Page 55
Spoilers May Be Below!
Page 55
Spoilers May Be Below!
From NBC5
What I've Learned: Johnny Depp & Tim Burton
Burton And Depp Are Known As Two Of The Strangest, Quietest Geniuses Ever To Work In Movies. Turns Out They're Not That Strange. Or Quiet.By Cal Fussman
Interviewed on October 25, 2007
Tim Burton: There are partnerships where one person is good at one thing and the other is good at another. That`s true in our case. But we're very connected in terms of taste.
Johnny Depp: Even when we first met, we connected on all these superabsurd levels.
TB: A fascination for weird seventies objets d'art.
JD: I remember, growing up, we had this concrete cobra spray-painted gold.
TB: We're from different parts of the country. But there is a kind of suburban white-trashy connective strand there. Isn't there?
JD: Yep.
TB: The stories that scared us as children.
JD: Mr. Green Jeans.
TB: Seeing Humphrey Bogart playing a monster. He only did one horror movie and --
JD: We both knew it.
TB: The Return of Dr. X. When something like that comes up, you realize, Yeah, perfect. Things that don't normally come up in most people's conversations are things that come up a lot in ours.
JD: We speak in a sort of shorthand.
TB: It's not literal. We'll cross-reference things that wouldn't really make sense to the normal person.
JD: One time, Tim and I were talking before we were getting ready to shoot. Afterward, one of the grips comes over to me with this really perplexed look on his face. He says, "I was just watching you and Tim talk about the scene for the last fifteen minutes." "Yeah?" And he says, "I didn't understand a fucking word either one of you said."
TB: That about sums it up.
JD: I don't think we've ever had an argument.
TB: I don't think so. There have been differences of opinion and a different take on certain things.
JD: But even in that kind of situation, Tim just says, "Okay, do it like you want and then do it the other way."
TB: Usually, we agree. Early on Sweeney Todd, Johnny said, "There is one thing I cannot do. I can't take Anthony to the hotel."
JD: I had written a big question mark on that page of the script.
TB: When I opened my script to the same page, I saw that I'd already crossed it out.
JD: Tim's had to fight to get me in his movies so many times.
TB: We always have to fight. We have to fight to get them done, we have to fight -- weirdly, Sweeney Todd wasn't so hard, which it should've been. They should have run screaming for the hills with this one. An R-rated bloody musical starring someone they don't even know if he can sing. I mean, Jesus. There's a certain amount of trust that goes into backing that. It's exciting when people do that, you know? Just trusting you with something. I find that to be quite energizing and confidence building. Makes you feel good.
JD: Makes you want to do a good job for them, too.
TB: Absolutely. I've always used a sporting analogy to describe the flip side of that. You're a runner and you're just about to run the big race, and they come in and beat the fucking shit out of you and then say, "Okay, go win the race." You get the shit beat out of you right before you're supposed to go perform your best. And it happens most of the time. We have our bets on you, never mind we just broke your fucking legs. But it wouldn't be making a movie if it were easy. It should be a struggle. Otherwise, you're coasting.
JD: There's always that moment on every movie where you just go, "Okay, this is that moment. I'm about to potentially fall flat on my face, and I might as well just dive in and see what happens." That's how it was when I started singing the songs for the first time. I just felt like an idiot. It was one of the most exposing, bizarre things I've ever done. I mean, at forty-three years old, it's the first time I'd sung a song all the way through.
TB: I did some auditioning with other people, and afterward I was completely devastated and exhausted. I felt like I was casting a porno movie. I mean, having people come in to audition and sing was like having them come in and take their clothes off. It felt that exposing. It shocked me.
JD: It's true. I've married Tim's woman twice now. In Corpse Bride, Helena was the corpse. And then in Sweeney Todd.
TB: What are you, some kind of, what do they call it? Do you live in Utah? Are you one of those guys?
JD: My real last name is Osmond.
Found by Emma at the Mail ICWales‘Sweeney Todd’ DVD role for two horror experts
Jan 26 2008 by Abbie Wightwick, Western Mail
MAKERS of the new Oscar-nominated Sweeney Todd film have asked two Welsh experts to give their verdict on how horror preys upon a viewer.
This week the 18-rated blockbuster, starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, won three Oscar nominations.
Last night Tim Burton’s bloodthirsty film went on general release at cinemas across the nation.
And when the DVD version is released later this year it will feature Professors Richard Hand and Mike Wilson, from the University of Glamorgan.
They were interviewed for a documentary on horror theatre which will appear as an “extra” on the Sweeney Todd DVD.
The academics discuss how horror works and why we watch it.
They were contacted by the film’s makers after publishing their new book London’s Grand Guignol and the Theatre of Horror.
Prof Hand said spine chillers maintain an important place in today’s world. Listing his top three horror films as Psycho, Night of the Living Dead and Evil Dead 2, he said audiences like the “rollercoaster ride” of being scared in safety.
“Horror is escapism, as shocking as it can be. The horror industry has never gone away,” he said. “People want the adrenaline rush of the roller coaster ride. People do know it’s not real.
“Horror movies are adult fairy tales and they have very close links to comedy. I’ve been half-way through a film like Evil Dead 2 and suddenly realised it isn’t horror at all, it’s comedy.’’
The two from the university’s School of Creative & Cultural Industries, spent a day in London shooting their part in the CD documentary. Other horror experts from around the world also feature.
Prof Wilson said, “It is fantastic to be involved with such a high-profile film and to be included on a DVD which will be viewed by people around the world.
“We have been researching horror theatre for about 10 years now and this is an exciting opportunity for our research to reach a wider public audience.”
From BBC 1A Gothic double-act
By Natasha Mardikar
BBC Newsnight
Johnny Depp likes British art critic Brian Sewell - how do I know this?I had the tough job of going to meet director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp to talk to them about their version of slasher musical Sweeney Todd.
I'm lucky enough to say it's what you'd expect at Newsnight if you work alongside Culture Correspondent Steve Smith.
But on this occasion Steve was sent at short notice to Liverpool to do a film with ex-Beatle Ringo Starr on a rooftop somewhere in Merseyside - and quite unexpectedly I had to stand in for him and do the interview.
I've been hooked on Burton and Depp's movie back-catalogue since watching Gothic fairytale Edward Scissorhands in the 90s.
Meeting them is like hooking up with a pair of old school friends. They sometimes even finish each other's sentences - like two mates chatting, who just happen to be in the business of making movies.
Many people including Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant have remarked on how similar Depp sounds in Sweeney Todd to David Bowie. He finds this a huge compliment but says it certainly wasn't intentional.
"I wouldn't have expected to be mentioned in the same breath as Bowie," says Depp.
I ask him which British persona he might take on next.
He laughs: "I like that guy Brian Sewell - maybe he's next!"
While Depp is charming in the flesh his character in Sweeney Todd is quite different - he has no qualms at killing his victims and making them into pies with his accomplice Mrs Lovett played by Helena Bonham-Carter.
Both Burton and Depp make light of the high body count in the film.
Burton and Depp come across like a comedy double-act
Burton, who says he never gets tired of making Gothic pictures because of his love of old horror movies, is quick to remind me it's all part of the story. It's obviously over the top and very unrealistic, he says.And what about making something more uplifting I suggest.
"I thought this was happy and uplifting," responds Burton.
"One of the things I loved about this was the tragic romance of it. I tried to make it happily depressing as opposed to just depressing."
Would he make a comedy then?
"Apparently I'm meant to be doing something with Barry Manilow," says Depp - and Burton laughs and says: "Barry On" - before Depp adds in his usual deadpan way: "A Barry On Film."
Depp Greatest Hits
Throughout the interview the pair exchange rapid-fire jokes and banter and it dawns on me how their relationship is more like a double-act - rather than just a director and his leading man. I was quickly drawn in to their comedy ping-pong, almost forgetting why I was there.
"What about making an album?" I ask Depp.
"Maybe - what I've decided to do is make a greatest hits album," he laughs.
"No, I've inflicted my voice on the masses once - that's probably enough!"
As I was about to leave Johnny said: "Tell Steve he made the right choice to go to Liverpool!"
Maybe he was right - but given the choice between Ringo Starr and the double-act of Depp and Burton I know which one I'd choose.
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