Audio Interview with Danny Elfman

Film Music Magazine has an audio interview with Danny Elfman. The composer talks about how he has worked with his long-time collaborator Tim Burton, the score of their latest project, Alice in Wonderland, and more. You can hear the interview from the website or download it as an Mp3 here, but BEWARE OF SPOILERS!!

Video: Elfman Composing "Alice in Wonderland" Score

ABC News has a special report on the extensive filmography and creative process of Danny Elfman. The video includes footage of Elfman and Tim Burton working on the score for their thirteenth feature together, Alice in Wonderland, giving some insights on their collaborative process that has continued for 25 years. Here's the Hulu link:



You can also watch the video on YouTube.

25 Years of Elfman and Burton: From "Pee-wee" to "Alice"

Tim Burton and Danny Elfman have worked together for 25 years, making one of the most memorable director-composer duos in film history. Wired spoke with the acclaimed composer, and discussed the connections and common influences Elfman and Burton share, Elfman's earliest (and traumatic) encounters with Alice in Wonderland, and the pair's long working relationship, working on thirteen feature films from Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 1985 to Alice in Wonderland opening this weekend.

Danny Elfman recalled that his first encounters with Alice in Wonderland occurred at the tender age of three -- and left quite a dramatic effect on him.

"We had it on the bookshelf," Elfman recalls. "There was a picture of Alice with her neck distended very long. It scared me and actually began what became a lifelong obsession with physical anomalies. I had many nightmares about this girl with an incredibly long neck."

Many years later, Elfman was to compose the score for a cinematic adaptation of the bizarre Lewis Carroll stories. After watching a rough cut of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Elfman realized that the zany, off-the-wall characters and scenarios would be easy to write for -- it was Alice who came back to haunt him, as the most difficult part to score.

“My score was not going to be about the Mad Hatter or the Red Queen,” Elfman says. “The ‘falling down a hole’ music is going to be wild, crazy falling-down-a-hole music. Two armies meeting — I can almost write that automatically. That’s the easy part. The hard part is Alice’s trajectory. I needed the music to tie it all together as she goes from this kind of confused child to a bewildered young lady to becoming Alice as a hero who finds herself in the center of this big story where she has a huge part to play.”

Although they've been working together for 25 years, Elfman still finds presenting new themes to his director Tim Burton "nerve-wracking." Luckily, they have a lot of similar aesthetic sensibilities and tastes, having connected back in the 1980s, after Burton saw Elfman perform in his wacky avant-rock band Oingo Boingo.

“When we met we had a lot in common because we both grew up on the same kinds of movies,” Elfman says. “We’re both huge fans of Roger Corman and ‘Hammer Horror.’ My idol was Peter Lorre, Tim’s idol was Vincent Price. We were both kind of odd kids who gravitated toward certain subcultural films and imagery.”

At an early age, Danny Elfman found a fondness in spectacular, fantastical film scores. Some of his favorite composers include Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, and his idol, Bernard Herrmann. It was the striking musical compositions of Herrmann mixed with the fantastic stop-motion wizardy of acclaimed animator Ray Harryhausen that made Elfman fascinated by the cinema, in such films as Jason and the Argonauts and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

“The magic combination for me was Herrmann and Harryhausen,” Elfman says. “If a movie had those two names on it, it was going to be my favorite film of the year.”


A scene from Jason and the Argonauts -- a mutual favorite of both Elfman and Burton.

Even in his comfortable Malibu, California home with his wife Bridget Fonda, Danny Elfman still retains his appreciation of the off-beat and macabre.

“In the foyer of my home I have a painting by Mark Ryden of this little girl with blood pouring out of her eyes, and there are two stuffed baboon heads from the 19th century used as paperweights,” Elfman says. “That’s just my way of saying, ‘If this bothers you, please don’t step further in.’”

After Alice in Wonderland, Elfman's upcoming film scores include The Green Hornet (directed by Michel Gondry and starring Seth Rogen) and Forbidden Zone 2: The Forbidden Galaxy.

"Alice in Wonderland" Soundtracks Now Available

Danny Elfman's score for Alice in Wonderland and the album Almost Alice are now available to purchase. Click the highlighted links above to get the soundtracks from Amazon.



Here's the Almost Alice tracklist:

1. Alice (Underground) Performed by Avril Lavigne
2. The Poison Performed by The All-American Rejects
3. The Technicolor Phase Performed by Owl City (previously released)
4. Her Name Is Alice Performed by Shinedown
5. Painting Flowers Performed by All Time Low
6. Where's My Angel Performed by Metro Station
7. Strange Performed by Tokio Hotel and Kerli
8. Follow Me Down Performed by 3OH!3 featuring Neon Hitch
9. Very Good Advice Performed by Robert Smith
10. In Transit Performed by Mark Hoppus with Pete Wentz
11. Welcome to Mystery Performed by Plain White T’s
12. Tea Party Performed by Kerli
13. The Lobster Quadrille Performed by Franz Ferdinand
14. Running Out of Time Performed by Motion City Soundtrack
15. Fell Down a Hole Performed by Wolfmother
16. White Rabbit Performed by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

"Alice in Wonderland" World Premiere Footage

Alice in Wonderland had its world premiere on Thursday, February 25th, at the Odeon theater in London's Leicester Square. Here's an hour's worth of footage:

Here's a link from AFP.

From ustream:

Hear Samples of Elfman's "Alice" Score

You can now hear official samples from Danny Elfman's Alice in Wonderland score. Click here, but beware of SPOILERS in the track titles! You can also pre-order the CD on the website, which will be available on March 2nd, 2010.

Elfman Interviews Burton

Interview Magazine has a unique new article: Danny Elfman interviewing Tim Burton. The long-time collaborators discuss Burton's favorite films, the elements of the macabre in his films and artwork, how Alice in Wonderland is such a different movie from his previous films, and what really scares him. Here is the entire interview:

Tim Burton

By Danny Elfman
Photography Sebastian Kim

In 1984, Paul Reubens was looking for a director. The film in development was Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), and Reubens, who had been working on the perversely juvenile conceptual-art project for about 15 years, was desperate to find someone he could trust to direct it with style. So, as people in Los Angeles do, he asked around at a party. One of the guests had just seen Frankenweenie—Tim Burton’s 1984 live-action short about a dog that is brought back to life. Burton had no previous experience as a feature-film director, but the two men immediately bonded. Only 25 at the time, Burton got the job, and the pair watched as their strange but imaginative film earned more than $40 million at the box office.

Of course, these days, Burton doesn’t need to rely on word of mouth to find work. Throughout the many stages of his 30 years behind the camera, there has remained a consistent underlying emotional current in Burton’s work—a delicate balance of sadness, humor, and horror that matches his eye for gothic beauty and mythical surrealism. The 51-year-old filmmaker has written, directed, and/or produced more than 20 movies. Between 1988 and 1996, he was responsible for Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Batman Returns (1992), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Ed Wood (1994), and Mars Attacks! (1996). It was also during this period that he began working with Johnny Depp, who has acted in seven of his films—a transformative relationship for both men.

Burton grew up in the suburbs of California, and has often said that, as a kid, he found the realities of everyday life—parents, teachers, school, breakfast—far more terrifying than monsters or movies. What are zombie pet dogs, after all, compared to real-life threats like dullness and loss? Burton’s characters are born outcasts, perpetually at odds with their identities and in some ways monsters themselves. His fairy-tale endings are a little messier than most standard Hans Christian Andersen fare; Edward Scissorhands does not get the girl.

Last November, New York’s Museum of Modern Art honored Burton not only for his film work but also as a visual artist, with a retrospective that displayed a large collection of his drawings—including versions of Jack Skellington, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd, and Batman. His next film, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, due out next month, is a suitably trippy semi-animated adventure featuring Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter (Burton’s partner), Anne Hathaway, and Crispin Glover. Danny Elfman, who has been composing music for Burton’s films since they worked together on Pee-wee (and who also did Alice in Wonderland) spoke to him recently about how he has made his way as an artist—and about what really scares him.


DANNY ELFMAN: Okay, we’re rolling. Be aware that we can stop and start; we can even redo a question if you don’t like what you’ve said. You can suggest a topic. No pressure.

TIM BURTON: I say stream of consciousness, and whatever happens, happens.

ELFMAN: Then let’s start with something easy. Growing up, which films and directors had the greatest impact on you?

BURTON: Well, being a big monster-movie fan, the Universal monster movies and the Japanese science-fiction movies, like the ones by Ishir¯o Honda. Then there were the Italians, like Mario Bava.

ELFMAN: Which particular films really got under your skin?

BURTON: Bava’s Black Sunday [1960] is probably the one that did it. I remember, in L.A., I’d watch a whole weekend of horror movies. And after you watched about two movies in a row, you’d go into this dream state, and sometime around 3 A.M. on the weekend, Black Sunday came on. It really was like your subconscious, like a dream, almost like hallucinating. I also think that I’m one of the few fans who actually likes dubbing in foreign films. I love Fellini or Bava dubbed because it adds a surreal nature. I prefer dubbing because the images are so strong you don’t want to take your eyes away to read the subtitles.

ELFMAN: Did any film give you nightmares?

BURTON: I never really got nightmares from movies. In fact, I recall my father saying when I was three years old that I would be scared, but I never was. I was much more terrified by my own family and real life, you know? I think it would be more of a nightmare if someone told me to go to school or eat my breakfast. I would wake up in a cold sweat about those issues. I think that movies probably help you sort those kinds of things out and make you feel more comfortable. I did get freaked out when I saw The Exorcist [1973] for the first time, but that was about it. Images like the ones in Black Sunday stay with you. I always just enjoyed them.

ELFMAN: That takes me to monsters from our childhoods. How do you think they stack up against the monsters of today?

BURTON: The thing I love about the old monsters is that they had such a strong, immediately identifiable image. I find that a lot of monsters today are just so busy. They have so many little tentacles and flaps and whatever else that they don’t have the kind of strength in their images that the old monsters had. It’s also due to the CGI heaviness. You’re missing the human element—like Boris Karloff, who actually played the monsters. Even in Creature From the Black Lagoon [1954], the guy had a complete costume, so you felt like there was a human being underneath. I think that’s important. It’s always an interesting challenge to see if you can create a character that’s got emotion. It can be done and it has been done.

ELFMAN: You once said that monsters are usually more heartfelt than the humans around them in those movies. Do you still feel that way?

BURTON: Oh, yeah. It’s like society. In fact, it’s probably gotten more extreme. We sort of equate the monster with the individual, getting devoured by bureaucracy. Even in making films with studios, you used to be able to deal with people as individuals. Now you’re dealing with a vague bureaucracy, where no one’s in charge when there’s a problem. [laughs] So I think that’s only intensified over the years.

ELFMAN: I guess there is a certain nostalgia for early cinema. Some of those old movies hold up and others don’t.

BURTON: There are certain movies that really don’t. But the ones that you really love, I think they do. Obviously, the pacing of movies has gotten much quicker, but the old ones have a slower dreamscape that weaves its way into you. When you watch older movies, you don’t think, Gee, I wish this cut were quicker.

ELFMAN: It does make it harder to play them for our kids, because they expect a pacing that didn’t exist then and they have to get past that.

BURTON: That’s true. Even before kids watch a movie, they’re already accustomed to video games and stuff. So that sense of slower pacing is already gone. It’s unfortunate because there’s something very introspective about movies that give you a chance to dream.

ELFMAN: You used to hang out in graveyards when you were a kid, didn’t you? I’m assuming that was because it was very peaceful and calm there, that going to graveyards allowed you to be introspective.

BURTON: People think that it’s morbid, but it really was much more quietly exciting. There was a mystery about it, a juxtaposition of life and death in a place where you really weren’t supposed to be.

ELFMAN: Did you ever believe—or half believe—in ghosts?

BURTON: Yeah. I’ve seen things and felt things. I think most people do. I think it’s just how much you suppress it. I don’t go out and say, “Oh, my god, I was abducted by a UFO,” or “I’ve seen these ghosts.”

ELFMAN: Did you feel any hauntings at the graveyards where you hung out?

BURTON: You feel an energy. Most people say about graveyards, “Oh, it’s just a bunch of dead people; it’s creepy.” But for me, there’s an energy to it that is not creepy or dark. It has a positive sense to it. It’s like all of that Day of the Dead imagery. That, to me, is the right idea. It’s a celebration. It’s much more lighthearted. There is humor involved—color and life. We talked about it when we did Corpse Bride [2005]. That was going more toward the Day of the Dead culture, which is much more positive.

ELFMAN: Once, a long time ago, we went into a room at CTS Studios that was supposed to have a child ghost haunting it. Do you remember? Everyone in the studio kept telling us about it, so we went in there and just stood in this dark, creepy room for a while. Nothing happened—as things usually don’t. Have you ever been in a room where you might have had an experience?

BURTON: I’ve been in certain hotel rooms in Venice.

ELFMAN: Did you make it a point to go into these rooms?

BURTON: I think anytime you try, it ain’t gonna happen. It always seems to occur when you’re sort of open but not thinking about it. So, no, I’ve never held a séance.

ELFMAN: I want to ask you about Vincent Price. When I first met you, you told me how much of a hero of yours he was. Then I saw the animated short you did, Vincent [1982], which was inspired by him. Had that been brewing for a long time?

BURTON: It’s obviously based on the feeling of watching his movies. I felt connected with him, and that helped me get through life. I had written it all and done it in a kind of storybook or storyboard fashion, and I just decided to send it to him. I had no idea what would happen. It was most likely that he wouldn’t respond, but he responded pretty immediately, and he seemed to really get it. That made me feel really great. He didn’t just see it as a fan thing. That’s why it was really special to me. It’s hard to get projects going—and also hard to meet somebody you’ve admired. You never know what they’re going to be like. They could be a complete asshole, you know? But he was so great and supportive, and even though it was a short film, he helped get it made. That was my first experience in this kind of world, and it was a really positive one. It stays with you forever. When times are tough, all you have to do is remember back to those kind of moments—those surreal, special moments—and they really keep you going. To discover that somebody like Vincent Price, who had been in the movie business for a million years, and to see that he was still such an interesting guy—that he was so into art, and helping this college in East L.A., giving lots of artwork, and still curious about everything—it helps you to keep going when you feel jaded.



ELFMAN: In art school, you had an epiphany where you didn’t care anymore about drawing the way your teachers wanted you to. What happened exactly?

BURTON: It was at the farmers’ market. We went out to draw people. I was sitting there, getting really frustrated trying to draw the way they were telling me to draw. So I just said, “Fuck it.” I truly felt like I had taken a drug and my mind had suddenly expanded. It’s never happened to me again quite that same way. From that moment on, I just drew a different way. I didn’t draw better, I just drew differently. It freed me up to not really care. It reminds me of when you’re drawing as a child. Children’s drawings all look pretty cool. But at some point, kids get better at drawing, or they say, “Oh, I can’t draw anymore.” Well, that’s because someone told you that you couldn’t—it doesn’t mean that you can’t. It taught me to stick to what’s inside of me, to let that flourish in the best way it can. I’ve been waiting for that feeling to come back ever since, and it hasn’t yet. At least it happened once. [laughs] It literally happened at that moment; the drawings changed right there.

ELFMAN: Then, interestingly, you became an animator at Disney. Clearly you didn’t fit the mold there, but your talents didn’t go unnoticed either.

BURTON: Again, it’s one of those weird timing things. If it had happened at any other point in the company’s history, I probably would’ve been fired. But the company was so directionless then, and I was under the wing of a great animator, this guy Glen Keane. I was kind of his assistant, and he tried to help me draw foxes and do all of that, but I was useless. They eventually realized that, too, but instead of firing me, they gave me other projects because they liked my drawings. That lasted a year. And then I drew where I wanted for a couple of years. And that was very formative because out of all that came things like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Vincent.

ELFMAN: I don’t know if many fans are aware of the depth of your infatuation with drawing and art. When I describe how I got started writing songs for Nightmare, people are surprised that it didn’t start with a script. Instead, you had a story and a series of amazing drawings.

BURTON: That’s why I’m very grateful for the show at MoMA. It hasn’t been about categorization—like, “Oh, that’s film. This is art. That’s photography.” It’s trying to show that it’s all just a process and that there are different ways to approach things. I think both you and I hate categorization. People are always trying to stick you in a box and say, “Oh, he’s in a rock band. Now he’s a composer, but he only composes this kind of stuff.” You fight that every single time you do something. The MoMA exhibit shows that each different approach is all part of the same thing—an idea—whether it’s written or drawn or a piece of music or whatever.

ELFMAN: I’d like to touch on a hidden talent of yours, which is writing rhymes and lyrics. When I began the songs for Nightmare, I was surprised to see that you had already written a lot of the great lyric pieces, all of which got assimilated and incorporated into the final songs.

BURTON: When I was growing up, Dr. Seuss was really my favorite. There was something about the lyrical nature and the simplicity of his work that really hit me. I’m always amazed by people that can do it in the simplest way, but yet it is sophisticated and emotional and telling.

ELFMAN: For the record, my favorite lyric line is “Perhaps it’s the head that I found in the lake,” from The Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s your line, not mine.

BURTON: But you made it sound good.

ELFMAN: Now I want to take you to the Batman moment in your career: It’s only your third feature, and you’re still the new kid on the block. You don’t even have a reel—other than comedies, you don’t have a commercial track record. And as I recall, the pressure was enormous. The production was enormous. The budget, for the time, was enormous. How did you cope with that?

BURTON: It helped being in England. Not much was going on there at the time. You could really go and focus on the movie and not be involved in all of the hype, like “Who’s going to play Batman? Oh, they picked Michael [Keaton]”—all this kind of hoopla, which is just a waste of time. So being in England was very helpful. Even though it was a big-budget thing, it was still slightly under the radar.

ELFMAN: So you got a little bit of protection.

BURTON: A little bit. Jack Nicholson was obviously a big star. He was very protective of me. He had a lot of clout, and when people were getting on my case, he could use it to cut me some slack. He was very supportive.

ELFMAN: I’ve always wondered if part of the reason for moving on to Edward Scissorhands right after Batman had something to do with wanting a smaller project with less pressure attached to it.

BURTON: I think it was a bit of that. But the weird thing was that trying to make it low budget, after doing Batman, was very difficult. Everyone thought, Oh, you made this big movie, so this is another big movie. But it wasn’t a big movie. I was out in the swampland in Florida, and people wanted to charge me a million dollars to use it because I had just made Batman. So there was a lot of having to walk away from certain things just to get the movie made. But, yes, it was nice to go back to a smaller project. It’s only gotten worse in this era. When I did Batman, you actually didn’t hear the word “franchise.” That wasn’t even in the language.

ELFMAN: Right. It hadn’t entered the vocabulary yet. For Scissorhands, you had great faith in Johnny [Depp] right from the get-go. He was pretty much unproven at that point—he really only had a TV show [21 Jump Street]. As I recall, you were under some pressure to cast someone else. How were you able to find the faith to see something beyond what Johnny had shown in his TV work? There was clearly more to him, and you saw that.

BURTON: It was exactly for that reason. Meeting him, you realize that there is
this perception of him as a teen idol, but he’s really not that person. That’s just how he was perceived by society—and thus who he was. And that’s exactly like Edward: “I’m not what people think I am. I’m something else.”

ELFMAN: You got all that just from meeting him?

BURTON: Yeah, absolutely. That’s the thing. I could tell that he understood. You can always feel if someone understands the dynamic. There’s a certain pain in that. Johnny’s not Tiger Beat, even if that’s how the rest of the world saw him—as a page of a teen magazine. He’s got a lot more depth, a lot more emotion. There’s a certain sadness when that happens to people. So it’s very easy to identify without even really talking too much about it.

ELFMAN: You’re known for working on amazing sets and compositing shots that use as few effects as possible—maybe with the exception of Mars Attacks!, and even then you had sets and actors and animated Martians that were realized pretty quickly. Now we are about to see Alice in Wonderland, which is a totally different animal. What has it been like working on that?

BURTON: It’s completely opposite from the way I usually make a film. Usually the first thing I know is the vibe and feel of a scene. It’s the first thing you see. Now it’s the last thing you see. It’s like actually being in Alice in Wonderland. It’s completely fucked up. You understand that when you’re shooting—that some percentage of what you’re filming isn’t going to be exactly like what it ends up being, because so many elements are added later. It’s in your head, and it can be unsettling. I did find it quite difficult because you don’t see a shot until the very end of the process. Even when we were making Nightmare or Corpse Bride, you’d get a couple of shots and know what the vibe was. This is completely ass-backward.

ELFMAN: We’re going to end with a little free association here.

BURTON: Uh-oh. Always a bad sign.

ELFMAN: Reality. [Burton laughs] As a kid, what was your idea of reality?

BURTON: Well, it’s those things that I always loved. People say, “Monster movies—they’re all fantasy.” Well, fantasy isn’t fantasy—it’s reality if it connects to you. It’s like a dream. You have a nightmare, and it’s got all this crazy imagery, but it’s real. You wake up in a cold sweat, freaking out. That’s completely real. So I always found that those people trying to categorize normal versus abnormal or light versus dark, yada yada, are all missing the point.

ELFMAN: I remember what you said to me when you were fighting the R rating on Batman Returns, which was absurd because there was nothing really violent in the whole movie to put an R rating on. You said, “You know what’s scary to a little kid? When they hear one of their relatives coming home and knocking over furniture because they’re drunk. That’s frightening to a kid. Not monsters!”

BURTON: Exactly! Or when an aunt who has blood-red lipstick and lips three feet long comes to kiss you dead-on on your face. That’s terrifying!

ELFMAN: [laughs] Okay. Animals. How did animals play into your perception of reality?

BURTON: Well, I had a dog—a couple of dogs.

ELFMAN: Maybe a raccoon, too.

BURTON: And a raccoon. Two dogs and a raccoon can very likely be your heart and soul. I guess it’s pretty sad, but it can be the strongest emotional tie you have. There’s a purity to that love. It’s very good to remember and good to hang onto and aspire to on the human side. At least it shows that it’s possible.

ELFMAN: Freaks.

BURTON: We’ve all been called that before. [laughs] When I hear that word, I hear, “Somebody that I would probably like to meet and would get along with.”

ELFMAN: Good and evil.

BURTON: Hard to tell sometimes. That’s the thing. Especially when you’re making a movie, you experience good and evil about 20 to 100 times a day. You’re not quite sure where one crosses over into the other. It’s quite a slippery slope, that one.

ELFMAN: Has your sense of reality shifted, now that you have children?

BURTON: Obviously, you get more grounded, but at the same time it gets more surreal. And it’s nice to reconnect to those abstract feelings. It’s good as an artist to always remember to see things in a new, weird way. It’s like weird, twisted poetry, the way kids perceive things. And quite beautiful sometimes. They kind of blow your mind and ground you at the same time. So it’s great.

ELFMAN: Last question. You don’t have to answer it—this is just a personal question. I’ve always wondered, but I’ve never really asked you: Why in the world did I get hired to do Pee-wee’s Big Adventure? Because it didn’t make any sense, even to me.

BURTON: [laughs] We never talked about it, did we? It’s very simple to me. I used to come to see your band play at places like Madame Wong’s.

ELFMAN: But that’s so different from film scoring.

BURTON: It wasn’t to me. I always thought you were very filmic in some way. I don’t even know what that means! There was a strong narrative thrust to what you were doing. And it was theatrical. Also, because I hadn’t made a feature-length film yet, I just responded to your work. It was very nice to be connected to somebody who I felt had done so much more than I had at that point.

ELFMAN: Well, Johnny and I both owe you.

BURTON: It’s all great. Like I said, what’s great is that I’ve known you longer than anybody. There’s something quite exciting when you have a history with somebody and you see them do new and different things. We have our next challenge set out for us, that’s for sure. But let’s have you watch it, and see if you want to quit.



Photo credit: Tim Burton in New York, July 2009

Danny Elfman is a singer-songwriter and an Academy award–nominated composer. He has scored the music for movies like Batman, Milk, and Tim Burton’s upcoming film Alice in Wonderland.

Elfman on "Wonderland"

Alice in Wonderland is nearly done, with one of its last additions being that classic Burton trademark: a Danny Elfman score. Elfman did his final touches just this past Sunday. Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times interviewed the acclaimed composer as part of their Hero Complex series.

Watch out for potential SPOILERS!!

GB: I imagine you're feeling pretty good right now. The only thing better than taking on an exciting new project is actually finishing an exciting new project.

DE: Being done with "Alice" is a great relief, to put it mildly. Tim told me six months ago that this one would go right up to the 59th minute of the 11th hour. He knew it then. I was still doing last bits of music on Sunday and that was with the print-mastering beginning Monday. It doesn't get any tighter. But I knew going into it that this would be insanity. That's the nature of the beast. It's a function of motion-capture projects -- you're going to wait for shots to come in. You're trying to finish the movie and the shots are still coming in. Things are happening at the very last second. It's very challenging. But you can only go at the pace that it goes.

GB: What was the very last thing you finished on Sunday?

DE: It was this crazy dance that the Mad Hatter does. It's called the Fudderwacken. That was something we had tried many different approaches before we reached the one that is in the movie.

GB: What were your compass points coming into this project?

DE: Your guiding principles on a narrative type of story like this, it's always the same. The same guiding principles, rather -- hopefully not the same score over and over again. [Laughs] Unfortunately it's common in my business. But we try to avoid it. But really it's about finding the narrative and finding the themes and trying to knit things together and form continuity. The decision-making process is about who gets a theme and who doesn't. You can't just give every character a theme. It just starts getting too crazy.

Experimentation for me is, usually, finding a central theme and then two or three secondary themes and determining how they're going to play. That's the fun of it, the surprise of it, too. Sometimes I'll find I'm using a theme over a character and it's not necessarily their theme and I don't know why I'm doing it, but I'll go with it anyway and there ends up being a certain logic to it -- [the scene] is about a certain character or about a trajectory of a certain character.

GB: I imagine there are many ways to follow a "safe" path that amps up emotion and excitement but can undermine the film's identity, right?

DE: All of it, the challenge is to be inventive but do the purpose, which is to add continuity and to add energy and motion and anticipation and a sense of something building. To get that sense of forward motion. To do it poorly in this kind of film -- a real active film, an adventure film -- is actually really easy. You can always just play for energy, orchestrate something very active. Anybody who understands film composition could that in their sleep. The hard part is, can you do that and still come up with something that gives it a sense of identity? That's really hard.

GB: The framing sequences in the film take place in England of the 19th century. Does that influence any choices you make?

DE: No. In essence, if I just played 19th century music it would get really boring really fast. Even in the context of a serious period piece, a drama, let's say, taking place in the 19th century, you're still perhaps only going to allude to the period. If you get too strict with it, it's going to get really boring. Eventually, you're going to play the characters and you're going to play internally, and when you start playing internally there really aren't any rules. In something like "Alice in Wonderland" there are even less rules. Who knows what kind of music does or doesn't belong in Wonderland, after all? Outside of Wonderland, at the beginning of the film and at the end of the movie, I'm really just trying to establish some of the themes that will come back. Essentially, Alice's primary theme and, because she starts as a little girl, I have what I called the "little Alice" theme, which I bring back later at times. I'm just planting seeds at the beginning of the film.

GB: And then when the film gets to Wonderland?

DE: I open up and get a little crazier, but I'm still incorporating the same thematic ideas. I am a believer in thematic unity and the importance of that in a storytelling film. There are certain types of film where it simply doesn't matter, but when you have a crazy story that you're following through and there are a lot of crazy characters, it does matter.



GB: In talking to Tim Burton, it's clear he considered the challenge in adapting the source material was the lack of a strong narrative arc.

DE: Well, you have to realize this isn't "Alice in Wonderland" from Lewis Carroll's book. It isn't that story up on the screen in any way, shape or form. It's really taking the characters and putting them in a whole new story. It's actually more like a sequel. We start off with Alice as a little girl, but we quickly pick up on Alice 10 years later. She's returning to Wonderland and there is the story. Is it or isn't it the right Alice that they have brought down to Wonderland?

GB: Sure, I think that's become especially clear with the latest trailer. I have to say that, personally, it makes me much more interested in the film. Watching a pure retelling of familiar stories isn't especially alluring to me.

DE: No one can dispute the brilliance of the book. To put that on the screen? That would be really interesting, but it's hard to say what kind of movie it would make, you know, for an hour-and-a-half. So they came up with a concept: Alice is [almost] 20, and she's going to chase the rabbit down the hole and you're going to see all the same stuff, but you also hear these voices. "Is it her?" "It doesn't look like her." "I'm telling you it's her." And then she has to find out if it's a mistake, if she's the right Alice or not. She's been brought there for a purpose. But you still have all the same stuff [as far as imagery] with the Mad Hatter and the tea party and everything.

GB: I think an older Alice makes the film more interesting right off the bat.

DE: Yes, and Mia [Wasikowska, the Australian newcomer] is wonderful as Alice. I had never seen her in anything before. She's a great Alice. She really is like a child-woman, a child and a woman both. She has a wonderful simplicity but she has to go through this emotional growth in the story. And Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, well, that's a slam dunk. When Johnny gets in this type of role he really has fun with it. The movie is a treat and a feast for the eyes. It was fun to do even though it was intense. I don't mind intense. When you're geared up for it and you're expecting it, it's 'OK, let me have it, I'm ready."

GB: You've worked with Tim Burton on more than a dozen film projects, including some of his signature films -- the two "Batman" films, "Beetlejuice," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Edward Scissorhands" -- and I'm curious how your collaboration has changed through the years? Either in rhythm or approach?

DE: The joy of working with Tim is and always has been his unpredictability. I never know how he is going to react to something. People say, "Oh, you've worked with him so long, you must know when you write something that he will love it." It's quite the contrary. I've never found the secret, magic key. He started unpredictable and he is extremely unpredictable for me still. In that is also the joy. Over the years, his favorite stuff has often been the stuff I played for him as an afterthought. He gravitates to the areas that others directors do not allow. Like the character Edward Scissorhands having a theme which is almost Eastern European Jewish. A lot of directors would have said, 'Hey, wait a minute, Edward's not Jewish and he's not from Europe." Tim doesn't ask these types of questions. He responds completely viscerally to everything and immediately likes it or doesn't like it. I have to figure out why. Honestly, after 25 years I can't say that he is any easier for me to work with or any more predictable, and that actually is what I look forward to the most in our collaboration.

PHOTO: Danny Elfman at his home in Hancock Park in 2003. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times).

Elfman's "Wonderland" Soundtrack

Danny Elfman's soundtrack for Alice in Wonderland is now available to pre-order at Amazon.com. This album will only feature the score from the film, and not the songs on the Almost Alice CD.

The original motion picture soundtrack and Almost Alice will both be available on Tuesday, March 2nd.

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)

MoMA's Tim Burton Video Interview

In this video interview, Tim Burton shows us plenty of his previously unseen artwork (although he never considered it artwork before), and discusses his opening art exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, why sketches matter for his filmmaking, a movie he would bring to a desert island, why he wears striped socks, and much more:




All images courtesy of Tim Burton and © 2009 Tim Burton
Films stills courtesy of Photofest and the MoMA Film Stills Archive

Filmed by The People's DP Inc
Ed Roy, Carlos Germosen, Keenya Scott, Paul Reed
Edited by David Shuff
Music by Danny Elfman

© 2009 The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Tim Burton's MoMA Spot

Here's a fun little spot for Burton's upcoming MoMA exhibition, featuring stop-motion animation:



Directed by Tim Burton
Produced by Mackinnon and Saunders
CGI Animation: Flix Facilities
Animation: Chris Tichborne
Lighting Camera: Martin Kelly
Music by Danny Elfman

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!

Interview with "9" Composer Deborah Lurie

FilmMusicMag.com has an audio interview with Deborah Lurie. She talks about composing the score for 9, her collaborations with Danny Elfman (who provided themes for the animated movie), her musical background, synaesthesia, being a rare female film composer, and more.



You can hear a few audio samples from the soundtrack of 9 and pre-order the CD on Amazon.com (which will be available on September 1st).

Limited Edition Expanded "Mars Attacks!" Score

There are less than 500 copies of this brand-new expanded rerelease of Danny Elfman's Mars Attacks! score! La-La Land Records has completely remastered all 74 minutes and 48 seconds of orchestral score from the film. The album contains linear notes by Dan Goldwasser and features comments from Elfman.

The price is $19.98, and units are going fast!

Special rerelease produced by MV Gerhard and remastered by James Nelson.

Click the La-La Land Records link to read more and hear some sample tracks.

"9" Score Update

Collaborators Danny Elfman and Deborah Lurie
during a recording session for Deep Sea 3D IMAX (2006)

Previously, it was announced by Apple that Danny Elfman would do the score for the upcoming post-apocalyptic, Tim Burton-produced animated feature 9 on his own. It turns out that that information was partly accurate.

Deborah Lurie, a frequent collaborator of Elfman, just finished scoring and recording the music for the upcoming animated film. Elfman supplied some main themes for Lurie to expand upon.

Lurie and Elfman both composed the music for the nature documentary Deep Sea 3D IMAX in 2006. She also supplied additional music for 2008's Wanted, which was directed by 9-producer Timur Bekmambatov. Lurie has also worked on Elfman's orchestrations for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlotte's Web, and Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Elfman is currently working on the scores for Terminator IV, The Wolfman, and, in the near future, Alice in Wonderland.

9, directed by Shane Acker, will be released on September 9th, 2009.

"9" Teaser Trailer Released

The teaser trailer for the upcoming computer-animated film 9 (based on the Academy Award-nominated short of the same name) has been released (view it in HD on Apple's website).

Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambatov (Nightwatch, Wanted) are producing the film, which will be directed by Shane Acker (who directed the original 2005 short).

The official plot synopsis included Elijah Wood as the character 9, Jennifer Connelly as the warrior 7, Martin Landau (who was in Burton's Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow) playing the role of the aged inventor 2, Crispin Glover playing the visionary artist 6 (who will be in Burton's Alice in Wonderland), Christopher Plummer as war veteran 1, and John C. Reilly as 5, the mechanic.

Danny Elfman will also be composing music for the film, according to the official synopsis on Apple's trailer website. Pamela Pettler (co-writer of Corpse Bride) co-wrote the screenplay.

The epic science-fiction action-adventure was originally intended to be released at the end of this year. Instead, Focus Features has pushed it back to September 9th, 2009 (9-9-09, get it?).

You can also watch a (slightly) lower quality version of the HD teaser trailer on YouTube:

Elfman To Do "Wonderland"

Danny Elfman confirmed in Hollywood on October 17th that he will be working on Alice in Wonderland.

No official word on him composing the score for Frankenweenie yet, though.

Video courtesy of dlfreak (here's the original page).

Amy Lee Performs "Sally's Song"

In case you missed it a few days ago, Amy Lee was recently on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to promote the new tribute album "Nightmare Revisited." In this video clip, she performs "Sally's Song" from The Nightmare Before Christmas, composed, of course, by Danny Elfman.



Click here for the original YouTube page.

New "Beetlejuice" DVD Available

Beetlejuice has returned on DVD and Blu-Ray to commemorate the film's 20th anniversary. Special features (which are far too sparse, unfortunately) include the music-only track featuring every note of Danny Elfman's score and three episodes of the animated TV series based on the comedic feature film.

"Nightmare Revisited" CD Samples and Artwork

Artwork and audio samples for the upcoming "Nightmare Revisited" CD are on Disney Music. The songs and score from the soundtrack of The Nightmare Before Christmas are covered by a plethora of artists in a variety of genres, including punk, alternative rock, electronica, orchestral, and even a flamenco dance version of "Oogie Boogie's Song," to name a few of the many styles. Danny Elfman also narrates the Opening and Closing segments over his original score.

Here's the link to listen to the clips, and the track list:



1. Overture - DeVotchka
2. Opening - Danny Elfman
3. This Is Halloween - Marilyn Manson
4. Jack's Lament - The All-American Rejects
5. Doctor Finkelstein/In the Forest - Amiina
6. What's This? - Flyleaf
7. Town Meeting Song - Polyphonic Spree
8. Jack and Sally Montage - The Vitamin String Quartet
9. Jack's Obsession - Sparklehorse
10. Kidnap the Sandy Claws - Korn
11. Making Christmas - Rise Against
12. Nabbed - Yoshida Brothers
13. Oogie Boogie's Song - Rodrigo y Gabriela
14. Sally's Song - Amy Lee
15. Christmas Eve Montage - RJD2
16. Poor Jack - Plain White T's
17. To the Rescue - Datarock
18. Finale/Reprise - Shiny Toy Guns
19. Closing - Danny Elfman
20. End Title - The Album Leaf



"Nightmare Revisited" will be available to purchase on September 30th, 2008. You can pre-order it on Amazon.com.

Additional Henry Selick Interview

We've got some more interview with The Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick here. In this detailed Q&A, Selick discusses difficult and challenging scenes to animate, whether Walt would've approved of his macabre holiday treat, and the possibilities of returning to Halloween Town, among other topics.

Do you find it ironic that Nightmare has become a Disney property when it was originally released as a Touchstone Picture? When did you start seeing the shift with Disney embracing the film?

Henry Selick: "Yes. Nightmare was just too different from what Disney was having success with. Although I don't think Walt Disney himself would have had a problem with it being labeled a Disney film. Just check out some of the sequences from Fantasia, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ward Kimball's goons and monsters in Sleeping Beauty etc. and you'll see Nightmare and its characters were carrying on in the same tradition. While it took some time, about 7 years ago when the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland was transformed into a Nightmare extravaganza, we then felt we were truly loved by the Disney label."

Who is your personal favorite character in Nightmare Before Christmas?

Henry Selick: "The one I'm closest to is Jack Skellington because, as a director, you often have to act out various characters for your animators. Since I resemble Jack Skellington more than the other characters, I think more of my gestures got into Jack."

Was there resistance at first to do Nightmare as stop-motion instead of cel animation?

Henry Selick: "There was resistance to doing it at all at first. When Tim first pitched it to Disney in the early 1980s, there was resistance to the project in any medium. But 10 years later when the film was made, there was never an issue about it being stop-motion. It was simply a case of that is how Tim conceived it."

How early in the process was Oogie Boogie developed?

Henry Selick: "Oogie started out as the size of a pillowcase and not that scary or evil or important, but as the story developed I felt the need to grow him in both his scale and his role. Ultimately, Danny Elfman's Oogie Boogie song is what truly defined his character as the villain and Jack's role was fully defined as a misguided hero."

How difficult was it to do the Oogie Boogie sequence? With all the neon, it seems like it was one of the more complicated set pieces in the film. If not, what was the most difficult sequence to achieve?

Henry Selick: "It was not the neon that was difficult. It was Oogie Boogie himself. He was a huge puppet, very difficult to muscle around. It was almost as if he was trying to push back while you were animating him."

Was there a character created for Nightmare that you loved that never made it past the conceptual stage?

Henry Selick: "No, we were desperate to flesh out the town. After you go through the mummy and vampires etc it gets slim. We used everything we came up with."

What was the most intricate scene to complete?

Henry Selick: "While virtually every bit of the stop-motion animation was challenging, there were several particularly difficult scenes to pull off. One began where Jack is shot out of the sky with his Skellington reindeer flying over head and being shot down and lands in the arms of the angel statue in a graveyard and goes on to sing a song there while the camera continuously circles him. The opening song of the film This is Halloween was monstrously challenging as it introduced all the Halloween Town monsters to the audience."

Have you ever considered returning to the world of Nightmare Before Christmas?

Henry Selick: "There has been discussions over the years about a possible sequel. When those discussions came up about 7 years ago, it was unsettling that it was suggested this time it would have to be done in CG. I'm glad that did not happen. But as far as coming up ideas for a sequel, you have to admit there are a lot of other great holidays for Jack Skellington to take over."

What was the biggest lesson you carried away from the Nightmare Before Christmas experience?

Henry Selick: "When possible always work with geniuses like Tim Burton who are not only creatively inspiring, but in his case also have the clout to protect the film from the studio system."

You can read the full interview here.

Henry Selick Talks "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

Henry Selick and Tim Burton

Celebrating the 15th anniversary of The Nightmare Before Christmas, MovieWeb.com has a brand new interview with director Henry Selick online. In it, Selick discusses working with Tim Burton, the making of Nightmare, his upcoming film Coraline, and much more. The entire interview is below:

Does a film like Nightmare naturally looking amazing in high def or does the translation and remastering take a lot of work?

Henry Selick: The fact is the film was originally shot in 35mm film, each image is pristine with no blur, so the source material is already high def , more so than a standard film, so the mastering is less of a challenge.

The DVD already makes the animation look so clear. What new details will we notice in Blu-Ray?

Henry Selick: Some of the details that may become apparent in Blu-ray are that we tried to add texture to all the characters and backgrounds as if they were an engraving, for example you'll see that Jack's stripes on his suit are hand drawn, and the hills behind also have hand made textures built into them. Additional details would be things like the leaves rhat Sallie is stuffed with, the bugs inside Oogie Boogie. Look into the shadow areas, there are hidden details there that have never shown up on previous DVD but will show up on the Blu-ray.

As a kid I was mesmerized by the old 7th voyage of Sinbad (Ray) Harryhausen film. What stop-motion film got you as a kid and inspired your career path?

Henry Selick: The early Harryhausen, Jason and the Argonauts in particular. I also love the Seventh Voyage, the best cyclops that will ever be done. There was just this wonderful sense that Harryhausen's monsters were real, despite the sort of lurching quality they had, they had an undeniable reality to them.

I read it took over three years of your life, and involved a small army of ILM artists, can you share with fans just how labor intensive this was for you, and what was the hardest element in finishing the film? Also, did you use any other effects houses than ILM?

Henry Selick: ILM are the ones who did the 3D adaption, not the original film. We hired several ILM veterans to work on the original film however. Virtually all animation is labor intensive, since it was what I do it did not seem any harder than others. The small army topped out at under 200 people. Because the range of talents and abilities, there was always something amazing and wonderful to see virtually every day, so that the long journey of production was reinspired regularly. We used Disney's fledgling effects unit in Burbank and they created the very simple snow that falls at the end of the film. Other than that it was all pretty much done by hand in house.

Has it surprised you how much Nightmare has been absorbed into the pop culture stratosphere -- goth kids at Hot Topic wearing Jack belts and arm bands and the like?

Henry Selick: At this point, 15 years later after the original release, I've grown used to seeing Jack and Sallie turn up all over the place. But this did not happen right away it has taken years for our initial cult audience to grow into a pop culture phenomenon. Just this past Halloween, we had some girls show up at the house in NBChristmas costumes and my wife and I pointed out one of the original Jack Skellington and the Skellington Reindeer which was in our office, it blew their minds and they screamed with joy, taking their handfuls of candy and went away just full of life.

What is it about stop-motion that originally captured your attention?

Henry Selick: I love all sorts of animation, probably the most beautiful would be the tradtional hand drawn animation that Disney is known for. Stop-motion has a certain "grittieness" and is filled with imperfections, and yet their is an undeniable truth, that what you see really exits, even it if is posed by hand, 24 times a second. This truth is what I find most attractive about stop-motion animation.

What was the biggest lesson you carried away from the The Nightmare Before Christmas experience?

Henry Selick: When possible always work with geniuses like Tim Burton, who are not only creatively inspiring but in his case, also have the clout to protect the film from the studio system.

How was your working relationship with Tim Burton?

Henry Selick: Working with Tim was great, he came up with a brilliant idea, designed the main characters, fleshed out the story, got Danny Elfman to write a bunch of great songs. He got the project on its feet and then stood back and watched us fly with it. Tim, who made two live-action features in L.A. while we were in San Francisco making Nightmare, was kept in the loop throughout the process, reviewing storyboards and animation. When we completed the film Tim came in with his editor Chris [Lebenzon] to pace up the film and make a particular story adjust to make Lock, Shock, and Barrel just a touch nicer.

How did you originally come on board to this project?

Henry Selick: I was working with Tim at Disney in the early 1980s when he first conceived the poem and idea of Jack Skellingon taking over Christmas. Sculptor Rick Heinrichs took the original characters designed by Tim: Jack, Zero and Sandy Claws and created beautiful maquettes that showed what they'd be like as stop motion characters. It was originally pitched to Disney as a TV special but was rejected. I had moved to Northern California where I worked as storyboard artist and a stop motion filmmaker with short flims, TV commericals and MTV. While Tim went on to achieve great success in live action. I got a call from Rick and he said there was something important we must talk about in person. He flew to San Francisco and said Tim is making The Nightmare Before Christmas and wants you to direct it. I met with Tim and Danny Elfman and my small crew that I had been working with immediately became supervisors on a feature film.

How is the directing process on a stop-motion film different from directing live-action or even regular animation?

Henry Selick: Directing stop motion animation is actually a sort of combination of directing live action and 'regular' animation. We have real sets, real lights, real cameras. There is a costume department, a hair department and our puppets are the actors. Like regular animation it is a divide and conquer. It is all divided up into manageable pieces, edited in storyboards before the movie is made and then shot a frame a time like traditional animation.

What is the next step in stop-motion technology? We've read about the new stereoscopic dual digital camera rig you're using on Coraline. How will the end result be different from The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Henry Selick: Shooting stereoscopically just gives you more of what is there, just a little more sense of the reality of this medium, it does not live in the computer nor is it a series of drawings, it's an actual real set and puppets.

What major changes have occurred in this kind of filmmaking in the time between The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline?

Henry Selick: Mainly it is the ability to capture images in a computer while you shoot. When we did Nightmare we could capture 2 images total. Now you can shoot the whole scene and play it back while you animate. This assists the animator but actually slows down the process because they keep checking it every time they shoot a new frame. Computers have slowed down what is already a time consuming process.

How would you compare adapting Neil Gaiman in Coraline with adapting Tim Burton's designs on Nightmare?

Henry Selick: I think that both Tim and Neil are extremely imaginative and real creators. In Tim's case he is a visual artist so the look of the film came from his sensibilities. Neil is not a visual artist, so I created the visual look of Coraline, but as far as sensibilities, I think there is a little more whimsy in Tim's work, a little more sweet with the sours, comfort with the scary, but I'd probaly exclude Sweeney Todd. Neil goes a little more darker, primal like a Grimms fairytale.

How many of the original puppets do you have in your house?

Henry Selick: The main one I have is Jack Skelligton as Santa with his Skeleton Reindeer in his sled led by Zero. It is prominently displayed in my office where occasional trick or treaters get let IF they are wearing The Nightmare Before Christmas attire.

The Nightmare Before Christmas comes back to DVD in a Collector's Edition, Ultimate Collector's Edition and Blu-Ray edition on August 26.

"Nightmare" DVD Preview Videos

In recognition of the new special collector's edition DVD release of The Nightmare Before Christmas, available next week, a few video clips are available online for your viewing.

ComingSoon.net has a video clip featuring footage of the voice actors behind the film. In it, Ken Page demonstrates his tremendous voice while playing the part of Oogie Boogie, and Danny Elfman and Catherine O'hara (who provided the voices for Sally and Lock) work together.

ShockTillYouDrop.com has three more videos to view. The first is a preview of Jack's Haunted Mansion Holiday Tour and the making of the Disney ride. The second clip, entitled "The Process," focuses on the methods of shooting and animating the film, as told by director Henry Selick and crew members. And the third clip is an animated excerpt of Tim Burton's original poem that inspired the film, narrated by cinema legend Christopher Lee.

New "Nightmare" Covers CD

Bulletin.biz reports that a new CD featuring covers of all of the tracks from the soundtrack of The Nightmare Before Christmas will be released on September 30th, in recognition of the film's 15th anniversary. Like the previous soundtrack release, this will feature Marilyn Manson's cover of "This is Halloween." But nearly all of the other tracks on the album will be new recordings by other groups. The two tracks with Danny Elfman's name beside them will be re-recordings by the composer himself.

Here is the complete track listing:


1. Overture – DeVotchka
2. Opening – Danny Elfman
3. This Is Halloween – Marilyn Manson
4. Jack's Lament – All American Rejects
5. Doctor Finkelstein/In The Forest – Amiina
6. What's This? - Flyleaf
7. Town Meeting Song – Polyphonic Spree
8. Jack And Sally Montage – The Vitamin String Quartet
9. Jack's Obsession - Sparklehorse
10. Kidnap The Sandy Claws - Korn
11. Making Christmas – Rise Against
12. Nabbed – Yoshida Brothers
13. Sally's Song – Amy Lee
14. Christmas Eve Montage – RJD2
15. Poor Jack – Plain White Ts
16. To The Rescue – Datarock
17. Finale/Reprise – Shiny Toy Guns
18. Closing – Danny Elfman
19. End Title – The Album Leaf
20. Oogie Boogie’s Song – Rodrigo y Gabriela


The trailer of the film will be a bonus feature on the CD.

"Music from the Films of Tim Burton" -- Now Available

The new CD featuring music from the films of Tim Burton is now available on iTunes and in stores. The album features classic scores by Danny Elfman, the theme from Ed Wood by Howard Shore, and four instrumental tracks from songs from Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The music has been performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir.

Here is the track list:

1. Sweeney Todd - Main Titles
2. Sweeney Todd - No Place Like London
3. Sweeney Todd - A Little Priest
4. Sweeney Todd - Johanna
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas - Christmas Eve Montage
6. Corpse Bride - The Piano Duet/Victor's Piano Solo
7. Sleepy Hollow - End Titles
8. Batman - Theme/Flowers/Love Theme/The Joker's Poem/Up the Cathedral/Waltz to the Death/The Final Confrontation
9. Batman Returns - End Titles
10. Edward Scissorhands - Main Theme/Ice Dance
11. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Finale
12. Beetlejuice
13. Pee-wee's Big Adventure - Breakfast Machine
14. Ed Wood - Main Theme
15. Mars Attacks!


You can hear samples of the CD and purchase the album on Amazon.com.

Update on New "Nightmare" DVDs

What's this? It's something new!...

Walt Disney Home Entertainment has released information regarding the upcoming DVD release of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The film will be available as a two-disc standard DVD and a single-disc Blu-ray version.

The extras include:

• A Special Introduction by Tim Burton
• What's This? Jack's Haunted Mansion Holiday Tour: Viewers choose the way they want to tour Disneyland's Holiday Haunted Mansion. "On Track" explores a tricked-out version of the Haunted Mansion, while "Off Track" reveals what went into creating all the creepy fun.
• Tim Burton's Original poem narrated by Christopher Lee: Tim Burton's poem that inspired the creation of the movie comes to creepy life as performed by legendary actor Christopher Lee.
• Film Commentary: Commentary by producer and writer Tim Burton, director Henry Selick and composer Danny Elfman.
• Introduction To Frankenweenie!: A new un-cut version introduction by Tim Burton.
• The Making of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Go behind the scenes of the very first full-length stop motion animated movie with the filmmakers.
• The Worlds of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Witness the creation of the film's richly imagined dreamscapes, including Halloween Town, Christmas Town and the Real World.
• Deleted Scenes
• Storyboard to Film Comparison
• Original Theatrical Trailers and Posters
• Tim Burton's Complete Short Film Vincent.

No significant featurettes seem to be missing from this release, set for August 26th, 2008, with the exception of the audio commentary track which featured Henry Selick and director of photography Pete Kozachik. That extra was on the earlier DVD release.

All of these features will be available on both the two-disc standard DVD and the Blu-ray version, with the exception of the special introduction by Tim Burton to the film, which is Blu-ray exclusive.

For tech buffs, the specs include 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video (1.66:1), English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Surround and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio (both 48kHz/24-bit), and English, French and Spanish subtitles.

That immensely expensive DVD collector's pack that was mentioned in the original TBC News article will be comprised of the two-disc standard DVD version and an individually numbered and hand-painted bust of Jack Skellington. Equipped with his Sandy Claws hat and beard, the collectible Jack figurine will have a sound chip built into it, which plays quotes from the movie.

Also, in a first for Disney, both the normal DVD and Blu-ray versions will come with a digital copy of the movie -- called a "Disneyfile" -- which will be compatible with both iTunes and Windows Media Player.

Interesting that the DVD will include an introduction to Frankenweenie. This is probably just a video introduction to the original live-action short film by Burton from 1984. But might it also hint at a preview of Burton's upcoming stop-motion, feature-length version of the movie?... Well, I guess we shouldn't get too greedy...

No cover art yet, but we'll keep you posted!

New "Nightmare Before Christmas" DVDs?!

According to videobusiness.com, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will launch its first embedded digital copy within the standard DVD and Blu-Ray releases of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Collector's Edition on August 26th, 2008.

Special features on this upcoming release include commentary by producer/creator Tim Burton, director Henry Selick, and composer/lyricist and the singing voice of Jack Skellington, Danny Elfman. The original poem written by Burton will also be read by Burton collaborator and horror movie legend Christopher Lee. There will also be a video tour of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the stop-motion cult classic, and Burton's original short film from 1982, Vincent, narrated by Burton's idol, Vincent Price, and many other bonus materials.

The Blu-Ray edition will also feature an exclusive introduction by Tim Burton.

This new release of Nightmare will be available as a two-disc standard DVD ($32.99), a single-disc Blu-Ray version ($39.99), and a limited edition Ultimate Collector's standard DVD set ($179.99), states the website.

We hope that this exciting news is indeed true, and that more information will come along in the near future.

Updates on New "Beetlejuice" DVDs

Warner Bros. has now stated the final bonus features on the upcoming Beetlejuice: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition DVD, as well as the cover art for the standard DVD and Blu-Ray versions.

In addition to three episodes from the Beetlejuice animated series, the DVD will include the theatrical trailer for Beetlejuice, the theatrical trailer for Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and a music-only audio track focusing on the score by Danny Elfman (like the previous DVD release 10 years ago). It will also be presented in a special lenticular cover.

Both the regular Region 1 DVD and Blu-Ray versions will be available on September 16th, 2008.

You can see larger versions of the cover art here.

New "Beetlejuice" DVD This September

The official poster for Beetlejuice.
No cover art for the new DVD release is available yet.

Is a new special edition DVD of Tim Burton's classic Beetlejuice coming out this September?! Yes and no. This won't be the Beetlejuice 20th anniversary DVD release of your dreams, with behind-the-scenes featurettes galore and an audio commentary track or two, from the looks of it.

Instead, this upcoming DVD, Warner Bros. has stated, will feature the 1988 macabre comedy in a newly restored and clear presentation. Also, it will include three episodes from the animated series based on the film, which was produced by Burton and David Geffen:

-"A-Ha" from Season One
-"Skeletons in the Closet" from Season Two
-"Spooky Boo-tique" from Season Two

The animated series.

The so-called "Beetlejuice (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)" will be released on standard DVD (for roughly $20) and high-definition Blu-Ray DVD ($35) in North America on September 16th, 2008.The Blu-Ray version will also include a sample CD of select tracks from the movie's score by Danny Elfman.

This upcoming DVD release is skimping on the extras for the most part. No confirmation on whether or not it will include the music-only audio track that the original, more primitive DVD release of Beetlejuice from 1998 featured (but most likely, there will not be).

Beetlejuice, released in 1988, was the second feature-length film directed by Burton. It stars Michael Keaton (Batman) in one of his craziest performances, as well as Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Robert Goulet in a brief cameo. Other Burton collaborators in the film include Catherine O'hara and Glenn Shadix (who were both in The Nightmare Before Christmas), Winona Ryder (Edward Scissorhands), and Jeffrey Jones (Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow), among others.