Sweeney Todd Offical Movie Site Is Up And Running!

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Another 30 Seconds Of Sweeney

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Stephen Sondheim Society Give News Of Sweeney And Photos

"The dates for the UK press junket for the forthcoming film of Sondheim and Wheeler's Sweeney Todd have been announced as November 23rd - 25th, although this may be subject to change.
The tentative dates for the US one are December 1st - 2nd in Los Angeles." ~the Stephen Sondheim Society


" I will have vengeance. I'll have salvation!"

Article From Chicago Times Talks Sweeney

'Sweeney Todd'

September 9, 2007

Oh, you know it's a happy holiday movie when you have a musical decked in red: Blood. And the main character is a guy with white hair: a killer barber. And the pie is not made of mincemeat, but man-meat. Welcome to Tim Burton's idea of a real nightmare before Christmas which is his musical "Sweeney Todd" starring Johnny Depp with sheers, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Written by Burton and Jon Logan, the movie isn't exactly what some might consider a warm-hearted holiday flick. Depp is a barber who butchers victims in his barbershop chair by slitting their throats. He sends the bodies down a chute in the floor to the home of his mistress Mrs. Lovett (Carter) who then turns them into meat pies! "The beauty of it is Tim takes chances no matter when, no matter what," says Depp, who adds that the minute his favorite director approached him, he was in.

"I started telling people that the minute I put down my Pirates sword that I was doing a musical. People thought, 'No.' I said, 'Yeah, I'm doing it.'" Depp jokes.

Burton, who admits that he's "not a huge fan of musicals, but this one is my favorite" had adapted Stephen Sondheim's classic about a crazy love story. The movie is 70 percent singing with Baron Cohen as a rival barber who Burton swears has "amazing" singing chops.

But Burton isn't exactly Simon Cowell rating the singing of his cast members. He finds more glee discussing what this film really is all about for him.

"It's a horror musical," says the director.

Want some egg nog with that?

Cindy Pearlman

Sweeney Preview

From http://www.ew.com/ew

A bloody musical about a homicidal barber and his human-pie-making partner doesn’t exactly sound like standard Christmas viewing, but that doesn’t bother director Tim Burton (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). ”Red is a color at Christmas,” he jokes. Actually, the director thinks that his adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical might make for a better Valentine’s Day option. ”For me, it sort of sums up relationships,” says the director. ”Although people might be horrified by that.”

The movie’s unrequited-love story also appealed to Helena Bonham Carter, who, fortunately for Burton, is his real-life paramour. ”There’s still such a humanity to it, and that’s what Tim always brings,” says the actress, who plays the bizarro baker. Still, Bonham Carter admits that working with her significant other ”has its stresses.” Luckily, her costar is more or less unflappable. ”[Johnny Depp] was really diplomatic. Whenever Tim and I started arguing, he would just look away.” Burton considers this film one of his most challenging productions yet, which means a lot coming from the director of Beetlejuice, Batman, and Edward Scissorhands. ”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.”

Depp, like most of the cast (including Sacha Baron Cohen as a rival barber in his first post-Borat role), signed on having little or no professional singing experience. ”He was game for it,” Burton says of Depp. ”When I first heard him, I was amazed.”

The vocals were more taxing on Bonham Carter, who felt like she was training for ”a sport.” She also logged hours in the kitchen in an effort to learn the fine art of baking. ”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.” More enjoyable was her transformation into ghostly Mrs. Lovett. ”The look is fantastic,” she says. ”I’d wear this makeup anyway. But it might start a whole craze.” Let’s just hope her recipes don’t catch on.