"Big Eyes" Release Date Announced

The release date for Tim Burton's next feature film, Big Eyes, has been announced: Christmas Day 2014.

Here is ComingSoon.net's synopsis of the film:

"Big Eyes, starring Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman and Terence Stamp, is a biopic of artist Margaret Keane, the painter whose distinctive creations featuring big-eyed children became one of art's first mass-market success stories in the 1950s. The drama covers Keane's personal awakening at the onset of the feminist movement, leading to a lawsuit she filed against her husband, Walter, who claimed credit for her works. He lived the high life while she toiled in relative anonymity in the Bay Area."

The screenplay is written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (who wrote the script for Ed Wood), and will be released by the Weinstein Company.

Danny Huston in Talks for "Big Eyes"

The Hollywood Reporter states that actor Danny Huston is in talks to be in Tim Burton's latest film, Big Eyes. The Golden Globe-nominated actor would play "a burnt-out, heavy-drinking gossip reporter."

Huston has recently appeared in two independent live-action films -- Boxing Day and Two Jacks -- and also provides a voice for Ari Folman's latest animated film, The Congress, which premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Big Eyes is the true story of the relationship between artist Margaret Keane (who will be played by Amy Adams) and her husband, Walter (played by Christoph Waltz). The drama, with a script by Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander (who previously worked with Burton on Ed Wood), centers on a decades-long dispute between the two after their 1965 divorce over who actually painted the picture. Principal photography on the low-budget film is expected to begin in Vancouver this July.

Tim Burton's Next Movie!: BIG EYES

Deadline has the exclusive new information on Tim Burton's next film: Big Eyes.

EXCLUSIVE: Tim Burton will direct Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams in Big Eyes, the film that Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski scripted. At the same time, The Weinstein Company is closing a deal to fund and distribute. This is a major development on a project that has followed a long development track. Of all the development projects I’ve written about over the years, this is my favorite that has not yet gotten made. And the casting seems so promising. The film will be produced by Alexander and Karaszewski and Burton, with Electric City Entertainment’s Lynette Howell. This will be Burton’s next film, and production will begin this summer.

Waltz, who’s coming off another Oscar turn in Django Unchained, and Adams, nominated for The Master, will play Margaret and Walter Keane, whose paintings of large eyed children became one of the first mass marketed art sensations in the 50s and 60s. Those prints sold in gas stations and every five and dime store across the country. While Walter was the marketing genius, he also took the bows for doing the brush work. He was a full fledged celebrity, a regular on the TV talk show circuit. His shy wife was the actual artist in the family. When they split and she tried to get her due, he painted her as being eccentric, and they ended up in court. There, a judge finally provided them with two easels and ordered them to prove it. Walter’s art reputation went down on the canvas when he begged off because of what he said was pain in his arm. She whipped up one of her trademark big-eyed works.

The screenwriters, Alexander and Karaszewski, worked with Burton previously on Ed Wood, and they wrote many other films including The People Vs. Larry Flynt. They’ve been pushing this one up the hill for years, with various filmmakers and casts. Most recently, they had intended to direct the film, and had Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds lined up as the leads. At that time, Burton was lined up as a producer, but now he has taken the directing reins.

TWC’s Harvey Weinstein and his team led by David Glasser are closing up on the deal as we speak. Burton’s repped by WME, Waltz by ICM Partners, Adams by WME and Brillstein, Alexander and Karaszewski by CAA.

Witherspoon, Reynolds to Star in Burton-Produced "Big Eyes"

For the first time in many months, we finally have some updates on the Tim Burton-produced live-action feature, Big Eyes. The Hollywood Reporter informs us that the film will star Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds, playing Margaret and Walter Keane.

Margaret Keane is well-known for her kitschy paintings of bug-eyed children which she created and became a sensation in America during the 1960s. The Keanes' lives were filled with controversy: Though Margaret was the true talent behind the paintings, her husband, Walter, claimed credit for her work, which was sold under his name.



Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (who wrote the script for Tim Burton's Ed Wood) will write and direct Big Eyes, with Burton set to produce via his Tim Burton Productions. Lynette Howell and Jamie Patricof will also produce through Electric City Entertainment. Principal photography is scheduled to begin with Witherspoon and Reynolds this spring.

"We are ecstatic to have this dream cast for our dream project," Alexander and Karaszewski said in a joint statement. "Walter is a larger-than-life antihero -- charming, funny, dangerous, and a little crazy. Ryan will knock it out of the park. As for Reese, she will be perfect as Margaret -- soulful, decent, transforming from vulnerability to learning to fight for herself."

Burton Reunites with "Ed Wood" Writers for Two Films

Deadline.com states that Tim Burton has reunited with Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski -- who wrote the screenplay for Burton's acclaimed 1994 biographical film, Ed Wood -- for two new projects: a stop-motion animated The Addams Family (which has been in the news for the last few months), and a new project, a biography on cult artist Margaret Keane, called Big Eyes.

"Both of these projects are based on artwork that Tim absolutely loves," Karasewski said. "The retrospective in New York of Tim's own artwork showed how much of an influence Charles Addams was to him. We want the tone to be as darkly funny and subversive as the Addams drawings, and we've come up with an approach that nobody has ever done before."



It should be noted that Burton is just attached by the companies, Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures, to direct The Addams Family, but that this new article states that he will be producing the film with Chris Meledandri. It is not confirmed whether Burton will direct this movie yet.

Alexander said that while they are discussing the Addams Family project with Burton, an early draft of the Big Eyes script has already been presented to Burton. The film will focus on the life of Margaret Keane, who is best known for her haunting, kitsch paintings of drippy-eyed children.



"It turns out he's a big fan of Margaret and has commissioned artwork from her," Alexander said. "We thought the movie would have been made by now, but just when we were ready to go 18 months ago, the indie market fell apart. We'd pulled it together in that equity/presale/rebate game, but the smartest thing we did was to hang on to the script and not sell it. That has allowed us to set the reset button with Tim, and having him helps a tremendous amount with the way the independent film world is right now."

Deadline.com provides a summary of the life of Margaret Keane:

"Walter Keane became a national celebrity and talk show fixture in the 1950s after he pioneered the mass production of prints of big-eyed kids, and used his marketing savvy to sell them cheaply in hardware stores and gas stations across the country. Unfortunately, he claimed to be the artist. That role was played by Margaret, his shy wife. She generated the paintings from their basement and Walter's contribution was adding his signature to the bottom. The ruse broke up their marriage, and when she tried to make it known that she authored the paintings, they ended up in a court battle after Walter called her crazy. The case culminated in a dramatic courtroom showdown. The judge put up two easels, side by side, and challenged each of them to start painting. He begged off, blaming a shoulder injury, while she dashed off her familiar big-eyed creation."

"I am excited to be working with Scott and Larry again," Burton said in a statement. "I've always been a great admirer of Margaret Keane's work and find her story intriguing."

Burton will produce Big Eyes with Lynette Howell's Silverwood Films banner. Alexander and Karaszewski intend to direct the low-budget, independent film.

"Ed Wood" at the Aero Tonight

Martin Landau
(Getty Images)

American Cinematheque will be showing Ed Wood at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, California tonight.

Martin Landau, who earned an Oscar for his performance as Bela Lugosi in the film, and screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski will be at the screening.


Wednesday, November 5, 7:30PM
$10
Aero Theater, 1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica
310-260-1528

Rare "Ed Wood" Promo Found

A rare promotional video from 1994 advertising Tim Burton's Ed Wood was recently found and posted on YouTube.com by John Erik Taylor. The short video (a little under seven minutes long) was shown at sci-fi conventions before the film's release, and features behind-the-scenes footage and unseen interviews with the cast and crew. This promo wasn't on the Ed Wood DVD, so fans of the film and Tim Burton will find this to be a rare treat.

The promo features interviews with Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Martin Landau (in a highly memorable and moving performance as an aging Bela Lugosi), Sarah Jessica Parker (as Dolores Fuller, Wood's girlfriend and actress), screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and make-up artist Ve Neill (a frequent Burton collaborator who first worked with the director on Beetlejuice).

Here's the link to the video on YouTube.com (you can also watch it below).