Bonham Carter on Working with Burton, "Dark Shadows"

Actor Daniel Radcliffe recently interviewed Helena Bonham Carter for Interview Magazine. You can read the interview in its entirety here, but here are some relevant excerpts from the conversation about working with her director/partner Tim Burton on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Dark Shadows:

RADCLIFFE: ...What's your relationship with musicals? Did you listen to them growing up?

BONHAM CARTER: I love musicals. Honestly, I'd always wanted to be in a musical, and I'd always wanted to be Mrs. Lovett [her role in Sweeney Todd], so when Tim said, "I'm going to make it, but you can audition if you want, you know . . .

RADCLIFFE: I remember you practicing singing.

BONHAM CARTER: Yes, again, you were there!

RADCLIFFE On the fifth [Harry Potter] film. I remember thinking, What is going to happen to Tim if she doesn't get this part? I think it's important to say you were also auditioning for [Stephen] Sondheim [a co-author of the original musical who was consulted for Burton's film]. And that's incredibly tough. What was that experience like?

BONHAM CARTER: It was one of the worst humps in our marriage. Not that we're married, but it's really hard—

RADCLIFFE: That's so brilliant. So can you talk about Dark Shadows? 'Cause I don't know the series really—

BONHAM CARTER: I didn't know it. I knew that Tim used to race home when he was a school kid and watch Dark Shadows, which was this really crappy soap opera-sort of Gothic soap opera, but it's all set around 1970. It's basically about Barnabus Collins, an unhappy vampire—a reluctant vampire.

It’s Tim Burton. He’s a genius. You can’t turn him down just because you go out with him and have two children together.

RADCLIFFE: Oh, cool! And you play Dr. Julia Hoffman?

BONHAM CARTER: I play the resident psychiatrist, who's an alcoholic. There's this sort of odd family . . . Barnabus Collins is resurrected from his coffin, and he comes back to his family. He's been away for 200 years. And Michelle Pfeiffer is, I guess, his great-niece by seven times.

RADCLIFFE: Excellent.

BONHAM CARTER: It was kind of worrying when I read it, because there's a sexy witch part. At the beginning of the film, before casting, Tim said, "I think we should take a break, because you get to work with all these other directors and I never get to work with other actors." I said, "Fine, absolutely understand it. Let's just be grown-up about it." And then [producer] Dick Zanuck—he's the most amazing man. He's 77, he's Daryl Zanuck's son, and he has produced flops, sensations—Jaws, The Sound of Music. I mean, he's a legend. So I'm on the Golden Globe red carpet, unfortunately dressed as usual, and Dick comes up to me—

RADCLIFFE: Oh, was this the different shoes?

BONHAM CARTER: Yeah. But you know, it was good because how do you do the carpet for an hour and half? So I thought, [forget] it. I looked at the dress and I thought, It's not gonna be well received, so let's just distract. At least you've got some control, you know?

RADCLIFFE: That's, frankly, inspired.

BONHAM CARTER: So Dick comes up to me and says, "Have you read it?" And I said, "Yeah, but he doesn't want me to be in it." He said, "No, no. You're the doctor . . . " I said, "Angélique, the sexy witch, right?" He said, "No, not Angélique. You're Dr. Hoffman." Doctor Hoffman! An alcoholic psychiatrist.

RADCLIFFE: Right, so you had pictured other actresses?

BONHAM CARTER: Well, I had, but I also thought, What is it about an alcoholic psychiatrist that makes you naturally think Helena?

Bonham Carter Wins Award, Burton Discusses "Alice"

The 2009 Jameson Empire Awards show was hosted this past Sunday in London's Grosvenor House. Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter attended.

Their film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was nominated for five awards: Best Horror, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Soundtrack. The musical-thriller didn't take most of its potential awards home (including Johnny Depp's nomination for Best Actor), except for Helena Bonham Carter, who was honored for her portrayal as Mrs. Lovett.


Here is Bonham Carter's acceptance speech (watch the video of her speech in this link):

"Thanks so much. This is a real compliment, I'm very chuffed. I did work actually incredibly hard for that role, but I loved every bit of it, and it was so many dreams come true. Because I always wanted to be in a musical, to sing, to be in something written by Steven Sondheim - he's a genius - and I always wanted a baby girl. I actually got all that, thanks to Tim Burton. And I know he always wanted to be Best Actress, so this is as much his as mine. Thank you!"



At the show, the actress mentioned how she would love to do more musicals in the future: "I'd love to do it but no-one's asked, I would be really up for it though."

She also talked about the singing abilities of her co-star, Johnny Depp, versus her own skills: "To be absolutely honest, people are born to sing, I wasn't born to sing but I could just do it and I only did it after about six months of training. If I'd known I was going to play that part I should have started training years ago, it's a muscle that needs to be exercised."

She added: "I would love to do more, given the chance, and I loved every second of doing it."

And she continued to say how thankful she has been to be a part of Tim Burton's world. "I feel really lucky to still feature in Tim's imagination. I know I've borne his illegitimate children and we're very happily together but it's really fantastic that I still seem to occur in his imagination," she said.

Helena Bonham Carter will be playing the role of the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland.

Michael Sheen and Helena Bonham Carter

While on the subject, Burton talked a bit about Alice in Wonderland:

"Way down the rabbit hole" was Burton's status report. "There's a long way to go."

Empire asked Burton how much CGI would be involved in the film: "I'm not quite sure yet - doing a big budget movie is an organic process and gives the opportunity to experiment. It’s something that was presented to me and I’d never seen really a movie version of [the story] that I like, so I thought I’d just give it a shot."



The director also gave his feelings about working with 3D: "I like the 3-D aspect of it, I think it fits the material very well, and it doesn’t give me a headache like it used to."

"I think it’s good for anything. There are other uses than having spears stuck into your face - I think there are more visceral, emotional uses, especially if you use lots of textures."


Michael Sheen, who will be in Alice in Wonderland, also attended the awards show. The British actor presented Helena Bonham Carter her award.



You can see more photos from the celebration in this link:

Michael Sheen with Gerard Butler


Tim Burton with fellow director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93)



Photo credits: Gareth Gay, Jeff Spicer / Alpha

"Music from the Films of Tim Burton" -- Now Available

The new CD featuring music from the films of Tim Burton is now available on iTunes and in stores. The album features classic scores by Danny Elfman, the theme from Ed Wood by Howard Shore, and four instrumental tracks from songs from Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The music has been performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir.

Here is the track list:

1. Sweeney Todd - Main Titles
2. Sweeney Todd - No Place Like London
3. Sweeney Todd - A Little Priest
4. Sweeney Todd - Johanna
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas - Christmas Eve Montage
6. Corpse Bride - The Piano Duet/Victor's Piano Solo
7. Sleepy Hollow - End Titles
8. Batman - Theme/Flowers/Love Theme/The Joker's Poem/Up the Cathedral/Waltz to the Death/The Final Confrontation
9. Batman Returns - End Titles
10. Edward Scissorhands - Main Theme/Ice Dance
11. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Finale
12. Beetlejuice
13. Pee-wee's Big Adventure - Breakfast Machine
14. Ed Wood - Main Theme
15. Mars Attacks!


You can hear samples of the CD and purchase the album on Amazon.com.

"Sweeney Todd" Region 2 DVD Now Available

The Region 2 DVD of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is now available in the UK. The following special features are on the two-disc set:

- Behind the scenes featuring: Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter

- Musical Mayhem: Sondheim's Sweeney Todd (featurette)

- Sweeney Todd is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber (featurette)

- Sweeney's London (featurette)

- Recreating Fleet Street (featurette)

- Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition (featurette)

- Sketchbook (a look at the creation of sketches of the story)


It should be noted that there is no Tim Burton audio commentary track, despite rumors suggesting that there might have been.

"Music from the Films of Tim Burton" CD

Filmscoremonthly.com has posted information about a new re-recording by Silva Screen Records...



The article says the following:

"'Music from the Films of Tim Burton'

Tim Burton’s career as a director has provided some of the most original and distinctive films in cinema history.

His long working relationship with the musical genius of Danny Elfman is the main subject of this collection of the very best music from his films.

With a collaboration lasting over 25 years, Danny Elfman’s quirky music has more than matched the strange screen worlds of Tim Burton.

Highlights include Breakfast Machine from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Main Title/Ice Dance from Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks! and Beetlejuice.

Also includes selections from Burton’s most recent film Sweeney Todd, composed by Stephen Sondheim."

The tracklisting is as follows:

1. Main Titles – Sweeney Todd
2. No Place Like London – Sweeney Todd
3. A Little Priest – Sweeney Todd
4. Johanna – Sweeney Todd
5. Christmas Eve Montage – The Nightmare Before Christmas
6. The Piano Duet/Victor’s Piano Solo – Corpse Bride
7. End Titles – Sleepy Hollow
8. Themes - Batman
9. End Titles – Batman Returns
10. Main Title/Ice Dance – Edward Scissorhands
11. Finale – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
12. Beetlejuice - Beetlejuice
13. Breakfast Machine – Pee-wee’s Big Adventure
14. Main Title – Ed Wood
15. Mars Attacks! – Mars Attacks


This CD is not composed of the same versions of the music by Danny Elfman, Howard Shore (Ed Wood), and Stephen Sondheim, that we're familiar with. Instead, these are new recordings of those pieces, played by the City of Prague Philharmonic.

The CD will be available in the UK on June 16th, 2008, and in the US on July 7th, 2008.


Catalogue No. SILCD1261
Format: CD
Barcode: 73857 2126124
Label: SILVA SCREEN
Street Date: 16/06/2008

"Sweeney Todd" DVD Information and Pictures!

Official information for the three Region 1 DVD (including HD DVD) versions of Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has been released! It will be available on April 1st, 2008, states Paramount Home Entertainment. The following information about DVD details and special features is categorized by the three DVD versions:


Single-Disc:

• Featurette: Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd

Two-Disc Special Edition:

• Featurettes:
  • Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd
  • Sweeney Todd is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber
  • Musical Mayhem: Sondheim's Sweeney Todd
  • Sweeney's London
  • The Making of Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
  • Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition
  • Designs for a Demon Barber
  • A Bloody Business
  • The Razor's Refrain
• Sweeney Todd Press Conference, November 2007
• Moviefone Unscripted with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp
• Theatrical Trailer
• Photo Gallery

HD DVD 2-Disc Special Edition:

• 1080P Widescreen
• English Dolby True HD 5.1 Surround
• English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround
• English, French and Spanish subtitles
• Featurettes:
  • Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd
  • Sweeney Todd is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber
  • Musical Mayhem: Sondheim's Sweeney Todd
  • Sweeney's London
  • The Making of Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
  • Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition
  • Designs for a Demon Barber
  • A Bloody Business
  • The Razor's Refrain
• Sweeney Todd Press Conference, November 2007
• Moviefone Unscripted with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp
• Theatrical Trailer
• Photo Gallery

The following images have been provided by IGN.com. Click on the pictures for larger versions. As of yet, there are no images of the HD DVD version's box. This edition will likely be one of the last HD DVD movies released, as the format recently lost the war against Blu-ray:


The Single-Disc Version:

Two-Disc Special Edition:

"Sweeney Todd" Soundtrack Climbs Higher on "Billboard 200"

Playbill.com reports that the soundtrack to Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has climbed higher and higher on "The Billboard 200" charts.

Released on Dec. 18, the album debuted on the chart at No. 56 and jumped to No. 23, then No. 18 in succeeding weeks. For its fourth week, it has climbed to its highest spot thus far: No. 16.

Sweeney Todd also maintains a steady position on the "Top Soundtracks" chart at No. 4. The recording, however, did slide on the "Top Digital Albums" chart (to No. 11) and on the "Top Internet Albums" chart (to No. 8).

Nonesuch Records released two versions of the film's soundtrack of Stephen Sondheim songs: the first was a "Highlights" disc, which featured specific songs from the film. The second was a "Deluxe Edition" CD, which featured all of the songs used in the film and an 80-page booklet of fully colored images from the movie and lyrics. Click on this link to see the full track list (SPOILERS might be present).

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)

For Depp, There Are Films, and There Are Tim Burton Films

For Johnny Depp, there are films and there are Tim Burton films. In an interview by Reuters, Depp, promoting Burton and Depp's sixth collaboration, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (which A. O. Scott of the New York Times has called ""something close to a masterpiece"), describes how he always looks forward to working with his director friend. "There are films that you do that you have enjoyed and the process is fantastic and the directors are great," says Depp. "And then there are the phone calls that you get from Tim," added the now 44-year-old actor. "That is a magical moment for me when the phone rings from Tim, because you know you are about to embark on something very very interesting."

Although Depp has been in the acting business for over twenty years, he recalls his latest collaboration with Burton -- taking on the lead, singing role of the murderous barber of Fleet Street -- as being one of his biggest challenges in his career. "It's an obtuse situation to be in when, at the ripe old age of 43, you find yourself suddenly trying to sing songs all the way through for the first time in your life," says Depp. "It's to say the least absurd and it was an odd feeling. So initially just hearing myself doing it, I was embarrassed..." But despite being "no Sammy Davis, Jr." or "no Frank Sinatra," Depp got the part as Sweeney Todd, with Stephen Sondheim's ultimate approval.

Tim Burton also fondly speaks of his many partnerships with Depp, although he feels that each film with the actor is a different experience.

"I've worked with him six times. I feel like I've worked with six different people," Burton said. "There are a lot of people that really do a very good job maintaining their persona ... they are good at being themselves in a movie. I like character actors that like to become different people, that's what energises me."

Depp and Burton at the Tokyo, Japan premiere of Sweeney Todd on January 9th, 2008.
Reuters/Michael Caronna

Burton and Depp first collaborated on Edward Scissorhands in 1990. Since then, they made Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and the animated film Corpse Bride (2005).

From Stage to Screen: Bringing a Musical to the Cinema

Bringing a staged musical to the big screen is not an easy task, especially for a production as ambitious (and beloved) as the one Tim Burton brought to cinemas: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The Times Online observes this in interviews with Tim Burton and Stephen Sondheim.

Shooting at London's Pinewood Studios was one step that allowed the making of the movie version of the Stephen Sondheim musical easier for Tim Burton (“Here, I’m more able to focus on the movie,” Burton says. “There [in Hollywood], you just feel this vibe of the business around you”). But even after over twenty years of filmmaking, Burton acknowledged how ambitious this film would be. “I’d never really done something like this,” he says. “I’d always had music in movies, but never full-blown. It’s very operatic, and almost everybody in the cast is not a professional singer. Even seasoned Broadway people are saying how difficult it is.”

Stephen Sondheim, age 77, is perhaps best known for his musical Sweeney Todd, which premiered in 1979 and is based on the urban legend of a murderous barber that lived during the nineteenth century in London. But (perhaps luckily) he is less remembered for earlier attempts at bringing his other staged musicals to movie theaters. Still, Sondheim admires film greatly, but interestingly is not typically a fan of movie musicals. “The one form of movies that I never particularly enjoyed was the movie-musical,” Sondheim cautions. “I liked the sort of fluffy musicals before the second world war, the Astaire/Rogers things, but movie-musicals that told stories have always struck me as ponderous.” It’s all down to the gulf between “stage time” and “film time”, he explains, the movie medium being unable to accommodate someone simply standing and singing for several minutes. “Take 'Tonight' from West Side Story. It’s a close-up of him, then a close-up of her, then a two-shot, then a shot of the fire escape. There’s nothing to do. You have to waste the time." (Sondheim wrote the lyrics for West Side Story).

Stephen Sondheim

Tim Burton also was never much of a fan of movie musicals, or even staged ones, for that matter. The director remembered when he first saw the show in 1980. At the time, he was a student at CalArts. “I wasn’t into theatre,” he recalls. “I’d never heard of Sondheim. I just sort of stumbled on it and it really affected me. The first time on stage I saw them singing Johanna, and with the throat, you know, the blood, I thought, ‘This is a unique juxtaposition of music and image.’” It seemed, he adds, “like a great movie score. It would lend itself to one of those old horror movies." Burton's description was not far off; Sondheim's score was at least partially a tribute to the film music of Bernard Herrmann, a film composer who is perhaps best known for his collaboration with director Alfred Hitchcock (and, coincidentally, Herrmann is the biggest influence and hero of contemporary film composer Danny Elfman, who scored nearly every single Tim Burton feature film, with the exceptions of Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd).

Twelve years later, in 1992, Burton was regarded as one of Hollywood's A-list directors (after the successes of such unique blockbusters as Batman and Edward Scissorhands). The young filmmaker approached Sondheim about adapting the musical to the screen. “Then I never heard from him again,” Sondheim mutters. The Sweeney Todd film idea was passed around to other directors for more than a decade, but never grew beyond that concept. Years later, Burton was a year into pre-production for a biography on Robert Ripley, called Ripley's Believe It or Not!, which was to star Jim Carrey in the title role. The project fell through, however. Luckily, Sweeney Todd fell back into Burton's lap. “In some ways, I think the timing was more right,” he muses. “Because, having someone like Johnny, it’s like 10 years or more of life experience, which kind of informs this version.”

Sondheim's consent came with the conditions that he retained complete creative control on what stayed, what was taken out, and what changes and decisions would be made to the project's casting and score (the promise was upheld). But he was cautious of casting Johnny Depp as the lead. After hearing a homemade demo of Depp singing "My Friends" from the musical, Sondheim was convinced. “The fact that he came from a musical background, a rock band, even though he was not a lead singer, I knew he was musical,” Sondheim insists. “I also knew that he was intelligent enough not to allow himself to play this part unless he could handle it vocally.”

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp on the set of Sweeney Todd

Making the transformation from stage to screen needs to look as seamless as possible. As a result, lots of changes need to be made. For one, time must be considered; a staged musical is often longer than the average movie. “I do not believe that anything is written in marble. I want the story to move ahead,” he says. “The thing with Tim is that he understands that. Where the songs did not either suggest or need a camera, ‘Let’s cut’, Tim would say to me, or [the writer] John Logan, and I’d look at it and see if I could elide it or rewrite so it had film motion to it.”

Will hardcore fans of Broadway and Stephen Sondheim still be critical of the film re imagining of Sweeney Todd? Yes. But Burton is not disturbed by this. “I always say: this is a movie. If you want to see the Broadway show, go look at the Broadway show. It’s a different thing.”

Helena Bonham Carter: "Sweeney Todd," Motherhood, Acting, and More!

The Observer has published a lengthy and highly informative interview with Helena Bonham Carter. In the article, the 41-year-old actress discusses her roles in Tim Burton's films, her relationship with the director, her family life, her professional life, and much more.

Helena Bonham Carter recalls one of the first conversations she had with Tim Burton, long before she and Burton got together, about her home place, Hampstead. The director had stayed there while shooting Sleepy Hollow and told the actress that it was the only place in the world where he felt that he truly belonged. Since then, the pair have become a happy, unmarried couple, with a home in Hampstead, England, and four-year-old Billy and a brand-new baby girl, just born this past December. Bonham Carter states that she is very happy with her relationship and family with Mr. Burton. "I think it's to do with our hair - the lack of comb, the lack of hair care," the actress stated.

Of course, Burton was curious about his next project at the time, Planet of the Apes, and Bonham Carter remembers that the very first thing the filmmaker told her was: "I can really see you in an ape mask." Bonham Carter continued, "'He said: 'Don't be offended, but you're the first person I thought of.' Then he explained himself, which was much more intuitive. He said: 'I just got the feeling you like to change what you look like.' And I said: 'You're absolutely right.'"

Helena Bonham Carter as Ari the chimp in Planet of the Apes (2001)

Bonham Carter explained that she wanted to be in Planet of the Apes for two main reasons: partly because of the ape suit ('I always like to do the thing you're never going to be able to do again'), and also because she wanted to be able to work with the acclaimed filmmaker. "I was excited to work with Tim Burton, even though the script was absolutely crap," she says. "But it wasn't a case of: 'I want to work with him because I'm going to have two children with him, and he's going to be my husband!'"

After Planet of the Apes, Helena Bonham Carter worked with Tim Burton on Big Fish (playing a witch), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (playing Charlie's poverty-stricken mother), lending her voice for the animated film Corpse Bride (playing the dearly departed bride), and most recently the love-sick, somewhat-maniacal Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Bonham Carter states that the horror/musical is "not feel-good," but she adored playing the part of Mrs. Lovett in the cinematic adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical. Bonham Carter is a self-described "musical whore." "I've always loved musicals," she says. "Tim thought I was making Billy gay because that's all I'd sing to him." She even claims that singing for Sweeney Todd may have got her pregnant. "It was all the oxygen. And my pelvic floor has never been so fit. I've got great hopes that after this baby it's going to bounce straight back" (Bonham Carter was pregnant with her and Burton's second child while this interview was being made).

A very pregnant Helena Bonham Carter

But the actress asserted that, contrary to accusations, she does not get the parts in her partner's films simply because of their relationship. "I really do have to be righter than right before Tim lets me do a part," she says. "Sexual favours don't get me anything" (nor does it for frequent Burton collaborator Johnny Depp, she said). This was especially the case for Sweeney Todd. Composer Stephen Sondheim, not Tim Burton, ultimately had the final say on whether or not she would play Mrs. Lovett. Luckily, after Bonham Carter auditioned for the Broadway legend, she passed Sondheim's test. She describes getting the part as "the most absolutely amazing thing. I just could not believe it. Nor could Tim, actually. He burst into tears. And I burst into tears."

As happy as Bonham Carter and Burton are in their relationship, she admits that their relationship, like any other, has its rockier moments, and not surprisingly when work is the issue. "There are certain stresses that come with working together," says Bonham Carter, particularly alluding to their experiences on shooting Sweeney Todd. "There's no pretence with us, you see. No 'Let's adopt our formal selves'."

What sort of thing is she talking about? "Well, he was all: (growls) 'How difficult is it to come through the door and cover that spot!' And I'd be (whines): 'I've got wool in my head because I'm fucking pregnant, and there's blood everywhere and I didn't see it, all right?' And all I get is: 'Action!'"

Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter (as Mrs. Lovett) in Sweeney Todd (2007)

But when things got tricky, Johnny Depp was able to step in and act as relationship counselor for the director and actress. Helena said, "Johnny was very helpful because me and Tim would sometimes have little domestics and he was very diplomatic." She continued, saying, "Johnny was very thoughtful because I was pregnant and when you are pregnant, for the first three months it's difficult to concentrate on anything - all your energy goes into the baby. Sometimes he was off-camera and when I had completely forgotten what Tim had told me, Johnny would just sign language, 'Look over there!' or whatever it was I needed to do, so that was particularly helpful!"

On feeding one another's creativity, Bonham Carter stated what she thought of the title of "muse." "I don't know if you could call me a muse," grins Bonham Carter. "Most muses are silent."

But despite minor mishaps during shooting, and despite how much she relished playing Mrs. Lovett, Helena Bonham Carter is absorbed and fully ecstatic with her role as a mother. The actress enthusiastically described motherhood as "the ultimate creativity," and said she'd love to do it again and again. "I'd really like six of them!" Does Bonham Carter feel that having her children in her late thirties and onward makes them all the more precious? "Yes," she says. "Because you really want them by then, don't you? You've made the decision. You don't resent the time, or any loss of freedom. You're just so very happy to have them around."

Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter

Bonham Carter reflected on whether or not Tim Burton was equally excited about becoming a parent. "Totally. He's very childlike anyway. He's never let go of his inner child. Or his outer child!" As for Helena?: "It does make you grow up, doesn't it?' she says. 'But it makes you grow down, too. It brings back the child in you."

The actress stated that she does not like to look at herself in the films she acts in ("It's not false modesty... It's torture!"), but she still loves that career. Her being in touch with her childlike sensibilities is what attracted her to acting in the first place. She says acting is "taken way too seriously - it's all just dress-up and make-believe." The actress also said that there should be a role of play in acting. "That and transforming. You know - getting away as far away from yourself as possible." But why would she need to get 'far away' from herself? "Because," smiles Bonham Carter, "that's what makes me feel liberated."

You can read much more on Helena Bonham Carter's career, film roles (including Harry Potter, Fight Club, and more), her family, her personal history, her fashion sense, and much more in the article from The Observer.

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)

Photos From Paramount Screening of "Sweeney Todd"

Pictures taken prior to a special screening of Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California, December 5, 2007.

Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton.
Reuters/Fred Prouser (United States)


Tim Burton.
AP Photo/Matt Sayles


Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.
Reuters/Fred Prouser (United States)


Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Richard D. Zanuck, and Stephen Sondheim.

Entertainment Weekly Covers "Sweeney Todd"

Entertainment Weekly has a huge cover story on the upcoming motion picture from Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The article, written by Steve Daly, calls says that the film is, "dark, desaturated, and visually stunning — and yields some revelations: First, Johnny Depp can actually sing, and second,the movie's got more spurting blood than a season's worth of E.R. Like the [staged musical], Sweeney Todd spins a gruesome tale of vengeance in 19th-century London."

Actor Johnny Depp remarks on bringing Todd and its psychotic, blood-thirsty anti-hero to the big screen. He reports the difficulty of ''taking a character like that and attempting to make people feel for him, at the same time that he's slashing people up. Not easy.'' Nevertheless, Depp remained enthusiastic about the challenge. "How many chances do you get at a musical about a serial killer?''

Helena Bonham Carter, Depp's co-star, who plays Mrs. Lovett in the film, says that the grotesque subplot of the movie "is so sick... I hope we get away with it.'' But director Tim Burton realized the importance of the highly stylized blood and gore effects. The article states that Burton "felt Sweeney should be deliberately grotesque — a Mario Bava gorefest with ballads." ''It just goes with the story,'' Burton says. ''I'd seen different Sweeney Todd productions on stage, and when they skimped on the blood, the production lost something. Everything is so internal with Sweeney that [the blood] is like his emotional release. It's more about catharsis than it is a literal thing.''

Photo by Leah Gallo

On the issue of the leading actors' singing capabilities, Stephen Sondheim felt confidence in their abilities. "'I figured he'd have a light baritone,'' says the composer, now 77. ''You can hear it in his speaking voice. I love him as an actor, and always have. Put those things together, I didn't hesitate for one second.'' Depp astonished by the master composer's words. ''It was a real shock,'' the actor says. ''He said to me early on that the singing was secondary to hitting the notes emotionally.'' Depp continued: ''I didn't believe him.'' He laughs. ''I think he was probably just saying that to make me feel better about what I was about to attempt.'' But Sondheim felt certainty in Depp's ambitious role. ''There are very few people who can act and sing at the same time,'' he says. ''He's one.''

Helena Bonham Carter also spoke of her work in the movie musical. ''I think I had to be righter than right to prove I was right to play Mrs. Lovett. But it had been in my blood. I wanted to be her when I was 13, when the show came out. I went around with a Mrs. Lovett hairdo.'' Unlike Depp, Bonham Carter studied for months with a renowned vocal coach, Ian Adam. ''He was famous for making actors sing who couldn't previously,'' she says. Sadly, Mr. Adam passed away the week filming wrapped.

Bonham Carter is aware of some people's doubts on bringing Mrs. Lovett to the screen effectively and faithfully to the original show. ''I'm sure people will think, Aah, it's because I've slept with Tim. But I didn't sleep with Sondheim. And he ultimately chose me.'' The composer says he watched a dozen or so audition tapes and insists that Bonham Carter's performance was the best. ''Even in a recording studio, wearing a schmatte, she is as beautiful and sexy as they come,'' he says. ''She knew what she was doing, more than the others.''

Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney's crazed cohort, and Sacha Baron Cohen, as Sweeney's rival, Signor Pirelli. Carter: Peter Mountain; Cohen: Leah Gallo.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will be released in U.S. theaters on December 21st, 2007.

More can be read in the article.

Q&A with Johnny Depp, on "Sweeney Todd"

Entertainment Weekly has conducted a question and answer session with Johnny Depp, star of Tim Burton's upcoming Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, on the making of the film. In the interview, Depp says his take on the murderous barber ''makes Sid Vicious look like the innocent paper boy.'' Depp says the wild streak of white hair his character was the result of "this hideous trauma, from being sent away, locked away. That streak of white hair became the shock of that rage." The actor also described the character's eyes as "needed to have experienced too much, you know. That's where the darkness came around them. These heavy rings around his eyes of purple and brown, this kind of awful fatigue and rage. It's like he's never slept."

Photo by Leah Gallo.

Depp also recalls Peter Lorre's performance in the film Mad Love and other horror film actors as being key sources of inspiration. On Lorre's performance, Depp says, "[h]e's unbelievably disturbing. Broken and haunting and sweet. Way ahead of its time, that film and performance. The other sort of God for me is Lon Chaney Sr. Aside from Peter Lorre, he would be the other enormous inspiration. Did you ever see his film The Penalty? It's shocking.... His performance is so heightened and gorgeous. I highly recommend that one."

On the amount of blood and gore in the movie musical, Depp says that he remembers "everyone except [himself] covered in plastic trash bags. There'd be a countdown. Three, two, one... action! And then blammo, you know? The great deluge."

Depp also talks about one of his co-stars, Sacha Baron Cohen (star of Borat, who plays Todd's nemesis, Pirelli). Depp said of Sacha Baron Cohen that "he's kind of today's equivalent to Peter Sellers." When asked how he and his long-time collaborator, director Tim Burton, worked together, Depp described it frankly that they've "never had an argument. The process [on Sweeney] has been as smooth as since way back when. Obviously, you want to come up with a character that you are not going to be embarrassed about. With Tim, I just don't want to let him down. Because, you know, he's a brother. He's my family. So that's one of the scariest sorts of things initially. Just making sure I haven't disappointed Tim. Once we get through that then I can kind of make sure I'm okay with it."

Burton and Depp on the set of Sweeney Todd. Photo by Peter Mountain.

When the interviewer, Steve Daly, said to Depp that he "is going to freak out a lot of pre-pubescent girls with this character," Depp enthusiastically exclaimed, "Ah, finally!"

More of the interview can be read here.

Running Time for "Sweeney Todd"?...

The Washington Post has stated that Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will be roughly 160 minutes in length. The running time suggested by the article contrasts with a supposed claim made by Stephen Sondheim that the film was about an hour and forty-five minutes long. But it is not uncommon for film adaptations of staged musicals to be fairly longer than the average movie. If the article is accurate, Sweeney Todd will be Burton's longest film to date. Others, who attended the pre-screening, said it was just under two hours. With so many ideas on the duration of the film, we may have to wait it out to learn how long Burton's next project is for certain...

"SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET" TRAILER!

Need I say more?

Variety Interviews Tim Burton

Tim Burton was interviewed by Variety on Friday, August 24th, 2007. In the interview, Burton discussed musicals, Sweeney Todd, and Johnny Depp.

Burton said that his favorite musical truly is "Sweeney Todd," because he isn't much of a fan of many musicals. "I do remember liking 'Guys and Dolls,'" the director recalls, "In that one, they don't burst into song. There's a design in the language that fits together with the music and they work together. I don't think that's the case with a lot of musicals."

The filmmaker had seen "Sweeney Todd" performed before, and adored it. "I saw it in London when it first played here. In fact, I saw it several nights in a row." But Burton did not pursue the idea of bringing "Todd" to the big screen at first. "Things happen and you drift into other things. But it is strange; I was looking at some sketches I did many years ago, and the sketches looked like Johnny and Helena in the film. Not that this would have happened several years ago. They weren't old enough."

Burton went on to say that "Sweeney Todd," "doesn't seem like a musical." He continued, saying, "In fact, it's like a silent movie with music. Like an old horror movie. The emotions come through. Johnny enjoyed that silent-actor style of acting. It was liberating."

The director remarked on Depp again. "I told Stephen: 'I know Johnny. I know he wouldn't say yes if he couldn't do it.' "

"Sweeney Todd" to be Rated "R" in USA

EW.com has confirmed that Sweeney Todd will be given the MPAA rating of "R" in the USA. The article goes on to mention Tim Burton's impression on making the film, which he said was one of his most challenging yet. ''To do an R-rated musical with 70 percent singing was kinda like, 'Well, I haven't done that one before.' It's exciting to keep surprising yourself and see what happens," the director says.

Helena Bonham Carter also went on to describe working on the film, saying how training for the demaning Sondheim songs was more like getting ready for a "sport." Also, the actress did extensive hours of baking in preparation for the movie musical. ''I had to do accelerated lessons at pie making,'' she says. ''Not only that, but then you had to do it to syncopated Sondheim rhythm and sing at the same time. I had to become very coordinated.'' Bonham Carter, however, was very enthusiastic about the look of her creepy character. ''The look is fantastic,'' the actress says. ''I'd wear this makeup anyway. But it might start a whole craze.'' Let's just hope her recipes don't catch on."

The film is due for a limited US release on December 21st, 2007, just in time for Christmas. It may not sound like a jolly holiday film, but Burton joked, ''Red is a color at Christmas." Although he wouldn't be averse to it being billed as a Valentine's Day film, either. ''For me, it sort of sums up relationships,'' says Burton. ''Although people might be horrified by that.''

Read on for more details!

Sondheim Talks "Todd"

According to Sandy George of The Australian (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,22052581-15803,00.html), Stephen Sondheim said at Sydney's Theatre Royal last Friday that the film adaptation of his musical "Sweeney Todd" will be, for the most part, very similar to his original conception of the show. Sondheim acknowledged that during the process of filming the musical originally made for the live stage, certain parts had to be cut for time consideration. "There are songs that have been cut, and cuts within some of the songs, but generally it is pretty much the score," Sondheim said. But despite a few alterations, Sondheim reassures that "the plot is very little changed ... It is pretty faithful." Sondheim also stated that the film would have that macabre Burton feel to it, saying that "It has got a lot of blood in it, and that's fine by me."