Vincent Schiavelli dies

We've heard the sad news that character actor Vincent Schiavelli, best known to Burton fans as the Organ Grinder in Batman Returns, has died of lung cancer. The 57 year old actor had a long and varied career in both TV and film, and while he never became a household name, his face was familiar to millions of movie fans. He will be missed.

Burton teams with Jim Carrey for next film?

Multiple sources are reporting today that Tim is in early negotiations to direct Jim Carrey in "Believe It or Not", an adventure loosely based on the life of Robert Ripley. You can read the full story at The Hollywood Reporter. Thanks to everyone who emailed us about the story.

CatCF award info

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory just won the BAFTA kids' vote for best film at the 10th Annual Children's BAFTA Awards in London.
It's also up for Favorite Family Movie at The 32nd Annual People's Choice Awards. You can vote for it here!

Scissorhands finally comes to the stage

Matthew Bourne's long-planned dance version of Edward Scissorhands will finally open on the London stage beginning November 30th. There are several interesting articles about the production online. The New York Times and Variety both have pieces on it, The Evening Standard reports ticket sales have already topped £1 million, and Playbill has photos from the stage production's recent tryout. Anyone who manages to get to see the production in London, be sure to send us a review!

Corpse Bride on shortlist for films elligible for Best Animated Feature Oscar

It's been announced that Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is one of ten animated feature films in the running to be nominated at next year's Oscars. Only three can make the final nominations, so let's hope Corpse Bride makes the grade.
There's also an interview with Burton from the Chicago Sun-Times, where he talks about the recently released Batman DVDs.

Corpse Bride DVD release announced!

According to DVD Times the Region 1 release of Corpse Bride will be on January 31. Extras include several behind the scenes featurettes with the cast and crew and a music only track.
In box office news, the film has now earned $52.5 million in North America and over $80 million worldwide.

News roundup November 7

We have several interesting items to report today. Firstly, as I'm sure most of you are aware, the Region 1 DVD of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory goes on release tomorrow, in both single disc and 2-disc deluxe editions. The DVD is sure to be a big seller, as Charlie is Burton's most successful movie to date, earning over $205 million in North America and an incredible $462 million worldwide!
Secondly, for those of you interested in learning more about '9', the 3D animated movie Burton is producing, you can check out the official website.
Finally, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory just won the Peoples Choice Award for Best International Film at The Irish Film & Television Awards. Thanks to Sean Kelly in Derry, Ireland for the tip.

William Hootkins passes away

Sad news today that character actor William Hootkins has died after a battle with cancer. Burton fans will know him best for his role as the corrupt Lt. Eckhardt in Batman. He also had small but memorable roles in Star Wars (1977) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). You can read more about him here.

Corpse Bride October 21-23 weekend box office update

Corpse Bride fell out of the top 10 at the North American box office this weekend, but still earned over $2 million according to estimates. That pushes its domestic total to $50.6 million, which means it's surpassed the box office total of The Nightmare Before Christmas already. Of course, ticket prices were much lower back in 1993, but it's still an impressive achievement for a stop-motion animated film to be so successful in this age of computer animation.
The film was released in the U.K. this weekend, with many other countries to follow in the month ahead, which should boost its worldwide box office significantly.

Burton Q&A, plus Golden Ticket Giveaway

You can read a short but interesting Q&A with Burton at Timeout.com.
There's also the news that five Golden Tickets will be hidden inside Charlie and the Chocolate Factory DVDs. You can find out more about the giveaway and the prizes on the official site.

Burton Newsweek interview

In this web exclusive interview, Burton talks about his recent work, as well as his Batman films, which are both out on DVD tomorrow.

Corpse Bride October 14-16 weekend box office

Just a quick update on Corpse Bride's box office. The estimates for this weekend have it grossing $3.4 million (down 46.9% from last week) bringing its North American total to $47.6 million. While that's a lot less than the most successful animated movies of recent years, it's still pretty good for a stop-motion animated film. It should pass the $50 million lifetime box office of The Nightmare Before Christmas within the next week or two.

Burton retrospective and site update

7M Pictures website has an audio feature on Burton. You can listen to it here.
We've also updated our articles section to include some new Charlie and Corpse Bride articles.

Corpse Bride weekend box office update and event news

Corpse Bride held up pretty well in its fourth weekend, considering it was up against another stop-motion animated film, Wallace and Gromit. It grossed another $6.5 million, according to estimates from Box Office Mojo. This brings its North American total to $42.1 million.
In other news, those of you living in or near Montreal might want to check out an Animation Innovator event with Corpse Bride co-director Mike Johnson later this month. He'll be appearing to discuss the film and show actual puppets from the production. You can find out more about it here.

Corpse Bride art contest winners!

Yep, the votes are in and now you can feast your eyes on the 11 most amazing entries!

Collective wins award and more!

Some very exciting news today - The Tim Burton Collective was the Editor's Pick for Best Director Fansite in the Second Annual Movie Site Awards! We didn't win the popular vote, but there's always next year.
In other news, Deep Roy, who has starred in all four of Burton's most recent films, will be appearing in Los Angeles to sign autographs to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. If you're interested in attending, you can find out more about it here.

Corpse Bride weekend box office Sep 30 - Oct 2

According to estimates from Box Office Mojo, Corpse Bride earned another $9.7 million in its second week of North American wide release, dropping to number three. Its total now stands at $32.9 million.

Corpse Bride art contest ends tonight!

Just to let everyone know, the Corpse Bride art contest will end tonight at midnight (Eastern Standard Time). Any submissions sent after that time will not be entered into the contest. Thanks, and good luck to everyone who's entered!

Batman & Batman Returns Special Edition DVDs

Some of you may know this already, but 2-disc editions of Batman and Batman Returns are both now available to order from Amazon! They're packed with exciting special features and will be released on October 18th! For those of you who absolutely have to own the special editions of Joel Schumacher's two campfests, they are also available, both individually and as part of the Batman Anthology box set.

Corpse Bride weekend box office and review

According to estimates from Box Office Mojo, Corpse Bride earned approximately $20.1 million its first weekend in wide release. While that meant it was in second place behind the Jodie Foster film Flightplan, it's still a promising start for the film. In fact, it was the biggest opening ever for a stop motion animated film. So much for the claim that it's a dying artform.
We also have the official Collective review of the film for you to read.