While having Tim Burton working on Alice in Wonderland is an obvious plus, having a solid musical score is still required. It's a dark fantasy, so we're going to need something dark and brassy. Who to turn to for such a sound?
While there are quite a few big name composers I can think of, it still comes as no surprise that Tim Burton is looking to Danny Elfman to at least create a part of the film's score.
Straight from the horse's mouth, Elfman has confirmed his involvement on Alice in Wonderland during a panel at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood.
source
Do eye-popping effects & an emotional thru-line really hold the key to audiences connecting with “Alice” ?
In response to Alice in Wonderland touring exhibit article, Cheshire Brat wrote in to say:
To be honest, no.
To be fair to Mr. Burton, he’s still in the middle of working on Disney’s new Digital 3D version of “Alice in Wonderland.” And as soon as Tim finished up with all of his promotional obligations at this year’s Comic-Con, he then rushed back to London. Where Burton has at least another five months worth of work to do yet on this Walt Disney Pictures release.
"This is the first time I've dealt with a lot of green screen," Burton said. "Because we're using so many different techniques on this film, it takes a very long time to get to a finished shot. So I'll be working on "Alice" right up until the end. Which is a bit scary, but exciting as well.”
But as to how his take on this much beloved children’s tale will be different from all the movies & TV shows that proceed it, Tim talked about he and screenwriter Linda Woolverton have tried to give Lewis Carroll’s stories an emotional thru-line this time around.
“In all of the other versions of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ that I’ve ever seen, I’ve never felt an emotional connection to the material,” Burton explained. “Alice was always this passive little girl who wandered from place to place, meeting one crazy character after another. What Linda and I have tried to do is give this story some sort of emotional grounding.”
Mind you – just as they have in the past – Carroll’s characters will remain weird in Disney’s new movie version of “Alice in Wonderland.” But this time around, they’ll be weird for very specific reasons.
Take – for example – Johnny Depp’s take on the Mad Hatter. Though Burton joked that – in order to get that bright red shock wig that Depp wears in this film – he and Johnny “ … scalped Carrot Top,” Tim explained how these two longtime collaborators took a very methodical approach to creating an all-new version of this iconic character. Having long conversations about how the Hatter should be dressed, even discussing why exactly this character was mad.
“(The Mad Hatter has) been portrayed in animation and in live action before. But in most of those versions, the Hatter is just this one note character,” Burton continued. “And Johnny – just as he always does – dug deeper. He tried to find a grounding for this character, something that you feel, as opposed to just having the Hatter be mad. (Johnny’s) goal was to try and bring out a human side to the strangeness of this character.”
Now add to this that the additional challenge that Tim faced. Given that this new version of “Alice in Wonderland” – when it’s released to theaters in March of 2010 – will be shown in Disney Digital 3D. Which Burton says was a deliberate storytelling choice.
“(Doing this version of “Alice” in 3D) is not a gimmick. I think that (this film-making process) puts you in this world more,” Burton said. “Plus with the Alice material -- the growing & shrinking and the weird kind of spaces & places you’re in (in this story), it just kind of helps with the experience. “
Even so, with all of the effects work that still has be done in order to make this all-new version of “Alice in Wonderland” a truly memorable 3D experience, Burton wasn’t much in a mood to discuss “Dark Shadows,” his next project with Depp.
“Yeah, that’s my next one,” Tim concluded. “If I ever finish this one.”
"You say that Tim Burton wants his version of “Alice in Wonderland” to be different from all the movies & TV shows that proceed it. That this time around, Burton wants to emotionally ground Lewis Carroll’s stories. Did Tim ever explain how he intends on doing that?"
To be honest, no.
To be fair to Mr. Burton, he’s still in the middle of working on Disney’s new Digital 3D version of “Alice in Wonderland.” And as soon as Tim finished up with all of his promotional obligations at this year’s Comic-Con, he then rushed back to London. Where Burton has at least another five months worth of work to do yet on this Walt Disney Pictures release.
"This is the first time I've dealt with a lot of green screen," Burton said. "Because we're using so many different techniques on this film, it takes a very long time to get to a finished shot. So I'll be working on "Alice" right up until the end. Which is a bit scary, but exciting as well.”
But as to how his take on this much beloved children’s tale will be different from all the movies & TV shows that proceed it, Tim talked about he and screenwriter Linda Woolverton have tried to give Lewis Carroll’s stories an emotional thru-line this time around.
“In all of the other versions of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ that I’ve ever seen, I’ve never felt an emotional connection to the material,” Burton explained. “Alice was always this passive little girl who wandered from place to place, meeting one crazy character after another. What Linda and I have tried to do is give this story some sort of emotional grounding.”
Mind you – just as they have in the past – Carroll’s characters will remain weird in Disney’s new movie version of “Alice in Wonderland.” But this time around, they’ll be weird for very specific reasons.
Take – for example – Johnny Depp’s take on the Mad Hatter. Though Burton joked that – in order to get that bright red shock wig that Depp wears in this film – he and Johnny “ … scalped Carrot Top,” Tim explained how these two longtime collaborators took a very methodical approach to creating an all-new version of this iconic character. Having long conversations about how the Hatter should be dressed, even discussing why exactly this character was mad.
“(The Mad Hatter has) been portrayed in animation and in live action before. But in most of those versions, the Hatter is just this one note character,” Burton continued. “And Johnny – just as he always does – dug deeper. He tried to find a grounding for this character, something that you feel, as opposed to just having the Hatter be mad. (Johnny’s) goal was to try and bring out a human side to the strangeness of this character.”
Now add to this that the additional challenge that Tim faced. Given that this new version of “Alice in Wonderland” – when it’s released to theaters in March of 2010 – will be shown in Disney Digital 3D. Which Burton says was a deliberate storytelling choice.
“(Doing this version of “Alice” in 3D) is not a gimmick. I think that (this film-making process) puts you in this world more,” Burton said. “Plus with the Alice material -- the growing & shrinking and the weird kind of spaces & places you’re in (in this story), it just kind of helps with the experience. “
Even so, with all of the effects work that still has be done in order to make this all-new version of “Alice in Wonderland” a truly memorable 3D experience, Burton wasn’t much in a mood to discuss “Dark Shadows,” his next project with Depp.
“Yeah, that’s my next one,” Tim concluded. “If I ever finish this one.”
Tim Burton's descent into the rabbit hole
The director's clip of 'Alice in Wonderland' is cheered at Comic-Con, but he's still as nervous as a Mad Hatter.When Tim Burton, one of Hollywood's most distinctive directors, came to Comic-Con International last week with never-before-seen footage from his upcoming adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland," the audience at the San Diego Convention Center went wild at the sight of Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and other beloved characters from Lewis Carroll's surreal storybook classic.
The rapturous applause, however, did little to assuage Burton's anxiety. "If you saw how much was missing," Burton later said with a laugh, "you'd be nervous too."
Opening day for "Alice" is still seven months away, but Burton, now back in the editing bay in London, might as well have an impatient white rabbit following him around with a ticking pocket watch tucked in his waistcoat. The movie is being made using a combination of live-action, animation and other techniques, creating a logjam of visual effects tasks that will likely keep Burton from finishing until the very last moment.
In assembling a story that borrows from all of Carroll's "Alice" material -- he said the script captured "a lot of the vibe" from the famous nonsensical poem "Jabberwocky," which contains wholly fabricated words and a loosely constructed narrative at best -- he wanted the movie to be more than simply a document of a girl wandering through a surreal landscape; all of the characters needed to have an internal life and to be more richly drawn than in earlier big-screen efforts. Alice, for example, evolves from an astonished naif to empowered action heroine, sporting her very own suit of armor, over the course of the film.
"Every other version I've ever seen, I've never really connected to because it's always just a series of weird events," Burton said. "She's passively wandering through, meeting this weird character, that weird character. It's fine in the books, but the movies always felt like there wasn't anything underneath them. That's what we tried to do. Instead of the Hatter just being weird, [we wanted to] get some kind of character underneath him. That's the goal, is to give the 'Alice' material a little more weight to it."
Burton said his decision to combine live action and animation made the project the most technologically complex he's worked yet. Before filming began, he tried to ensure that the actors would be comfortable reacting to characters and locations that are being rendered only now, during post-production in London, where the director resides with his partner and "Alice" star Helena Bonham Carter, who plays the villainous Red Queen.
"This is the first time I've dealt with a lot of green screen, and it drives you nuts," Burton said. "On a live-action [film], you've got actors, you've got sets and that's what I like. This is almost the opposite of that. After a while you start to get kind of jittery and crazy."
He was particularly grateful for the elaborately detailed sets and costumes that did exist as they helped ground the cast and crew. "We had some reality to hang onto there a little bit. It helps, believe me," he said.
It was Burton's experiences fighting to make artistically risky studio films like "Alice" and 2007's gothic musical "Sweeney Todd" that prompted him to get involved in "9," which he also promoted at Comic-Con. The unusual and inventive film, which arrives in theaters Sept. 9, follows a band of tiny, hand-sewn-looking sock-puppet characters as they struggle to survive in a harrowing, post-apocalyptic landscape. The movie is based on director Shane Acker's Student Academy Award-winning short, and Burton said that when he first saw Acker's work, he was struck by the fact that the director's sensibility was so similar to his own.
He and fellow producer Timur Bekmambetov -- the Russian director who helmed last year's Angelina Jolie action movie "Wanted" -- became sounding boards for Acker; both directors share an agent, Mike Simpson, who introduced them to the 38-year-old filmmaker.
Acker was born in Illinois and attended UCLA, first earning a master's degree in architecture. He later completed another master's in animation (where he made his the original 11-minute version of "9" as his thesis project), before heading to New Zealand to work as an animator on "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
Burton said he was willing to take on any battles that arose over the creative direction of "9," but none materialized. "The kinds of fights I've had in the past on things didn't really manifest themselves on this," he said.
Burton is planning to next direct a "Dark Shadows" movie that will star Depp as lovelorn vampire Barnabas Collins, the tortured soul who originally appeared in the 1960s soap opera of the same name. Before that, though, he'll finish shepherding "Alice" through her many adventures in Wonderland. And time is short.
"Any film you do, you just kind of finish and you wish you could have spent a little bit more time on this or that," he said. "I don't yet know how much at the end of this I will have felt that I've compromised or not. This one could be pretty rough that way."
source
Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland Hand Painted Shoes on eBay
This is a pair of shoes that I have hand-painted myself with acrylic paint.
Based on the upcoming film "Alice in Wonderland" by Tim Burton. A very unique pair.
Size 7 (UK) | Size 40 (European) | Size 9.5 (US)
The left shoe contains detailed paintings of the Queen of Hearts and the talking flowers. The right shoe contains detailed paintings of the mad hatter and the mushroom forest.
These come with white laces.
Also if you would like a commissioned pair of shoes yourself please send me a message on ebay and I will be happy to sort a pair out for you. Any design at all!
Thanks peeps! Really hope you like these, and happy bidding!
Bid Now!
Twenty-Three Preview of Alice in Wonderland
Disney magazine, Disney twenty-three, preview of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland
Disney Plans Alice in Wonderland Game for IPhone
Disney Interactive Studios today announced development of video game adaptations of Tim Buton’s upcoming movie, Alice in Wonderland. The video games take place several years after the original “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass” stories. Alice in Wonderland for Wii, Nintendo DS and Windows-based PC takes players on a topsy-turvy and immersive journey in Underland as Alice finds herself in a world of illusion and magic where nothing is quite like it seems. Alongside her endearing friends –Mad Hatter, March Hare, Cheshire Cat and White Rabbit – players aid Alice to defeat the Red Queen and Jabberwocky. Alice in Wonderland mobile games will begin launching later this year. “These games fully capture the magnificent and whimsical world of Underland while experiencing key moments from the film,” said Craig Relyea, senior vice president of global marketing, Disney Interactive Studios. “More than just a retelling of the movie, Alice in Wonderland introduces fans to an entirely new style of innovative gameplay designed to challenge the puzzle solving skills of older players while making the adventures accessible and enjoyable for the younger crowd. Innovative gameplay and distinct artistic styles on each platform gives players a range of unique and engaging experiences.”
Alice in Wonderland allows players to guide, protect and aid Alice as she journeys through the world of Underland while unraveling the game’s many twisted mysteries. Along the way, players call on a diverse and unique cast of characters such as the Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat who each have unique abilities to help evade traps and solve challenging puzzles. The Mad Hatter can help Alice alter her perception of Underland and take advantage of optical illusions to open up places in the world the player alone would not have noticed. Meanwhile, the Cheshire Cat can use his ability to make himself and objects appear and disappear helping Alice through this strange world. Players must choose wisely when using each of the characters’ powers and combine the abilities to solve more complex puzzles.
The Wii and PC versions follow the film’s epic storyline and introduce new fiction and locations. With an upgradeable combat system, players collect “impossible ideas” to replay levels and unlock Underland’s secrets. Players must carefully select the supporting characters and their abilities to defeat the numerous enemies set forth by the Red Queen and her army of cards, destroy the Jabberwocky and restore Underland back into Wonderland.
The Nintendo DS version will introduce a new twist as players guide Alice alongside her diverse and enduring friends to combat the legions of the Red Queen’s Army. Creating their own path through Underland using an oracle, players lead, protect and help Alice on her quest. The DS version features an innovative art style unique to the platform, a playable character not seen on the home console version, and unique character abilities similar to those of the Wii and PC versions. DSi players will use the system’s camera to detect colors mapped to unlockable content when tasks are completed. Also included in the DS version is DGamer, the online community exclusive to Disney gamers on Nintendo DS, allowing players to connect with others and unlock additional items in their DS game.
Alice in Wonderland will be available for Wii, Nintendo DS and Windows-based PC with the same week as the film release in early 2010.
Disney Interactive Studios is also planning iPhone and iTouch applications. A promo application will release in December, 2009 with the full game releasing next year. Alice in Wonderland: The Mobile Game will take you on an upside-down, inside-out adventure on your phone. The whole world is a puzzle and players must twist and turn their iPhone to have Alice make it through Wonderland safely. Also available on Java/Brew, Android and RIM in February 2010.
source
Alice in Wonderland Trailer --The fans demanded to watch it again!!
Legendary filmmaker Tim Burton took to the stage in front of 6,000 screaming fans to unveil dazzling new 3-D footage from his upcoming "Alice in Wonderland" re-imagining. As he told the crowd, it was his first time at the 40th annual event since he was in art school, when the tiny geek-meeting was a slide show held in a San Diego basement.
As it turned out, another Comic-Con newbie stole his thunder, but since that newbie was longtime collaborator Johnny Depp, Burton didn't mind.
"Oh, yeah," laughed the dark genius behind "Edward Scissorhands," "Sweeney Todd," "Batman" and other classics. "He really saved me there."
Burton was kidding, of course. During the Disney panel hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt — the first ever 3-D panel in the history of Comic-Con, necessitating a huge makeover of Hall H — the director's trippy, technicolored take on "Alice" was so well received that Burton was afforded Comic-Con's greatest honor: The fans demanded to watch it again. But once the world's biggest star walked on stage and waved to the crowd, the fans knew they had received the ultimate three-dimensional treat.
"I was struggling away, and he walks out," Burton said sarcastically of Depp, with whom he has collaborated seven times. "It was good; that was good. I much appreciate it."
Somehow, despite 25 years atop Hollywood since his "Nightmare on Elm Street" debut, Johnny Depp had somehow avoided the world's biggest pop-culture fan gathering until now.
"I think he came [and went] ... I don't know," Burton said, before teasing the fans with another theory: Johnny may still be here in San Diego, walking amongst us in the year's most popular costume. "He probably could have dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow and nobody would have [noticed]. He's just one of many, you know?
"He could be," the director laughed. "There are people commenting, going, 'Look at him. He's a lousy Captain Jack, that guy.' "
source
As it turned out, another Comic-Con newbie stole his thunder, but since that newbie was longtime collaborator Johnny Depp, Burton didn't mind.
"Oh, yeah," laughed the dark genius behind "Edward Scissorhands," "Sweeney Todd," "Batman" and other classics. "He really saved me there."
Burton was kidding, of course. During the Disney panel hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt — the first ever 3-D panel in the history of Comic-Con, necessitating a huge makeover of Hall H — the director's trippy, technicolored take on "Alice" was so well received that Burton was afforded Comic-Con's greatest honor: The fans demanded to watch it again. But once the world's biggest star walked on stage and waved to the crowd, the fans knew they had received the ultimate three-dimensional treat.
"I was struggling away, and he walks out," Burton said sarcastically of Depp, with whom he has collaborated seven times. "It was good; that was good. I much appreciate it."
Somehow, despite 25 years atop Hollywood since his "Nightmare on Elm Street" debut, Johnny Depp had somehow avoided the world's biggest pop-culture fan gathering until now.
"I think he came [and went] ... I don't know," Burton said, before teasing the fans with another theory: Johnny may still be here in San Diego, walking amongst us in the year's most popular costume. "He probably could have dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow and nobody would have [noticed]. He's just one of many, you know?
"He could be," the director laughed. "There are people commenting, going, 'Look at him. He's a lousy Captain Jack, that guy.' "
source
Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland Voted Most Anticipated Fiilm of 2010
The (not even remotely scientific) numbers reveal a surprising result: 70 percent of people are most excited for Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," whose trailer recently premiered and whose production stills have inspired a great deal of debate and ranting on the Internet.
While most of the respondents cited the leading man (either Depp or Robert Pattinson) as the primary reason for wanting to see the film, a surprising number of people said that director Burton was a main contributor to their excitement about "Alice in Wonderland."
source
While most of the respondents cited the leading man (either Depp or Robert Pattinson) as the primary reason for wanting to see the film, a surprising number of people said that director Burton was a main contributor to their excitement about "Alice in Wonderland."
source
Alice in Wonderland Video Game by Disney
Disney to release games based on the upcoming Tim Burton film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland for Wii, PC and DS.Developed by Etranges Libellules in France, The Wii and PC versions follow the film's storyline as well as introducing new fiction and locations. An "upgradeable combat system" is included, as well as a level setup where players collect "impossible ideas" to replay levels and unlock Underland's secrets.
The Nintendo DS version will have players creating their own paths through Underland and DSi owners will even be able to unlock content via camera.
"These games fully capture the magnificent and whimsical world of Underland while experiencing key moments from the film," said Disney marketing man, Craig Relyea in his best PR voice.
More than just a retelling of the movie, Alice in Wonderland introduces fans to an entirely new style of innovative gameplay designed to challenge the puzzle solving skills of older players while making the adventures accessible and enjoyable for the younger crowd. Innovative gameplay and distinct artistic styles on each platform gives players a range of unique and engaging experiences."
It's out for Wii, Nintendo DS, PC and iPhone the same week as the film in early 2010.
source
Q & A with Tim Burton
Depp plays The Mad Hatter in the new film, which debuts in theaters in March 2010. Burton made his first appearance at the giant comic book and pop culture convention here since the 1970s, when Comic-Con involved slides of the "Superman" movie.
The director joked that he brought slides of his vacation because he didn't have much film footage of the new "Alice." He then sat down with Reuters to talk about the new film.
Q: Can you explain your vision for "Alice in Wonderland"?
A: No, because I still have a lot to do. (laughs) I mean, we're trying to make a movie. I just take versions and...because it's kind of like comic material, although I don't know if I've ever seen a movie that I've really liked based on it because it's always kind of been a series of weird events. Everybody's crazy and it's sort of a passive little girl wandering around from episode to episode. So even though the books and the stories are iconic, I've never felt that there was a film that really kind of made it a film, translated from the story to a film. So that's the attempt.
Q: What did you take from Lewis Carroll's source material?
A: It's based on all of Lewis Carroll's material, including the "Jabberwocky Poem." Past "Alice" films were always just a girl wandering around passively with a lot of weird characters. We tried to weave it into a story that has emotion to it and makes sense.
Q: Did you go back and watch past Alice movies?
A: I've seen many of the different versions of "Alice" over the years. I know there was a musical porno movie I remember seeing in the '70s. And lots of other different versions.
Q: Do you think about an audience before making a film?
A: Not really. (laughs) I mean, because I don't think you really can. When I did "Nightmare" ("The Nightmare Before Christmas"), people thought it was too weird for kids, but kids like it a lot. You know I've done Roald Dahl material and his is always weird, but kids like that. Parents often, kind of, forget that kids like weird things. So you try to make it for everybody really, I guess.
Q: What types of technology are you developing for Alice?
A: Well, it seems more just the combination of things. We're kind of using techniques that have been used before. It's just we're mixing them up a bit differently, so that's what's making it sort of different to me -- the combination of live action and animation. We're not really doing motion capture.
Q: What's this experience been like for you so far?
A: This is the first time I've done green screen. It's difficult when you don't have a lot of sets. You try to keep it as lively as possible so that actors can interact as much with each other as possible. Speed and energy are important. It really starts to freak you out after while, not only for the actors but for myself and crew. You start to think, "who are we again, where are we?" There's a lot of moving and grooving.
Q: What does Johnny Depp bring to the Mad Hatter?
A: He likes dressing up. I think with the "Alice in Wonderland" characters, they've often been portrayed as just crazy without much subtext, and I think he tried to bring something, an underlying human quality to the craziness. He tried to understand it a bit more...We try to give each character their own particular craziness. And he's good at sort of exploring that, I guess because he's crazy. I don't know.
Q: What is your relationship like with Depp?
A: We seem to get along well and I've worked with him many times. It's always exciting to see what he brings to something. And it's fun to work with him because it's like it's always something different and new and it's just fun to see. That always is exciting to me.
source
Alice in Wonderland is "a bit of an experiment"
Tim Burton's take on the classic children's book Alice in Wonderland is "a bit of an experiment", he has revealed. Tim Burton says his version of Alice in Wonderland will be unlike any other.The director is in the process of putting together an expensive, 3-D version of Lewis Carroll's famous novel, starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter.
Burton has promised his version will be very different from any other adaptation of the book.
"The goal on this was to try to ground it, make it more of a story, so you're following a girl who is working things out. emotionally, in her own mind." he explained.
"I wanted to try to ground it a bit more and make it more of a movie and story so it's not just a series of wierd events."
Weird is something Burton does very well but with this film he had to get a bigger grasp on technology as he blends live action with animation and computer graphics.
The director said he is not afraid to take risks although admitted the film studio, Disney, may not be impressed to hear they are "experimenting" with the big budget production.
"It's a bit of an experiment that we hope will work out," Burton laughed.
"But it's fun. Look, that's what makes movies exciting, when you don't quite know what you're going to get, you try to get there. And it keeps you scared and excited."
Burton said he found the technology to be both a friend and foe.
"It's frustrating," Burton said. "You like to build sets and have actors. You know, there's something about that process that feels more grounded.
"But, it's new for me and I'm trying to deal with the frustration without too much medication.
"There's an element of not knowing, which keeps me up at night," he continued, "but I'm excited."
'Alice in Wonderland' is set for release in March 2010.
source
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)