"Frankenweenie" World Premiere Date, Location Announced

Tim Burton fans in Texas are in for a treat, because this year's Fantastic Fest will open with the world premiere of Frankenweenie on Thursday, September 20th, in Austin, Texas at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. Check out the official Fantastic Fest 2012 website for more information.

Burton on "Frankenweenie" Comic-Con Panel

Comic-Con has announced that Tim Burton will be on a panel to discuss his forthcoming film, Frankenweenie, at the massive San Diego convention this year. The filmmaker will be present on Thursday, July 12th, 2:05-3:05 PM, in Hall H. He will be joined by Sam Raimi, Rich Moore, Sarah Silverman, and John C. Reilly to talk about other upcoming Disney films in this Q&A.

"Frankenweenie" Trailer #2

Here is the second theatrical trailer for Frankenweenie! You can also watch it in HD at Apple Trailers.

Explore the Film with Interactive "Frankenweenie" 360

Disney has provided an exciting opportunity to explore the making of the new stop-motion animated film, Frankenweenie, with "Frankenweenie360." Producer Allison Abbate is your guide through this interactive tour of the making of the movie at film set 23. Watch videos with words from animators, camera operators, art directors, and other artists, and see new and previously unseen concept artwork. Click here to explore now!

Photos: Four New "Dark Shadows" Portraits

Dark Shadows News has posted four previously unseen Dark Shadows portraits, featuring Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Bella Heathcoate, and Helena Bonham Carter. Click the images below to enlarge them:









Images © Warner Bros. Entertainment Ltd.

"Ed Wood" on Blu-ray September 18

Tim Burton's highly-acclaimed biographical film, Ed Wood (1994), is slated to be released on Blu-ray on September 18th, reports HighDefDigest.com.

Ed Wood is the strange-but-true story of Edward D. Wood, Jr., who has earned the reputation of being the "worst filmmaker of all time" for making such low-budget pictures as Bride of the Monster, Glen or Glenda?, and the infamous Plan 9 From Outer Space. The film stars Johnny Depp, Martin Landau (in an Oscar-winning performance as horror movie legend, Bela Lugosi), Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, and Bill Murray, among others.

Special features and technical specifications for the Blu-ray release have yet to be announced, but the Blu-ray will sell for a retail price of $20.00.

Videos: New "Vampire Hunter" Cast & Crew Interviews

HeyUGuys posted some interviews with cast and crew members of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Producer Tim Burton:




Director Timur Bekmambetov and writer Seth Grahame-Smith:




Benjamin Walker and Anthony Mackie:




Mary Elizabeth Winstead:




Dominic Cooper and Rufus Sewell:

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" Now in Theaters

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is now in U.S. theaters. Check your local listings to see it today!

Video: Burton on "Vampire Hunter," "Frankenweenie," Old and New Projects

Collider recently had a conversation with Tim Burton. In the interview, the filmmaker discussed a range of topics, from how Disney let him make his stop-motion Frankenweenie, his involvement with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, what he thinks of the test-screening process, whether there are deleted scenes from older films like Ed Wood, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and Beetlejuice, and his criteria in picking future projects.

Video: "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" Mural

Above is a video showing a time-lapse of the making of a contest-winning mural created to promote Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Dread Central has more information:

"The online Art Competition ‘Fresh Blood Hunt’ was an opportunity for budding creative talent to design an art piece inspired by the film for the chance to win a 17” MacBook Pro and have their design painted by visionary street artist Jim Rockwell (Endoftheline) as a mural on Great Eastern Street, East London.

"The competition began on Friday, 18th May, and budding artists had until 30th May to enter. After the competition closed, people had from 1st–9th June to visit the site and vote for their favourite piece of art from 12 shortlisted entries. The winning artwork was created by seventeen-year-old Emily Jane Neal from North Devon.

"Emily said, 'My inspiration for my piece was mainly about how Abraham Lincoln was the President of the USA. That is why I included the American flag and a well-known picture of him with his iconic hat on - so that anyone who saw my design would know that the film is about him.'"

Click the image below to see the entire mural:

Christopher Lee, Tom Kenny Join "Frankenweenie"

IMDb reports that 90-year-old, legendary actor Christopher Lee and prolific voice actor Tom Kenny (Spongebob SquarePants, The Powerpuff Girls, Adventure Time with Finn and Jake) are providing voices in Frankenweenie. Lee will be reprising his iconic vampire role as "Movie Dracula," while Kenny will play multiple parts, including a fire chief, a soldier, and various townsfolk.

This is Christopher Lee's sixth collaboration with Tim Burton. Previously, they have worked on Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Dark Shadows (2012). Lee was also going to have an appearance in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) as the head ghost, until that part of the film was cut.

8 "Frankenweenie" Character Banners, Descriptions

Empire Online and Disney have released eight brand-new character banners and descriptions profiling the cast of Frankenweenie. Click the images below to enlarge them (UPDATE: You can get extremely high resolution versions of these images in this link):


First up, there's Victor Frankenstein, voiced by Charlie Tahan. Here's what we learn about him:
"Victor Frankenstein is a clever, industrious 10-year-old. He lives with his parents and dog, Sparky, and immerses himself in making films and inventing in his attic workshop. When Sparky dies in a car accident, Victor uses scientific ingenuity to bring him back to life."


Next, Sparky himself:
"Sparky is a playful bull terrier whose sense of curiosity is matched only by his owner, Victor. Sparky enjoys chasing after balls and starring in Victor’s homemade movies. He exudes tons of energy and enthusiasm, which even his untimely death doesn’t diminish."


Victor's parents are voiced by Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short.
"Mr. Frankenstein is a travel agent, who likes to dispense roundabout advice to his son. He is proud of Victor’s accomplishments, but is concerned he doesn’t have any friends other than Sparky. He encourages him to join the baseball team. Mr. Frankenstein has a playful and loving relationship with his wife, Victor’s mom, who encourages her son’s scientific pursuits, even when her kitchen appliances end up in his attic lab."


Then Elsa Van Helsing, voiced by Winona Ryder
"Elsa Van Helsing is a soulful and somber classmate of Victor. She lives next door with her tyrant uncle, Mayor Burgemeister, who forces her to be this year’s “Little Dutch Girl” at the town’s celebration of Dutch Day. Elsa also has a beloved pet, her poodle Persephone, and truly empathizes with Victor when he loses Sparky."


Persephone is Elsa's dog.
"Persephone is a perfectly groomed black poodle. She is fiercely loyal to Elsa, her owner. When Persephone and Sparky first meet in the backyard, the attraction is instantaneous and electrifying."


Then there's Toshiaki (James Hiroyuki Liao)
"Toshiaki is over-achieving and mega-competitive. He delights in beating Victor at his own game and like a power-hungry mad scientist, Toshiaki will stop at nothing to win the top prize in the school’s science fair—even if it means stealing Victor’s ideas to do it."


Robert Capron is Bob.
"Bob is a momma’s boy, the brawn to Toshiaki’s brains. He is never mean-spirited, but he’s easily led and gullible. Bob follows Toshiaki everywhere, but is the first one to run to Victor for help when he gets in over his head."


And Bob's mum is voiced by Conchata Ferrell.
"Bob’s Mom is a plump, suburban housewife who is prone to panic and hysteria when things go awry. She has very simple, stereotypical views on life. She dotes on her son Bob and believes her actions, though often misguided, are in his best interest."

Video: Burton on "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"

In this video interview, producer Tim Burton talks about why Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter appealed to him, the similarities to the portrayal of the U.S. president in the film and superheroes like Batman, working with writer Seth Grahame-Smith, director Timur Bekmambetov, and leading actor Benjamin Walker (and what their unique perspectives brought to the film), and more.

Linkin Park's "Vampire Hunter" Music Video

Here is the music video for Linkin Park's song, "Powerless," which will be featured in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The song is from the band's upcoming fifth album, "Living Things," which will be released in the United States on June 26th. The song is set to play during the end credits of the film, says Ace Showbiz.

Videos: "Vampire Hunter" Cast & Crew Interviews

Here are eight new videos featuring cast and crew members of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter discussing their new film, which will be released in theaters this Friday:

Benjamin Walker:




Anthony Mackie:




Mary Elizabeth Winstead:




Rufus Sewell:




Dominic Cooper:




Director Timur Bekmambetov:




Writer Seth Grahame-Smith:




Producer Jim Lemley:

Video: Burton on "Beetlejuice 2"

Shock Till You Drop spoke with Tim Burton to get a few words on the possibility of making a sequel to Beetlejuice. Here is a transcript of what Burton had to say:

"Seth [Grahame-Smith] is writing something, so we'll see. I love the character but I want to just kind of look at it from a fresh perspective and see what he comes up with. That's like one of my favorite characters I've ever dealt with. [Michael Keaton] is one of the first people I worked with who was so good at improv. That movie, I was very lucky to work with a lot of actors, like him and Catherine O'Hara, who were very good at improv, so that kind of set me on a whole new course. I would love to revisit that character at some point."

Photo: "Vampire Hunter" Visits USS Lincoln

Here's an amusing photo of Benjamin Walker aboard the USS Lincoln to promote the new film, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and to give the service men and women an advance screening of the movie.

Videos: Two New "Vampire Hunter" Clips

Two new clips from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter have appeared online. Obviously, potential SPOILERS within. The film will be released in theaters this Friday.

"Real Power":




"Waltz of Death":

"Frankenweenie" Comic-Con Banners Appear in San Diego

Banners promoting Frankenweenie and Comic-Con have been put up in downtown San Diego. Comic-Con will host the touring exhibition, "The Art of Frankenweenie," from July 12-15. Click the above image to enlarge it.

Interview: Burton, Grahame-Smith on "Vampire Hunter"

Flicks and Bits interviewed producer Tim Burton and screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith to learn more about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

How did the genesis of the idea for ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ come about for you?

Seth Grahame-Smith: In every book store that I would go to around the country, no matter where it was, there was always the two tables in the front of the store. There was the Vampire books table, and there was the Abraham Lincoln biography table (laughs). I call it the chocolate and peanut butter moment, sort of subconscious inspiration. I started thinking, “People love this, people love Vampires and always have. And people love Abraham Lincoln, especially in the United States.” It just sparked an interesting question, in my mind anyway, which was, “Could you graft a genre story onto this extremely well known, iconic life story of Abraham Lincoln?”


Blending history and reality, iconic history at that, I can imagine that being a difficult task?

Tim Burton: Yeah, ’Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ basically takes the story of Abraham Lincoln, which Seth really went through the history of the life of Lincoln, and linked it up to Vampire mythology. The idea that his mother was killed by a Vampire, how that shaped the rest of his life. The interesting thing about it is that it’s not as far fetched as it sounds. I mean, the idea, the events leading him to be a Vampire Hunter and all the deaths he had in his family, people close to him, it makes a lot of sense and it’s actually a lot more believable than the premise makes it (laughs). That’s what was interesting. We never wanted to make fun of anything, we wanted to treat it seriously and like a human story.

Seth, how did Tim get on board with this project?

Seth Grahame-Smith: Tim was interested in what I had next and he read the proposal for ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.’ The next thing I know I get a call out of nowhere while I’m writing the book, that went, “Tim Burton wants to meet with you about producing your book as a movie.” That blew my mind wide open (laughs). And so I was like, “Yeah, I think I can fit that into my schedule.” (Laughs) The next thing I know, he had produced a film called ‘9’ with Jim Lemley and Timur Bekmambetov, so the three of them already had a working relationship. Then before I know it, I’m in a room talking to these three producers.

Tim Burton: I had first heard the idea even before Seth had written the book. I just heard the title, ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,’ all of a sudden my mind just went into overdrive. It took me back to the era of films that I grew up in, in the 60s, early 70s, where there was a weird mash up of movies. I remember things like ’Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde,’ you got these weird mix-ups of horror films. It just sounded to me the kind of a movie that I wanted to see, it really reminded me of that era. It had a crazy energy to it, a weird juxtaposition of things.

What do you think Timur Bekmambetov brought to your story?

Seth Grahame-Smith: Timur challenges you to go further. No matter how far you think you’ve gone, Timur will think about it and say, “No, I think we can go further.” What that means is that we can go further in the layers of the story, we can go further in the meaning of a piece of voiceover, we can go further in the bigness of a set piece. Some people are “less is more” people, Timur is a “more is more” kinda guy (laughs).

There’s an interesting superhero-esque duality to Abraham Lincoln in this story?

Tim Burton: Yeah. We talked about the idea of it very much mirroring the classic, comic book superhero mythology. In some cases he’s not that dissimilar from Batman in the sense of him having a dual day job as President and a night job as a Vampire Hunter. The duality of those kind of characters, that again was something that was really important. To keep the human quality of him, but then explore the mythological, superhero nature of how we perceive Abraham Lincoln. Mix those two together and that’s what we have here.

How do you hope audiences will react to ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’?

Seth Grahame-Smith: My hope is that audiences take away a couple of things. Number one, I hope they have fun and I hope they enjoy the craziness of it all. But beyond that I hope that they take away even the slightest appreciation for the things that the real man, the real Abraham Lincoln went through in his life. If anything I hope that maybe a few of them will be inspired to go and check out a little bit more about Abraham Lincoln. I think that they’ll be surprised that when they do, they will see that he was every bit the superhero we portrayed him as, only in a different way.