Amsterdam to Honor Tim Burton

Tim Burton will receive a career achievement award at this year's 24th annual Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival.

Director of the film festival director Phil van Tongeren is delighted to welcome Burton. "I consider him as one of the most remarkable, recognizable and innovative directors of our time," he said. During his stay in Amsterdam, Burton will give a public interview on his career and a selection of his films will be presented (which ones have not been officially announced yet).

The AFFF starts on April 9th and ends on April 20th.

Read more about the festival and previous honorees in this link.

2008 Oscars Results

The winners from the 80th Annual Academy Awards have all been announced. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was nominated for three awards, and won one Oscar for Best Achievement in Art Direction. Italian production designer Dante Ferretti and his wife, Francesca Lo Schiavo, who was the set designer on the horror-musical, each won an award.

Here are the acceptance speeches by the pair (and more information on their nomination history in this link):

Dante Ferretti:
Thank you to the Academy. And thank you to Tim Burton, fantastic director. Thank you to Richard Zanuck. Thank you to everybody, thank you to my team, all the department, everyone. Thank you, Johnny. And I'm sorry, i forgot something, but I'm very -- thank you anyway.

Francesca Lo Schiavo:
Just i would like to say, this time, thank you, thank you to the Academy. I'm so happy, so grateful. And thank you to Tim Burton. Great director. Johnny Depp and all the actors, Everybody, for this fantastic movie.

Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo hold their Oscars
for their work on the art direction in Sweeney Todd (OSCAR.com)

You can watch a "Thank You Cam" video of the two on the official Oscars website.

Colleen Atwood's costume designs for Sweeney Todd were also nominated, but ultimately lost to Alexandra Byrne's costumes used in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Johnny Depp was also nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. However, Daniel Day Lewis, who was predicted as the front runner for the award, received the Oscar for his performance in There Will Be Blood. Previous Burton collaborator Marion Cotillard (who played Josephine in Big Fish) won Best Actress for her performance as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose (a.ka. La Mome). Neither Tim Burton nor Helena Bonham Carter were present at the awards ceremony. It is likely that they were with their children in London at the time.

Although the famed costume designer did not take home an Academy Award this year, Oscars.com did have a special treat from Colleen Atwood. Atwood filled out a questionnaire. See her personal answers and stories, in her handwriting (click on the image for a closer view):





Information on the other winners and nominees can be read in this link.

Eight Saturn Award Nominations for "Sweeney Todd"

The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has given a lot of attention to Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The non-profit organization, now celebrating its 34th Annual Awards season, has nominated the musical thriller for eight Saturn Awards:

-Best Horror Film
-Best Actor (Johnny Depp)
-Best Actress (Helena Bonham Carter)
-Best Supporting Actor (Alan Rickman)
-Best Direction (Tim Burton)
-Best Writing (John Logan)
-Best Costume (Colleen Atwood)
-Best Make-Up (Peter Owen and Ivana Primorac)


You can read the complete list of this year's nominees and read more about the organization on this link.

This year's show will take place on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008, in Universal City, California.

Atwood's "Todd" Costumes Win Award

Last night, the winners of the 10th annual Costume Designers Guild Awards were announced. Among the recipients was Colleen Atwood, who won a best costume award for the period piece category for her work on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Atwood and Todd are also up for an Academy Award for costume designs.

"Sweeney Todd" Honored for Editing

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was honored with the award for Best Editing (Comedy or Musical) at the 58th annual ACE Eddie Awards. Editor Chris Lebenzon received the award for his work on Burton's horror-musical.

Lebenzon first worked with Tim Burton on Batman Returns in 1992. Since then, he has held the position of editor on all of Burton's film, from Ed Wood to Corpse Bride, as well as consulting editor on The Nightmare Before Christmas. Lebenzon is likely going to be editor for Burton's two upcoming feature films: Frankenweenie (2009) and Alice in Wonderland (2010).

Lebenzon was last nominated for an Eddie Award for his work on Burton's Charlie in the Chocolate Factory.

Read more about the winners and nominees of the Eddie Awards (in film and television alike) in this link.

BAFTAs Results

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.

You can read more on the BAFTAs results here.

BAFTA Nominees Announced

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has been nominated for two BAFTA awards: Best Make Up & Hair (Ivana Primorac and Peter Owen), and Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood). The results from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts will be announced on February 10th, 2008.

Johnny Depp Tastes Like Frogs' Legs

At the Tokyo, Japan premiere of his latest movie, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Johnny Depp was asked to consider what he would taste like if he was a real life cannibal. Depp's answer: "Frogs' legs," and adding he would taste a little bitter. "I would suggest deep frying," the actor said with amusement. Director Tim Burton pondered his answer for a while before coming to the conclusion of chicken, but producer Richard D. Zanuck did not hesitate with his response: "Shark!" the producer exclaimed enthusiastically, laughing. The trio said this at a press conference in front of 600 media. More than 6,000 fans were at the premiere.

Three very enthusiastic Japanese fans. (AP)

Depp and Burton were also asked about what they thought of the Golden Globes Awards ceremony being cancelled this year, due to a writers' strike.

"I'm just torn into pieces about it. I feel really disappointed," he said, grinning, while Burton added: "I'm just happy. I don't have to make a trip to Los Angeles. That's all I feel."

Sweeney Todd was nominated for Best Picture (musical or comedy), Johnny Depp for Best Actor, Helena Bonham Carter for Best Actress, and Tim Burton for Best Director.

Sweeney Todd's Tokyo premiere took place on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008. The film will be released throughout Japan on January 19th, 2008.

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp at the Tokyo premiere.
(AP/Katsumi Kasahara)


(AP/Katsumi Kasahara)

NBR: "Sweeney Todd" Among 10 Best Films of 2007; Burton Wins Best Director

Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has been named among the top ten films of the year by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.

"2007 was an extremely exciting and challenging year for the NBR in determining the winners in the various categories," said NBR president Annie Schulhof in a release. "We screened 282 films and the diversity of these narratives is reflected in our 2007 Ten Best Films."

Eventually, No Country For Old Men by the Coen brothers won Best Film of 2007. But Sweeney Todd was recognized as one of the ten best of the year, and Burton took home the prize for Best Director.

Sweeney Todd will be released in U.S. theaters on December 21st, 2007.

Tim Burton Awarded Golden Lion at Venice International Film Festival

On Wednesday, September 5th, 2007, director Tim Burton was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 74th Venice film festival. At 49 years old, Burton is the youngest recipient of the prestigious award. "This is the most amazing experience I've had," said the filmmaker. "It's such an honour." He continued saying that the Venice film festival had "always been about movies, not business. It's always had a special place in my heart." "Hopefully it just inspires me to keep going," the director said. He jokily said that the award was better than an Oscar. " "It's actually a lot more beautiful-looking thing than a bald, naked man," he joked.



His long-time collaborator and friend, Johnny Depp, who first worked with Tim Burton 17 years ago on the film Edward Scissorhands (released in 1990), presented him the award. Depp said, "Tim is a rare breed in today's cinema: he is a true original, a true artist, a true auteur. He's my favorite director and friend. So ... let's give him the thing, man."


Organizers of the major event said that Burton is "one of America's bravest, most visionary and innovative film-makers." To mark the occasion, the festival showed a 3-D version of Burton's stop-motion animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Though it's one of his most renowned films, Burton said he could not quite choose a personal favorite of his own movies. "I feel strangely close to all of them, they all have a certain place in your heart," he said. The festival also showed a small clip of Burton's upcoming film, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The film will be released in US theaters on December 21st, 2007. Burton talked about the film in a press conference (click here for a video).

Johnny Depp, a pregnant Helena Bonham Carter, and Tim Burton stand for the photographers.



More pictures can be seen on the Tim Burton Collective forum.

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

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

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

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