Sunday, January 12, 2014
New eBook: "The Animated Films of Tim Burton"
A new eBook has been published, Direct Conversations: The Animated Films of Tim Burton. Written by Tim Lammers, the 48-page book comes with a foreword by Tim Burton.
Description: Throughout his career, movie journalist Tim Lammers has talked with director Tim Burton and the key players who helped bring the stop-motion films The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Frankenweenie to life.
Now for the first time, Lammers has assembled the stories from Burton and his band of creatives all in one place. In Direct Conversations: The Animated Films of Tim Burton, you will not only hear from Burton, but Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Allison Abbate, Martin Landau, Elijah Wood, Atticus Shaffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, the late Ray Harryhausen, and more. The release of Direct Conversations: The Animated Films of Tim Burton comes as the 1993 classic The Nightmare Before Christmas celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Direct Conversations: The Animated Films of Tim Burton examines such films as The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, 9, and Frankenweenie. Physical copies are unavailable, but you can purchase the eBook for $4.99 USD.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Burton, Depp on "Dark Shadows"
Collider recently spoke with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. In this interview, the two discussed numerous topics relating to Dark Shadows, including how they decided to make this project, Depp's role as a producer, whether or not they might do a sequel, playing a vampire and Depp's influences in taking the part, and much more:
Question: Tim, can you talk about Johnny Depp bringing this to your attention and getting this project going?
TIM BURTON: We’ve talked about it for many years, but this was the first project that I ever remember Johnny saying that he’d wanted to play this ever since he was a little boy.
JOHNNY DEPP: Just a wee tike.
BURTON: He knew Barnabas Collins before he knew his own father.
DEPP: Pretty much.
BURTON: It was one of those things where the show had a lot of impact for some of us. Johnny, Michelle [Pfeiffer] and I were there at the time it came out, and we just recall it being a very strong, interesting property. This was something that Johnny had had for a long time.
Johnny, as a producer, what did you want to make sure you got across with this film?
DEPP: It’s impossible to consider myself a producer. I can barely produce an English muffin, in the morning. That’s the producer [in me]. But, just as a fan of the show, our initial conversation about the thing was during Sweeney Todd, where I just blurted out, in mid-conversation, “God, we should do a vampire movie together, where you have a vampire that looks like a vampire.” Dark Shadows was looming on the periphery, and then Tim and I started talking about it. When we got together, Tim and I started figuring out how it should be shaped. And then, (screenwriter) Seth [Grahame-Smith] came on board and the three of us just riffed. One thing led to another, and it basically dictated to us what it wanted to be, in a sense, certainly with Tim at the forefront, leading the troops.
What were the key elements from the original series that you wanted to carry over to this film?
BURTON: It’s a tricky tone and we all recognize that. When we talked about Dark Shadows, part of its appeal was the weird nature of all the elements that went into it. It was very serious, but it was on in the afternoon, on a daily basis. There were certain reasons why we loved the show, but you couldn’t necessarily adopt to a film. It was the weirdest challenge to get the acting tone and the soap opera nature of the tone. That’s a weird thing to go for in a Hollywood movie. It’s not like you can go to a studio and go, “We want to do weird soap opera acting.” They go, “Oh, great! Whatever that means.” That’s why I was so grateful to all of the cast. Even the ones that didn’t know the show, got into the spirit of it. What made it Dark Shadows was trying to capture the spirit of what the show was.
Johnny, what was the key to playing Barnabas Collins?
DEPP: There is some kind of thread throughout all these characters. The idea of this very elegant, upper-echelon, well-schooled gentleman, who was cursed in the 18th Century and is brought back to the most surreal era of our time – the 1970s, with 1972 – and how he would react to things and how radically different things were, not just with regard to technology and automobiles, but actual items of enjoyment for people, like pet rocks, fake flowers, plastic fruit, troll dolls, lava lamps and macrame owls. Those were my favorite.
What do you think people find so tempting about vampires?
DEPP: It’s a strange thing because, as a child, I certainly had a fascination with monsters and vampires, as did Tim. There’s this darkness, this mystery, this intrigue. And then, as you get older, you recognize the erotic nature of the vampire and the idea of the undead. What was most interesting, in terms of Barnabas, was the combination. It was a real challenge, probably more for Tim than me, to make that vampire, who is clearly a vampire, fit back into this odd society and this dysfunctional family, and I think he did it rather seamlessly.
Tim, what was it like to re-team with Michelle Pfeiffer, for the first time in 20 years, since Batman Returns?
BURTON: It was weird because it reminded me how much I loved working with Michelle. It was a long time ago, but it just flooded back. I never really watch the movies again, but how impressed I remember being with Michelle just flooded back. She learned how to use a whip and jump around on roofs in high-heeled shoes, let live birds fly out of her mouth, and let cats eat her. It was very impressive stuff. So, it was a real joy to get a call from Michelle [before there was even a script] and find out that she was a closet Dark Shadows fan. I knew she was weird, but that confirmed the whole situation. It was great. Michelle and Johnny and I, we were the only ones of the cast that knew Dark Shadows. You can’t really show Dark Shadows to anybody else that doesn’t know it ‘cause they’d probably run screaming out of the room. It was nice that Michelle, playing the head of the family, was a fan. It just made me realize how much I enjoyed working with her. But, she did have trouble walking down the stairs in this movie. Some people’s powers diminish, at some point.
Johnny, what was it like, the first time you had to bite someone in the film?
BURTON: Yeah, how was your bite on that big construction worker? Did you enjoy that?
DEPP: Well, going back to the erotic nature of vampires, I felt as though I was biting one of the Village People.
BURTON: And then, he went on to the biker and the cowboy.
DEPP: And the cop. No. When I had the fangs in, I wanted to be a little bit careful that I didn’t actually pierce the jugular. It was kind of like my experience shaving Alan Rickman (in Sweeney Todd), which, by the way, neither of us want to do again, especially Alan.
Johnny, actor Chris Sarandon said that he felt sorry for you for having to wear the vampire nails because he had such a hard time with it when he did Fright Night. How was it for you to have to wear them?
DEPP: There are many more reasons to feel sorry for me. We can go through them now, or we can just cuddle after. We can have a big group cuddle, and all get greasy and weird. In every film that I’ve been lucky enough to do with Tim, there’s always some form of torture. The nails were Tim’s idea. They were the length of the fingers. But, it was okay because I had a troupe of people who would help me go to the bathroom. They had to have treatment afterwards, but they’re okay now. That is true.
How much of your physicality for Barnabas came from watching Jonathan Frid, and was there also some Nosferatu influence?
DEPP: Approaching Barnabas, even in the early days of trying to explore the possibilities of the character, no matter where you went in your head, if you tried to veer away from the original Jonathan Frid character, it was apparent to both Tim and myself that it had to be rooted in Jonathan Frid’s character of Barnabas. It just had to be. It was so classic, in the classic monster, Fangoria magazine way. In terms of that, when Jonathan was playing Barnabas, there was a rigidity to him, like he had a pole of the back and this elegance that was always there. Tim and I talked early on that a vampire should look like a vampire. It was a rebellion against vampires that look like underwear models. There was a bit of Nosferatu in there, too.
What was it like to use a cane for this character?
DEPP: The cane was one of the left-over things from the series. It’s pretty much the same design. It’s slightly altered. It’s not a silver-tipped cane because my hand would have burst into flame.
How was it to have the original cast on the set?
DEPP: Well, it was great! It was great of Tim to bring them into the fold. It was our way of saluting them, and Jonathan was terrific. He had written me a letter, a couple of years before, and signed a photograph to me, passing the baton to Barnabas, which I thought was very sweet. He had his original Barnabas cane with him and I wasn’t sure, when he actually saw me, if he was going to attack me with it, but he didn’t.
BURTON: It’s like having the Pope come visit. For us, part of the reason we were there was because those people inspired us, so it was nice to see them back in their early ‘70s clothing.
Tim, with such a big cast, what deleted scenes might be on the DVD?
BURTON: There’s stuff that we cut out. Each actor will have all of their best scenes that I’ve cut out of the film in there. No. I think there will be some stuff on it because, with the nature of it being a soap opera, we cut out stuff, but all the actors were great, so I think I’m going to look at having scenes that aren’t in the film. Because the actors did such a great job and because of the soap opera nature of it, we’ll probably have some stuff on there.
Johnny, after working on Dark Shadows, was the influence of Dan Curtis what led you to want to do The Night Stalker?
DEPP: From Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker appeared, and it was a show that I really loved. Again, there’s this weird tone to it. This reporter becomes a detective in these really odd situations. Yeah, Dan Curtis was a great, great influence.
Since this is not material that current movie audiences are familiar with, did you worry about whether the interest would be there?
BURTON: Going into this movie, you don’t go into it going, “Oh, Dark Shadows, what an easy peasy idea.” It’s not like you go into it thinking that. It’s actually a much more strange challenge.
There’s always a lot of pressure for summer movies to perform. Do you hope this film reaches beyond its specific niche audience and is seen by a larger group of people?
BURTON: There are Dark Shadows fans, and then there’s everybody else. You can’t really make it with projecting what you think it’s going to be. First of all, we made a movie that we wanted to see, and then you just hope for the best.
The ending of this lends itself to a possible sequel. Did you always think that this could be a possible start to a franchise?
BURTON: No. Because of the nature of it being like a soap opera, that was the structure. It wasn’t a conscious decision. First of all, it’s a bit presumptuous to think that. If something works out, that’s one thing, but you can’t ever predict that. That had more to do with the soap opera structure of it.
Johnny, people have said that you’re in this Marlon Brando phase of your career, making these very eccentric characters come to life. Having directed and worked with Marlon Brando, do you see that as a valid comparison?
DEPP: I couldn’t imagine my name and Marlon’s in the same sentence, in terms of the work. He was a great friend of mine, and certainly a great inspiration and a great mentor. I don’t know.
If you had to stay one of your characters for the rest of your life, who would it be?
DEPP: Probably the Earl of Rochester (from The Libertine).
Friday, February 26, 2010
Interview: "Alice" Character Designer Michael Kutsche

Gerrick Kennedy of the Los Angeles Times has an interview with Alice in Wonderland character designer Michael Kutsche:
GK: “Alice in Wonderland” was your first experience working on a film. How did you fall into the world of Wonderland and Tim Burton?
MK: It was a huge leap for me because I’m from Germany. I’ve been a pretty successful illustrator but not in the field of movies, and I was doing illustrations for games -- like the packaging. Two years ago I put all the work that I did online [because] I never really took good care about making myself public. When you’re working full-time you’re not really thinking about other jobs. One day I was working in my studio in Berlin and I got this e-mail from Sony Imageworks that was like we have this movie project and we found your portfolio would you like to work on a movie? This was a big deal for me.
GK: But you didn’t know you were “auditioning” to work on Alice in Wonderland?
MK: They said there were a couple of illustrators -- kinda like a competition -- so would you please draw a caterpillar. Like think of “Pan's Labyrinth,” real actors with animated features. I did that in one day … I tried to do the best that I could. I got the job and finally met the vice president of Sony Imageworks [Debbie Denise]. She said what movie I’d be working on. She said it was Tim Burton and “Alice in Wonderland.” I was totally like fainting.
GK: What type of creative freedom did you have in your work? Burton has a very unique style. How did you adapt to that?
MK: I worked with visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston – this is the guy who did “Star Wars”! He said we were very early on in the production, we don’t have much direction, take some characters, get some ideas for it and go crazy. That’s what I did. In the beginning, I was a little over the top with it. A little too frightening.

GK:In your early sketches, the Cheshire Cat is more human-like and is slight and slinky, with hot pink stripes and an unsettling, toothy grin, and your Mad Hatter wore industrial goggles and had less whimsy...
MK: Because it’s a Disney production [some of that] didn’t really have that mass appeal. It would have shocked the kids. Tim Burton is a big fan of that book, and the original illustrator. Tim had his own drawings in his London office, so he wanted to have a little bit of a classic feel, so that the animals were more like animals with a twist instead of having a far-off fantasy. Sometimes he gave like a very quick sketch that was really helpful. I would take that and make it really detailed.
GK: With this being a reimagining, as opposed to a remake, how much of the original did you have in your mind as you did your designs?
MK: I was looking at the original drawings from John Tenniel and Arthur Rackham and I also looked at the clothing from that time to have the feel for this period so that it's rooted in some sort of reality. We gave those characters clothing from that time.
GK: Everyone, of course, is focused on the 3-D element of the film. Did knowing that it would be seen in 3-D have any influence on your designs?
MK: Not for this one. I would doubt, maybe in terms of environment. In terms of design itself, even if you look at it in 3-D the brain kinda recognizes it. It's more about the shape and the perspective.
GK: When did you first get into illustrating?
MK: I was always drawing, from kindergarten age. I didn’t really go to art school, I just self trained. At that time I always felt self-conscious that I don’t know too much, now I kinda find that’s what makes it a little more special. It’s not the taste of the professors or one of my [peers].

GK: You’re from Germany and a lot of the work on “Alice” was done in London. How did that work for you?
MK: I worked from home on “Alice” for half a year. I asked if it was a good idea to come to London. They put me on a plane, and took me to Tim’s office. They took me to the set so I could get a feel for the movie, and the production so that the characters aren’t disconnected. After awhile in Plymouth [where large portions of the film were shot] and in London, when the production moved to Culver City they moved me into a little trailer. They asked if I wanted to sit in the Sony building but I wanted to be as close to the set as possible. Of course I wanted to get a peek at what they were doing, so I had this little trailer in the backyard.
GK: People never see the step-by-step process of creative work, the process that went into it.
MK: Of course I read the script in the beginning, then they would send me an e-mail about a character that they needed urgently. I would start doing some sketches, scanning them and putting them in the computer and then making the color refinement. But I would also add some fur textures, little things so in the end it didn’t look like a painting on the computer. It had a more realistic feeling. When they decided on Alan Rickman to be the caterpillar I looked at photos of his face. It wasn’t Photoshopping photos of his face that wouldn’t work. So it had to be a design of its own, it kinda has the character of his eyes and the cheeks. Even if they didn’t cast characters, I always try to imagine who could it be, to try and get as much personality as possible. I think it’s crucial.

GK: You worked on a number of characters, also including the Red Queen and Knave of Hearts. Is there one that sticks out as your favorite?
MK: I think the caterpillar. But I also like the twins in a way, which that’s a design that Bobby Chiu did. As crazy as they are they kinda work together really well. I also think that because usually you have a big group of artists working on one character, because we only had like three people designing them (Kutsche, Chiu and Kei Acedera), they were really distinct. They didn’t get watered down. Like too many cooks [in the kitchen]. I think he was careful not to work with too many people.
Up next for the 32-year-old who said he didn’t “expect to stay in America this long” is character work on “Thor” and “John Carter of Mars,” slated for release in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
"Alice in Wonderland" World Premiere Footage
Here's a link from AFP.
From ustream:
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
"Alice in Wonderland" US and UK Premieres Announced
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.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Rickman's Caterpillar Revealed!

EDIT: /Film has some details on the origin of this scan.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
"Alice" to Feature Stop-Motion Animation

For those of you that were hoping that Tim Burton would use old-fashioned technology in his films, we have good news: Alan Rickman confirmed in an interview on MoviesOnline that Alice in Wonderland will feature stop-motion animation, along with live-action and computer-generated elements.
You can read the full interview here. Here's an excerpt:
MoviesOnline: What are you playing in Alice in Wonderland?
ALAN RICKMAN: The caterpillar.
MoviesOnline: A caterpillar? How do you get into something like that?
ALAN RICKMAN: Well, fortunately it’s animated.
MoviesOnline: Oh, okay.
ALAN RICKMAN: But it’s my face on an animated caterpillar. So, it’s a mixture. The movie is a mixture of live action, animation, and stop motion, so it’s very complicated and I don’t think all three have been put together ever before.
MoviesOnline: Oh, I don’t think so. No.
ALAN RICKMAN: So I’ll be with a live action Alice. I will be a construct.
MoviesOnline: Who is the Alice that you’re playing opposite?
ALAN RICKMAN: Mia [Wasikowska] is her name. I don’t know her surname. I met her yesterday because they’re shooting right here. If you make yourself into the invisible person, you can go in and have a look. She’s a young 19-year-old, apparently absolutely brilliant and certainly delightful person.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Rickman Talks "Alice"
Alan Rickman, who plays Caterpillar in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, told a group of reporters that he has recorded his voice role and awaits the completed animation. The caterpillar will have the face of Rickman to go along with his voice.
"I don't know what it looks like," Rickman said in a group interview on Dec. 2 in Culver City, Calif., where he was promoting the film Nobel Son. "I've only done the first stage of it, which is them recording me saying these lines, quite badly. Then somewhere down the line, they'll have animated it, and I'll redo it. I'm a voice, but I have been filmed, because it's my face which will be on the end of something that will be the caterpillar."
While Caterpillar is an animated character, some actors are performing motion capture and others will appear in live action. The lines blur as even some live actors will have CGI additions. Rickman observed some of his costars when he was on stage.
"I saw Helena [Bonham Carter] and Crispin Glover yesterday," Rickman said. "They're a mixture of the two, actually, because there's Helena in a costume and in makeup, but her head is going to be made three times bigger than it actually is on top of the costume. I think they're all just blinded by the color green. It must be quite something to be surrounded by that much violent green all day long, but the costumes, one or two I saw, are incredible. I'm sure it'll be visual genius again."
Monday, October 27, 2008
Lee, Rickman Enter "Wonderland" Set

Christopher Lee has been officially signed on to be in Alice in Wonderland. However, we do not know which role he will play yet.
But we do know who will play the hookah-smoking Caterpillar: Alan Rickman. The British actor worked with Tim Burton in Sweeney Todd, and now seems to have joined the Burton corral of regulars.
Filming has also begun in Culver City, California. Zack Roth (son of Joe Roth, who is producing the film) spoke of the soundstage: "The set itself was insane - the whole soundstage was draped in green-screen material, and there were dozens of motion capture cameras hanging overhead - it seemed like half the crew was there just to figure out how to make all the technologies work together."
Roth also mentioned screenwriter Linda Woolverton's adaptation of the original book and Johnny Depp's appearance:
"Luckily Johnny Depp was working that day, and I got to see him in character. He looked startlingly crazy - Burton’s take on the Mad Hatter was pretty wild. Linda Woolverton adapted the screenplay and I am told added some socio-political context to the film’s narrative."
Roth also reported that Michael Sheen will be playing the grinning Chesire Cat.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Burton To Be Honored at "Scream 2008"
The third annual televised event will be broadcast on October 21st at 9/8c on Spike TV.
Fans can vote for this year's other awards at scream.spike.com. Click that link to participate for free!
Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has been nominated in the following categories:
Best Horror Movie
Best Actor in a Horror Movie or TV Show - Johnny Depp
Best Actress in a Horror Movie or TV Show - Helena Bonham Carter
Best Villain - Alan Rickman
Best Director - Tim Burton
Voting ends on Friday, October 17th.
Vote today, and stay tuned for the televised event!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
"Sweeney Todd" Wins Two Saturn Awards
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Eight Saturn Award Nominations for "Sweeney Todd"
-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.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
"Sweeney Todd" London Press Conference Video
Part One:
Part Two:
Friday, January 11, 2008
Coverage of UK Premiere of "Sweeney Todd"
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.
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, 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.
Sweeney Todd will be released in cinemas throughout the United Kingdom on January 25th, 2008.

Thursday, November 29, 2007
Nine Clips, Three Featurettes, and Behind-the-Scenes Footage from "Sweeney Todd" Online!
More can be seen and heard on the official website for Sweeney Todd, too, including song excerpts, production notes, a photo gallery, and downloads.






