Lisa Marie Told to Revise Lawsuit Against Tim Burton

The Associated Press has reported that, on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007, Tim Burton's ex-girlfriend, Lisa Marie, was told to revise her lawsuit against the director. The article went into detail, saying, "a judge ruled it didn't sufficiently support claims that Burton had backed out of a promise to financially support her. " Marie sued in December 2006, alleging that Burton used fraud to "cheat her out of assets he promised to share with her during their nearly 10-year, live-in relationship." Burton's attorneys said that the director already gave Marie $5 million to sign the contract, "which released him from any further claims to his assets." The judge stated that Marie and her attorneys have ten days to revise the action.



Marie was in four of Burton's films: Ed Wood (1994), Mars Attacks (1996), Sleepy Hollow (1999), and Planet of the Apes (2001).




Photo provided by the Associated Press. This picture was taken at the 47th International Film Festival in Berlin on Saturday, February 22nd, 1997, during a press conference for Mars Attacks.

Another "Sweeney Todd" Poster

The item was on sale on eBay a few days ago. Check it out:

10 Minutes of "Sweeney Todd" at Venice Film Festival on September 5th

The Stephen Sondheim Society has announced that, on Wednesday, September 5th, the 64th Venice International Film Festival will be honoring director Tim Burton with a 24 hour Tim Burton Day. Warner Bros. has confirmed that during the day, a ten minute preview of "Sweeney Todd" will be shown.

In addition to ten minutes of his upcoming film being shown, Tim Burton will be awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

Tim Burton and his films have been praised with great enthusiasm at Venice, most recently with the stop-motion film Corpse Bride when it was shown there, which received ecstatic applause and reviews.

New Photo of Depp and Burton on Set of "Sweeney Todd"

IGN.com has released the first photo of Tim Burton on Johnny Depp on the set of "Sweeney Todd." Behold!:

"Sweeney Todd" to be Rated "R" in USA

EW.com has confirmed that Sweeney Todd will be given the MPAA rating of "R" in the USA. The article goes on to mention Tim Burton's impression on making the film, which he said was one of his most challenging yet. ''To do an R-rated musical with 70 percent singing was kinda like, 'Well, I haven't done that one before.' It's exciting to keep surprising yourself and see what happens," the director says.

Helena Bonham Carter also went on to describe working on the film, saying how training for the demaning Sondheim songs was more like getting ready for a "sport." Also, the actress did extensive hours of baking in preparation for the movie musical. ''I had to do accelerated lessons at pie making,'' she says. ''Not only that, but then you had to do it to syncopated Sondheim rhythm and sing at the same time. I had to become very coordinated.'' Bonham Carter, however, was very enthusiastic about the look of her creepy character. ''The look is fantastic,'' the actress says. ''I'd wear this makeup anyway. But it might start a whole craze.'' Let's just hope her recipes don't catch on."

The film is due for a limited US release on December 21st, 2007, just in time for Christmas. It may not sound like a jolly holiday film, but Burton joked, ''Red is a color at Christmas." Although he wouldn't be averse to it being billed as a Valentine's Day film, either. ''For me, it sort of sums up relationships,'' says Burton. ''Although people might be horrified by that.''

Read on for more details!

New Pic of "Sweeney Todd"

The first picture of Burton's upcoming Sweeney Todd has been released!:

Helena Bonham Carter Pregnant

Pictures taken of Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, and their three-year-old son, Billy Ray, on a beach in Italy on August 6th, 2007, show Bonham Carter is pregnant with the couple's second child. The couple officially announced their expected child the next day. Photos provided by www.helena-world.com.

Burton and Bonham Carter Expecting Second Child!

Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter have announced that they are expecting a second child later this year. The due date is December 7th, 2007. Their first child, Billy Ray Burton, was born in October 2003.




Bonham Carter's representative, Karon Maskill, has said, "[they] are very happy to be expecting their second child later this year." . Bonham Carter has said that she felt Burton put a spell on her when they first met. "I met Tim again at my brother's house, and magic happened," she said to the Radio Times. "It was like someone taking my world and twisting it a crucial 15 degrees."


Photo by: Richard Young / startraks

New "Sweeney Todd" Poster!

Aint It Cool News has announced that Comic-Con released the new poster for Burton's upcoming Sweeney Todd last week. The credits have been adjusted for changes in the production, and the poster also shows a new tagline: "Never forget. Never forgive." Click on the picture for a much larger, high-quality version.

"Sweeney Todd" Clips to Be Shown at Comic-Con

Entertainment Weekly (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20047473,00.html) has announced that Tim Burton will appear at San Diego's Comic-Con 2007 to show clips of Sweeney Todd. The convention runs from July 26th to the 29th. The limited U.S. release date of the film is still December 21st, and the wide release in the U.S. will be January 11th, 2008.

Sondheim Talks "Todd"

According to Sandy George of The Australian (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,22052581-15803,00.html), Stephen Sondheim said at Sydney's Theatre Royal last Friday that the film adaptation of his musical "Sweeney Todd" will be, for the most part, very similar to his original conception of the show. Sondheim acknowledged that during the process of filming the musical originally made for the live stage, certain parts had to be cut for time consideration. "There are songs that have been cut, and cuts within some of the songs, but generally it is pretty much the score," Sondheim said. But despite a few alterations, Sondheim reassures that "the plot is very little changed ... It is pretty faithful." Sondheim also stated that the film would have that macabre Burton feel to it, saying that "It has got a lot of blood in it, and that's fine by me."

Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter Attend "Harry Potter 5" Premiere

Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter arrived at a cinema in central London to see the premiere of the newest film in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, on Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007. Helena Bonham Carter has a role in the film as the character Bellatrix Lestrange. Photo provided by the Associated Press.

View more pictures here, provided by the Collective's very own Melanie McDermott, a.k.a. Pierrot Somepeople : http://www.flickr.com/photos/pierrotsomepeople/sets/72157600631562233/

No "Ripley's" for Burton?, and "Sweeney Todd" Filming Completed

Reports are suggesting that Tim Burton might not be the director for the upcoming film, Ripley's Believe it or Not!, according to ComingSoon.net (http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=21120). The chances that the film would begin shooting after Burton completed Sweeney Todd were in doubt before, until Steve Oedekerk wrote a new draft of the screenplay, which gave some hope to the future of the project. No official news are up yet at the moment.

Also, it looks like Sweeney Todd has completed principal shooting, according to Playbill News (http://www.playbill.com/news/article/108819.html). The macabre musical will now begin post-production and should be ready for its U.S. limited release date of December 21st, 2007.

Christopher Lee Cut From "Sweeney Todd"?

An article on Stephen Sondheim's own website (http://www.sondheim.org/php/news.php?id=2299) from the Sunday Telegraph has stated that Christopher Lee's character, the Gentleman Ghost, has been cut from Tim Burton's upcoming film version of Sweeney Todd. Half a dozen other actors who were to play more singing ghosts have been axed from the film, too. Sondheim had greatly approved of Lee's operatic singing (he recently released a CD), but a tight production schedule is most likely to be the reason that the singing ghosts parts were cut. Lee was eager to participate in what would have been his fourth collaboration with Burton (they first worked together on 1999's Sleepy Hollow). The actor said that "It would have been worse if I had done the scenes, but I never got to film them." Lee continued saying "It's a shame as the lyrics were wonderful, but these things happen."

Helena Bonham-Carter Reveals More Tidbits on "Todd"

A new interview with Helena Bonham-Carter with the Times reveals some little details about the making of Sweeney Todd, as well as her relationship with Tim Burton and their son, Billy Ray:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article1711485.ece

"Vincent" in 3D and "Sweeney Todd" Release Dates Announced!

The Hollywood Reporter (http://www.movieweb.com/news/53/18853.php) has some good news for Burton fans: Not only is The Nightmare Before Christmas going to return to theaters in 3D this fall, but Tim Burton's 1982 stop-motion short film, Vincent, will also be released with it, also in 3D!

For anyone who wants to mark their calendars, some release dates for Tim Burton's next feature film, Sweeney Todd, have been released. ComingSoon.net (http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=16053) has said that Sweeney Todd is set for limited release (most likely Los Angeles and New York City) just in time for Christmas, on December 21st, 2007. However, anyone living in the US but not in that area might need to wait until January 11th, 2008 for the wide release of the Sondheim musical's big-screen debut. IMDb.com (http://imdb.com/title/tt0408236/releaseinfo) has listed release dates for other countries (however, it is not officially determined if all of these are accurate or not):

Italy	5 September 2007	(Venice Film Festival)
USA	21 December 2007	(limited)
Norway	11 January 2008
USA	11 January 2008
Australia	24 January 2008
Netherlands	24 January 2008
UK	25 January 2008

Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands update

Just a quick update on the Edward Scissorhands ballet tour. You can find a tour itinerary here. You can find pictures from the tour here, including (joy!) some photos of Johnny Depp visiting the cast. So try and catch the show if you still can!

Sweeney Todd filming underway

Sweeney Todd is currently shooting at the Pinewood studios in London. Yahoo has a news article with some new bits of information ; http://news.yahoo.com/s/playbill/20070227/en_playbill/106058

The article reveals Christopher Lee's character character is "the gentleman ghost".

Also, Stephen Sondheim himself sounds pretty positive about the project: "Sometimes a story or stage production has to wait a long time until the right people come together to turn it into a motion picture. That's what has happened with Sweeney Todd and I'm excited as well as confident that it will be a first-rate and startling movie."

Sweeney Todd teaser poster and new cast members!

Sorry for the somewhat late update; Variety has released an official teaser poster of Sweeney Todd. Click on the above thumbnail to see a larger version. The poster also confirms a few casting rumours; Timothy Spall and Christopher Lee will indeed appear in the movie!

This marks the first time Burton will work with the British actor Timothy Spall (Wormtail from the Harry Potter movies) and it will be his fourth collaboration with the legendary Christopher Lee.

Timothy Spall's role has been reported to be Beadle Bramford. Christopher Lee's role is still unknown.

Thanks to karloffornia13, Fuzzy Duck and other loyal Burtonites for reporting this!

Edward Scissorhands ballet tour info and Believe it or Not update

Two small news items today. For those of you that don't already know, Matthew Bourne's stage production of Edward Scissorhands is currently on tour in America. More information on the dates and locations can be found here.
Also, Variety reports that Steve Oederkerk (Kung Pow) is working on the script for Believe It or Not, with Burton and Jim Carrey still attached. So we may yet see this delayed biopic of Robert Ripley after Burton is finished with Sweeney Todd.

Sweeney Todd updates

Technical problems have prevented any news being posted in a while, so here is a quick update on the latest Burton news. Alan Rickman has been cast as Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd. There are also rumours that Anthony Stewart Head (Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will play a role in the film.
In other news, The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D is now on release in the UK and Empire Magazine has an interview with Burton on their site.

Borat and Sweeney Todd. Very nice! High five!

We reported a while back on the rumour about Sacha Baron Cohen playing a role in Sweeney Todd. Well the English comedian, whose film Borat is currently busting blocks around the world, has been officially confirmed as playing Pirelli by Variety.

Most of you have probably heard this sad news already, but another Burton collaborator, Jack Palance, has recently passed away. Palance had a long career in Hollywood, appearing in, of course, Batman and many other classic movies.

Nightmare Before Christmas 3D leaves screens

Now that Halloween is over, Nightmare 3D has stopped playing just about everywhere. For those of you who weren't lucky enough to see it this time, Disney has promised they intend to bring it back for future Halloweens, hopefully on more screens. And if you're interested in box office figures, Nightmare 3D earned over $6 million in less than two weeks of release, pushing the film's lifetime box office to over $56 million, meaning it's passed the box office totals of both Corpse Bride and Edward Scissorhands.

Bones video premieres!

For those of you who missed it on MTV yesterday, you can watch Burton's video for "Bones" by The Killers on the MTV website. As you'd expect, it features people stripping down to their skeletons and getting involved in all kinds of shenanigans. There's also a making of video on the site.

Burton interviews galore!

Lots of Burton interviews for you today. For those who missed his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, you can watch the whole interview on youtube. Harry Knowles over at Aint It Cool News also has an interview with Burton about a variety of topics. If that's not enough for you, there's an also an interview with Tim on the USA Today website.
And for those of you in the USA who have cable, don't forget that Corpse Bride has its TV premiere tonight at 8pm on ABC Family.

Sweeney casting news and Nightmare premiere multimedia

This news will be no suprise to anyone, but Helena Bonham Carter has been cast in Sweeney Todd. She will play the role of Mrs. Lovett.
There are also some pictures and video clips of the Nightmare Before Christmas 3D premiere that took place on Monday night, courtesy of Independent Entertainment News!

Report on Nightmare Before Xmas 3D premiere!

Our West Coast representative was lucky enough to be at the premiere of The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D in Hollywood last night, and here's his report:

"As you would expect the premiere was a fairly dull affair, who needs to brush shoulders, well 6' away, with John Lasseter, James Cameron, Danny Elfman and Tim Burton and walk down the red, ok black, carpet!
There were quite a few people in suits there but some people made the effort and dressed up as scary characters, one even came as Marilyn Manson, oh no that was Marilyn Manson! Burton went over to the crowd outside and signed autographs.
The movie had impressive 3D and the audience were really into it, cheering especially loud when Elfman's and Burton's name came on screen. Elfman and some of the others were hanging out in the foyer after to speak with fans. All in all it was a fantastic experience and I urge everyone to see the 3D version of the film if they can."

Thanks to Allan for the report and don't forget you can learn more about the 3D version of the film on our NMBC page. It's interesting that John Lasseter was at the premiere, since there are rumours that Burton may make a film with Pixar sometime in the future.

In other Nightmare news, Toon Zone has an interesting interview with Disney producer Don Hahn about the process of making the film 3D.

Borat and Burton to team up?

The latest, most exciting news about Sweeney Todd is that Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Borat, Bruno and Ali G) is reportedly in talks to appear as Todd's rival barber, Signor Adolfo. You can read more about the story here. Let's hope the rumours are true!

Nightmare songs and 3D premiere news!

With just over a week to go until the release of the 3D version of The Nightmare Before Christmas, there's lots of exciting news coming out. You can listen to several of Elfman's songs covered by artists such as Fiona Apple and Marilyn Manson on the myspace page for the film. There will also be a star-studded premiere for the film in Hollywood on October 16.

Burton nominated for award at Movies.com

Tim Burton has been nominated for best director in the 1st Annual movies.com Reader's Poll, alongside Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino and George Lucas. Burton is in fourth place at the moment, so if you want to show your support click here to vote.
In other news, there are reports that Sweeney Todd will begin filming at Pinewood Studios in England from the 5th February next year. Also Burton will be attending the 50th London Film Fesival, starting 18th October.

Marilyn Manson and other artists to cover Nightmare

The latest news about the upcoming rerelease of The Nightmare Before Christmas is that there will also be a new double CD soundtrack in stores. One disc will features Elfman's original music while the other will have covers of the songs by artists (and Nightmare fans) such as Marilyn Manson, Fiona Apple and Panic! at the Disco. This sounds like it could be either genius or completely awful. The CD will be released October 24 and you can read more about it here.

Jim Broadbent to join cast of Sweeney Todd?

The latest rumour about Sweeney Todd is that Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent, who was to star in the new movie version of Hairspray, will now appear in Burton's musical instead. Curiously, Broadbent will be replaced in Hairspray by Burton regular Christopher Walken. Read more about this story here.

Happy birthday, Tim!

Just to remind everyone that Tim Burton turns 48 today! Post your birthday wishes here, and your plans for the day (movie marathons, etc.)

Depp is Sweeney Todd

This is just an update on our last story for those who haven't heard already - Johnny Depp has been officially confirmed as playing the lead in Sweeney Todd. So post your thoughts on Burton and Depp collaborating yet again.

Depp to take singing lessons for Sweeney Todd?

The latest news about Sweeney Todd is that Johnny Depp, still the favourite for the lead role, will reportedly have to take a singing test in order to get the approval from composer Stephen Sondheim. If Depp wins the role, it'll be his sixth collaboration with Burton. You can read more on this story here.

Nightmare Before Christmas 3D poster!

With only three months to go before the release, the poster for the 3D version of The Nightmare Before Christmas has been unveiled! Thanks to Aint It Cool News for the scoop.

Burton to direct Killers video and Grim Fandango?

Burton will reportedly direct the video for The Killer's song "Read My Mind", which may excite some people. Anyone else remember the last time Burton was rumored to direct a music video (Madonna's "Bad Girl") but it fell though?
And in the crazy, unverified rumors department, Playfuls.com has the story that Burton will direct the feature film of the video game Grim Fandango after he completes Sweeney Todd. Sounds highly unlikely, but then so did the early rumors of him directing Sweeney.
Finally, some news we can confirm is that Burton will be at the 9th International Short Film Festival Expresion en Corto, in the cities of San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato, Mexico from the 22th to the 29th of July, where his films will be honored and he will be part of a conference about "Breaking out" in cinema. Thanks to Pablo Daniel González Cortés for letting us know about this.

Believe It or Not postponed?

According to Slate.com, Burton's film, starring Jim Carrey as Robert Ripley, has been postponed due to script problems and the escalating budget. This is disappointing if it's true, but the same story says that Burton has been switched to directing the often-rumoured Sweeney Todd instead. So either way it seems like we'll have at least one Burton film to look forward to in the near future.

Burton in Cannes and Mike Johnson interview

A couple of small but interesting stories today. First of all, Burton has been selected as one of the Cinéfondation jury members at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The jury will, among other things, hand out the Palme d'or for Best Short Film during the Closing Ceremony.

Also, Animated News has a link to an interview with Mike Johnson where he talks about his experiences of directing Corpse Bride with Burton.

3D Nightmare!

Exciting news today that Disney are planning another re-release of The Nightmare Before Christmas this Halloween, and this time you'll be able to see Jack and co. in 3D. Full details here.

Gong Li cast in Believe It or Not

Finally some news on Burton's latest film. It's just been reported in the Chinese press that actress Gong Li, star of the upcoming Miami Vice movie, has been cast in Believe It or Not, beating out another contender, Zhang Ziyi. It hasn't been officially confirmed yet, but you can read more about the news here.

Excerpt from new edition of Burton on Burton

Real news this time, honest! Guardian Unlimited has Johnny Depp's new foreward from the book for you to read, where he discusses working with Tim on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, their shared fatherhood and more. Don't forget the new edition of Burton on Burton is available from Amazon UK.

Michael Keaton signs up for back to back sequels with Burton!

From The Milton Keynes Gazette comes the exciting news that Keaton will reteam with Burton for not one, but two long-awaited sequels. First up will be Beetlejuice II: Gothic Boogaloo, which finds the bio-exorcist trapped in the world of the living and performing his own one-man show in Vegas. Once that wraps, the dynamic duo will then move on to Batman Ends, which will chronicle the final adventures of the Dark Knight. Said a spokesman for Warner Bros. "This will serve as sequel not only to Batman Returns but also the new Christian Bale franchise. We figure Batman is popular enough that we can make people pay to watch two different Batmans. There is also the possibility that young Bruce Wayne will travel into the future and be forced into a fight to the death with his older self which causes a rip in the space time continuum that can only be fixed by Superman flying around the Earth really fast."
More news as we get it.

New article about Tim in Filmink magazine

The lastest issue of the Australian magazine Filmink has an article about Burton. Click on the following links to read part one and part two of the article. You can find out more about the magazine (which is available in Australia and New Zealand, and can be ordered online) on their website.

Corpse Bride wins prize!

Making up slightly for its recent loss at the Oscars, Corpse Bride just won the best feature film award at this year's British Animation Awards. You can read more about its win here!

A couple more Burton interviews - no Beetlejuice 2

Interviews with Tim seem to be cropping up all over the place as the Oscars near, and here are two more for you to enjoy.

First up is a text interview at TheJacksonChannel.com, where Burton discusses Corpse Bride and it's Oscar nomination.

There's also a video interview with Tim at The Movie Reporter. He denies the rumors of a Beetlejuice sequel (sorry, Mike) and says he is still attached to direct Believe It or Not, but the star of the film has yet to be confirmed.

Another Burton interview!

The LA Times has posted an amusing interview with Tim where he discusses his thoughts on Corpse Bride being nominated for the Best Animated Feature award at this year's Oscar.

Also, remember there are only around 10 days left to enter our banner/forum logo competition to win a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory poster! And maybe some other mystery prizes!

Corpse Bride signings! And Burton interview!

We've just heard the exciting news from Warner Bros. that Tim Burton will be signing Corpse Bride DVDs in New York on Saturday, February 11 and in Los Angeles on Tuesday, February 14. Here are the details:

New York:

Tim Burton in-store signing for CORPSE BRIDE

Virgin Megastore

Union Square (52 E. 14th Street @ 4th Avenue)

Saturday - February 11, 2006
1:00p.m.


Los Angeles:

Tim Burton and composer Danny Elfman in-store signing for CORPSE BRIDE
Best Buy 1015 La Brea Avenue, Hollywood

Tuesday, February 14, 2006
8:30 pm

More information about the New York signing.
More information about the Los Angeles signing.

This is very cool news for anyone lucky enough to live in or close to those cities!

In other news, Aint it Cool News has posted an interesting interview with Tim, where he discusses various topics, including his involvement with Believe It or Not and the Sweeney Todd musical.

Update on revised edition of Burton on Burton

For those of you who don't already know, the revised edition of Burton on Burton (with new chapters on more recent Burton films such as Big Fish and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) will be released in the UK on the March 2nd and can be preordered from Amazon UK. Hopefully release dates for the US and the rest of the world will be announced soon, too.

Corpse Bride DVD release and new contest!

As I'm sure most of you are aware, the Region 1 Corpse Bride DVD is released on Tuesday! However, any obsessed collectors might want to wait for the Region 2 Collectors Edition, which will include a book and postcards!

In other news, and this has already been announced on the forums, but for anyone who missed it, we're running a new contest! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to design either:

A banner to promote the Collective (you can be as creative as you want with this, just think of anything that would attract visitors to the Collective)
OR
A new logo to go in the top left corner of the forum
The logo should be around 230 x 166 pixels and fit the existing themes of the forum.

If you're feeling extra creative, you could even design both a banner and a forum logo (but only one submission of each per person, please).

As for the prize, well the best design chosen by a team of judges will win the following super fullsize poster!


And possibly some other Burton-related prizes if we can find them!

Your designs should be in jpeg format (unless you create an animated banner) and emailed to: this address.
Please include your approximate location in the email, as well as the name you wish to be credited under if your designs are chosen. The contest will run until February 24th, so that should be plenty of time for all the budding artists out there to think of some ideas.

Even if you already have the poster, it's still worth entering as it'll be your chance to put your mark on the Collective. There's no guarantee we'll use the best logo and/or banner, of course, but if we do, the winner will be credited.
Good luck!

Rumour about Burton directing 'Sweeney Todd' with Johnny Depp

A couple of days ago Moviemusicals.net website offered a scoop about a new Burton movie. This movie project has not been officially confirmed, so it might be completely false information. Look forward to more news about this in the next few weeks, we should soon know whether this is valid or not.

Here is the original news story from Moviemusicals net:



January 7, 2006
Exclusive: Tim Burton & Johnny Depp Team For 'Sweeney Todd'
By Andrew Hartman, MovieMusicals.net
Status: Rumor From Valid Sources
According to anonymous sources, director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp, who together have worked on five major motion pictures including 'Edward Scissorhands' and more recently 'Charlie & the Chocolate Factory,' will team once more for the upcoming movie musical adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's 'Sweeney Todd.'

Depp will portray title character Sweeney Todd - the demon barber or Fleet Street - who slits the throats of his innocent (and not-so-innocent) customers.

As of last year, Sam Mendes ('Road to Perdition,' 'Jarhead') was rumored to be the frontrunner to direct, however he left the project shortly after 'Jarhead' opened in theatres.

It is unknown if Burton will opt to use the existing John Logan screenplay adaptation, or start from scratch. Therefore, a release date cannot be predicted at this time.

'Sweeney Todd' first opened on Broadway in 1979 which starred Len Cariou, Angela Lansbury, Victor Garber, and Ken Jennings. The show is currently on Broadway in its second revival, starring Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris. The show features a score by legendary composer Stephen Sondheim who in his career has earned eight Tony awards, including Best Score for 'Sweeney Todd.'

An official announcement is expected in the coming weeks.





http://moviemusicals.net/news.html#010706

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.

Corpse Bride on wide release now!

Tim Burton's second film of 2005 is now on release at theaters everywhere in the US and Canada! As if you needed any incentive to rush out and see the film, here's an article on the critical acclaim the film's been receiving.
Look for a review and box office news to appear on the Collective later this weekend.

Edward Scissorhands 15th anniversary DVD and site update

Hard to believe, but it's been fifteen years since Burton and Depp first collaborated on this fairytale classic. To celebrate, 20th Century Fox are releasing a new collectible tin anniversary edition. While it doesn't seem to contain any extras that weren't available on the previous DVD, the tin box and six photos included make it a great buy for those who don't already own the film, or obsessed completists (you know who you are). It's out in November, but you can pre-order the DVD from Amazon.
In other news, we've just added two new actor bios to our Regulars section: a profile of Lisa Marie and another one of Glenn Shadix.

Corpse Bride limited release box office

As we've already mentioned, Burton's latest film opened this weekend in five locations in North America. Well, according to estimates from Box Office Mojo, Corpse Bride grossed an incredible $411,000 just from those theaters alone. Its per-theater average of $82,200 was the 13th highest of all time. This bodes well for the success of the film when it goes on wide release next weekend.

Charlie DVD info and Burton interview

We have two interesting links from Fi Sci Net. The first has some information on the eagerly awaited Charlie and the Chocolate Factory DVD. It'll be a 2-disc set released November 8th!
There's also an interview with Burton where he talks about Corpse Bride and his other films.
And don't forget that Corpse Bride is on limited release from today in five lucky cities!

Corpse Bride press conference and contest update

You can listen to a press conference from the Toronto Film Festival here, featuring interviews with the cast and crew, including Burton, Depp and Elfman!
Also, we have some more information on the prizes being offered in our Corpse Bride art contest:
Grand prize pack:
1 T-Shirt
1 Umbrella
1 Magnet Set
1 poster

2 runners up: posters

Corpse Bride clip and more!

For those of you that haven't seen it yet, Moviefone has an exclusive clip from Corpse Bride!
There's also a rave review of the film from Rolling Stone Magazine, which says The Oscar for this year's Best Animated Feature Film belongs right here". And you can read a report on its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

CatCF passes $200 million at the box office!

The exciting news is that this Labor Day weekend, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory became only the second Tim Burton film to gross over $200 million at the North American box office! It earned an estimated $1.75 million, pushing its total to $200.7 million. And with the release of the Corpse Bride less than three weeks away, we'll soon be in for a double treat at the movie theater.

Corpse Bride art contest

We're running a Corpse Bride contest and Warner Bros. will again be providing exclusive prizes to the winners! The challenge for this contest will be to design an original character in the style of the Corpse Bride (i.e. not a character we have already seen from the film). You can create this character any way you want. You can draw it, paint it, even sculpt it and send us a photo.
Once you've created a character to inhabit the world of the Corpse Bride, email your submission to us. The deadline for all submissions will be September 30. As with the previous contests we have run, prizes can only be mailed to winners in the USA or Canada. However, if you're not in those countries but still want to share your art, feel free to send it in anyway. We'll keep you updated when we have more information on the prizes that'll be offered. Good luck!

CatCF August 26 - 28 weekend box office

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fell out of the top ten at the North American box office this weekend, but still earned another $2.6 million, pushing it's total to a dreamy $197 million. It's worldwide total is now an even more incredible $309 million! A nice birthday present for Burton, who turned 47 on August 25th.

Corpse Bride Soundtrack news and hosting update

Warner Bros. have issued a press release about the Corpse Bride soundtrack, which contains some interesting comments from Danny Elfman. It's set for release on September 20th.
In other news, the Collective has just moved to a new host. Hopefully this will put an end to the problems that have caused the site to be down frequently this month.

CatCF August 19 - 21 box office

This update is a little later than usual because of problems with our host, but Charlie and the Chocolate Factory grossed approximately $4.4 million this weekend according to final figures from Box Office Mojo. That's puts it's total North American box office at over $192 million. Worldwide it's made a towering $284 million!

CatCF August 12 - 14 box office update

According to estimates from Box Office Mojo, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory earned another $7.2 million this weekend, boosting its total North American gross to a delicious $183 million. That already makes it Burton's second most successful film after Batman, and it's on track to break through the $200 million barrier before it leaves theaters. Worldwide, the movie has already earned over $250 million. Why should we care about the film's success? Well, the better Charlie does, the more freedom and power it gives Burton with his future projects. And that's good news for everyone.

Forums are back up!

Just to let everyone know that the forums are back up. You can find them here. Unfortunately we weren't able to get all the old posts back. And anyone who registered after June 18th of this year will have to register again. We may get the full forum back at a later date, but feel free to use this forum as a temporary measure.

Matthew McGrory passes away

Actor Matthew McGrory who is best remembered to Burton fans as Karl the Giant in Big Fish, has passsed away. Aged 32, he died of apparent natural causes.

His latest movie on release was Rob Zombie's The Devils Rejects, which is still in theatres.

McGrory had recently been working on a biopic of wrestler-turned-actor Andre the Giant, who was familiar to movie fans from The Princess Bride.

TBC, Charlie box office update and more.

The Tim Burton Collective was down a few days due to an unexpected server change. We apologize all the users for the downtime. The forums aren't up yet, but they should be working again within a day or two.

While the forums are down, use the time to browse our other sections and explore the greatness that is the Tim Burton Collective.

At the box office, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory collected additional $11 million last weekend, boosting the total to $169.4M. The movie has now has a world wide gross of $236.7M.

Burton fans are lucky this year, as the next Burton feature is being released in just over 6 weeks. Stay tuned for more news reports and reviews of Corpse Bride.

CatCF box office update

According to estimates from Box Office Mojo, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory dropped to number two at the North American box office this weekend, behind Wedding Crashers. However, it still earned around $16.4 million, boosting it's total box office to almost $150 million!

New pictures of Corpse Bride toys!

McFarlane toys have released some pictures of their upcoming Corpse Bride action figure range. You can see them at Spawn.com. The toys will be released in September.

Early review of Corpse Bride

Aint it Cool News has posted a sneak review of Corpse Bride. The review is fairly positive, but be warned that it contains some plot information.

CatCF remains number one for second week!

Box Office Mojo has the estimates for this weekend and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory stayed at number one at the box office, earning another $28.3 million. It's total box office is now $114.1 million, so it's well on its way to becoming one of Burton's most successful movies ever!

Results of the CATCF Art Contest

Hello folks, the results for our Charlie and the Chocolate Factory contest can be found here:

http://www.timburtoncollective.com/catcf_artcontest.html

Thanks everyone for taking part in this contest! The quality of all the entries was really good, so don't be disappointed even if your entry didn't make it to the top-5 :)

Remember that the deadline for our Oompa Loompa song contest is tonight.

CatCF weekend box office

Box Office Mojo has the estimates for the weekend and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory grossed an amazing $55 million! To put that into perspective, that's only slightly less than Burton's last film, Big Fish, grossed in its entire run!

CatCF box office and review

According to showbizdata, Charlie grossed an estimated $20.8 million on its opening day, which is the second highest opening day box office for a Burton film after Planet of the Apes. We'll keep you updated when estimates for the whole weekend come in.

We also have our very own review of the film available for you to read.

CatCF now on release!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is now on release all across North America. Look for an exclusive review coming soon, as well as news updates on the film's box office and other developments as they happen!

Charlie Soundtrack and more

Just a reminder that the official Charlie and the Chocolate Factory soundtrack was released just yesterday.

The cd can be bought from Amazon through this link:
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory Soundtrack at Amazon

If you want to discuss the soundtrack, or anything else related to the movie, pleaes visit our Charlie
forum . If you have already seen the movie, feel free to share your thoughts about the film, or even write a review of your own. But remember not to include any heavy spoilers (and if you haven't yet seen the movie, beware the spoilers). Thank you!


As an additional tidbit, here is a link to an interview with Johnny Depp about CATCF: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=10312

CatCF Kid's Meals at Wendy's

For those of you who love collecting cheap plastic toys with fast food meals (and who doesn't?), Wendy's restaurants in the U.S. have five different Charlie and the Chocolate Factory toys available with their kid's meals.

CatCF Contests Reminder

Just a little reminder for all those who want to participate: our Charlie and the Chocolate Factory contests will be ending soon. Contest #1 ends this coming week(July 14th)!

Go here and also see the topic about it at our forums for more info on both of the contests.

Inside the Mind of Tim Burton

Coming Soon! has just published a great new interview with Tim Burton.

In the interview Tim Burton answers many interesting new questions about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which is coming out in just 5 days.

You can read the interview here: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=10288

New Corpse Brider trailer and Charlie clips!

Yahoo movies has an exclusive new trailer for Corpse Bride! And you can also find some new clips from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Yahoo.

Scissorhands musical update

We have some more information about the long-rumoured musical based on Edward Scissorhands. It's now been confirmed that it will begin its run in November in the U.K. Read more about it here.