Jonah Hill Explains Transformers Slip and 21 Jump Street Plans
Given the choice between Transformers 2 and an update of an oldJohnny Depp TV show, it's pretty obvious which option most of us would take. But Jonah Hill is clearly not like the rest of us-- for more than just the obvious reasons-- and recently turned down a sidekick role in the Transformers sequel to executive produce and maybe star in a movie version of the late-80s TV show 21 Jump Street. The choice left us with a lot of questions, and hey look! MTV Movies has some answers! Hill seems to have avoided getting a big head in the wake of Superbad's success, and figured, as far as Transformers went, he had a bit more proving to do in comedies first. “I'm not proven yet,” he told MTV. “I've only been in one movie that people have seen that I've been the lead in so like, um, I could still suck in people's minds, they don't know yet!” Fair enough. He's probably exaggerating how much of an impact he would have on Transformers-- after all, Shia LaBeouf would still actually be the star-- and you figure he would have been playing pretty much the exact same role he did in Superbad, just modified for a PG-13 rating. But still, that's a nice sign of humility from an actor who could be expected to have gone the “Forget y'all, I'm famous!” route by now.
And as for that Johnny Depp retread? Hill may be helping you rest easily when he says “If it doesn't turn out funny, I promise we will not make it.” Now the only question becomes what exactly comes under Jonah Hill's definition of “funny,” (he was in Strange Wilderness, after all) and whether or not the powerful people who will make money off of this movie would actually let him pull the plug. Like Hill himself said in the earlier paragraph, he's not that special yet.
Jonah Hill hasn't really hit a backlash yet, even though he seemed to be everywhere last summer. With an attitude like this one, he may avoid one altogether. I may come to eat these words, but for now at least, he seems to have his head on his shoulders. Even if 21 Jump Street still seems like an insane idea for a movie.
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A collection of Burton music--this CD is not composed of the same versions of the music by Danny Elfman, Howard Shore (Ed Wood) and Stephen Sondheim, that we're familiar with. Instead, these are new recordings of those pieces, played by the City of Prague Philharmonic--will be available in the UK on June 16th, 2008, and in the US on July 7th, 2008.
A list of the tracks:
1. Main Titles – Sweeney Todd 2. No Place Like London – Sweeney Todd 3. A Little Priest – Sweeney Todd 4. Johanna – Sweeney Todd 5. Christmas Eve Montage – The Nightmare Before Christmas 6. The Piano Duet/Victor’s Piano Solo – Corpse Bride 7. End Titles – Sleepy Hollow 8. Themes - Batman 9. End Titles – Batman Returns 10. Main Title/Ice Dance – Edward Scissorhands 11. Finale – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 12. Beetlejuice - Beetlejuice 13. Breakfast Machine – Pee-wee’s Big Adventure 14. Main Title – Ed Wood 15. Mars Attacks! – Mars Attacks
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Sweeney Todd Region 2 DVD 2 disk set was released today in the UK; the extra features are:
- Behind the scenes featuring: Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter
"Lost" star Emilie De Ravin has been cast in a supporting role in Michael Mann's Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.
An adaptation of Brian Burrough's book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43," the film centers on the government's attempt to stop John Dillinger and his gang. Depp is playing Dillinger to Bale's famed FBI agent Melvin Purvis.
On the set of Public Enemies with Michael Mann and Johnny Depp in Oshkosh Rod Melotte on Monday 04/28/2008 2:00 pm
Nearly two weeks ago, I was sitting inside the New Moon Café in Oshkosh waiting for a call to jump in an antique car and get to work on the set of Public Enemies. This historical gangster epic directed by Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp as the infamous bank-robber John Dillinger was in the midst of a week-long shoot in the small Fox Valley city, the latest stop by the Universal Pictures production at numerous locations around the Badger State. There I witnessed a rookie extra -- in the opportunity of a lifetime -- display her dedication to getting it right.
Read more at the link!
HBC Guest Starring on Absolutely Fabulous on Friday May 9 at 11pm From http://tvnz.co.nz/
Edina adds yoga and TV production to her business portfolio; Patsy grows old disgracefully with the help of Parralox injections; and Saffy prays her job interview goes well so she can finally escape them both.
About the show
Edina (Jennifer Saunders) is a Sixties teenager who never grew up. She and her sex-mad friend Patsy (Joanna Lumley) are still into drink, drugs and partying, while her stuffy student daughter Saffron (Julia Sawalha) swots and keeps house.
Other hilarious characters include Edinas scatty secretary Bubble (Jane Horrocks), Mother (June Whitfield), and Patsys editor Magda (Kathy Burke).
Guest stars include Naomi Campbell, Helena Bonham-Carter and Britt Ekland.
For writing and starring in Absolutely Fabulous, Jennifer Saunders received a Writers Guild Award, a Women in Film & TV Special Award and the Institute of Public Relations Special Award. Joanna Lumley won a BAFTA and two British Comedy Awards and Julia Sawalha won an RTS award.
*TVNZ Teletext Captions Page 801*
Sweeney Todd At Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG - "Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" slices its way into St. Petersburg and the Manaffey Theater for a limited engagement on May 6-11.
This exciting and innovative new production features a multi-talented ensemble of 10 talented actor-musicians, five from the 2006 Tony Award winning company.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; with matinee performances at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets ranging from $30 to $70 to accommodate all levels of affordability, are available through www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com, at the Mahaffey Theater Box Office or by calling Ticketmaster at 727-898-2100 or 813- 287-8844. Groups of 20 or more should call 407-423-9999, ext. 17 or 1-800-950-4647.
Judy Kaye (Mrs. Lovett) and David Hess (Sweeney Todd) will be joined by Diana DiMarzio (Beggar Woman), Benjamin Eakeley (The Beadle), Benjamin Magnuson (Anthony), Steve McIntyre (Jonas Fogg), Lauren Molina (Johanna), and Elisa Winter (Standby for Johanna and Pirelli) who all appeared in the Broadway production of SWEENEY TODD. Also joining the touring cast are Edmund Bagnell (Tobias), Keith Buterbaugh (Judge Turpin), Katrina Yaukey (Pirelli), Edwin Cahill (Standby for Anthony, Tobias, The Beadle and Jonas Fogg), David Garry (Standby for Sweeney Todd, Judge Turpin and The Beadle) and Megan Loomis (Standby for Mrs. Lovett and Beggar Woman).
"Sweeney Todd" is based on the 19th century legend of a London barber driven to a life of crime after a malevolent judge takes his wife and child from him. Sweeney's plan for revenge includes a cutthroat partnership with Mrs. Lovett-an enterprising businesswoman-who is soon producing the tastiest meat pies in London.
Directed and designed by John Doyle, who won the 2006 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for this production, the production features the music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler from an adaptation by Christopher Bond and music supervision and orchestrations by Sarah Travis who won a 2006 Tony Award for "Sweeney Todd." The creative team also includes lighting designer Richard Jones, and sound designer Dan Moses Schreier.
The current national tour of the Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler musical "Sweeney Todd" blew into the Windy City for a two-week engagement at the Cadillac Palace Theatre this week, revealing that the show is so strong as originally written that almost any style of storytelling will reveal its truths. If this fact doesn't mark the show as a true performing arts masterwork, then I don't know how anything else could. This show, and this metaphor-laden production of it, are miraculous in their revealing of the human condition.
"Sweeney Todd" is now playing in Chicago for a limited two-week engagement at the Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph St.) April 23-May 4, 2008. Tickets are available through the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (312) 902-1400 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
My appologies for the neglect the site masters have been showing, and the lack of updates. I'd like to bring to your attention that after enjoying this belated post, please visit our sister sites: The Clown Closet Gnomeology and Me.com
Public Enemies filming in Crown Point, Indiana Fresh off the Academy Awards comes word of a local casting call for extras for the movie "Public Enemies" starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, the Indianapolis-born, small-time crook who became U.S. public enemy No. 1 in the 1930s. Filming is scheduled this spring in Crown Point and other Lake County locales.
Dillinger, if you know his story, was accused of killing an East Chicago policeman in a 1934 holdup of the First National Bank. Captured and taken to the Crown Point jail, Dillinger escaped while brandishing a wooden pistol, made his getaway in the Lake County sheriff's car and headed for Chicago, where he was gunned down by the FBI, betrayed by his "lady in red" girlfriend.
Finish reading at the link!
Alice in Wonderland Date Released! Horray! Sevral film release dates for 2009 and 2010 have been annouced by Disney. Among them is Tim Burton's upcoming adaptation of the fantasy Alice in Wonderland. The film, which will be a combination of performance capture animation and live-action, is set to be released on March 19, 2010.
The release date for Burton's other Disney project, Frankenweenie, was not mentioned in the article. But this is likely because it will be an animated film, and the article covered information on live-action (or mostly live-action) features. Frankenweenie is said to be released sometime in 2009. From timburtoncollective.com
If you haven't heard already, Sweeney Todd was nominated for 3 oscars, and recived only one, Best Achievement in Art Direction. Congrats on the win, although in my opinion, it sould have won all of it's nominations!
The HD DVD of Todd was supposed to be released in North America on April 1st, 2008. Luckily, the HD version was not supposed to have any more extra features than the 2-Disc DVD version. Both the region 1 standard single-disc and 2-Disc editions of the horror-musical will still be available to purchase on April 1st. Also from timburtoncollective.com (which, by the way, thanks alot to the tbcnews team for all of the news updates that I move along onto this, thanks!)
So, for now the release date for the 1 disk edition, 2-disk special and a HD DVD edition is April 1st. Here's the content:
Single-Disc: Featurette: Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd
Two-Disc Special Edition: Featurettes: Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd Sweeney Todd is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber Musical Mayhem: Sondheim's Sweeney Todd Sweeney's London The Making of Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition Designs for a Demon Barber A Bloody Business The Razor's Refrain Sweeney Todd Press Conference, November 2007 Moviefone Unscripted with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp Theatrical Trailer Photo Gallery
HD DVD 2-Disc Special Edition: 1080P Widescreen English Dolby True HD 5.1 Surround English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround English, French and Spanish subtitles Featurettes: Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd Sweeney Todd is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber Musical Mayhem: Sondheim's Sweeney Todd Sweeney's London The Making of Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition Designs for a Demon Barber A Bloody Business The Razor's Refrain Sweeney Todd Press Conference, November 2007 Moviefone Unscripted with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp Theatrical Trailer Photo Gallery
Helena had some other names picked out incase they had a boy: "It took us five weeks to come up with Billy, and this time we were stunned to have a girl. I'm sure I saw a willy on the antenatal scan, so we came up with Charlie, Jack, Louis, or Milo.
"She's very tall and smells delicious. She's very chilled, with lots of hair, and I'm totally in love. I even loved the birth. I'd do it again in a flash.
"I just got the drugs, sat back, and enjoyed it. It was all so casual that she didn't even cry when she came out!"
Tim Burton and Lisa Marie go to court What was hoped to be a quick settlement has evolved into a drawn-out legal confrontation between director Tim Burton and his ex, Lisa Marie. The trial is set for August 12th, 2008.
Lisa Marie, 39, originally filed a lawsuit against the filmmaker in 2006.
Marie and Burton met in December 1991 and quickly moved in with one another. At that point, according to her complaint, the filmmaker promised to "share equally any and all property accumulated" and agreed to take care of her financial needs for the rest of her life.
Burton did assist Marie's career: the model appeared in four of his films -- Ed Wood in 1994, Mars Attacks! in 1996, Sleepy Hollow in 1999, and Planet of the Apes in 2001.
But while shooting their last film together, Marie's suit states, Burton dumped the model/actress for Helena Bonham Carter, who played the female lead in Apes. Bonham Carter and Tim Burton currently reside in England with their two children.
Lisa Marie's suit claims that while Burton and Bonham Carter pursued their romance, Marie felt "extremely depressed" for several months.
Marie, whose full name is Lisa Marie Smith, eventually received $2.7 million, but in 2004, she complained of a conspiracy preventing her from obtaining her fair share.
Burton fired back with his own petition, seeking a court declaration which would demand Marie abide by the original agreement.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street managed to receive two BAFTA nominations this year, but ultimately failed to win. The biography La Mome beat out Todd in both Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood was nominated) and Best Makeup/Hair. =[
HBC's Tribute to her music teacher
Helena is scheduled to attend a tribute show for singing teacher Ian Adam. He’s the one who helped her with “Sweeney Todd” and yep, he’s the guy who told Helena to sing “from her cunt”
The show will be on Sunday, February 24, 2008 at the Her Majesty’s Theatre in London.
And on a non-Helena, Tim, Johnny, or Danny note:
Please visit my friend's site: www.realmenglitter.com All about the Book series, Twilight, and the upcoming move.
Tim Burton acts "crazy" and talks to himself on the street to stop people from bothering him.
The 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' director admits he developed his unusual defence mechanism to avoid constant attention from fans.
Burton said: "If you want people to leave you alone then appearing to be crazy is a good thing. If you're walking down the street talking to yourself people tend to give you a wide berth!
But I've always been blessed with being easily ignored or avoided. I think maybe it's because people think I look a little crazy."
Burton - who has two children, a one-month-old daughter, who he is yet to name, and a four-year-old son Billy, with long-term partner Helena Bonham Carter - claims he has always felt like an "outsider".
The eccentric filmmaker - who is renowned for his surreal, gothic films including 'Sleepy Hollow' and 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' - said: "I have always been an outsider. As a kid I identified with the monsters in the old horror films, like the 'Creature from the Blue Lagoon' and 'Frankenstein'."
This is Gloucester is reporting that the area is getting ready for filming of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to take place at Gloucester Cathedral. They didn't say when filming was to begin, but they did mention that Daniel Radcliffe, Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall), and Julie Walters (Mrs. Weasley) were all expected to be there.
We'll make sure to update you as soon as more information is available!
Each time Johnny Depp looks into the mirror, he breaks down in tears, for it makes the Hollywood star feel that he is very good looking. The Pirates Of The Caribbean star says that he often selects obscure film roles that cover up his handsome Hollywood image.
"I cry every morning when I look in the mirror," Contactmusic quoted the 44-year-old star as saying.
"Every single morning, because I gotta live with this cute face," he added.
Depp is known for playing obscure roles in Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street.
His portrayal as Sweeney Todd in Tim Burton's 2007 musical version of the classic London-based horror story won him a Best Actor Oscar nomination.
IGN recently attended the European press conference for Sweeney Todd and got to hear the thoughts of stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall and the younger cast, as well as director Tim Burton and producer Richard Zanuck.
The event itself, held in a swanky London hotel, was full of journalists from all over the world, and featured some seriously strange questions. The most bizarre was the Irish journo who asked Jayne Wisener (who plays Johanna in the film): "So, you're from Derry right?" She was. "Well, my cousin owns a pub in Derry, the Old Crown, have you ever been there?" She hadn't, and will presumably steer well clear of the place from now on. Very Strange. Anyway, here's what the team thought about Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - out this Friday in the U.K.
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd
How was it doing your first musical? And will you be doing it again?
JD: We're doing the sequel now [laughs]. I actually did do a musical many years ago with John Waters called Cry-Baby, but technically it was only half me - it wasn't me singing. Tim's the only person brave enough to actually let me try to sing. It was the first time I'd ever sung - I'd never even sung in the shower, I'm too mortified. But once I got over the initial fear it was kind of enjoyable. Sondheim's melodies and lyrics are a real pleasure to tromp around in, it's really beautiful stuff. Would I ever do it again? No, I doubt it.
What were the biggest acting challenges you faced?
JD: It's funny because early on, when Tim and I talked about Sweeney and the idea of doing it, 50% of the job would be done before we ever stepped on the set with the recording of the songs. Then we'd go in and lip sync to it. Or that's what we thought... But these guys know as well as I do that you go into the recording studio and sing your guts out recording the stuff, and do it as best you can and then you go onto the set. We thought we were going to lip synch but in fact the only way to do it is to belt it out once again on the set, which is extremely mortifying. Everyone's very, very close and you just feel like an idiot at first. But then it was oddly liberating, having music on the set all the way through. It made it interesting. It felt like we were doing a silent film.
Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett up to their murderous ways.
Did you base your singing voice on any person in particular, as you sound a bit like David Bowie when you sing?
JD: A couple of people have said that, which is interesting because I wouldn't ever dream of attempting to channel David Bowie. He's a big hero of mine. If there's a similarity it wasn't intentional. And it's a nice compliment.
You once said that there is always something of you in every role you play - what part of you is in Sweeney?
JD: I do believe that you have to bring some degree of truth from yourself to the role and I'll admit it here, I have shaved a grown man before. I have done it. And it wasn't Tim [Burton].
Did he survive?
JD: [Laughs] He is alive, yeah, he's walking around to this day.
Where did you get your accent come from?
JD: Just from spending time over here, it wasn't any one particular person that I based it on.
Sweeney seems a bit of a gunslinger with his razors; did you see that and was it fun playing with the razors?
JD: The holsters seemed the safest area to put the razors. And did I have fun playing with them? The killing of everyone was the easy part; the most difficult part was lathering them up and shaving them: that's the part that freaked me out the most.
Do you see this as a tale of redemption?
JD: I think, as Tim said the other day when we were talking about the theme of revenge, it's a feeling that most people don't want to admit to. But I think we all have it secretly in there. I'm a big fan of revenge; I think it's a story of a man who clearly has obsessions to avenge the horror that happened to him.
What revenge have you taken?
JD: [Smiles] I can't incriminate myself.
You've been in The Fast Show, so is there any truth to the rumour you wanted a role in Doctor Who?
JD: No, I didn't really pursue anything with Doctor Who. But The Fast Show is, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen anywhere. When that was mentioned as a possibility I went after Whitehouse, I stalked him. I was sitting on a tree outside of his bedroom window with a funny mask on, that's how I got the job basically. I haven't done that for Doctor Who.
Sweeney Todd helmer Tim Burton.
Tim Burton - Director
What did you use as inspiration for the film?
Tim Burton: A lot of my own anger! I said to Johnny this would be the perfect job because you don't have to do anything, you don't say anything and you just look out of the window and brood and be angry and I told him it was a great job.
Helena Bonham Carter: It's actually a portrait of our home life.
What do you think about the cancellation of The Golden Globes due to the WGA strike?
TB: Its different hearing about it over here, I'm not really in tune with what's happening, the only thing I can say is that awards shouldn't have an impact on a film in terms of people seeing it, though I guess in some cases films that are different or fall into strange categories like this one then awards can probably raise awareness of them. But I guess the sad part about it is that films that are different won't reach as many people.
What was it about the music that appealed to you?
TB: One of the things I loved about the musical was that you listened to the soundtrack and it tells you the story we didn't want it to be like a traditional musical, instead it felt like a silent movie with music. It's not 'lets get a chorus singing and have extras dancing on the street', each of the characters, because they're depressed or happy or crushed inside, the music was a way of expressing their feelings - that was the structure we used for it. And the contrast between the imagery, which was quite dark, and the music, which was lush and beautiful, was something that I'd never seen before and that was why I wanted to do it.
Helena Bonham Carter lusts after her husbands best friend in the film.
Helena Bonham Carter - Mrs Lovett
Was it easier or harder getting the role when your husband was the director?
HBC: It was probably harder. I mean he told me: 'You look right for it but we have no idea if you can sing.' So I thought: 'well, I'll try and learn' and did singing lessons, but you know I had to be righter than right. I wouldn't want people saying I got a role in his film just because I slept with him. At the end of the day Sondheim said I was okay... and I definitely didn't sleep with him!
TB: That's not what he said...!
How did you find having to lust after Johnny in front of your husband? Was it awkward?
HBC: Not really... maybe it should have been? No... The fact I was being paid by my boyfriend to romance his best friend - it was I guess a strange situation but no I didn't worry about it.
Dick Zanuck - Producer
When you were at Fox you green lit The Sound of Music, Hello Dolly and Dr Doolittle, why did you green light this?
DZ Well there's no comparison. The Sound of Music was among the first pictures that I put into production and was a giant hit as every one knows. I tried to follow that magic with three flops: Hello Dolly, Star! And Dr. Doolittle - which did little! And I vowed never to go near a musical again 'til Tim said he would do Sweeney Todd. And having seen the show in person on Broadway years and years before I thought "well it's a wonderful piece, but it won't make a picture..." But when I heard Tim was passionately involved in it and wanted to do it - that was enough for me. He's the only person I would have wanted to do this picture.
TB: But what if I said I wanted Rex Harrison instead of Johnny?
Timothy Spall - Beadle Bamford
You're the only one on the panel who you don't see garrotted, I was wondering if you are upset about that and are you worried about the reputation you'll get in America because you've played several unsavoury characters?
TS: I don't worry too much about being typecast. But I mean although I don't get garrotted there's a nice shot of me shooting down the trapdoor and my head smashing on the ground and a bit of my brain comes out, so I didn't feel that left out. You play a disgusting, fat ugly sexual pervert who thinks he's rather lovely looking, but from where that came from, I don't really know!
Johnny Depp and Tim Burton talk about working together
ACCORDING to Tim Burton, there once was a time when he would have to convince studios to let him cast Johnny Depp as the star of a musical.
‘‘We're now at the point where they'll give him the lead role in a musical and they don't even know if he can sing,'' Burton says.
‘‘Nothing gets more surreal than that. It's fantastic.''
It's no surprise Burton uses Depp's stardom as yet another punchline.
Their byplay is never-ending.
The two have been trading off each other, both professionally and privately, for years now and it's been nothing but a joy for both.
Depp plays the title character, Sweeney Todd, in Burton's film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's hit Broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Despite the challenge of bringing a musical to the screen, neither saw any reason to lighten the mood or tone down the bizarre humour.
‘‘I think Tim only asked me to sing so he could get a good laugh,'' Depp says.
‘‘I was so scared that all it was going to be was me going up there to sing and him just losing it. Him just cackling.''
‘‘I nearly lost it,'' Burton says to Depp, ‘‘when you weren't singing, when you were pretending to be normal. There was one flashback where he was supposed to be a normal guy and I couldn't even be on the set.''
It was a scene in which Depp is pre-Sweeney Todd, simply a happily married barber with a new baby, all before his life is destroyed.
‘‘He just cracked,'' Depp says.
‘‘I had to leave the set. I couldn't even watch it,'' Burton says.
‘‘He was crying,'' Depp continues.
‘‘I almost had a heart attack. Because we did that near the end, after we'd been through everything else.
‘‘With that weird little yamaka wig. So you know,'' -- Burton is still laughing -- ‘‘it was very strange.''
This latest project has taken Depp and Burton's relationship into an uncharted phase -- the stage musical brought to screen.
Based on Sondheim's brilliant play, it's a huge gamble for any number of reasons.
Neither Depp nor any of his co-stars -- Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Sacha Baren Cohen and Timothy Spall -- are classically trained singers.
Also, Sondheim's scores are notoriously difficult, yet Depp reveals a remarkable voice and receives fine support from his co-stars.
Whether a real Sweeney Todd actually existed in 19th-century London is still debated, but he has long been the stuff of legend, the story mushrooming after Sondheim gave it the musical treatment in the 1970s.
Though the legend had Sweeney Todd slitting the throats of those he shaved, Sondheim introduced the evil judge who sent Todd to Australia because he secretly coveted the barber's wife, which has become the fully finished version.
The mayhem then ensues when Todd returns, with a healthy helping of blood on his mind.
‘‘It's a story about revenge and how revenge eats itself up,'' Sondheim says.
Depp, typically, leaves all other versions of Todd dead in the water.
‘‘I thought it might be a good opportunity to find a new Sweeney, a different Sweeney. Almost like in a punk rock, contemporary way,'' he says.
The success of the movie is the innate relationship between Depp and Burton, partners in a crime spree that began with Edward Scissorhands and has trekked through Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
IT'S a friendship that clicked the moment the pair met in a Los Angeles coffee shop in the late 1980s, where they discovered a shared liking for the absurd.
‘‘This kind of fascination with understanding the absurdity of what was perfectly acceptable in the 1970s . . . for example macrame owls and resin grapes,'' Depp says.
‘‘Fake fruit. No one thought twice about that.''
Such is their trust that Burton has only to call to get Depp for a role.
‘‘Anything he asks me to do, I jump at the opportunity,'' Depp says.
‘‘Except a ballet,'' Burton says.
‘‘No, I actually would. I would try,'' Depp argues.
Depp is asked if he will sing again in the future.
‘‘Never again,'' he says.
‘‘He'll be on the West End, tomorrow evening,'' Burton says, once again laughing hysterically.
‘‘I'll never do it again, not for anyone,'' Depp says, starts to laugh himself now.
‘‘You're going to get all these musicals,'' Burton says.
‘‘Not for anyone,'' Depp says, the Burton laugh track starting to get to him. ‘‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat,'' he says, in fits himself by now.
Then Burton breaks into song: ‘‘Jesus Christ, superstar . . .''
HBC was quoted saying 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' is a "portrait of her home life". by http://www.femalefirst.co.uk
The actress - who stars with Johnny Depp in the macabre musical directed by her long-term partner Tim Burton - joked the dark film is a mirror image of her relationship with the filmmaker.
Talking about the movie, Tim said: "I thought it was a light-hearted comedy musical. I thought it was quite funny. If I was an actor the role of Sweeney Todd would be the perfect part for me. You don't have to talk, you don't have to say anything, you just look out the window and look brood and be angry."
(I knew it was supposed to be comedy! No one belived me! Everyone in the theater stared when I was cracking up durring the second Johanna song when Johnny kills everyone, I guess tim and I have the same twisted sense of humor...)
To which Helena replied: "That would be a portrait of our home life too."
Tim - who has two children, a one-month-old daughter, and a four-year-old son Billy, with Helena - also revealed he soundproofed the door connecting the couple's two separate houses so he couldn't hear Helena practising her singing.
Helena said: "I had to practice every day but luckily we live in separate houses. We have a door in-between but the door was always shut."
There is alot of talk of the Academy Awards, Here's one of many articles, from http://www.efluxmedia.com
Johnny Depp received his third Academy Award nomination for best actor for his role as the title character in Tim Burton’s gothic musical “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” though no nods went to the film, its director or co-star Helena Bonham-Carter.
The nominees for the 80th Academy Awards were announced Tuesday from Beverly Hills, California, with Johnny Depp seeing his portrayal of the psychotic criminal whom he managed to make endearing to the audiences receive a nomination in the best actor category.
Depp, previously nominated for “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” in 2004 and “Finding Neverland” in 2005, will compete against George Clooney in “Michael Clayton,” Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood,” Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” and Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises.”
While “Sweeney Todd” was not nominated in the best picture category, the trophy will be fought over between “Michael Clayton,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Atonement,” “Juno” and “No Country for Old Men.”
As it is, the Coen brothers' film version of Cormac McCarthy's novel that is the critically acclaimed “No Country for Old Men” leads the race with an impressive eight nominations in major categories, as does “There Will Be Blood,” Paul Thomas Anderson's big screen adaptation of the Upton Sinclair novel “Oil!.”
Following closely is “Michael Clayton,” with nominations for best picture, best director (Tony Gilroy), best actor (Clooney), best supporting actor (Tom Wilkinson), best supporting actress (Tilda Swinton) and best original screenplay (Gilroy).
Nominated in the best actress category are Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” Julie Christie in “Away from Her,” Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose,” Laura Linney in “The Savages” and Ellen Page in “Juno.”
In the best supporting actor category, Wilkinson vies against Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men,” Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson's War,” Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” and Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton.”
Cate Blanchett receives a second nomination for best actress in a supporting role for “I'm Not There,” as do Ruby Dee in “American Gangster,” Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement,” Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” and Swinton in “Michael Clayton.”
The nominees for best director are Ethan and Joel Coen for “No Country for Old Men,” Anderson for “There Will Be Blood,” Julian Schnabel for “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Jason Reitman for “Juno” and Gilroy for “Michael Clayton.”
The organizers of the Academy Awards ceremony have been adamant that the event will take place regardless of the ongoing WGA strike, on the scheduled date of Feb. 24 at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
Forecasts that this season’s race to Oscar nominations has been one of the most unpredictable in recent years proved true on Tuesday with several notable films left out of the run for 2007’s best movie, including musical “Sweeney Todd.” That film, based on the stage play of the same name, had been picked as one of this year’s favorites last fall, but in recent weeks Oscar watchers had seen it fall off the pace. But the film’s star, “Johnny Depp” did earn a nomination for best actor.
Surprise nominations included Tommy Lee Jones scoring a best actor nomination for “In the Valley of Elah,” an anti-war movie that bombed at box offices and, as a result, left Jones largely out of the Oscar race until Tuesday’s nominations. Laura Linney also staged a comeback in the best actress race for “The Savages,” another movie that had high Oscar hopes early in the season but failed to make its mark at box offices.
Big winner: teen pregnancy comedy “Juno,” its director Jason Reitman and star Ellen Page. They earned nominations for best film, director and actress, respectively.
But were they your favorites. Let us know what you think hit or miss in this year’s Oscar sweepstakes.
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Tim Burton jokes about his relationship with Johnny Depp fromwww.contactmusic.com
Caption: Tim Burton. 2008 National Board of Review Awards at Cipriani - Outside Arrivals. New York City, USA - 15.01.08
"We were married in Las Vegas in 1980. We had a double wedding with Joan Collins and Michael Jordan. I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it!" Director TIM BURTON jokes about his close relationship with JOHNNY DEPP.
With properties situated around the globe, actor JohnnyDepp is rumored to have chosen England as the place where his children -- Lily-Rose, 8 ½, and Jack, 5 ½ -- will obtain their education. According to a report in today's Mail on Sunday, Johnny has enlisted the help of Countdown presenter Carol Vorderman in his efforts to find the best school possible; Carol lives close to the $2.5 million home Johnny and longtime partner Vanessa Paradis purchased near Bath, England last year. Said an unnamed source,
[Johnny and Carol] have met up a few times and their kids get along well. He is set on sending the children to British schools. Carol's go to Clifton College in Bristol and Johnny may check it out.
Lily-Rose and Jack are Johnny's children with Vanessa. Carol has two children, Katie and Cameron, with ex-husband Patrick King.
I’LL admit it here – I have shaved a grown man before, laughs Johnny Depp, who lathers his customers before gruesomely slitting their throats as the eponymous murderer in new musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, out Friday.
“He is alive,” says Johnny of his ‘client’. “He’s walking round to this day.” READ THE REST AT THE LINK
Born in Kentucky in 1963, John Depp, better known as Johnny, is a Golden Globe-winning actor and star of almost 50 films, including Edward Scissorhands, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Pirates of the Caribbean. He lives in France and Los Angeles with Vanessa Paradis, the French singer and actress, and their two children
Actress Helena Bonham Carter thinks her Sweeney Todd co-star Johnny Depp has an “incredibly sexy” singing voice.
Helena - who stars alongside Depp in the new Tim Burton film ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street’, discovered a whole new side to the actor when she first heard his “naked” vocal talents.
She said: “Johnny’s singing voice is incredibly sexy. He really sings from the gut and it’s a very emotional role. His singing is very naked and very touching.”
Helena also said it was hard working under the instruction of her long-term partner, director Tim Burton.
She added to Britain’s Independent newspaper: “I’ve learned not to talk so much and basically just obey him because he’s the chief at work. It can be difficult living and working together.
“It depends on the day. Sometimes we revert to a couple and our relationship at home on set, which isn’t help
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An exclisive interview (video) of JAYNE WISENER and JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER http://www.thesun.co.uk
In an exclusive interview the talented duo talked about Depp, Burton and the lengths they will go to for an onset prank! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IT'S usually the actors of films, not the directors, who are the stars and attract the majority of the attention.
But one definite exception to this case is Tim Burton. Most people know of the eccentric director of brilliantly gothic fairytales, doomed romances and sweet ghost stories.
The intriguing auteur attended the press conference for his most recent release Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Here's what he had to say.
What was the appeal of Sweeney Todd for you, Tim? Why did you feel it would transfer well to film?
Well, I was still a student when I first saw it so I didn't know if I would be making movies or working in a restaurant. I had no idea what I'd be doing and I didn't go to the theatre much and I didn't even know who Stephen Sondheim the writer/composer behind Sweeney Todd was.
I didn't know anything about the show, I just wandered into the theatre and it just blew me away because I'd never really seen anything which had the mixture of all those elements. I went three nights in a row because I loved it so much.
Having already worked together many times, in a wide variety of projects, do you and Johnny still surprise each other on set?
Obviously seeing Johnny sing, I've never seen that in the many years we've worked together. So yeah, it's always something new. A journalist told us in America we've been working together for 10 decades. So we're a lot older than we look! We've actually known each other since before the invention of cinema; we have quite a long, good relationship that way.
What are your thoughts on the awards such as the Golden Globes being cancelled, due to the writers' strike?
I have to answer that one! I don't know, I haven't spent much time there and it's different just hearing about it from over here, so I'm not really in tune with what's happening. The only thing I can say is awards shouldn't have an impact on a film in terms of people seeing it, though in some cases if films are different or fall into strange categories like this one, awards probably helps awareness of a film. So that's, I guess, the sad part about it. Maybe films which are different won't reach as many people but I don't really know what to say.
Because a lot of things are changing and while the strike's going on and people aren't writing and things aren't being done, people then just go and watch YouTube, so in some ways I wonder if something shouldn't be worked out quickly because otherwise the thing that everyone's worried is going to happen is going to happen anyway. I find it very complicated and I really don't know what to make of it all.
Tell us something about the creation of the blood for Sweeney Todd. Is it true it was actually orange?
Well the blood, as everyone here can attest to, especially Alan Rickman, is our own recipe, very sticky, very sweet and burns your eyes.
I think it took Alan a couple of weeks to get it out of his underwear. But it's our own secret recipe.
What is your interpretation of the Sweeney Todd character? Because no matter how many people's throats he slices or how cold he is towards Mrs Lovett played by Tim's partner Helena Bonham Carter you never quite hate or dislike him.
We always just saw him as a sad character. We didn't see him as a villain or anything. He's tragic. When you meet him he's basically a dead person. The only thing that is keeping him going is one single-minded thing, which is tragic and you don't see anything else around him.
What draws you to such dark tales?
Well, I thought this was a light-hearted comedy musical. I guess I'm the wrong person to ask because I thought it was quite funny.
You've assembled a fairly impressive cast for this film. What were they like to work with?
All I can say is, this is one of the best casts I've ever worked with. All of these people are not professional singers and to do a musical like this, which is one of the most difficult musicals, well, they all went for it. Every day on the set was a very special thing for me because hearing all of these guys sing wasI don't think I can ever have an experience like that again. So I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all.
How important do you think the music is in Sweeney Todd?
One of the things I love about a musical is you listen to a soundtrack and it tells you the story and we didn't want it to be what I call a traditional musical where there's a lot of dialogue and then singing.
It felt like a silent movie with music. That's why we cut out a lot of choruses and extras singing and dancing down the streets because each of the characters is repressed and has their emotions sort of inside and through the music was the way to let them express their feelings and was sort of the structure we used for it.
When I first saw the show, the imagery which is quite dark and harsh set with the music which is quite lush and beautiful was something that I'd never seen before and was the reason I wanted to do it.
What was it like to have your actors singing on set?
Very painful for the crew. You can't just lip-synch because you see the breath and the throat. Every take had to be belted out.
It was very enjoyable for me to have music on the set and to see them walking around and see them act in a way I've never seen before. Just walking across the room, sitting in a chair, making a pie, using a razor, whatever, they all did it in a way that you could sense was different if there hadn't been music.
Helena said it was odd to be paid by her boyfriend to fall in love with his best friend in this film but that you all handled it ok
It's a very incestuous business to be in!
Your book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy has a huge following. Do you have plans to do anything else like this?
I still do little things, I have a backlog of stories and when I get enough of them I'd like to do another book like that because it was quite fun to do. So between projects I'm working on it.
There aren't many, if any, 18-certificate musicals. Was there ever a possibility is might have been something else?
It was an amazing thing for a studio to do. We were going to do an R rated musical with lots of blood, with no professional singers, about a serial killer and cannibalism and they go, Great!' That was unheard of. I've never had that happen in my life before. That gave me hope there are still people in Hollywood willing to try different things. So that was a very positive thing.
The first meeting I went into I said, Blood is a part of the story' because I'd seen productions where they try to scrimp on it, be more politically correct and the productions really lost something, so it was one of the first things I said to them and they accepted it.
The show's three hours long and we weren't out to film the Broadway show, we were out to make a movie so we try to keep the pace like those old melodramas and because it's such a simple story you kind of get what the story is, so I felt the pace had to be more what it is. Sondheim himself is not a real big fan of movie musicals so he was really open to trimming it down and honing it down.
Burton Ready to Wed HBC! http://www.thecheers.org 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' director - who has a yet to be named one-month-old (?) daughter and four-year-old son Billy with the British actress - is set to marry Helena six years after he first proposed.
He told the Radio Times magazine: "Helena and I have been engaged for more than six years and we feel married already so we never got around to it, but I'm thinking about it now.
"I'm a late bloomer."
Tim and Helena first met when she starred in his remake of 'Planet of the Apes' in 2001.
She has since featured in his movies 'Big Fish', 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'Corpse Bride' and 'Sweeney Todd...'.
Helena recently said of her part in musical 'Sweeney Todd...': "I would safely say it made it much harder for me to get the part because the director was my boyfriend.
"He told me you look right for it, and potentially you are perfect for the role, but we have no idea if you can sing. I said I will go away and try to learn, but I had to be righter than right. For my sake, I didn't want to feel like I got the part just because I slept with the director."
JOHNNY DEPP struggled with one song on the SWEENEY TODD soundtrack - because he had to hold a note he feared he'd never be able to. When the movie star signed up to play the demon barber of Fleet Street in Tim Burton's dark musical he insisted he'd stay true to Todd creator Stephen Sondheim's songs - even if they proved difficult to nail, like Johanna. He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "It's such an emotional song and as far as I was concerned, when Stephen Sondheim writes the note and it has to be held for this many beats, you do it. "Don't be a pussy, you f**kin' hold that note. You can't cheat. You can't whisper... You just gotta belt it out. "I really beat myself up, making sure I could hold those notes. In Johanna, some are, like, 12 beats. That was a bugger. At one point, I was close to passing out - I got dizzy and saw black."
The "City of Lights" welcomed Johnny Depp and Tim Burton on the Champs Ellysee Wednesday night to hundreds of fans who waited hours in the rain for their arrival.
Seventeen years after their first collaboration, Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton are teaming up once again - this time on the drama Sweeney Todd. For the first time together they are winners of two Golden Globes - Depp for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical and Tim Burton in the category of Best Film/Musical or Comedy.
The thriller is based on the hit Broadway musical and Depp actually sings in the film.
Depp plays Benjamin Barker, a man who was falsely imprisoned for 15 years after a judge sets him up in order to take his wife and daughter. Barker escapes and takes on the name of Sweeney Todd. Todd, who is a barber by trade, seeks to take out revenge on all of the people who have wronged him.
Depp, who was at home in France when the winners of the Golden Globes were announced, told AP Television:
"Uh, I was at my house. I was at home you know. Yeah, I was at home, just hanging out. I was very surprised, certainly. Moved, you know. Flattered. Honoured. They nominated me about 17 years ago. It was the first time."
Tim Burton was also shocked to hear of his honour while sleeping at home: "Well, I was in London and I was asleep. So, I read about it in the newspaper the next day because nobody has my phone number so I was not really aware of it until the next morning."
Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter also star in the film.
ohnny Depp, the iconic Pirate of the Caribbean, has a killer role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
He talks about hitting the high notes as a singing slasher, playing with Barbie dolls and how even his kids have come to know him as “weird”.
How did Sweeney Todd come about for you?
It’s something that Tim and I had talked about for a long time. Then it all kind of came together. Tim’s outdone himself this time. It’s a great script, a great cast, great director, great music and one not very good singer – me!
Was it nerve-wracking having to sing and act?
I think for an actor it’s important to challenge yourself and to be potentially teetering on the brink of absolute flopdom because otherwise you’re just sort of there.
Do you sing at home?
God, no. Never. I wouldn’t inflict that on my family. The only thing I did do while preparing for this movie was I would sing in the car and to the music for Sweeney over and over again. I recorded the songs with an old friend of mine, Bruce Witkin. It was just him, me and a microphone.
Do you think this character is going to scare off your fans from Pirates of the Caribbean?
It is a radical change, that’s for sure. But I’m not trying to scare people away. The challenge for me is taking a character like that and attempting to make people feel for him at the same time he’s slashing people up.
How hard was it filming Sweeney’s really cut-throat scenes with all that blood?
I remember everyone except me being covered in plastic trash bags. There’d be a countdown. Three, two, one... action! And then blammo, you know? The great deluge. The process we shot in called for a slightly over-the-top kind of colour. It was kind of orangish... tasted kind of syrupy. It was oily and dangerous. Slippery. You’d see these big English grips, tiptoeing through the swamp of blood. Very surreal.
Do your kids watch your films?
Yeah. My whole family went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I hadn’t seen it. I was waiting at home, and they came back. And my daughter came up and went, "You're really weird." I knew then, okay. I’m okay. I’m all right.
Have you watched it with them?
No. I still haven’t. I find it so difficult to watch anything I’m in. I love discovering moments on the set. But I can’t stand the idea that I have to see it later.
Is it true you play with your daughters’ Barbies?
I have had some very good situations with different Barbies and Kens. So yeah, I’ve played with a lot of Barbies for my kids. It’s actually one of the only things I am good at. What’s nice is, now that my son is growing up, I get to do the boy stuff: Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolfman.
Up close: Johnny Depp hates to murder a song. He’s less worried about his victims as slasher supreme Sweeney Todd. Having jumped ship from the Black Pearl, Depp finds himself in far darker waters with his old shipmate Tim Burton’s adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd.
In his new film Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton brings his dark vision to Victorian London, with his closest conspirator Johnny Depp taking up the razor for the bloodiest of musicals. MARTYN PALMER is thrilled.
ACCORDING to Helena Bonham Carter, who is, after all, uniquely placed when it comes to observing what makes cinema’s Odd Couple tick — that’s Tim Burton and Johnny Depp — it’s a shared sensibility, an off-kilter take on life and a love of what she describes as “poo jokes”.
She has made five films with Burton (and three of these with Depp, too) and does, of course, share a London home and two children with him.
For the latest, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, she took the role as Mrs Lovett, opposite Depp as the serial killer who dispatches his victims with a slash of his cut-throat razor and a song.
This is a musical quite unlike any other: an X-rated Tim Burton horror film with tunes, buckets of blood and a leading man who owes more to Lon Chaney and The Hunchback of Notre Dame than Christopher Plummer and The Sound of Music. “It’s the perfect date movie,” giggles Burton.
Burton and Depp are on their sixth collaboration. All is well in Burton’s cinematic world when Depp is its leading citizen.
There are other directors who have found their muse with one particular actor — Martin Scorsese with De Niro, Ridley Scott with Russell Crowe, while the Coen brothers have taken a shine to George Clooney.
But Burton and Depp have a logic all of their own, a secret, imagined universe that only they inhabit.
For Burton, Depp has vividly brought to life the ultimate gawky teenager (Edward Scissorhands), an endearingly eccentric but hopeless movie director (Ed Wood), a warped Pied Piper (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), as well as playing Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow, and voicing Victor Van Dort, whose intended is on the wrong side of mortality in the brilliant, animated Corpse Bride.
These two clearly get along and bring the best out of each other, and Sweeney Todd, the long-awaited adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s hit Broadway and West End musical, bears all the hallmarks of a classic Burton/Depp partnership.
Depp first met Burton in 1989. The actor was fresh out of a hit TV show, 21 Jump Street, and Burton was casting Edward Scissorhands.
“We met at a coffee shop in this hotel,” recalls Depp. “And instantly for me there was a connection and a kind of weird distance from the Hollywood way.”
Burton immediately recognised an actor who was desperate to escape from the box marked “teen heartthrob” that casting directors had earmarked for him.
“I always admired him for the simple reason that he always did what he wanted to do,” says Burton. “He could have gone and made millions of dollars as this great-looking leading guy. But no.
“There’s integrity there, there’s risk-taking in terms of making himself into different characters, and he’s got a great love of movies. He’s more like Peter Lorre or Boris Karloff or Lon Chaney than a glamorous movie star. And that’s the amazing thing.”
Sweeney Todd won two Golden Globes recently for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy) and Best Actor for Depp. It also received two other nominations for Best Director and Best Actress for Bonham Carter.
So if letting Burton loose on a Sondheim musical/horror movie — which in the States has an R rating because of the “buckets of blood” — with a reported US$50 million (RM162 million) budget was a gamble, it appears to have paid off.
“I’m not a huge musical fan, but I liked this one, I just loved it,” says Burton.
“I sent Johnny the CD (of the soundtrack). Johnny was like, ‘Great, great, great...’ and everybody was, ‘Yeah, great...’ and then it was like, ‘Um, can he sing?’ Nobody knew. I didn’t know.”
But as a teenager, Depp had played and sung in a band called the Kids.
For Depp: “I knew I wasn’t tone deaf because I play music, guitar and all. But I didn’t know if I was actually going to be able to sing. So I went into a friend’s studio and recorded My Friends — a song from the show — and I sent him that and he liked it.”
Sondheim himself was delighted to get Burton on board as director. He also trusted that Depp wouldn’t take the part unless he knew that he could do it justice.
“So I said, ‘Listen to the score carefully and if you think you can handle it, fine by me — and I was right,” says Sondheim. “I knew he was not about to get up there croaking. So Johnny Depp cast Johnny Depp.”
The composer did, though, have casting approval and was sent audition tapes of all the hopefuls — Sacha Baron Cohen as flamboyant rival barber Signor Adolfo Pirelli, Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford and even the director’s girlfriend, Helena Bonham Carter, who has been a huge Sondheim fan since she was a teenager.
Sweeney Todd is the story of one man’s desperate desire for revenge and his descent into madness.
The story is believed to date back to the early 1800s and some claimed that it was based on a real case, although historians have consistently dismissed this.
It appeared as a melodrama on the London stage in 1847 and the first film version was made in 1936.
In 1973, British playwright Christopher Bond gave the world the basis for the version that we have now: a gruesome tale of a wronged man, Benjamin Barker, who is sent to Australia for a crime he didn’t commit, by the evil Judge Turpin — played by a suitably villainous Rickman — because the judge wanted to steal his beautiful wife.
Some 15 years later, when Barker returns to London, he vows to seek retribution on those who have ruined his life and sets himself up as a barber, Sweeney Todd, above a pie shop owned by Mrs Lovett.
In 1979, Sondheim turned this version into a hit Broadway musical, most famously starring Angela Lansbury as Mrs Lovett and Len Cariou as the murderous barber.
A Broadway musical does not necessarily make for great cinema, but Sondheim, the toughest critic of them all, is delighted with the film.
“I was pretty stunned by it, I must say. Both John Logan (the screenwriter) and I were nervous about seeing the first cut and Tim was nervous about our reaction. It was a very happy afternoon for everybody, a lot of self-congratulatory stuff going on.”
Depp, Bonham Carter and the rest of the cast recorded their songs before filming started at Pinewood Studios.
Then, during each scene, the music would be played back through speakers. Most of the actors, though, still sang along to themselves on set.
“And the great thing is, you hear certain pop bands and they could be anybody, but these are all actors and their characters and voices come through,” says Burton.
“It’s really exciting to hear, like, a duet between Johnny and Alan Rickman. I mean, who would ever think about that?” — Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox/Warner Bros.
Hollywood actor JOHNNY DEPP is hoping to play troubled pop star MICHAEL JACKSON in a movie of the singer's life. The Sweeney Todd star was rumoured to have modelled himself on Jackson for his role as Willy Wonka in 2005 movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But although Depp believes any similarities to the pop superstar in his portrayal are purely coincidental, he would love to take on the role of the Thriller hitmaker, insisting, "There is still time to play him."
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp show that even demons have a heart in their offbeat rendition of Sondheim's classic, writes Stephanie Bunbury.
WHEN Tim Burton and Johnny Depp first met, they sat for hours at a coffee table mulling delightedly over the odd artefacts they remembered from the '70s that seemed perfectly normal at the time. "For me there was an instant connection on the most obtuse levels, with this weird fascination or absurdity of things like macrame owls and resin grapes and fake fruit," says Depp in his quiet, hesitant way. "Like plastic fruit on your table. Nobody thought twice about that. So there was an instant connection on the spot."
Burton lived in Burbank, California. It was the kind of place, he has said, where nobody was really religious but everyone sent their children to Sunday school. "It was just the framework. There was no passion for it. No passion for anything. Just a kind of quiet, floaty, semi-oppressive, blank palette that you're living in."
He was a loner as a child, roaming around with his sketchbook and pencils. Inexplicably, his parents bricked up the windows in his bedroom that looked out over the lawn. "They gave me this little slit window that I had to climb on a desk to see out of." Anyone watching his movies can easily picture that child doggedly getting into position to catch a glimpse of something like beauty. In a sense, surely, he's still there. There is not really any hint, wrote critic David Thomson a few years ago, of the straight world. "Everything in a Burton film expresses the distorted feelings of a resolute, inescapable loneliness."
His newest film is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, his adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's grim, gory hit musical. A man driven by revenge who murders a succession of men and women with a flick of his razor in an effort to reach the scheming judge who ruined his life, Burton's Todd is a combination of comic-book villain and angst-ridden victim. He is not really a demon. "His family has essentially been stolen from him and he's sent away for 15 years to some hellhole," says Depp. "The way we looked at it is that, essentially, the guy died. The only way his heart has continued to beat is to go and avenge that hideous wrong that has been dealt to him." There's more of this article so check out the link!
Johnny Depp put his hairdressing skills to the test when he shaved a journalist’s head during an interview.
The quirky actor, who plays deadly barber Sweeney Todd in his latest film, was amazed when Steve Wilson handed him a pair of clippers and dared him to give him a haircut.
“Oh my God,” said Depp as he started shaving off Wilson’s hair in a Mohawk style. “Do your worst, I’m used to pain but just don’t do it near my throat,” said the game presenter.
After finishing the trim, Depp, 44, admitted he was quite impressed with his first attempt at cutting hair.
“It’s pretty good, I got to tell you I’d quite like to do this again,” he added during the interview filmed for chat show This Morning.
The current national tour of the 
Forecasts that this season’s race to 
Read the rest at the Link!
Actress Helena Bonham Carter thinks her Sweeney Todd co-star Johnny Depp has an “incredibly sexy” singing voice.
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Depp's good looks make him cry
http://www.dailyindia.comEach time Johnny Depp looks into the mirror, he breaks down in tears, for it makes the Hollywood star feel that he is very good looking.
The Pirates Of The Caribbean star says that he often selects obscure film roles that cover up his handsome Hollywood image.
"I cry every morning when I look in the mirror," Contactmusic quoted the 44-year-old star as saying.
"Every single morning, because I gotta live with this cute face," he added.
Depp is known for playing obscure roles in Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street.
His portrayal as Sweeney Todd in Tim Burton's 2007 musical version of the classic London-based horror story won him a Best Actor Oscar nomination.
Sweeney Todd Interview
http://movies.ign.com/
IGN recently attended the European press conference for Sweeney Todd and got to hear the thoughts of stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall and the younger cast, as well as director Tim Burton and producer Richard Zanuck.
The event itself, held in a swanky London hotel, was full of journalists from all over the world, and featured some seriously strange questions. The most bizarre was the Irish journo who asked Jayne Wisener (who plays Johanna in the film): "So, you're from Derry right?" She was. "Well, my cousin owns a pub in Derry, the Old Crown, have you ever been there?" She hadn't, and will presumably steer well clear of the place from now on. Very Strange. Anyway, here's what the team thought about Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - out this Friday in the U.K.
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd
How was it doing your first musical? And will you be doing it again?
JD: We're doing the sequel now [laughs]. I actually did do a musical many years ago with John Waters called Cry-Baby, but technically it was only half me - it wasn't me singing. Tim's the only person brave enough to actually let me try to sing. It was the first time I'd ever sung - I'd never even sung in the shower, I'm too mortified. But once I got over the initial fear it was kind of enjoyable. Sondheim's melodies and lyrics are a real pleasure to tromp around in, it's really beautiful stuff. Would I ever do it again? No, I doubt it.
What were the biggest acting challenges you faced?
JD: It's funny because early on, when Tim and I talked about Sweeney and the idea of doing it, 50% of the job would be done before we ever stepped on the set with the recording of the songs. Then we'd go in and lip sync to it. Or that's what we thought... But these guys know as well as I do that you go into the recording studio and sing your guts out recording the stuff, and do it as best you can and then you go onto the set. We thought we were going to lip synch but in fact the only way to do it is to belt it out once again on the set, which is extremely mortifying. Everyone's very, very close and you just feel like an idiot at first. But then it was oddly liberating, having music on the set all the way through. It made it interesting. It felt like we were doing a silent film.
Did you base your singing voice on any person in particular, as you sound a bit like David Bowie when you sing?
JD: A couple of people have said that, which is interesting because I wouldn't ever dream of attempting to channel David Bowie. He's a big hero of mine. If there's a similarity it wasn't intentional. And it's a nice compliment.
You once said that there is always something of you in every role you play - what part of you is in Sweeney?
JD: I do believe that you have to bring some degree of truth from yourself to the role and I'll admit it here, I have shaved a grown man before. I have done it. And it wasn't Tim [Burton].
Did he survive?
JD: [Laughs] He is alive, yeah, he's walking around to this day.
Where did you get your accent come from?
JD: Just from spending time over here, it wasn't any one particular person that I based it on.
Sweeney seems a bit of a gunslinger with his razors; did you see that and was it fun playing with the razors?
JD: The holsters seemed the safest area to put the razors. And did I have fun playing with them? The killing of everyone was the easy part; the most difficult part was lathering them up and shaving them: that's the part that freaked me out the most.
Do you see this as a tale of redemption?
JD: I think, as Tim said the other day when we were talking about the theme of revenge, it's a feeling that most people don't want to admit to. But I think we all have it secretly in there. I'm a big fan of revenge; I think it's a story of a man who clearly has obsessions to avenge the horror that happened to him.
What revenge have you taken?
JD: [Smiles] I can't incriminate myself.
You've been in The Fast Show, so is there any truth to the rumour you wanted a role in Doctor Who?
JD: No, I didn't really pursue anything with Doctor Who. But The Fast Show is, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen anywhere. When that was mentioned as a possibility I went after Whitehouse, I stalked him. I was sitting on a tree outside of his bedroom window with a funny mask on, that's how I got the job basically. I haven't done that for Doctor Who.
Tim Burton - Director
What did you use as inspiration for the film?
Tim Burton: A lot of my own anger! I said to Johnny this would be the perfect job because you don't have to do anything, you don't say anything and you just look out of the window and brood and be angry and I told him it was a great job.
Helena Bonham Carter: It's actually a portrait of our home life.
What do you think about the cancellation of The Golden Globes due to the WGA strike?
TB: Its different hearing about it over here, I'm not really in tune with what's happening, the only thing I can say is that awards shouldn't have an impact on a film in terms of people seeing it, though I guess in some cases films that are different or fall into strange categories like this one then awards can probably raise awareness of them. But I guess the sad part about it is that films that are different won't reach as many people.
What was it about the music that appealed to you?
TB: One of the things I loved about the musical was that you listened to the soundtrack and it tells you the story we didn't want it to be like a traditional musical, instead it felt like a silent movie with music. It's not 'lets get a chorus singing and have extras dancing on the street', each of the characters, because they're depressed or happy or crushed inside, the music was a way of expressing their feelings - that was the structure we used for it. And the contrast between the imagery, which was quite dark, and the music, which was lush and beautiful, was something that I'd never seen before and that was why I wanted to do it.
Helena Bonham Carter - Mrs Lovett
Was it easier or harder getting the role when your husband was the director?
HBC: It was probably harder. I mean he told me: 'You look right for it but we have no idea if you can sing.' So I thought: 'well, I'll try and learn' and did singing lessons, but you know I had to be righter than right. I wouldn't want people saying I got a role in his film just because I slept with him. At the end of the day Sondheim said I was okay... and I definitely didn't sleep with him!
TB: That's not what he said...!
How did you find having to lust after Johnny in front of your husband? Was it awkward?
HBC: Not really... maybe it should have been? No... The fact I was being paid by my boyfriend to romance his best friend - it was I guess a strange situation but no I didn't worry about it.
Dick Zanuck - Producer
When you were at Fox you green lit The Sound of Music, Hello Dolly and Dr Doolittle, why did you green light this?
DZ Well there's no comparison. The Sound of Music was among the first pictures that I put into production and was a giant hit as every one knows. I tried to follow that magic with three flops: Hello Dolly, Star! And Dr. Doolittle - which did little! And I vowed never to go near a musical again 'til Tim said he would do Sweeney Todd. And having seen the show in person on Broadway years and years before I thought "well it's a wonderful piece, but it won't make a picture..." But when I heard Tim was passionately involved in it and wanted to do it - that was enough for me. He's the only person I would have wanted to do this picture.
TB: But what if I said I wanted Rex Harrison instead of Johnny?
Timothy Spall - Beadle Bamford
You're the only one on the panel who you don't see garrotted, I was wondering if you are upset about that and are you worried about the reputation you'll get in America because you've played several unsavoury characters?
TS: I don't worry too much about being typecast. But I mean although I don't get garrotted there's a nice shot of me shooting down the trapdoor and my head smashing on the ground and a bit of my brain comes out, so I didn't feel that left out. You play a disgusting, fat ugly sexual pervert who thinks he's rather lovely looking, but from where that came from, I don't really know!
Johnny Depp and Tim Burton talk about working together
http://www.news.com.auACCORDING to Tim Burton, there once was a time when he would have to convince studios to let him cast Johnny Depp as the star of a musical.
‘‘We're now at the point where they'll give him the lead role in a musical and they don't even know if he can sing,'' Burton says.
Also, Sondheim's scores are notoriously difficult, yet Depp reveals a remarkable voice and receives fine support from his co-stars.‘‘Nothing gets more surreal than that. It's fantastic.''
It's no surprise Burton uses Depp's stardom as yet another punchline.
Their byplay is never-ending.
The two have been trading off each other, both professionally and privately, for years now and it's been nothing but a joy for both.
Depp plays the title character, Sweeney Todd, in Burton's film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's hit Broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Despite the challenge of bringing a musical to the screen, neither saw any reason to lighten the mood or tone down the bizarre humour.
‘‘I think Tim only asked me to sing so he could get a good laugh,'' Depp says.
‘‘I was so scared that all it was going to be was me going up there to sing and him just losing it. Him just cackling.''
‘‘I nearly lost it,'' Burton says to Depp, ‘‘when you weren't singing, when you were pretending to be normal. There was one flashback where he was supposed to be a normal guy and I couldn't even be on the set.''
It was a scene in which Depp is pre-Sweeney Todd, simply a happily married barber with a new baby, all before his life is destroyed.
‘‘He just cracked,'' Depp says.
‘‘I had to leave the set. I couldn't even watch it,'' Burton says.
‘‘He was crying,'' Depp continues.
‘‘I almost had a heart attack. Because we did that near the end, after we'd been through everything else.
‘‘With that weird little yamaka wig. So you know,'' -- Burton is still laughing -- ‘‘it was very strange.''
This latest project has taken Depp and Burton's relationship into an uncharted phase -- the stage musical brought to screen.
Based on Sondheim's brilliant play, it's a huge gamble for any number of reasons.
Neither Depp nor any of his co-stars -- Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Sacha Baren Cohen and Timothy Spall -- are classically trained singers.
Whether a real Sweeney Todd actually existed in 19th-century London is still debated, but he has long been the stuff of legend, the story mushrooming after Sondheim gave it the musical treatment in the 1970s.
Though the legend had Sweeney Todd slitting the throats of those he shaved, Sondheim introduced the evil judge who sent Todd to Australia because he secretly coveted the barber's wife, which has become the fully finished version.
The mayhem then ensues when Todd returns, with a healthy helping of blood on his mind.
‘‘It's a story about revenge and how revenge eats itself up,'' Sondheim says.
Depp, typically, leaves all other versions of Todd dead in the water.
‘‘I thought it might be a good opportunity to find a new Sweeney, a different Sweeney. Almost like in a punk rock, contemporary way,'' he says.
The success of the movie is the innate relationship between Depp and Burton, partners in a crime spree that began with Edward Scissorhands and has trekked through Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
IT'S a friendship that clicked the moment the pair met in a Los Angeles coffee shop in the late 1980s, where they discovered a shared liking for the absurd.
‘‘This kind of fascination with understanding the absurdity of what was perfectly acceptable in the 1970s . . . for example macrame owls and resin grapes,'' Depp says.
‘‘Fake fruit. No one thought twice about that.''
Such is their trust that Burton has only to call to get Depp for a role.
‘‘Anything he asks me to do, I jump at the opportunity,'' Depp says.
‘‘Except a ballet,'' Burton says.
‘‘No, I actually would. I would try,'' Depp argues.
Depp is asked if he will sing again in the future.
‘‘Never again,'' he says.
‘‘He'll be on the West End, tomorrow evening,'' Burton says, once again laughing hysterically.
‘‘I'll never do it again, not for anyone,'' Depp says, starts to laugh himself now.
‘‘You're going to get all these musicals,'' Burton says.
‘‘Not for anyone,'' Depp says, the Burton laugh track starting to get to him. ‘‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat,'' he says, in fits himself by now.
Then Burton breaks into song: ‘‘Jesus Christ, superstar . . .''
Depp: ‘‘Oh boy.''