More High Resolution "Alice" Images

More Alice in Wonderland art, images, and information on the technology of the film in high resolution detail, courtesy of animatie.blog.nl. Click on the images below to enlarge them:

"Alice": Behind-the-Scenes Image Galleries and Video

Times Online released their second series of exclusive Alice in Wonderland behind-the-scenes material.

Click here to see a short video with footage from the movie and input from Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, producer Suzanne Todd and senior visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston.

UPDATE: The video is now on YouTube:





Also from Times Online are these images that demonstrate the evolution of a few of the many wild characters of Underland, from sketches and illustrations by Tim Burton and Michael Kutsche to their final rendered, costumed, and realized forms. (Captions in quotes are directly from the Times Online galleries. Potential spoilers have been omitted in this article. Go to the original galleries to learn more about the characters, their relationships, and the storyline of the film.):


"The first animated character Alice encounters is the White Rabbit. Here, a storyboard sketch is done as the first step in creating the scene in the film."



"The artists at Imageworks create a low-resolution version of the CG character and place it in the CG environment - low-res allows the animators speed and flexibility while working on the scene."



"Once the character animation is completed, a high-res version of White Rabbit’s performance is checked on a more detailed model called a pit render."


"The performance approved, the Rabbit gets his fur and clothing. There are complex programs designed to make hair, fur and fabric move and behave as realistically as possible."


"This scene shot shows the final product, with all of the high-resolution elements including a furry and clothed Rabbit, his computer-generated surroundings, the matte painting background, the effects of moving leaves - all lit and textured. Elements are combined by a compositor."


"Here is the White Rabbit as illustrated by Michael Kutsche."


"Knave of Hearts sketch by Tim Burton."


"Knave of Hearts illustration by Michael Kutsche."


"The final product: Ilosovic Stayne, The Knave of Hearts, in the film," played by Crispin Glover.


"Red Queen sketch by Tim Burton."



"The final product: Helena Bonham Carter is the tyrannical monarch of Underland. With her oversized head, fiery temper and propensity to scream for people’s heads to be chopped off, she rules her subjects through fear."


"The iconic shot of Alice’s first meeting with the Cheshire Cat, who’s grinning at her from his tree limb, begins with what’s similar to a storyboard sketch, using an assemblage of low-resolution character stills."


"The scene moves to animation, where the character is dropped into a low-resolution environment: the images are kept low-res to allow Imageworks’ animators to create the Cat’s performance without having a lot of data to manipulate."


"The biggest challenge is to create a realistic cat that can generate the trademark exaggerated grin. Here, the all-important hair has been added, ensuring it behaves as it should, where it should be, with the Cat now curled on his limb."


"Here, final lighting is added, along with a full-resolution environment behind the Cat, including the flora and atmosphere added for visual effect."


All images are courtesy of Disney Enterprises.

Exclusive "Wonderland" TV Spots Coming Jan. 31st

Starting January 31st, several TV networks in the US will be showing some brand-new, exclusive footage of Alice in Wonderland. The promos will air for one week, and will be about 60 seconds long each. Here's a promo for the promos:



The final spot will appear during Super Bowl XLIV on Feburary 7th, which begins at 6 PM ET. According to Disney, the spot, entitled "Tick and Tock," will include "intense imagery and a few surprises".

"We wanted to kick off our television campaign for 'Alice in Wonderland' in a big way," says David Singh, executive vice president of worldwide marketing for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. "With Tim Burton at the helm and a cast that includes Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and rising star Mia Wasikowska, the film already has a passionate following. Fans are eager to step into the incredible 3D Wonderland that Burton has created and get a glimpse at what he's done with these brilliant characters, and we're ready to give it to them."

Here is a full schedule of the appearance of the rest of the spots:


ABC

* Desperate Housewives, Jan. 31, 9/8c
* The Bachelor, Feb. 1, 8/7c

ESPN

* 2010 NFL Pro Bowl, Jan. 31, 7:20ET
* NBA Nuggets/Lakers game, Feb. 5, 10:30ET

ABC Family

* Greek, Feb. 1, 10/9c
* The Parent Trap, Feb. 6, 8/7c

"Alice in Wonderland" US and UK Premieres Announced

From Johnny Depp News:

London (UK) Premiere Wednesday 24th or Thursday 25th February (TBC) Location: Odeon Leicester Square, London (TBC) Crowds Arrival: 12:00 noon Onwards Red Carpet Arrivals: 5:30pm Guests: Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Anne Hathaway, Stephen Fry, Christopher Lee, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman, Matt Lucas, Timothy Spall, Barbara Windsor, Paul Whitehouse and many many More.

Los Angeles (USA) Premiere February (TBC) Location: Pacific's El Capitan, 6838 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood Crowds Arrival: 2:00pm Red Carpet Arrivals: 5:30pm to 6:30pm Guests: Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter and many many More.

Hear "Almost Alice" 3OH!3 Song

Go to 3OH!3's official MySpace, and hear their song for the Almost Alice album, "Follow Me Down":

3OH!3's MySpace

Almost Alice will be released on March 2nd.



The album cover art for Almost Alice.

"Dark Shadows" on Track for 2011

The official "Dark Shadows" newsletter had this to report:

The "Dark Shadows" feature film finally is heading toward production later this year. It will star longtime DS fan Johnny Depp as "Barnabas." Director Tim Burton has completed the extended post-production of his most recent collaboration with Johnny, Disney's live-action/animated movie adaptation of "Alice In Wonderland." Johnny is starting to film "The Tourist" with Angelina Jolie. Variety 11-6: "Depp would play an American tourist drawn into a web of intrigue by a female Interpol agent (Jolie) who is attempting to locate a criminal who was once her lover." In the meantime, the DS script is being worked on and plans are on target for an expected 2011 release.

Tim Burton to Lead Cannes Jury

Tim Burton will be heading the nine-member jury of the prestigious international Cannes Film Festival. The filmmaker said that it will be a "great honor."

"After spending my early life watching triple features and 48-hour horror movie marathons, I'm finally ready for this. When you think of Cannes you think of world cinema. And as films have always been like dreams to me, this is a dream come true," Burton said in a statement in Paris today. The names of the other eight members of the Cannes jury will be announced in April.

"He's a magician," said Festival president Gilles Jacob of Burton. "We hope his sweet madness and gothic humour will pervade the Croisette," the celebrated seaside boulevard of Cannes, he added.

Some 20-odd films from all over the world will be seeking the coveted Palm d'Or at the 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival this year, which will be held from May 12th to 23rd.

Burton and Wasikowska on "Alice" Set

A new photograph of Tim Burton and Mia Wasikowska on the set of Alice in Wonderland has emerged.

Post-production has recently ended, and the film is finally completed. Alice in Wonderland will be released in theaters on Friday, March 5th, 2010.

Wahlberg on "Planet of the Apes"

Mark Wahlberg, who starred as Captain Leo Davidson in Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, recently explained why he was in the movie. Wahlberg said he chose the role so he could "grow" and just to work with director Burton.

"I didn't necessarily think 'Planet of the Apes' would be the best movie to remake, but I wanted to work with Tim Burton," said Wahlberg. "At that point I was choosing roles that allowed me to grow, to learn from great artists."

Originally a musician and a model, Wahlberg was not taken seriously for his film roles. Now, as an Oscar-nominated actor, Wahlberg has now been appreciated more for his performances. But even early on, the actor was entirely committed to his roles, such as the one in Planet of the Apes.

"I was committed 110 per cent," Wahlberg said. "It was like, 'Oh I'll just try this'. I was obsessed with acting, making movies, studying film 24 hours a day."

Twentieth Century Fox had expressed interest in revamping their Planet of the Apes franchise. However, the new film, which was supposed to be a prequel, was recently shelved. Neither Burton nor Wahlberg are were attached to the project.

UPDATE: New York Magazine reports that the reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise is actually in development, but neither Burton nor Wahlberg are attached.

New "Wonderland" Images

Courtesy of bscreview.com and Yahoo.com, some officially released Alice in Wonderland images:

Short Video Interview: Depp on Mad Hatter

Times Online has a brief, exclusive video interview with Johnny Depp. He discusses the various moods of the character and playing such an eccentric role.

UPDATE: Video now on YouTube:

Burton to Make Twisted "Sleeping Beauty"?

Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News had this to say:

"I was chatting to a fella I know tonight, and this person heard that Tim Burton is developing another classic Disney fairy tale in a quasi Live Actiony kinda way. It seems that Tim has a hankering for SLEEPING BEAUTY... but not really... You see, he's going to tell the story from Maleficent's point of view. In fact, it'll be called MALEFICENT."

However, this is all of the information that currently exists, and at this point it may only be a rumor.

"Dark Shadows" Remains in Dark

For several months, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have been attached to a feature-length adaptation of the TV drama series Dark Shadows. But producer Graham King says we may need to wait a little longer. According to CHUD, King said that they're still waiting for a script. King didn't say much else, but it's possible that matters concerning Dark Shadows will become clear once Alice in Wonderland is completed.

Elfman's "Wonderland" Soundtrack

Danny Elfman's soundtrack for Alice in Wonderland is now available to pre-order at Amazon.com. This album will only feature the score from the film, and not the songs on the Almost Alice CD.

The original motion picture soundtrack and Almost Alice will both be available on Tuesday, March 2nd.

"Almost Alice" Album Due March 2

Disney will be releasing a soundtrack for Alice in Wonderland on March 2nd, entitled Almost Alice.

Here's the full tracklist for Almost Alice:

1. “Alice (Underground)” performed by Avril Lavigne
2. “The Poison” performed by The All-American Rejects
3. “The Technicolor Phase” performed by Owl City
4. “Her Name Is Alice” performed by Shinedown
5. “Painting Flowers” performed by All Time Low
6. “Where’s My Angel” performed by Metro Station
7. “Strange” performed by Tokio Hotel and Kerli
8. “Follow Me Down” performed by 3OH!3 featuring Neon Hitch
9. “Very Good Advice” performed by Robert Smith
10. “In Transit” performed by Mark Hoppus with Pete Wentz
11. “Welcome to Mystery” performed by Plain White T’s
12. “Tea Party” performed by Kerli
13. “The Lobster Quadrille” performed by Franz Ferdinand
14. “Running Out of Time” performed by Motion City Soundtrack
15. “Fell Down a Hole” performed by Wolfmother
16. “White Rabbit” performed by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

According to the MySpace Music blog, most of these tracks are “re-imagining songs from the Disney classic.” The album will be an "inspired-by" compilation of songs, not unlike the Nightmare Revisited album from 2008 for The Nightmare Before Christmas.

There will also be a version of the album with two additional songs, exclusively available at Hot Topic.

New High Resolution "Alice" Poster

Click the image below to get the high resolution version of this new Alice in Wonderland poster:

Avril Lavigne to Release "Alice" Song

Avril Lavigne will be releasing a song for Alice in Wonderland, aceshowbiz.com reports. The song is entitled "Alice Underground." The song will be made available in March, in time for the film's release on March 5th in cinemas.


© Bob Charlotte/PR Photos

Johnny Depp on the Mad Hatter

Disney's Movie Surfers have released a new, brief video interview with Johnny Depp, who discusses the relationship between the Mad Hatter and Alice. The one-minute-long video also includes some new footage from Alice in Wonderland:

Samples of "Alice in Wonderland" Press Kit

Zap2It has provided a few images of the whimsical Alice in Wonderland press kit.



The press kit begins as a large book, bearing the poster of the film...



...Within that book are drawings and photographs of Tim Burton and Lewis Carroll. And inside of that book is a smaller book, with illustrations of the shooting locations and sets...



...This contains an even smaller book, with photographs of the stars of the film (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter), and illustrations of the characters...



...Finally, inside of that third book, was a small key which worked as a USB. A very small note (which required a magnifying glass to be read) stated: "The USB key will take you beyond the gates of Wonderland and unveil the many secrets that await you." The USB key contained a new trailer and three new photographs from the movie.