DeVito: Being the Penguin "Fun"

MTV News got a hold of Danny DeVito at the MoMA retrospective of Tim Burton's art in New York. DeVito enthusiastically reminisced about his role as the twisted Penguin in Burton's Batman Returns:

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"I loved being with [Burton] on the set. We love hanging out," DeVito told MTV News during the red carpet opening of the exhibit. "I love to watch where he's going, what he's trying, all the different things he does."

"Talking about 'Batman Returns,' he's got me in this armadillo suit and I'm in a place that's so freezing — the stage was so cold — I was the only one comfortable," he laughed. "Everyone's walking around in scarves and hats ... I'm in pounds of latex or whatever the hell it was."

"I had a great time with him," said DeVito.

MoMA's Tribute to Tim Burton

On Tuesday, November 17th, the Museum of Modern Art in New York celebrated the art and films of Tim Burton while raising money for the museum's immense and ever-growing film collection. The night was a big success. Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, and Danny Elfman, and Danny DeVito showed up, among other artists and celebrities at the gala benefit (YouTube video from deeplover):




Another video from YouTube user CarlosGranell, this one with Burton, Depp, Bonham Carter, DeVito, and others speaking directly to the camera, and showing some intriguing samples from the exhibition within:





Depp, Bonham Carter, Burton, and DeVito
(AP Photo/Evan Agostini)


REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT)


REUTERS/Lucas Jackson


Depp with musician/artist Patti Smith (who has some of her own artwork at MoMA, as well).

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT)

Pre-Order "The Art of Tim Burton" Book

From TimBurton.com:

Available for pre-order this November - The Art of Tim BurtonStandard and Deluxe Edition books!

The Art of Tim Burton is the definitive compilation of forty years of Tim Burton's artistry, including film concepts and hundreds of illustrations from his personal archives, edited under the creative guidance of Burton himself. This comprehensive 434 page book is grouped into thirteen chapters that examine common themes in Burton's work, from his fascination with clowns to his passion for misunderstood monsters, to his delight in the oddities of people. Many of Burton's friends and collaborators offer their thoughts, insight and anecdotes about Tim Burton's style and artistic approach to life.

Artwork from the following films and projects are included in this book: Alice in Wonderland (2010), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride (both 2005), Big Fish (2003), Planet of the Apes (2001), Sleepy Hollow, (1999), Mars Attacks! (1996), Ed Wood (1994), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Batman Returns (1992), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Family Dog (1987), Batman (1989), Beetlejuice (1988), Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985), Frankenweenie (1984), Vincent (1982), and Hansel & Gretel (1982). The book also contains additional drawings from his illustrated book of poetry The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories (1997), and from The World of Stainboy web shorts (2000).

Text By: Leah Gallo, Design by: Holly Kempf, Edited by: Derek Frey, Leah Gallo & Holly Kempf

*PLUS*

Personal text contributions by friends and fellow creatives including:

Allison Abbate, Colleen Atwood, John August, Rick Baker, Helena Bonham Carter, Felicity Dahl, Johnny Depp, Danny Devito, Danny Elfman, Carlos Grangel, Ray Harryhausen, Martin Landau, Rick Heinrichs, Christopher Lee, Lindsay Macgowan, Shane Mahan, Ian Mackinnon, Alex Mcdowell, Victoria Price, Ken Ralston, Paul Reubens, Deep Roy, Winona Ryder, and Richard Zanuck.

Pre-orders will be available this November.

For more information please register in the private gallery at TimBurton.com!

Comic-Con Video Interview Preview

Photo by MTV News


MTV News will be posting some extensive interviews with some of the biggest names in movies from this weekend's Comic-Con over this coming week. For now, check out a very brief sample with Tim Burton, in which he jokes about Johnny Depp, as well as fellow Burton collaborator Danny DeVito (in which he promises we will see more of his body in the near future than we did in Big Fish). Others include Megan Fox, James Cameron, and Cameron Diaz.

On Depp's surprise visit to the Alice in Wonderland panel: "He saved me there," Burton told MTV News. "I'm struggling away and then he walks out... and it was good."

"He's never been [to Comic-Con] ... and I don't know, he could've dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow and just been one of many," laughed the director.

Stan Winston, 1946-2008

Special visual effects and make-up visionary Stan Winston died on Sunday in his home in Malibu, California, surrounded by his family.

Winston had been suffering a seven-year-long struggle with multiple myeloma. He was 62.

Winston had a tremendously successful life and influential impact on the film industry, in a career that spanned roughly four decades. He brought to life some of the most iconic movie monsters and creatures, most notably for those featured in Jurassic Park, Aliens, and Terminator 2. He also collaborated with Tim Burton, on Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, and Big Fish. Burton spoke very highly of Winston.

Richard Corliss of Time Magazine wrote about Winston. In the recent article, he included some comments on his collaborations with Mr. Burton, and thus offering a sense of Stan Winston's work as a whole:

"Yet he wasn't out simply to scare the audience; he wanted to create complex, often sympathetic figures— to enlighten us about the dark side. "I don't do special effects," he once said. "I do characters." His Edward Scissorhands character, elaborated on from director Tim Burton's sketches, puts the poignancy right in that white, sweet, baleful, soulful face. The Penguin, played by Danny DeVito in Burton's Batman Returns, is an ugly, beaky thing that no kid could mistake for having happy feet; yet beneath his comic rage there's an abandoned child's ache, palpable and, thanks to Winston, visible."

You can read the rest of the article here.


Stan Winston may have passed on too soon, but his impact on the film industry will certainly not fade away any time in the near future. Winston reportedly always had a vibrant enthusiasm for his work. That artistic passion certainly shows in his iconic, unforgettable creations.

Rest in peace, Stan.

A couple of Mr. Winston's familiar creations:

Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Danny DeVito as The Penguin in Batman Returns (1992)