Producers Behind "Frankenweenie"

IMDb.com has stated two names behind the stop-motion animated feature-length version of Frankenweenie: Allison Abbate and Don Hahn.

While it's always good to be cautious with IMDb.com's reports, it seems very likely that the two will be producing the film.

Allison Abbate was a producer on Corpse Bride, as well as other animated films (stop-motion and otherwise) including Brad Bird's The Iron Giant and currently Wes Anderson's The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Mr. Fox and Frankenweenie are both set for a 2009 release, with the latter scheduled for December.

Allison Abbate and co-director Mike Johnson promoting
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride at Comic-Con in 2005

Don Hahn was also a producer on many of the animated films from the so-called "Disney Renaissance" of the late 1980s and 1990s, such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King. He was also a leading producer on the 3D theatrical re-release of The Nightmare Before Christmas in 2006. Like the re-release of the cult classic musical, Frankenweenie will be shown in 3D in theaters, among numerous other future Disney releases. Pixar and Disney have decided to work exclusively in 3D for many of their upcoming films, on various forms of animation and even on some live-action movies. Specifically, Hahn will be an executive producer on Frankenweenie.

Don Hahn

Tim Burton will also be a producer on the stop-motion film, reportedly.

The movie website also stated that filming has commenced on Frankenweenie. This would make sense, as stop-motion animation is a tedious process (despite the film being deliberately low-budget, as Burton wanted). No updates on the screenplay or casting have come up. Frequent Burton collaborator Chris Lebenzon will likely serve as editor.

Again, it is always good to be wary of announcements on IMDb, but we feel confident with this information (plus, the author of these articles is already getting very anxious for these upcoming Burton films). We will keep you posted of any updates!

Zanuck on "Alice"

No big news at the moment, but producer Richard D. Zanuck has confirmed that Tim Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland will begin shooting in London this May. Burton is currently involved in pre-production of the fanciful film.

The producer, who has collaborated with Burton on each of his live-action films since Planet of the Apes in 2001, also promised that there will be "a lot of animation" in the movie.

Alice, which is being made with Walt Disney Pictures, will use a combination of computer-generated animation and live-action.

No casting decisions have been declared at the moment, but since filming is due to begin very shortly, we may find out who will be in the movie soon enough.

Stay tuned for more information!

Burton Denies Duping Lisa Marie

Tim Burton has denied allegations from his ex-girlfriend Lisa Marie that he had tricked her out of promised assets after the two broke up, eonline.com reports.

"The suggestion made by [Lisa Marie] that I engaged in any conduct which was calculated to deceive her...is completely false and completely ludicrous," Burton says in a seven-page court declaration filed Thursday, April 24th, 2008.

Lisa Marie, who appeared in several of Burton's films, sued the director in 2006 for fraud and breach of fiduciary contract, alleging he cheated her out of an equitable division of their accumulated property. Burton and Marie ended their 10-year relationship in 2001, when Burton met actress Helena Bonham Carter.

Lisa Marie claims that the filmmaker agreed to bankroll her for life in exchange for serving as his personal manager and acting in his films, the article stated. The article went on to say that Marie's suit seeks to rescind three previous legal settlements between them, accusing Burton of orchestrating a conspiracy theory—getting various friends and counselors, including her own lawyer, to convince her into accepting a smaller payout.

Burton denies the accuracy of these charges. "Allegations that I did, or intended to do, anything illegal, unethical or improper to cause [her] to sign agreements are complete fabrications," he states in his affidavit.

Barry King/WiredImage.com

The director says he went to great lengths to reach an amicable settlement, selling two apartment buildings he owned in New York and borrowing $3.5 million to pay her. He also claims to have gave $715,000 to the IRS in gift taxes for one of his payments to her.

"My goal was to provide [Lisa Marie] with sufficient resources to permit [her] to take care of herself for the rest of her life, and had nothing whatsoever to do with any legal obligation," his statement says.

Burton's lawyer, Joseph Mannis, also wants the complaint thrown out: "We believe that the lawsuit is frivolous and have filed a motion for summary judgment," says Mannis. "Mr. Burton believes he was very generous in the amount of money he gave her and does not believe he owes her more.

"Mr. Burton also doesn't believe he did anything wrong."



The next hearing in the case is set for July 14th, 2008.

Video of Tim Burton in Amsterdam

Here's a video excerpt of Tim Burton taking questions from audience members at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival from April 10th, 2008. The video was provided by jordi and shot by Marin Visser, so go to the link listed below to leave comments:

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=68FCA1oCxmI

Michael Keaton on Tim Burton at Film Festival

This Saturday, April 12th, Michael Keaton will attend the Sonoma Valley Film Festival in northern California, FilmStew.com stated.

Keaton is the director and co-star of a new drama, The Merry Gentlemen. In addition to a screening of his new film, Keaton will also be the recipient of a special career tribute, which will be followed by a screening of his well-known comedy, Beetlejuice, which was also his first film with Tim Burton.

A number of surprise special guests are expected at the show, the article stated, including, some suspect, Burton.

Keaton spoke about his collaborations with the director, saying, "I would work with Tim Burton again in a heartbeat," in a recent phone interview last week with the San Francisco Chronicle. "When you're around that kind of personality, it starts to burn little fires again, you get turned on. And that goes for a lot of people."

Michael Keaton at San Jose's Cinequest.
(John Medina/WireImage.com Photo)

There is no confirmation on whether Burton will attend or not.

Michael Keaton worked with Tim Burton on Beetlejuice in 1988, and then as the title Caped Crusader in Batman and Batman Returns.

"Edward Scissorhands" Ballet Tour Information

In case you missed it before, Matthew Bourne's ballet adaptation of Edward Scissorhands may be coming to a continent near you.

Information on the global tour of the ballet was released on whatsonstage.com. According to the website, the show will return to Sadler's Wells in London for a seven-week season this Christmas.

"As part of a new international tour, the dance drama will run at Sadler’s Wells, where it broke box office records during its first season in late 2005, from 2 December 2008 to 29 November 2009," said whatsonstage.com.

The ballet features music by Terry Davies based on Danny Elfman’s film score.

"Prior to London, Edward Scissorhands will also visit Birmingham, Salford and Wimbledon. And, before and after the UK, it will tour Australia for nine weeks, spend four weeks in Paris and visit Athens and Antwerp."

Shrimp Glove Face Plant: MC Chris' Tribute to Beetlejuice

"Nerdcore" comic rapper mc chris (yes, it's supposed to be spelled in lower-case) has just released a tribute song to the ghost with the most.

mc chris, a.k.a Chris Ward, is probably better known for his roles on [adult swim] shows including Aqua Teen Hunger Force (as MC Pee-pants) and Sealab 2021. He has also written for Sealab and The Brak Show.

The song uses samples from Danny Elfman's classic theme from Beetlejuice.

You can read the lyrics, and learn about some of the more esoteric, enthusiastic nerdy references, in this link (unless you Burtonites could catch them for yourself, of course), and you can download the song for FREE as an Mp3 from mc chris' MySpace profile (under the title "secret song").

Listen to the song here:




im deathly pale bad breath bad teeth
hate the sand and the sun never see me at the beach
i'll stick with goth chicks transfixed on death
that wear black britches i insist on nice breasts

i sleep in a grave lived through the black plague
actually that's all my fault but dont wiki that k?
green hair downstairs boogers farts and phlegm
that's my stock in trade see me startin trends

black and white striped suit or a blood red tux
got jack on my hat in japan it's a must
i can change shapes do pranks and disguises
bioexorcist im the best in a crisis

parents wanted me to clean up like my brother
boss used to say i didnt work well with others
now im independent and my methods are effective
say my name three times if you want to get connected

beetlejuice beetlejuice one two three
i like a little lady name lydia deetz
her demeanor is depressed i confess that's sweet
dont try to deny she's my bride to be

hey kmart shoppers there's a sale on my services
im here to help there's no need for your nervousness
i'll eat what u wanna eat swallow what u say
relieve you of your living that are ruining your day

have you read the handbook for the recently deceased
it's too thick like my dick when i think of little deetz
she's the key to my release from this model existence
coffin lining's confining and i want out this instant

me and the dragster of doom we're the baddest of dudes
we hit the inferno room where the ladies get nude
but we're eternally screwed so i become a bridegroom
and get lovely lydia to lip synch an i do

i must move the maitlands out of my way
give'm zipperlips pitch a plate on their face
say hello to hammer hands say goodbye to goulet
and then off to fla where my review drew raves

shrimp glove face plant
we like cassettes not 8 track
clown face much like
the one you'll see in dark knight
being dead kinda sucks
the afterlife's no fun to us
im the name that people trust
the juice that comes from beetleguts

Charlton Heston, 1923-2008

Movie legend Charlton Heston passed away on Saturday, April 5th, 2008. He was 84. Lydia, his wife of 64 years, was by his side.

The Oscar-winning actor, president of the National Rifle Association, and Civil Rights activist was one of the last remnants of the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood. He starred in such monumental classics as Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, Touch of Evil, and the original Planet of the Apes, among many other films.

One of his last onscreen appearances was in Tim Burton's 2001 version of the science-fiction adventure Planet of the Apes. In the film, Heston appears in an unbilled, surprise cameo as a dying old chimpanzee, speaking to his violent son, the villainous Thade, played by Tim Roth.

On the DVD audio commentary track of the film, Burton recalls how exciting it was, working with this screen legend and hearing his booming voice in person.

Here's an excerpt of a review of Burton's film by Armond White of the New York Press from 2001. The review has a consideration portion focusing on Heston's brief appearance. You can read the full article, which also comments on the visual style, Tim Roth and Helena Bonham Carter's performances, and likens the movie to social satire, in this link:



Charlton Heston reveals the discreet charm of the Hollywood conservative in Tim Burton’s reimagined Planet of the Apes. In the 1968 original Heston starred as an American astronaut who discovers a future evolutionary reversal–a society ruled by apes, with humans as the captive species. Now, in an unbilled cameo, Heston plays one of the apes passing a legacy of violence and vengeance to his son Thade (a snarling, snorting Tim Roth). Once again evolution has played tricks on mankind by reasserting the atavistic animal within. And Heston displays this with rousing, hilarious aplomb. You might recall Laurence Olivier’s deathbed scene in Brideshead Revisited but Heston’s from-the-mountaintop voice ("Damn them all to hell!") is irresistible. It echoes through one’s movie memories–parodying aristocratic hubris and Heston himself.

Bequeathing an ancient relic–a gun–to a pre-Neanderthal is an irony surely not lost on NRA zealot Heston who, earlier this year, appeared as a dangerous, rifle-toting nut case in the Warren Beatty comedy Town & Country. When one of Burton’s primates sees a gun and asks, "Who would invent such a thing?" the obvious answer to the question resonates as Heston’s private joke–a punchline that hunts down liberal alarmists in their tracks. Fully cognizant of the misuse of firearms, Heston’s gag doesn’t deny the risks that guns entail. (The sense of the scene recalls that Simpsons joke when Homer, told he can only purchase a gun after an eight-day security check, whines, "But I’m angry now!") Heston’s scene reflects the gun control debate with imaginative complexity–as such sophisticated moralists Sam Peckinpah and John Boorman once were able to do. He goes pop–without isolating the issue or taking it past ambivalence to partisan oversimplification. In fact, Heston’s character curses "the power of invention, the power of technology... Against this our [physical] strength means nothing." It’s a startlingly humane plea coming from a dying simian patriarch who was a nearly pacifist ruler hiding the secret of weaponry. Knowing the catastrophe of humans’ unchecked aggression, Heston warns, "No creature is as dangerous...as violent." This twist is richer than any right- or left-wing rhetoric.

"Sweeney Todd" Region 2 DVD and Blu-Ray

Play.com has released information and cover art for the Region 2 Two-Disc DVD and the Blu-Ray DVD version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

While the two-disc DVD version doesn't have as many bonus features and its U.S. counterpart, it does appear to have a commentary track by Tim Burton, as well as a Sketchbook (both special features were not on the Region 1 DVD version in North America).


Region 2 Two-Disc Edition Special Features:

• Play.com Exclusive Cover (This exclusive cover can be found beneath the cardboard slipcase)
• Commentary By Tim Burton
• Musical Mayhem: Sondheim's Sweeney Todd
• Sweeney Todd Is Alive: The Real History Of The Demon Barber
• Sweeney's London
• Recreating Fleet Street
• Grand Guinol: A Theatrical Tradition
• Sketchbook

The Two-Disc Region 2 DVD



The Play.com exclusive cover for the two-disc DVD case.

The DVD website also provided the special feature information and cover art for the Blu-Ray version of the film. Play.com is also offering an exclusive 16-page booklet offering "A Look Behind the Scenes":

Blu-Ray Special Features

• Play.com Exclusive Behind The Scenes 16 Page Booklet
• Commentary By Tim Burton
• Musical Mayhem: Sondheim's Sweeney Todd
• Sweeney Todd Is Alive: The Real History Of The Demon Barber
• Sweeney's London
• Recreating Fleet Street
• Grand Guinol: A Theatrical Tradition
• Sketchbook

The Play.com exclusive booklet:

The Blu-Ray DVD works in any Blu-Ray DVD player, without the restraints of region specification. Both versions will be available to purchase in the UK on May 19th, 2008. You can also pre-order them now on the links at the beginning of this article.

Special "Sweeney Todd" DVD Packages and Bonuses

IGN.com has provided some information and pictures regarding some special DVD releases of Sweeney Todd:


Best Buy: Viewers get a free movie ticket to The Ruins with the purchase of Sweeney Todd.

Suncoast & FYE: Shoppers can purchase Sweeney's limited-edition steel book packaging. (It's pretty metal, both figuratively and literally.)

Costco: Exclusively at Costco, the Sweeney Todd Fleet Street Giftset includes the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD and the lavish, hardcover official companion book, written by Mark Salisbury. With a forward by Tim Burton, the book includes over 200 photos, concept drawings and production designs, extracts from the screenplay and interviews with the cast including Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

Borders: Packed with every DVD is the abridged version of the official Sweeney Todd Companion book featuring behind the scenes shots from the film and more.


The DVD of Burton's latest film and its various promotional offerings and packages are now available in North America.

APRIL FOOL'S!!!

We couldn't resist. Emily Kim Burton (see this post) is not the baby's name. It was all a big April Fool's hardee-har-har.

In fact, no one really knows her name. Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter might not even know yet! But we do know this: It's not Indiana Rose Burton (at the moment), and you can always count on the Tim Burton Collective News to supply you with up-to-date, accurate information on Mr. Burton and his films and works. (Except maybe on April 1st.)

Now let's get on to some real news!

Baby's Name: Revealed!

Rumors online have flourished for months stating that the name of Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter's December-born daughter was Indiana Rose Burton. But on January 31st, this was proven to be incorrect.

Weeks onward, the name had not been decided or revealed. Now, the baby's name has been revealed: Emily Kim Burton. The exact reason behind the name is unknown, but if it was a conscious decision, it is likely that her first and middle names were patterned after the names of two characters in the films of her father: Kim being the name of Winona Ryder's character in Edward Scissorhands (a very personal film for Burton), and Emily from the animated film Corpse Bride (who was voiced by her mother, Bonham Carter).

This is Burton and Bonham Carter's second child. Their first, Billy Ray Burton, was born in October 2004.

Congratulations to the happy family!