at the top of my list to do it.
Is Frankenweenie going to be stop motion? I really love what he does with those films.

Have you ever read Burton on Burton? Mark Salisbury edits it and it's a great look into Burton's life, a look that he himself wrote. Wonderful book, they update it every so often after new films have been released. I have three copies of it so far.

No I haven't but that sounds really interesting. Does it go into depth about his films, or is it more about his life?

The Cosmic Geek

01-07-2009, 09:41 AM

Burton on Burton goes in depth on both his life from childhood growing up in Burbank, through his time as an animator at Disney, and through his films. What is great is that the editor does a small blurb about things, and then Burton really tells his story, almost as if he is telling it directly to you. Also, his sketches are in it, so you get to see his great art style. I've read the book several times and plan to read it again soon, I like to read it every so often.

I think Alice is going to be great. Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter is genius. I'm looking forward to seeing how they use all the different types of animation, both CGI as well as stop motion (I read that Alan Rickman is the Caterpillar in it and is a mix of animation styles, one of which is stop-motion).

Frankenweenie I believe is supposed to be stop motion. I haven't heard much about it lately since they are focusing more on Alice and I guess since it will take longer to do Frankenweenie than Alice, but it will be interesting to see how they flesh out the half hour story he oringally shot into a feature length film.

I'm glad to hear you too like Vincent. That short is so great, I just love Vincent in that. Also glad to hear you understand what I mean about the looks of his films. I'd love to be able to live in a Tim Burton world.

One thing I love so much about Ed Wood is that they didn't make this film insultingly about Wood. Yes, they covered his fetish of dressing up as a woman, but they respected him, his friends and films, which was nice. It's a great movie. Martin Landau was amazing as Bela Logusi, and the shooting of it in black and white made it perfect. I liked how they showed how Ed Wood really cared for Bela and was there for him and befriended him, much how Burton befriended Vincent Price.

OK, that was long, sorry everyone.

Rjeso

01-07-2009, 12:21 PM

Tim Burton = :wub:

BROWNINGS CHILDE

01-07-2009, 08:03 PM

Tim Burton is hands down my favorite director.

The Cosmic Geek

01-08-2009, 05:14 AM

Tim Burton is hands down my favorite director.

Do you have a favorite film of his or love them all?

fernandito

01-08-2009, 05:53 AM

Top 3 Burton :

The Nightmare Before Christmas
Beetlejuice
Edward Scissorhands

Side Note - I'm going to merge this thread with the Alice In Wonderland thread that I started a few weeks ago, that way we can have one massive TB thread. :D

The Cosmic Geek

01-08-2009, 06:07 AM

Sounds good, thanks, Feev.

I love Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice). Such a great film, I remember laughing hysterically the first time I saw it. I'm glad the sequel, Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian never got made, especially if Burton isn't at the helm. I even liked the cartoon series.

Anyone remember The Family Dog cartoon Burton produced?

Rjeso

01-08-2009, 12:13 PM

that way we can have one massive TB thread. :D

:hacks up a lung:

Glad to see you're happy about that, Feev. <_<

:evil:

BROWNINGS CHILDE

01-08-2009, 07:10 PM

My favorite TB flick would be a tie between Beetlejuice and Nightmare Before Christmas. I have seen both a million times. But I don't think there is a single one that I didnt like. I even liked PeeWee's Big Adventure. I haven't seen Ed Wood or Frankenweinie though.

Heather19

01-11-2009, 01:00 PM

I thought I'd post Vincent for those that haven't seen it. It's a great little short.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD8uQzu0IL0

Anyone remember The Family Dog cartoon Burton produced?

Never even heard of this. What'd he do for it? Did he just produce it or did he have more involvement?

Have you by chance seen the episode of Faerie Tale Theatre he did? I was a fan of this show when it was originally on, and I went back a year or two ago to watch the episode he did, but I don't know, I was rather disappointed in it.

The Cosmic Geek

01-11-2009, 06:33 PM

With the exception of still pictures I haven't seen his Fairytale Theatre stuff, sadly. You could look at it that it was his very early stuff and maybe that is why you didn't enjoy it too much?

Have you ever seen the episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents he did titled The Jar? It was his first collaboration with Danny Elfman.

The Family Dog was actually first a pilot on an old TV show called Amazing Stories. The pilot did well and it got its own series. If I remember correctly Brad Bird had a big involvement on it, but Burton only produced. He mentions it in the book Burton on Burton.

This link will take you to Youtube to an episode: YouTube - Family Dog: Show Dog #1

They didn't make much collectible wise but I have a plush doll of the dog.

And awesome posting Vincent for everyone. I really love that short. Watch it all the time.

Heather19

01-13-2009, 02:25 PM

Thanks, I had never even heard of that show before.

I don't think I've ever seen that episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Interesting that it's the first time he worked with Danny Elfman. I'm gonna have to go look for it.

The Cosmic Geek

01-13-2009, 06:42 PM

No problem, glad you liked it. Family Dog was a fun show, I remember watching it when it was on and later buying them on VHS.

I love the collaboration between Burton and Elfman, Elfman's music just fits perfectly with his visuals. It's sort of weird to watch Ed Wood and not hear Danny Elfman's score in it, but I love that film.

Have you ever seen his web shorts of Stain Boy? He was created from a book of poetry called The Melancholic Death of Oyster Boy. Ever read it? He did the art and the poems had a Dr. Suess vibe to them.

YouTube - stain boy 1

Heather19

01-14-2009, 02:55 PM

Have you ever seen his web shorts of Stain Boy? He was created from a book of poetry called The Melancholic Death of Oyster Boy. Ever read it? He did the art and the poems had a Dr. Suess vibe to them.

I have. I've got them saved on my computer, but it's been ages since I've watched them. I haven't read the book though, maybe I'll check it out at some point.

The Cosmic Geek

01-14-2009, 06:47 PM

The book is short, but good. I bought it when it first came out, great poems.

Melike

01-15-2009, 01:41 AM

Actually all of Burton movies are my favorite of his :D but if I have to choose three of them...:orely:
Edward Scissorhands
Ed Wood
Beetlejuice

The Cosmic Geek

01-15-2009, 05:58 PM

Good choices, Melike.

Did you get the anniversary edition of Beetlejuice on DVD? It didn't have as much as they promised it would, but it is still a good DVD.

Melike

01-16-2009, 01:51 AM

Good choices, Melike.

Did you get the anniversary edition of Beetlejuice on DVD? It didn't have as much as they promised it would, but it is still a good DVD.
Unfortunately, I don't have. :(

The Cosmic Geek

01-16-2009, 02:13 PM

If you don't already own Beetlejuice than it is worth getting. It has some new extra stuff, but not as much as I would like.

I rebought it so now have two copies. Same thing happened with Nightmare Before Christmas. I bought the re-release since it had some cool extra stuff on it.

Heather19

01-16-2009, 03:03 PM

What does it have for extras on it?

The Cosmic Geek

01-16-2009, 05:47 PM

What does it have for extras on it?

3 episodes of the Beetlejuice cartoon
music only track
theatrical trailer

Basically you get the cartoon episodes.

Disapointing as extras go really.

Heather19

06-22-2009, 03:20 PM

Some movie stills are now up online
http://comingsoon.net/nextraimages/aliceusatoday4.jpg

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=56475

Can't wait for this one to come out. :excited:

Empath of the White

06-22-2009, 03:30 PM

The white rabbit looks like he has rabies, and the faces on those flowers are pretty creepy. :rock:

fernandito

06-22-2009, 04:06 PM

I think they kind of overdid it with Depp's makeup ...

:/

BROWNINGS CHILDE

06-22-2009, 04:37 PM

Really, I think its quite good.

BTW. I am super excited for "9"

Melike

06-22-2009, 10:11 PM

Some movie stills are now up online
http://comingsoon.net/nextraimages/aliceusatoday4.jpg

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=56475

Can't wait for this one to come out. :excited:
Wow, I can't wait, too. It looks amazing. :excited:

I think they kind of overdid it with Depp's makeup ...

:/
Why? He looks so bizarre and so it is awesome.

jayson

06-23-2009, 04:56 AM

The pictures look very promising indeed. I particularly like the way the flowers look. I thought Burton & Alice would be a good match and these pictures reinforce that.

AlishaRiley

06-23-2009, 08:39 AM

I'm ridiculously excited for "9", aswell as Alice.
(Namely because Burton's giving Coheed a spot in the limelight - their song, "Welcome Home" is involved in the soundtrack. :wub: (see trailer) )
Okay, and I'm watching it now...and I just got insane goosebumps. :wub:

Kidd Ikarus

06-23-2009, 10:24 AM

I think they kind of overdid it with Depp's makeup ...

:/

He kinda looks like a crazy Elijah Wood.

Empath of the White

06-23-2009, 01:30 PM

More like Didi Pickles, I think.:P

fernandito

06-23-2009, 01:36 PM

Might as well change his name to Pennywise the Mad Hatter :lol:

Heather19

06-23-2009, 02:01 PM

:lol:

The pics of the settings look amazing. I can't wait to see it on the big screen.

Heather19

07-26-2009, 10:24 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmogZbrd9nA

March 5, 2010 :panic: I don't think I can wait that long. I thought it was coming out this year sometime.

Rjeso

07-27-2009, 09:44 PM

Ooooer. Pretty.

As if it wouldn't be.

Brice

07-28-2009, 05:32 AM

OMG! :excited: :excited::excited: This I MUST see.

Melike

07-28-2009, 07:44 AM

2010?!!! It is painful.

mae

07-29-2009, 04:45 AM

It looks ograsmic in HD over at apple.com :drool:

Heather19

12-20-2009, 05:55 PM

New trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCM4JiJ6B2I

This makes me even more excited for the movie. IMAX 3D, it should be pretty sweet!

Does anyone know how big of a part Johnny Depp has in the film? I thought it was just going to be a very small role, but the trailer makes it appear as if he'll be in the entire movie. I haven't read the book, only seen the original Disney film.

BROWNINGS CHILDE

12-20-2009, 07:17 PM

Looks like a visual candyland. Gonna be cool!

Melike

12-20-2009, 11:44 PM

*sigh* I am going to die of excitement.

Malice

12-20-2009, 11:58 PM

I'm one of those non-tim burton fans. Not that I'm out to flame anyone. But when he complains about "well that characters wierd," that is how I come to look at his adaptations. The only one where I jumped up and said "Okay, that was amazing," was sleepy hollow. When I saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I felt fingers in the back of my throat.

I honestly feel that he ruins the source material of whatever he works on to achieve a gothic image with needing his characters to be over the top wierd(It's also weird I like his wifes roles better in movies he has nothing to do with as you just know Deep and her are going to be in it no matter what). But I must say I'm going to give this a chance just because it's the first tim burton trailer in a while where I was actually cussing for all the right reasons.
But even though the other version is rather gothic and demented (done right in the source material though) I'd give the adaptation of American McGee's Alice a look when they finally show it off.

But again, not flamming the fans. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, the guy has talent. And I know a lot of the story elements are not his fault as he does have other people write the screenplays. I just hope he can impress me again.

*EDIT* American McGee's Alice was not the made for tv SyFy original. This is an adaptation from lead game designer American McGee (who also worked on Doom) in which upon returning to earth Alice explains her adventures in wonderland and is put in an asylum where she goes insane from her memories in wonderland. But upon returning to wonderland she find the place has become a nightmare dreamscape full of gothic medival imagery and psychotic inhabitants.

*Sub Note* When Tim Burton comes across a film a studio wants to make the first thing he does is have someone write a new script no matter if he liked the original or not (I.E. Superman which was cancelled). This is one of the scripts that saw life post Burton.

Heather19

12-21-2009, 03:58 PM

*EDIT* American McGee's Alice was not the made for tv SyFy original. This is an adaptation from lead game designer American McGee (who also worked on Doom) in which upon returning to earth Alice explains her adventures in wonderland and is put in an asylum where she goes insane from her memories in wonderland. But upon returning to wonderland she find the place has become a nightmare dreamscape full of gothic medival imagery and psychotic inhabitants.

Is this even getting made? I had really been looking forward to it, but I thought it got canned a long time ago.

19eye-rosecrow-gun

12-23-2009, 03:20 PM

Tim Burton's a lucky guy, being married to Helena Bonham Carter. I think he should do work with Michael Keaton again.

Melike

01-07-2010, 05:49 AM

Some new pictures I have just seen around internet:
http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/alice-in-wonderland-new-image-the-mad-hatter.jpg
http://www.mannythemovieguy.com/images/alice_in_wonderland_new_picture_of_helena_bonham_c arter_as_the_red_queen_movie_news_tim_burton_depp. jpg
http://www.shockya.com/news/wp-content/uploads/alice_in_wonderland_white_queen7.jpg