New "Sweeney Todd" Wide Release Date: December 21st!

DreamWorks and Paramount have decided to give Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd a wide release in the United States for Christmas. The original wide release date was January 11th, 2008, assuming that the film didn't have the potential to be a commercial success. But some studio executives saw some clips of the upcoming movie, and realized the film has much broader appeal than they assumed before (despite it being a violent musical). Variety wrote, "The hope is that "Sweeney" will be the sort of signature role for Depp that Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise was." However, the article stated that, "at the same time, DreamWorks and Paramount aren't likely to go out with "Sweeney." The studios aren't planning on releasing the film in more than 1,500 theaters in the United States on opening weekend.

Rumors of "Sweeney Todd" Cuts Dismissed

Much fuss has been appearing online saying that Warner Bros. wanted Tim Burton to cut some of the more gorey and bloody scenes from Sweeney Todd in order for the film to receive a PG-13 rating by the MPAA. But Variety has stated that these claims are false. "DreamWorks has always said it was an R," says Anne Thompson of Variety. "Anyone who knows the show knows that it involves killing and meat pies."

Mark Salisbury, who is writing the companion book to Sweeney Todd, also dismissed the rumors of Todd receiving a post-production slashing. Salisbury wrote on his blog, "all those reports of Burton being asked to cut back on the blood in the movie, don't believe a word of it."

Happy Birthday, Mr. Burton!

Tim Burton celebrated his birthday on Saturday, August 25th, 2007. The director is now 49 years old.

Variety Interviews Tim Burton

Tim Burton was interviewed by Variety on Friday, August 24th, 2007. In the interview, Burton discussed musicals, Sweeney Todd, and Johnny Depp.

Burton said that his favorite musical truly is "Sweeney Todd," because he isn't much of a fan of many musicals. "I do remember liking 'Guys and Dolls,'" the director recalls, "In that one, they don't burst into song. There's a design in the language that fits together with the music and they work together. I don't think that's the case with a lot of musicals."

The filmmaker had seen "Sweeney Todd" performed before, and adored it. "I saw it in London when it first played here. In fact, I saw it several nights in a row." But Burton did not pursue the idea of bringing "Todd" to the big screen at first. "Things happen and you drift into other things. But it is strange; I was looking at some sketches I did many years ago, and the sketches looked like Johnny and Helena in the film. Not that this would have happened several years ago. They weren't old enough."

Burton went on to say that "Sweeney Todd," "doesn't seem like a musical." He continued, saying, "In fact, it's like a silent movie with music. Like an old horror movie. The emotions come through. Johnny enjoyed that silent-actor style of acting. It was liberating."

The director remarked on Depp again. "I told Stephen: 'I know Johnny. I know he wouldn't say yes if he couldn't do it.' "

Mark Salisbury Has Written Companion Book to "Sweeney Todd"

Mark Salisbury, who has interviewed Tim Burton for the book, Burton on Burton, and wrote who the companion book to the 2005 stop-motion film, Corpse Bride, has written the companion book to Burton's upcoming Sweeney Todd.






Salisbury said, "Call me biased regarding Tim Burton, if you like, on account of my long-standing relationship with the man forged through my many years of interviewing him for my book Burton On Burton, but I'm the first to admit I disliked most of his Planet Of The Apes. That said, I love almost everything else he's made, even Mars Attacks which, to my mind, is a work of subversive genius that will, in the not too distant future, finally get the recognition it truly deserves."



He continued optimistically, saying, "There's been some carping in certain online quarters about how Burton's lost it, and about how this is going to be a disaster. Wrong. Wrong. WRONG. I'm not really at liberty to say much about Sweeney, but, take it from me, this is going to be something very special. People are going to be surprised and really blown away when they see what Burton, Depp and co are serving up this time around. Trust me."



As with the book, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride: An Invitation to the Wedding, Tim Burton has provided a foreward to Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

The book is to be published by Titan Books, and will be available on December 4th, 2007.

Lisa Marie Told to Revise Lawsuit Against Tim Burton

The Associated Press has reported that, on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007, Tim Burton's ex-girlfriend, Lisa Marie, was told to revise her lawsuit against the director. The article went into detail, saying, "a judge ruled it didn't sufficiently support claims that Burton had backed out of a promise to financially support her. " Marie sued in December 2006, alleging that Burton used fraud to "cheat her out of assets he promised to share with her during their nearly 10-year, live-in relationship." Burton's attorneys said that the director already gave Marie $5 million to sign the contract, "which released him from any further claims to his assets." The judge stated that Marie and her attorneys have ten days to revise the action.



Marie was in four of Burton's films: Ed Wood (1994), Mars Attacks (1996), Sleepy Hollow (1999), and Planet of the Apes (2001).




Photo provided by the Associated Press. This picture was taken at the 47th International Film Festival in Berlin on Saturday, February 22nd, 1997, during a press conference for Mars Attacks.

Another "Sweeney Todd" Poster

The item was on sale on eBay a few days ago. Check it out:

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.

New Photo of Depp and Burton on Set of "Sweeney Todd"

IGN.com has released the first photo of Tim Burton on Johnny Depp on the set of "Sweeney Todd." Behold!:

"Sweeney Todd" to be Rated "R" in USA

EW.com has confirmed that Sweeney Todd will be given the MPAA rating of "R" in the USA. The article goes on to mention Tim Burton's impression on making the film, which he said was one of his most challenging yet. ''To do an R-rated musical with 70 percent singing was kinda like, 'Well, I haven't done that one before.' It's exciting to keep surprising yourself and see what happens," the director says.

Helena Bonham Carter also went on to describe working on the film, saying how training for the demaning Sondheim songs was more like getting ready for a "sport." Also, the actress did extensive hours of baking in preparation for the movie musical. ''I had to do accelerated lessons at pie making,'' she says. ''Not only that, but then you had to do it to syncopated Sondheim rhythm and sing at the same time. I had to become very coordinated.'' Bonham Carter, however, was very enthusiastic about the look of her creepy character. ''The look is fantastic,'' the actress says. ''I'd wear this makeup anyway. But it might start a whole craze.'' Let's just hope her recipes don't catch on."

The film is due for a limited US release on December 21st, 2007, just in time for Christmas. It may not sound like a jolly holiday film, but Burton joked, ''Red is a color at Christmas." Although he wouldn't be averse to it being billed as a Valentine's Day film, either. ''For me, it sort of sums up relationships,'' says Burton. ''Although people might be horrified by that.''

Read on for more details!

New Pic of "Sweeney Todd"

The first picture of Burton's upcoming Sweeney Todd has been released!:

Helena Bonham Carter Pregnant

Pictures taken of Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, and their three-year-old son, Billy Ray, on a beach in Italy on August 6th, 2007, show Bonham Carter is pregnant with the couple's second child. The couple officially announced their expected child the next day. Photos provided by www.helena-world.com.

Burton and Bonham Carter Expecting Second Child!

Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter have announced that they are expecting a second child later this year. The due date is December 7th, 2007. Their first child, Billy Ray Burton, was born in October 2003.




Bonham Carter's representative, Karon Maskill, has said, "[they] are very happy to be expecting their second child later this year." . Bonham Carter has said that she felt Burton put a spell on her when they first met. "I met Tim again at my brother's house, and magic happened," she said to the Radio Times. "It was like someone taking my world and twisting it a crucial 15 degrees."


Photo by: Richard Young / startraks