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.