Matt Lucas on "Wonderland," Depp and Burton

Matt Lucas may now be best known to people outside of the UK as Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Alice in Wonderland (this is his first American film). But for playing such rotund "fat boys" (as the Red Queen describes them), Lucas looks different, says the Los Angeles Times.

“I’ve lost 50 pounds since I made the movie,” said Lucas as he declined a free bucket of buttery popcorn at the world premiere. “No popcorn for me.”

Lucas admits that he isn't exactly Hollywood's vision of pretty, but that doesn't stop him.

“I adore watching people like Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill but I wouldn’t necessarily cast myself in those roles,” Lucas said. “They are people that audiences can easily identify with. I don’t play so easily the regular guy. I might be more like a Wallace Shawn who always plays the quirky guy, the eccentric characters.”

For Tweedles, Lucas went for “corpulent boys, both childish and child-like, juvenile in the extreme.” To help Lucas pull off twin duty, actor Ethan Cohn was brought in as a double to stand in as the “other brother” while Lucas was doing his lines. Cohn became fast friends with Lucas and says it’s been hard to watch him suffer in the wake of McGee’s death.

“God knows how someone deals with what he went through, but he’s gone about it in a very smart and logical way,” Cohn said. “He’s grieving and he’s going through the emotions that people go through, but he is always moving forward.”

Lucas said he likes Los Angeles – “Some people think it’s a cynical place but I admire its ambitions” – and he was dazzled by working on a film with such a strong cast and director.

“You get warmth in spades from Johnny and Tim [Burton]. You get briefly included in their warm friendship. In Johnny’s trailer, and this betrays a confidence perhaps but I hope he will forgive me, on the refrigerator there's a drawing of the Mad Hatter by Johnny’s kids. And it said, ‘Good Luck Dad.’ I found that so wonderful.”


Making Wonderland was a complicated process. But even with a picture with a budget of over $200 million and stuck in a sea of green screen, Lucas admired Tim Burton's professionalism, and the trust he invested in his cast and crew, many of which he has collaborated with before.

“He employs people he likes then he really trusts them to build the character and the performance,” Lucas said. “I was surprised that the first take is always the actors’ take. With all the money invested into the project and how little time people have to make the movie. He let actors have the first take and then work with them to craft – keep that, turn that bit down, try for this. He gave a lot of guidance and I was grateful for that, but it came with trust.”

Lucas was less enamored with the green-screen set. “It can be grueling to be in a large green room where everything is just…green; Consistently, constantly, undeniable, unashamedly green; and not even different shades of green at that. It’s a snot room. The booger world.”

Some of the actors found the green screen nauseating and difficult, but Lucas worked through it by imagining the world that would appear on the screens when the project was completed.

“It was very notional,” Lucas said. “You have to imagine there are trees and castles and the ground. And instead of the Bandersnatch there’s a man holding a stick with a cross on the end of it made out of masking tape, which you have to imagine is the most terrifying thing you’ve ever seen. And I don’t have stick phobia. Masking tape, however, makes me cringe. And weep. You have to use your imagination quite a lot but that happens in television, too. You need to pretend there isn’t an old man in the corner chewing his gum and checking his watch and waiting for you to finish the take and give a very emotional performance.”

Lucas said he hopes to work with Burton again, especially since the filmmaker works in worlds where eccentric characters are at every turn. He also said he hopes to absorb some of Burton’s sense of wonder.

“He brings with him the enthusiasm of someone making their first film,” Lucas said. “You have the expertise of someone who has been doing it a long, long time but there is still something boyish in his excitement. I think the same can be said of Johnny Depp. It was just ambition on display and enthusiasm and excitement and craft. They seemed pleased to be there. I know I was.”

Click here for the entire Matt Lucas article from the Los Angeles Times. Lucas goes on to describe his career and ambitions beyond Wonderland and more.

D23 Interview with Tim Burton

Disney's D23 website has a very indepth interview with Tim Burton, talking about Alice in Wonderland. The director discusses working on the technology-heavy film, working with various actors, the appeal of the strange characters and world created by Lewis Carroll, and much more. Here's the entire interview:

What appeals to you about this story?
In any fairy tale land there is good and bad. What I liked about Underland is that everything is slightly off, even the good people. That, to me, is something different. It's so much a part of the culture. So whether you've read the story or not, you'll know certain images or have certain ideas about it. It's such a popular story. The reason we did something with it is that it's captured the imagination of people for a very long time.

Why do you think Alice in Wonderland is still popular, more than 140 years after its publication?
It somehow taps a subconscious thing. That's why all those great stories stay around because they tap into the things that people probably aren't even aware of on a conscious level. There's definitely something about those images. That's why there have been so many versions of it. As a movie, it's always been about a passive little girl wandering around a series of adventures with weird characters. There's never any kind of gravity to it. The attempt with this was to take the idea of those stories and shape them into something that's not literal from the book but keeps the spirit of it.

How old were you when you first read the books?
I was in school, maybe like 8 or 10 years old. I have a weird connection with the books. The house where I live in London was owned by Arthur Rackham [famous English book illustrator who created the iconic color plates for the 1907 edition of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland]. I live and work out of the studio where he did some amazing versions of Alice in Wonderland. So I felt there was a connection to the material and me. And that always helps, somehow.

When you were first approached to direct, what was your reaction?
They gave me a script and they said 3D. And even before I read it, I thought, that's intriguing, and what I liked about Linda's script was she made it a story, gave it a shape for a movie that's not necessarily the book. So all those elements seemed exciting to me. What I liked about this take on the story is Alice is at an age where you're between a kid and an adult, when you're crossing over as a person. A lot of young people with old souls aren't so popular in their own culture and their own time. Alice is somebody who doesn't quite fit into that Victorian structure and society. She's more internal.

Why did you decide to make this particular version of the story?
Well, there are so many stories. It's not like it's a new story. If you read the books, there are all of these weird little adventures. So I think the goal of Linda Woolverton, the writer, was just to have the story and use the characters. Look, there are so many things — there is always going to be a character that is somebody's favorite. Someone will miss the Lobster, or whatever. You have the Red Queen and the White Queen, the March Hare and the White Rabbit — there were iconic ones that we knew we had to have in there. But then, we thought, let's just let the story play and see.

Which characters in Alice appealed to you more?
I like them all. And that's the thing with these. I think this material suffered in the past because all of the characters are just weird. Okay, Hatter's weird. Cat's weird. Rabbit's weird. We tried to give each one their own particular quirks, so that they each have their own character.

Growing up, did you have a favorite children's book?
I was a Dr. Seuss fan. It was easy to read. I liked his drawings. But, the reason I wanted to do Alice is that it was a really interesting challenge. I didn't feel personally, like I might on another project, like, oh, there is one great version out there, so to try and do another one, might be a problem. But with Alice, there are some interesting ones, but I don't know if any are completely successful.

What was your approach to the film?
I was much more fascinated by the iconic images — I think people are always surprised when they go back and read the stories, because they don't have that Lord of the Rings sweeping narrative. They're absurdist, surreal. But those characters are in our dreams, our tales. Those things that stay in your brain. Why do all these musicians write songs about it? Illustrators are recalling it all the time. You see it in other imagery. It was key to try to make that world. The things that I felt were unique to Alice, they're unique because they're so different. Like the bizarre size changes? And where you have some animals that talk, some don't. It seems quite random in what Carroll did. But, at the same time, it's not. There's something very deep. Things that seem random maybe aren't? The goal is just to try and capture that.

What do you like about this version of the story?
What I like about this is that it's more of a personal journey. These are the things that are actually the most important in life. That moment where you make that important choice. Maybe it happens to everybody. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe it does a couple of different times in your life, where you learn something, you grow. You know, it's like you've got two sides of yourself in conflict. Emotionally conflicted. And then, when you make that personal growth, it's quite an amazing thing. Quite a strong thing. It's reconciling within yourself who you are, becoming the person you're going to be, a human being. It sounds light, but it's important.

Why couldn't you do a re-telling of the books?
The thing that fascinated me about Alice is that its iconic images have been absorbed by our culture. I probably knew more about Alice from listening to bands and songs — so much of the story's imagery comes into play. So, that's the thing that was always strong about Alice. It was never the plot points of the story, because they were absurdist tales — they didn't really have a certain narrative dynamic. I think that's why those other versions, to me, were always lacking, because there was this little girl observing things and saying, oh, that's weird. There was one weird character after another, without much of a context to it. So, we tried to ground each of the Alice in Wonderland characters. We tried to give them it a bit more depth, and to give her a story. There's such a mystique about Alice in Wonderland. I just felt that it would be more appropriate if we tried to be true to the spirit of what those characters were, and then, just give it all a bit more of a foundation.

Why did you make Alice 19?
That age just seems to me to be a crossroads. There, I think you're entering a culture where you're pressured into society, or getting married, or some other thing. And she just seems to me to be at that point where you're at an emotional crossroads. I just felt like Alice is an interesting character, because she's at that age, and she's got both a young person's and an old person's soul. There's a dynamic — at odds feeling both the young and the old, and then reconciling those two things. It just seemed like the classic structure of fantasy — go back to The Wizard of Oz. Or any of a number of fairy or folk tales — these adventures are always to work out the character's emotional problems. That's why I've always been intrigued by the poetry and the purpose of such stories — myths and things. They mean something. And, so, her adventures are her coming to terms with who she is and gaining her personal strength. Those are the journeys that are made in these stories, but they're quite private, too. It seemed like the right age to explore that dynamic of somebody, at a moment of change.

What is Johnny Depp's approach to playing such a vivid character as The Mad Hatter?
It is an iconic character and it's been portrayed in animation, in live-action. I think Johnny tried to find grounding with the character, something you can feel, as opposed to him just being 'mad.' With a lot of versions, it's just a one-note character, and his goal was to bring out a human side to the strangeness of the character. I've worked with him for many years, and he always tries to do something like that, and this time was no exception.

Do you consider Johnny Depp as a muse?
Nah, he's just a piece of meat [LAUGHS]. All these actors were great, because they weren't dealing with a lot of stuff — sets, props, other actors. So, a lot of it had to be inside of each person's mind. You can't really work with method actors too much on a movie like this. You need people to go out on a limb and just go for it, without a lot of material. So, yeah, Johnny's good at that. And I was lucky with these other actors, that they kind of went for it, too. And, you know, for me, too, I think it was really hard, because I'd never really done a movie like this. And it's quite eye-opening. It's a whole different process. I would think for an actor, it's really challenging.

How close do you work with Johnny in creating his characters?
Well, I'll do a little sketch, he'll do a little sketch. We'll talk. It always is different. With him, we use references, but they're never specific references. Because he never wants to feel like he's doing just one thing. So, we use a lot of abstract references. But I'm always excited to see what's gonna come out it.

Do you let him go as far as he can and then reel him back in?
Yeah, but he's pretty good. You never wanna go so far that you're missing some emotional beats. So, we've tried to make the Hatter mad, of course, but also give him a certain emotional quality under the surface. Johnny's pretty good about trying to find the reality of something unreal.

Can you talk about why you chose Mia Wasikowska for Alice?
She has both a young quality and an old quality. Very grounded — some people are just all over the place. But some people, they have that old soul quality. And that's what we felt was important for this Alice. But, at the same time, to be young — there are people with old souls who are also naïve at the same time. There's a certain slight passiveness to Alice that's always in the material. So we wanted to give her more of a quiet strength, which Mia has herself — just as a person. I just liked her quality. I always like it when I sense people have that old-soul quality to them. Because you're witnessing this whole thing through her eyes, it needed somebody who can subtly portray that.

How did Mia, as a relatively new actress, handle the role?
Well, she's great. This'll probably be the most abstract movie that she will ever do, let's hope. Like I said, it was new for me. In dealing with all the green screen and obstacles she had to deal with, she took it all in stride. She always was trying to remember the character and just go back to that place within herself. That was helpful, because it could be a nightmarish process. It goes against all of your instincts, I would imagine, as an actor — you have nothing to work with. The guy standing there with a green stick is not really that inspiring, you know.

You go way back with Crispin Glover [who plays the Knave of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland], right?
I first met him in the early '80s. He's a very unique individual. He's a real Renaissance man. There are not many people who do movies and then do their own films and do their own art and live their own lives in the way that he does. But he's great. He's got such a pleasant visual presence.

Your cast is full of British character actors, performers who can disappear into the character.
I love working with people like Matt Lucas, who do characters, because I think they're great actors. They're fun to watch. Matt did one character then slipped into another; that to me is the sign of a good actor, and it was really great to work with him. Also, it was important to me to have a real, heavy British flavor. There are lots of people I've always admired. I wanted to try and make the animated voices not overly animated, so they all felt like they were in the same world. I didn't want them to feel like live-action characters in a completely animated world, so I tried to make the live-action a bit more extreme, and then with the animation, I tried to bring it back. I was lucky enough to get really great actors who — if they had done it as humans would have been great — brought the animated characters up to the level of the live-action.

How did you get your actors into character?
Well, it's difficult when you don't have a lot of sets and you are dealing with a lot of technology. I tried to keep it as lively as possible and as fast as possible, so that they could interact with each other as much as possible. So speed and energy were important. You just try to keep moving and grooving.

How did the actors in Alice in Wonderland approach the dialogue?
The kind of actors I like to work with bring something to it — like if there was a line or something from the book that they want to be in the script. If an actor connects to something or feels passionate about something, that's always nice, and you might get something better from them — it's something meaningful that they can grasp.

Is it Underland or Wonderland? What does it look like in this film?
It is Underland and has always been Underland, but according to the film version, when Alice visited as a child, she misheard the name and called it Wonderland. Everybody's got an image of Underland. I think in people's minds, it's always a very bright, cartoony place. We thought if Alice had had this adventure as a little girl and now she's going back, perhaps it's been a little bit depressed since she's left. It's got a slightly haunted quality to it.

Are you taking a unique approach to technology with this film?
Well, [senior visual effects supervisor] Ken Ralston's done this. I haven't done this before. It's a puzzle, and the movie doesn't materialize until the end. What's been the most difficult thing is, after production ends, you usually have a movie — you see the shots and then you spend six months to a year cutting it. This doesn't work that way. It's a very Alice in Wonderland-like process. It's a little backwards.

How did you incorporate available technology into this film?
Our approach to this was a bit more organic, in the sense that Ken Ralston and I discussed what we liked and didn't like about animation, live-action and other technologies. We had that conversation. We decided on a mix — we'll have real people, but also animate characters, and then manipulate them. So, we just tried to pick and choose what we used with each situation. That's the thing about technology. There are so many ways to use it.

How did you come up with the concept for the design of this world?
We looked at a lot of great artists on this one. In some ways, it ended up being more like an animated movie, in terms of the structure and how it got done. We had lots of designers. Everybody chipped in. It's been a really organic building process.

What inspired you most in terms of the visuals?
We didn't choose just one thing — there are so many different things. We looked at pictures of trees. We'd get some good concept work that we liked and then latch onto that. The goal at the end of it all was to be true to the essence of the story and make it feel new. Make it feel like it's a different thing. But yet, there's a reason why I like the Cheshire Cat or the Caterpillar or the Mad Hatter — those characters are in people's consciousness because they're strong images. It was key to do that justice.

Why did you choose to make the film in 3D?
Well, 3D is not a fad. It's here to stay. It doesn't mean that every movie's going to be made in 3D. But at the same time, Alice in 3D, just because of the material, it seemed to fit. So, instead of it just being a given, we tried to treat it as though it was a part of Wonderland. Matching the medium with the material.

Did you shoot in 3D or was it part of the process after filming had finished?
We didn't do it with the 3D cable. With the techniques we were using — the pure animation, live-action and manipulating that — shooting it traditionally gave us more freedom to get into the depth, the layers, that we wanted in the time that we were dealing with. And also, I can't really see the difference. I'm sure that there are people who say 'it's more pure this way or that way…' But this seemed like the right approach. After seeing the conversion job that was done on The Nightmare Before Christmas, I found no reason to do it any other way. We were trying to do it faster and at the end of the day, I didn't see any difference in quality.

Does using 3D affect the story?
In the old days you'd put the glasses on and walk out of the theatre with a splitting headache. And that's no longer the case, it's a much more pleasant experience. And I'm personally not out to make a gimmick, so I believe that it enhances the film. It puts you into that world. And with the Alice material — the growing and shrinking of characters for instance — and the special spaces and places that you're in, it just helps with the experience. Obviously, these films not only have to work in 3D, but they have to look good as a movie that you'd want to see. I think the gimmick element of 3D is falling by the wayside, and it's more about an experience that puts you into the film. When Nightmare was converted to 3D, I felt it was the way it should have been. You felt the texture of the puppets more, you actually felt like you were on the set. And I think that enhances the experience. This seemed like the right kind of story to do in 3D. I always try to say, 'Is it the right medium for this?' and not just do it because it's a gimmick or it's fashionable now, and it did feel like it was the right kind of material. So seeing it come to life in 3D supports the material. It gives you that kind of 'out-there' feeling that was a very crucial element to the film.

Where do you see the future of movies going, now that you have this mixture of 3D and live-action?
I was in animation several years ago. It was pronounced dead, and then they stopped doing hand drawn. So, the good news is that there are more forms for everything, which is great. There should be 3D, drawn animation, computer animation, stop-motion. It's all valid. It's all great. And it's better now than it's ever been. I was struggling for 10 years to get a stop-motion movie made. Now, you can do it — no problem.

Are you fascinated with special effects?
I'm not a special-effects-just-for-special-effects kind of filmmaker. I try not to treat it like that. Even with all the stuff in this movie, we always tried to go back to the simplicity of it being one person's journey. It's Alice's journey. And that's it. It's a very simple thing — and that's what we always tried to keep it.

Video: "Alice in Wonderland" Press Conferences

Here are some videos from two press conferences with Tim Burton and the cast of Alice in Wonderland, courtesy of YouTube user laudepp126x. Also, after the videos, scroll down to read some other comments from Burton and the cast at the London press conference, courtesy of FilmShaft.

Here are some videos from the recent London press conference:

Video 1 -- Mia Wasikowska, Tim Burton, Anne Hathaway, Johnny Depp:



Video 2 -- Tim Burton, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter:



And here are some videos from another press conference:

Video 1 -- Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter:



Video 2 -- Michael Sheen, Matt Lucas, Helena Bonham Carter:



Video 3 -- Johnny Depp, Tim Burton: on fuderwacking and their kids' favorite films:




From FilmShaft:

Hungarian Journalist: I have a question for Miss Anne Hathaway: You were cast as a princess and now you’re a queen. There are so many Disney princesses who couldn’t make it. They are desperate and wanted to get the role of Alice. I wanted to ask you, what do you suggest for those who studied like you…there are so many out there. What would you say about why you made it and they didn’t?

Anne Hathaway: (laughs) I don’t know I can necessarily answer that. I owe so much of my career to luck. My mother always told me that luck is preparation meets opportunity and, um, I’ve been given extraordinary opportunities to work with filmmakers long before I was talented enough and deserved to work with them. I’ve learned a lot from them. I just keep getting hired. I consider myself lucky and I don’t know who is responsible for it.

HJ: You wouldn’t suggest anything for them that they shouldn’t do?

AH: Why don’t you tell me what you suggest?

HJ: You’re interested in my opinion?

AH: (mockingly) We all are!

HJ: I never see you not wearing panties.

AH: I’m not sorry to say I’m happy to hear that.

Mia Wasikowska on the pressure of playing Alice:

“There’s a certain amount of pressure when you’re playing such an iconic character and very well known and loved by some many people. We discussed that from the beginning and one of the things we wanted to do was take away that baggage that comes with being Alice and get behind the teenager behind the iconic image.”

Johnny Depp on playing the Mad Hatter with a Scottish accent:

“The Scottish accent was something I did mess around with on Finding Neverland. That was a bit more Aberdeen, and Tim and I talked about the Hatter being made up of different people and going to extremes…go dark and dangerous with the Scottish accent. I hope I arrived there.”

Tim Burton on the Disney versus UK cinema chains boycott:

“I’m happy it’s resolved. I’m just happy.”

Crispin Glover and Anne Hathaway are asked would they consider living in Wonderland, if they could:

Glover: “I’d definitely consider it.”

Hathaway: “I’d be happy to live in a world with no rules!”

Johnny Depp on how Helena Bonham Carter affects the Burton-Depp dynamic and why he will always work with Burton:

“We only started quarrelling when Helena showed up.”

“He’s one of the true artists working in cinema.”

Tim Burton on what attracted him to making the film:

“What really intrigued me was the opportunity to make a 3D Alice in Wonderland. It seemed like a proper mix of the medium and the material. A few years ago, I don’t know if I’d have been intrigued by it, but it just seemed like the trippy-ness of the world and the tool of 3D seemed like a good mix. And also, going back, there’s about twenty different versions and I’d never really connected with them. The characters and imagery and the icon way it has infiltrated culture was just so strong.”

How the actors felt reading the books as children:

Helena Bonham Carter: “You know what? I can’t remember. Okay, so my made up answer is…I can’t remember.”

Mia Wasikowska: “My most vivid memories of Alice as a kid were when my mum used to put myself and my siblings in front of the stop-motion Czech Alice. I remember watching it and feeling incredibly disturbed.”

Anne Hathaway: “When I was a young kid I had a wonderful teacher in the fifth grade who had us memorise the poem, The Jabberwocky, and we all had to get up and recite it to everyone.

Johnny Depp: “I can remember reading the book as a kid…the condensed version and then obviously the Disney cartoon. The story is so episodic and all over the place, but I remember more than anything was just the characters. Even people who haven’t read the book know the characters.”

Tim Burton responding to a question about the different between Underland and Wonderland:

“It’s spelled different and that’s about it.”

Zanuck on "Wonderland," "Dark Shadows"

FilmShaft's Martyn Conterio has an exclusive interview with legendary producer Richard D. Zanuck. Zanuck, who has produced all of Tim Burton's live-action features since 2001, talked about Alice in Wonderland, the upcoming adaptation of Dark Shadows, and more. Here's the entire interview:

MC: How did you get involved with this project?

RZ: I’ve produced the last five Tim Burton movies and so I’m part of that team. When Disney approached Tim about doing this, that was about three years ago, I came on board. I’m a very hands-on producer…I’m there every day and I’ve been on this from the very beginning.

Did you know Alice in Wonderland well before you took on the film?

I can’t pinpoint when I first read the books or may have even been read to me as a young person or maybe as a student. I can’t remember exactly when, but when we decided to make the movie I went back and read them and I was amazed that most of the characters were very familiar to me. It was like they’d been implanted in my subconscious because I felt I knew all these characters and know the setting and all of that…it all came back to life. And that’s an example of why this book has endured throughout one hundred and thirty-five years because we’re all familiar with it. It’s permeated culture.

The production wasn’t a typical Hollywood endeavour – it was all green-screen. Had you experienced anything like that before?

No, nor had Tim. We started the picture with live action down in Plymouth. We shot ten days there for the beginning and end of the picture…you know, before she goes down the rabbit hole and after she comes out. We went back to Los Angeles, at Culver Studios, to do all of the green-screen. It was only forty days of shooting, actually, but almost two years of computer generated animation work, there’s some mo-cap work. It was very tricky technically. I think it’s the first time that all three elements: computer generated, mo-cap and live actors all worked into the same scenes. Also Alice’s size goes from six inches to seven feet tall and her regular size and so the actors playing with her had to be adjusted. Matt Lucas had to work on stilts! It was very tricky, especially when they weren’t together. The eye lines had to match up. We had all kinds of charts where everybody’s size was measured very carefully.

Did you ever think while making it, “Is this going to work?”

I always felt it would work because Tim’s a genius and nobody has that imagination. He hadn’t done anything this complicated before we had Ken Ralston who has won four Academy Awards and nominated a dozen times. He actually started and helped invent a lot of the process. I think his best work is with Alice. He was supervising even the green-screen stuff. Between he and Tim, he would imagine it, but it was Ken and about four hundred people behind him on computers putting what Tim imagined – frame by frame – onto the film. It was very labour intensive and tricky to co-ordinate all that. Tim had a good team behind him…he’s an artist…a real artist.

Tell me how you cast Mia Wasikowska as Alice?

Alice was a part that everybody wanted to play, regardless of their age. We had stars who were totally wrong…everybody thought they should play Alice. So we had a whole slue of volunteers. Tim and myself, from the very beginning, wanted to go with a fresh face. We didn’t want a Hollywood starlet or somebody that would we’d seen before. We went on a massive campaign with the casting people in Australia, casting was done in this country and in the United States. Throughout the world really…and kept narrowing and narrowing it down and finally brought twenty people to the UK. We tested them and got that down to eight. Mia was one of them. She came over three times in total. We did a full scale, studio screen test with our crew and the wardrobe people…make-up…a complete test and Mia came out on top.

Have you any more plans to work with Burton since you’re on a roll?

Yes, I’m going to be doing Dark Shadows with Johnny (Depp) and Tim later towards the end of the year. He’s got to do another Pirates movie. But we’re shooting over here (London) even though the movie is set in Portland, Maine. We’ve got the stages at Pinewood lined up.

Obviously you’re a legendary film producer…

That sounds like age…(laughs)

You’ve made classic after classic, do you find films easier to make now than back then?

It depends on what kind of film you’re talking about. My wife and I made Driving Miss Daisy and that was a very difficult movie to get financed. An old Jewish lady and a black chauffeur…nobody was interested in that subject. We spent more time on bended knee…over a year of begging people. If you have a picture like Alice in Wonderland which is a famous title, add Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, 3D, Disney – which is a big selling point…it’s a slam dunk! You don’t have to beg people to do that kind of film. It all depends on what story you’re doing to tell. The bigger, wide canvas ones are easier than the small ones. But they’re much, much more expensive to make…but that’s how it is.

Out of all your films, do you have a personal favourite?

I probably do…but you’d have to kill me to get it out of me (laughs). I hate to use the phrase, “they’re all my children” because it’s so over-used, but it’s true. Each one is an experience and a very unique experience and different. The box office can be different too…so maybe my favourite one is considered a failure. I made Steven Spielberg’s first two pictures – Sugarland Express and Jaws. I must say Sugerland Express and that whole experience of working with Steven on his first film is one I’d have to rank very highly in terms of gratification.

Richard Zanuck, thank you.

Thank you.

"Alice in Wonderland" Press Junket

Jake Hamilton spoke with Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Michael Sheen (the White Rabbit), and Matt Lucas (Tweedledee and Tweedledum) about Alice in Wonderland. Here's the press junket:

Video of "Alice" Cast at Ultimate Fan Event

Here's a video of Tim Burton and the cast of Alice in Wonderland making their big appearance at the Ultimate Fan Event that took place in Los Angeles on Friday, February 19th:

Photos from "Alice in Wonderland" Fan Event

Here are some photos from the big Hot Topic fan event promoting Alice in Wonderland. The event, called "The Great Big Ultimate Fan Event," was held on Friday, February 19th in Los Angeles:


Anne Hathaway.


Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway.


Never Shout Never.


Singer Kerli.


Johnny Depp and Matt Lucas.




Trace Cyrus, of the band Metro Station.


Sean Foreman, of the group 3OH!3.


Anne Hathaway and Tim Burton.


Mason Musso, of the band Metro Station.






Mia Wasikowska.


All photos: AP Photo/Matt Sayles.

Matt Lucas on "Wonderland"

Matt Lucas, who plays Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Alice in Wonderland, was on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on February 16th. Here's the interview where he discusses the movie and more:

Burton on the Tweedles, "Scary" Twins

Director Tim Burton discussed where his ideas for the look of Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Alice in Wonderland came from.

"I kept thinking about the twins in 'The Shining,' " Burton said, referring to the Stanley Kubrick thriller that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. "But really any kind of twins. There's always something scary about them, in a way. Or there can be."


Burton was inspired by the eerie twins in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.

Burton then went on to praise Matt Lucas for doing a "great job" and informing the rotund look of the stripes-wearing twins.

"We didn't want to do motion capture because I'm, personally, not really into that and since I like these actors I thought it would be really nice to use them -- with actors like Matt or Johnny [Depp as the Mad Hatter] or Helena [Bonham Carter as the Red Queen] I wanted to get what they brought to it," Burton explained. "So with Matt it's kind of a mix of animation and him. It's a weird mixture of things which gives his characters the disturbing quality that they so richly deserve."

Third Times Online Sneak Peek of "Alice in Wonderland"

The third and final exclusive sneak peek of Alice in Wonderland has made its debut on Times Online.

Click here for the video. This short clip includes words from Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, and Mia Wasikowska.

Some of the images featured in the slideshow. (Captions from the website, which contains SPOILERS.):


Bandersnatch illustration by Bobby Chiu.




Bayard illustration by Bobby Chiu.


Baynard the Bloodhound is voiced by Timothy Spall.


The Tweedles sketch by Tim Burton.


"I imagine them as naughty Victorian children, with their hand in the honey jar," says Matt Lucas, the British comedian and actor who plays them both. "And so I have made them quite child-like, which does come naturally to me, because I’m a big kid anyway."


Dodo illustration by Michael Kutsche.


Michael Gough lends his voice for the Dodo.


All images from Disney Enterprises, Inc.

More "Alice" Photos!

Matt Lucas as Tweedledee and Tweedledum and Mia Wasikowska as Alice have made their official debuts. These and the previous Alice in Wonderland posters are supposed to be put up in cinemas shortly.

Burton's "Wonderland" Revealed!

Before its release to theaters on March 5th, 2010, some teaser posters and banners will be coming to cinema lobbies offering the first official glimpses of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.

Although the look of the film still retains some of the styles from the Lewis Carroll original book, Wonderland "has been Burtonized," producer Richard D. Zanuck confirms. Zanuck offered some more information. "We finished shooting in December after only 40 days," said the producer. Right now, the live-action is being merged with the CGI and other animated effects, which will eventually be transferred to 3D (the film was not shot in stereo). Alice will be released in regular theaters, as well as IMAX and Disney Digital 3D.



The old tale has been updated a bit as well by screenwriter Linda Woolverton. In Burton's film, Alice (played by Mia Waskiowska) is 17 years old. She attends a party at a Victorian estate. She is proposed to and surrounded by hoards of stuck-up aristocrats. In a desperate escape, Alice slips away, and, led by a white rabbit, but unexpectedly finds herself transported to a very curious world. Apparently, Alice had visited Wonderland 10 years before, but had forgotten. The residents of this strange new world have not been so forgetful, however...

Zanuck had some kind words for Wasikowska: "There is something real, honest and sincere about her," Zanuck says. "She's not a typical Hollywood starlet."



Zanuck gave more tidbits about the characters and the actors playing them. On Johnny Depp as the wild Mad Hatter: "This character is off his rocker."

"He is so much fun and so nutty, I can't imagine anyone else doing it," said the producer. Depp transforms into yet another bizarre character, adopting an accent that Zanuck said was indescribable.



Zanuck also provided some information about the social conflicts in Wonderland, and about its tyrant, the Red Queen, played by Helena Bonham Carter. "The creatures are ready to revolt and waiting for Alice to help them," said Zanuck.



The benevolent White Queen, played by Anne Hathaway, was overthrown by her malicious sister. Richard Zanuck said the White Queen."is beautiful but over the top. She doesn't walk. She floats. She's very eccentric."

Zanuck also revealed that film legend Christoper Lee will indeed play the role of the ferocious Jabberwock.



Matt Lucas will play Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Click on the USA Today link to explore three detailed pieces of conceptual art and see more of the fantastical Wonderland concocted by Tim Burton and his crew, a world filled with gigantic fungi, mysterious topiary, and anthropomorphic flowers.

Photos courtesy of Disney Enterprises Inc.

Eleanor Tomlinson to be in "Alice"

Sixteen-year-old actress Eleanor Tomlinson has stated that she will play the role of the spiteful Fiona Chataway in Alice in Wonderland.

Tomlinson, a Beverly native, has recently appeared in the teen comedy Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.

The young actress commented on how enjoyable it has been to work on the film:

"I think it's amazing. I can't get over it.

"Everyone has been so nice to me on set.

"It's a small part, but it's well worth it. It's brilliant."

She began filming her scenes last week in Plymouth, and will continue to do so for the next three weeks. After that, she's returning back to school.

The article also focused on Tomlinson talking about Johnny Depp, who is supposed to play the role of the Mad Hatter in the computer-generated realm of Wonderland.

"Unfortunately, Johnny Depp is filming the animation scenes in the US so I won't meet him on set.

"But, hopefully, I'll get the chance during the premier.

"I'll be thrilled when I meet him, but also probably a little star-struck.

"I just have to act normal. Everyone says he is a really lovely guy."

Matt Lucas, who will play the roles of Tweedledee and Tweedledum, very recently also said that Depp would be in Los Angeles for his scenes. So unless both he and Tomlinson are misled, Depp will most likely be in the film (although it's not clear whether all of Wonderland will be computer animated with the motion-capture technology or just certain elements or characters in it).

Matt Lucas Confirms Role

British comedic actor Matt Lucas has confirmed that he will be playing the roles of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in Alice in Wonderland, and he is "very excited."

"I go out in early October to Los Angeles to film," he said.

"I think a lot of the work is going to be green screen but I've seen some set designs and what the characters are going to look like and they look absolutely extraordinary.

"I pinch myself when I think I'm going to be playing a part in a Disney movie directed by Tim Burton starring Johnny Depp - I can't quite believe it's going to be happening."

Technically, Depp has not been confirmed yet (rumors suggest that he will play the Mad Hatter). But Lucas' enthusiasm is indeed infectious.

You can read more about Lucas' forthcoming projects in this BBC article.

More info to come!

Matt Lucas in "Wonderland"?

Variety has stated that British comic actor Matt Lucas will be playing the twins Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Alice in Wonderland, much like Deep Roy playing all of the Oompa Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Lucas is best known for being in BBC's "Little Britain," and the coming HBO series "Little Britain USA," premiering on September 28th.

No other sources or details were provided to confirm this, so it's not official yet. But he certainly looks the part.