2008 Oscars Results

The winners from the 80th Annual Academy Awards have all been announced. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was nominated for three awards, and won one Oscar for Best Achievement in Art Direction. Italian production designer Dante Ferretti and his wife, Francesca Lo Schiavo, who was the set designer on the horror-musical, each won an award.

Here are the acceptance speeches by the pair (and more information on their nomination history in this link):

Dante Ferretti:
Thank you to the Academy. And thank you to Tim Burton, fantastic director. Thank you to Richard Zanuck. Thank you to everybody, thank you to my team, all the department, everyone. Thank you, Johnny. And I'm sorry, i forgot something, but I'm very -- thank you anyway.

Francesca Lo Schiavo:
Just i would like to say, this time, thank you, thank you to the Academy. I'm so happy, so grateful. And thank you to Tim Burton. Great director. Johnny Depp and all the actors, Everybody, for this fantastic movie.

Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo hold their Oscars
for their work on the art direction in Sweeney Todd (OSCAR.com)

You can watch a "Thank You Cam" video of the two on the official Oscars website.

Colleen Atwood's costume designs for Sweeney Todd were also nominated, but ultimately lost to Alexandra Byrne's costumes used in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Johnny Depp was also nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. However, Daniel Day Lewis, who was predicted as the front runner for the award, received the Oscar for his performance in There Will Be Blood. Previous Burton collaborator Marion Cotillard (who played Josephine in Big Fish) won Best Actress for her performance as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose (a.ka. La Mome). Neither Tim Burton nor Helena Bonham Carter were present at the awards ceremony. It is likely that they were with their children in London at the time.

Although the famed costume designer did not take home an Academy Award this year, Oscars.com did have a special treat from Colleen Atwood. Atwood filled out a questionnaire. See her personal answers and stories, in her handwriting (click on the image for a closer view):





Information on the other winners and nominees can be read in this link.

Eight Saturn Award Nominations for "Sweeney Todd"

The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has given a lot of attention to Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The non-profit organization, now celebrating its 34th Annual Awards season, has nominated the musical thriller for eight Saturn Awards:

-Best Horror Film
-Best Actor (Johnny Depp)
-Best Actress (Helena Bonham Carter)
-Best Supporting Actor (Alan Rickman)
-Best Direction (Tim Burton)
-Best Writing (John Logan)
-Best Costume (Colleen Atwood)
-Best Make-Up (Peter Owen and Ivana Primorac)


You can read the complete list of this year's nominees and read more about the organization on this link.

This year's show will take place on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008, in Universal City, California.

Elijah Wood Confirms Voice for "9"

Actor Elijah Wood recently confirmed that he has lent his voice for an upcoming computer animated feature film, entitled 9. Here's what Wood said:

[T]here's a movie called 9. It's an animated film directed by Shane Acker and executive produced by Tim Burton. That is actually a fully fleshed-out version of the 9 short film that won Best Animated Short at the Oscars, I believe, a couple of years ago. It's about a post-apocalyptic world, essentially, a world where humanity has been destroyed by the machinery it has created. There are these rag dolls, these mechanized rag dolls, that are the only living thing left and they are trying to figure out who they are, and what they are and why humanity was destroyed. It's sort of (laughs) it's relatively dark fare, but the animation style is extraordinary and the story is quite an adventurous one and quite unique in regards to the animated films that have been released in the past couple of years.



The film is based on a 10 1/2 minute long short of the same name, which was directed by Shane Acker. The short took 4 1/2 years to make. It differs from its upcoming feature adaptation in that the original short did not feature any voices. Instead, an unusual semblance of unique sound effects and music moved the story along. The film was nominated for an Oscar in 2005.

Though it will be made in CGI, the computer animation is said to mimic the movement of stop-motion animation, which Tim Burton is so fond of.

Poster for the original short 9 (2004)

Other actors who have lent their voices for the upcoming project include Martin Landau (who was in Tim Burton's Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow), Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, and Christopher Plummer. Along with Burton, Timur Bekmambetov, Dana Ginsburg, Jim Lemley, and Marci Levine will produce the movie.

9 is set for a U.S. theatrical release of December 26th, 2008.

BAFTA Nominees Announced

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has been nominated for two BAFTA awards: Best Make Up & Hair (Ivana Primorac and Peter Owen), and Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood). The results from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts will be announced on February 10th, 2008.

Oscar Nominees Announced

The nominees for the 80th Annual Academy Awards have been announced. The official website, oscar.com, states that Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has been nominated for three categories: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Johnny Depp as the title character), Best Art Direction (art director Dante Ferretti and set decorator Francesca Lo Schiavo), and Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood, making this her second nomination for her work on a Tim Burton film, with Sleepy Hollow being the first). Click on the links for Academy Award history on each of the nominees.


The Oscar Awards ceremony will broadcast on February 24th, 2008, at 5PT/8ET on ABC in the United States.

Coverage of UK Premiere of "Sweeney Todd"

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street had its United Kingdom premiere in Leicester Square last night on Thursday, January 10th, 2008. Director Tim Burton and much of the cast (including Alan Rickman, Jayne Wisener, and Timothy Spall) were present for fans from all over, some from as far away as Russia and Japan. Star Johnny Depp spoke of his experience tackling the difficult singing in the musical horror film, based on the staged musical by Stephen Sondheim. "It was a challenge to see if I could do it. You've got to try something once and I gave it a shot," he said. Depp spent over an hour talking with fans from far and wide (the actor has been called the "best autograph giver", who likes to get to know his fans while signing for them).

Johnny Depp signing autographs.

While singing is one aspect of the film that has generated a lot of talk, the amount of blood and violence is another ever-present feature of the movie. Tim Burton defended that hyper-stylized gore effects in the movie. "By having more blood, it actually made it a bit less graphic, because sometimes when you don't show stuff it has a tendency to be more real and disturbing," he said. Burton has also said that it befits the film to be bloody, since it's been violent ever since the story began as an urban legend during the 1840s.

Helena Bonham Carter

Burton's partner Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Mrs. Lovett in the film, had no issue with the gore, and she was ecstatic to be a part of the movie. "It's one of the best written roles for women ever. I loved it from the age of 13. I think I've always wanted to be Mrs. Lovett," the actress said.

Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman, who plays the sinister Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd, also shared a large group of fans as well as concerns about singing. "It was less singing and more careering from one note to another," he claimed. But Burton and Sondheim both had a preference for casting actors who could sing instead of casting singers who could act.

19-year-old Jayne Wisener plays Johanna in Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd will be released in cinemas throughout the United Kingdom on January 25th, 2008.

From left to right: Alan Rickman, Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, and Timothy Spall (who plays Turpin's right-hand man, Beadle Bamford)

Johnny Depp Tastes Like Frogs' Legs

At the Tokyo, Japan premiere of his latest movie, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Johnny Depp was asked to consider what he would taste like if he was a real life cannibal. Depp's answer: "Frogs' legs," and adding he would taste a little bitter. "I would suggest deep frying," the actor said with amusement. Director Tim Burton pondered his answer for a while before coming to the conclusion of chicken, but producer Richard D. Zanuck did not hesitate with his response: "Shark!" the producer exclaimed enthusiastically, laughing. The trio said this at a press conference in front of 600 media. More than 6,000 fans were at the premiere.

Three very enthusiastic Japanese fans. (AP)

Depp and Burton were also asked about what they thought of the Golden Globes Awards ceremony being cancelled this year, due to a writers' strike.

"I'm just torn into pieces about it. I feel really disappointed," he said, grinning, while Burton added: "I'm just happy. I don't have to make a trip to Los Angeles. That's all I feel."

Sweeney Todd was nominated for Best Picture (musical or comedy), Johnny Depp for Best Actor, Helena Bonham Carter for Best Actress, and Tim Burton for Best Director.

Sweeney Todd's Tokyo premiere took place on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008. The film will be released throughout Japan on January 19th, 2008.

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp at the Tokyo premiere.
(AP/Katsumi Kasahara)


(AP/Katsumi Kasahara)

Burton: "Studios Feared 'Sweeney Todd'"

Tim Burton recalls that studio bosses were fearful of investing in his film, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, an ultraviolent, hyper-stylized movie-musical with no "pop songs," fearing that it would be a disaster. Even with Johnny Depp set to play the lead role, studio executives in Hollywood were cautious, since they felt Depp did not have enough experience, especially to tackle such difficult music as featured in Stephen Sondheim's opera-like musical. But in the end, Burton praised Hollywood for eventually allowing him to make such an ambitious motion picture.

The director tells British film magazine Empire, "What's weird is that they (the studios) are afraid of musicals anyway, but an R-rated musical with blood that's not based on pop songs, it's like, 'F**k!'

"Then it was like, 'Um, can he (Depp) sing?' Nobody knew. I didn't know. So that's the joke of the whole thing. In a way, that's the surreal nature of Hollywood, so you have to love it for that because on paper, it's like the worst idea of all time!"

Sweeney Todd did not dominate the box-office on its opening weekend in the United States. It's opening weekend box office, starting on Friday, December 21st, 2007, was only $9,300,805 (opening in 1,249 theaters, $7,446 average per theater), less than one-fifth of the film's cost of $50 million. But since then, the film has grossed an estimated $38,472,000 (as of January 6th, 2008) in the United States alone, and global box office results and DVD sales should more than make up for the underwhelming opening weekend.

You can read more on the box office results of Sweeney Todd and many more films at BoxOfficeMojo.com.

(world entertainment news)

"Sweeney Todd" Gets Four Golden Globe Nominations Including Best Picture

The nominees for the 2008 Golden Globe Awards have been announced. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has earned four nominations:

- Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy:
Sweeney Todd (Parkes/MacDonald and Zanuck Company; DreamWorks/Paramount Distribution / Warner Bros. Pictures)

-Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy:
Helena Bonham Carter

-Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy:
Johnny Depp

-Best Director - Motion Picture:
Tim Burton


The 65th Golden Globe Awards will be broadcast on January 13th, 2008.

Burton on "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

Scifi.com reports that, in an interview, Burton wanted to maintain the essence of Lewis Carroll's original with his upcoming adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. "It's just such a classic, and the imagery is so surreal," said the director. "I don't know; I've never seen a version where I feel like they got it all. It's a series of weird adventures, and to try to do it where it works as a movie will be interesting."

Burton will also produce the film, which will be released by the Walt Disney Co. It will reportedly be a hybrid of live-action and performance-capture animation.

"The stories are like drugs for children, you know?" Burton said. "It's like, 'Whoa, man.' The imagery, they've never quite nailed making it compelling as a full story. So I think it's an interesting challenge to direct.

Filming on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland will commence in early 2008.

Update: The Producers of Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" Announced

Playbill News has stated that Richard D. Zanuck, Joe Roth with Suzanne and Jennifer Todd will produce Tim Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland at Disney. Roth and the two Todds are first-time Burton collaborators, but Richard D. Zanuck has produced every live-action film by Tim Burton since 2001's Planet of the Apes. The article also stated that production for Alice will commence in January 2008. Burton will not be working on Alice and his stop-motion remake of Frankenweenie simultaneously. Instead, production on the upcoming animated film about a boy and his resurrected dog will begin after Alice. Walt Disney Pictures is expecting production on Alice to be finished by the end of May 2008.

Updates on the New Films

A new article has stated that Linda Woolverton, who wrote the screenplays for the Disney animated features Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, will be penning the script for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie. In addition, both Alice and the stop-motion, feature-length version of Frankenweenie will be shown in theaters in the Disney Digital 3D format. The 3D format has received a reborn interest among many film studios in Hollywood. Several new films and old classics will be released or re-released in the 3D format in the coming years. This year, Tim Burton's brain-child from 1993, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and his 1982 stop-motion short Vincent (in participating theaters), were shown in 3D.

Shooting for Alice will commence early in 2008 and is set to end production by the end of May that year. Burton will then go on to work on Frankenweenie, also with the Walt Disney Co.

NEW PROJECTS?!

Reuters and the Hollywood Reporter have announced that Tim Burton has signed on with the Walt Disney Co. to make two new film projects: Alice in Wonderland and a full-length, stop-motion version of Frankenweenie.

Alice in Wonderland, based on the original Lewis Carroll tale, will be shot with a combination of live-action and motion-capture technology. Shooting will begin early 2008. Rumors about Burton adapting the story have been circulating on the Internet for years, but this is certainly the closest thing to an official announcement that has appeared thus far.

The second project announced in the article, also in collaboration with the Walt Disney Co., Frankenweenie, is an adaptation of Burton's very own live-action short film he made while at Disney in 1984. This was the film that made Paul Reubens discover the young director and asked him to make his first feature-length film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, in 1985. Dick Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Pictures, hinted that a prominent filmmaker in recent stop-motion features would be working with Disney in the near future. This is likely that film. In the book Burton on Burton, director Tim Burton said that he felt that Frankenweenie could have been a full-length feature film.

More details to come in the near future! Stay tuned!

New "Sweeney Todd" Wide Release Date: December 21st!

DreamWorks and Paramount have decided to give Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd a wide release in the United States for Christmas. The original wide release date was January 11th, 2008, assuming that the film didn't have the potential to be a commercial success. But some studio executives saw some clips of the upcoming movie, and realized the film has much broader appeal than they assumed before (despite it being a violent musical). Variety wrote, "The hope is that "Sweeney" will be the sort of signature role for Depp that Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise was." However, the article stated that, "at the same time, DreamWorks and Paramount aren't likely to go out with "Sweeney." The studios aren't planning on releasing the film in more than 1,500 theaters in the United States on opening weekend.