Tag Archives: Tim Burton

Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence Thrilled Over ‘Eclectic’ Oscar Mix

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On most days, a phone call at 5 a.m. is an unpleasant, rude awakening but not on Oscar nomination day! Now that the 2013 Academy Award nominees have been announced and the lucky Oscar hopefuls have woken up with the good news, we’re happy to see and share their joyful reactions.

“I’m so honored and grateful for this nomination and to be in the company of such talented actresses,” Best Actress nominee Jennifer Lawrence said in a statement. ” This was a labor of love that we all poured our hearts into and could not be more thankful to The Weinstein Company and Harvey Weinstein for their unyielding support of the film.”

Oscar-winner Denzel Washington was happy to express his thanks for the recognition of his work in “Flight,” Washington said in a statement. “It’s always nice to be asked back to the show, and it will be fun to share the evening with our nominated screenwriter John Gatins.”

One-time host and now a Best Actor nominee Hugh Jackman admitted that he wasn’t even planning on listening to the announcements but fate intervened.

“I hadn’t planned to listen live to the announcements, but when I got into the car this morning to go to work, the driver had the nominations streaming as they were being broadcast,” he said in a statement. “To be honest, it’s very exciting but all a bit surreal, and it hasn’t fully sunk in yet. This is a brilliant awards year that has been defined by an eclectic list of stories that have been told by incredibly talented and courageous filmmakers, and it’s an honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as the other nominees in the Best Actor category.

“I am very pleased that the Academy has chosen to honor the many individuals who were a part of ‘Silver Linings Playbook,’ ” Best Supporting Actor nominee Robert De Niro stated.

The Academy’s youngest nominee to date, 9-year-old Best Actress nominee Quvenzhané Wallis from “Beasts of the Southern Wild” was so excited about her nomination, you could almost hear her jumping for joy through her reaction.

“Everyone who made ‘Beasts’ happen is so happy! Thank you to all you Oscar folks, from me, my mom and my dad,” Wallis said. I am so happy for Benh and Lucy and the gang in Louisiana. Meeting all these great new people is one of the best parts for me. I want to thank my family, friends, fans and everyone so much. Beast it!”

Wallis’ fellow Best Actress nominee Naomi Watts was equally enthusiastic with her response: “I am so thrilled and humbled with this morning’s wonderful news,” she said of her work in “The Impossible” being recognized. “The journey of telling Maria Belon‘s miraculous story of survival has been an incredible experience and I am so grateful for this acknowledgement of our film. I am truly honored.”

“Life of Pi” director Ang Lee was especially over the moon with his film receiving 11 nominations total, including Best Picture and Best Director. “I am deeply honored and frankly a little overwhelmed by all of the nominations that “Life of Pi” has received this morning.

Another director feeling grateful for the Academy’s recognition is Tim Burton, whose pet project “Frankenweenie” received a nod for Best Animated Feature.

“Frankenweenie is a very personal film for me. The idea of telling a feature-length version was in the back of my mind for many years,” Burton said in a statement. “Stop Motion was the perfect medium for this project, and one I’ve always loved for its expressiveness and dimensionality.

Stick with MTV News for everything about the 2013 Oscars including nominees, predictions and full fashion coverage! We’ll be bringing you non-stop coverage until the big night on February 24, when the 85th annual Academy Awards go live from Los Angeles.

‘Frankenweenie’: The Reviews Are In!

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For his latest foray into stop-motion animation, Tim Burton is reanimating “Frankenweenie,” a short film he made for Disney in the 1980s. The movie tells the story of a boy who brings his recently deceased dog backed to life with some unforeseen consequences.

“Frankenweenie” has charmed critics, for the most part, who aren’t counting it among Burton’s best, but find it worthwhile nonetheless.

Here is what the critics are saying about “Frankenweenie”:

The Story
“Victor lives in the well-ordered city of New Holland (a stand-in for suburban Burbank, Calif., where Burton grew up). He is fascinated by filmmaking and science, but Victor’s dad (Martin Short) wants him to spend more time outdoors. The results of that effort lead to Sparky’s accidental death. Devastated when Sparky dies, Victor drags himself to school, where he spends class time sadly doodling images of his beloved dog. When he learns about electricity from his science teacher, the imposing Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau), Victor resolves to harness its powers and re-animate Sparky. In a scene that directly recalls Frankenstein, he revives the carcass of Sparky, and to his joy, his old friend returns, cheerful as ever. Victor tries to hide his stitched-together creation to no avail. His classmates seek to imitate Victor’s efforts, with bizarrely funny, mutated results.” — Claudia Puig, USA Today

The Stop-Motion Animation
“A lovingly detailed work of stop-motion construction in black and white and story-enhancing 3-D, the feature-length fantasy began life back in 1984 as a live-action short. But stop-motion animation was always what the filmmaker had in mind. And with this stitching together of material old and new, three decades of familiarity with Burton’s obsessions pay off: Frankenweenie is a cool little flipbook of historical Burtonian style.” — Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Compared to the Original
“The new, expanded but not improved “Frankenweenie” arrives in theaters this week, again directed by Burton, from a script by Burton’s frequent screenwriter John August. This time ‘Frankenweenie’ is an animated stop-motion 3-D affair, though still in black and white. Stretching the story for an additional hour, Burton unleashes a gaggle of cutely vicious monsters for a protracted climax, including a Gamera-type giant turtle and nasty little flying cats with fangs and wings.” — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

The Final Word
“This isn’t one of Burton’s best, but it has zealous energy. It might have been too macabre for kids in past, but kids these days, they’ve seen it all, and the charm of a boy and his dog retains its appeal. I only hope that young Victor doesn’t let Sparky lie out in the sun for too long.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Check out everything we’ve got on “Frankenweenie.”

‘Taken 2′ May Be Box-Office Champ, Experts Predict

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Last weekend, “Hotel Transylvania” brought the sluggish box office back from the dead. Will the uptick continue?

The combined potential might of Liam Neeson’s “Taken 2,” Tim Burton‘s “Frankenweenie” and the expansion of “Pitch Perfect” into more theaters bode well for Hollywood’s prospects this weekend, according to industry experts and analysts.

“With the top five films all expected to score big bucks, expect an uptick of 35 percent versus the same weekend last year,” Exhibitor Relations box office analyst Jeff Bock told MTV News.

“The take from the top ten for this coming weekend along, depending on how big ‘Taken 2′ is, may well be around $113 million,” said IMDb’s Keith Simanton. He predicted “Taken 2″ will take the top spot, with “Hotel” behind at #2.

Neeson’s action-oriented “Taken” was a surprise hit in January 2009, eventually collecting over $145 million domestically. The movie ended up with a 58 percent score on RottenTomatoes, which aggregates reviews from critics. But the sequel sat at just 15 percent at press time. ” ‘Taken 2′ must not be taken 2 seriously,” quipped NPR‘s Stephanie Zacharek.

“In this era of choosier filmgoers, even a whisper of ‘rottenness’ from a film can doom it to home video,” noted Joel Amos, managing editor for MovieFanatic.com. “But ‘Taken 2′ has a shot to be box-office champ. Neeson is a popular action hero.”

Simanton agreed that goodwill for the original and its star will propel the sequel financially. “I was thinking that all that negativity would pull ‘Taken 2′ down to the high 20s. But Ray Subers, editor of Box Office Mojo, pointed out to me that reviews won’t mean anything in this case. Bad reviews didn’t stop people from going to the execrable ‘Hangover 2.’ “

“Neeson has always been a much respected dramatic actor,” Bock pointed out, crediting the actor’s roles in “Star Wars Episode I” and “Batman Begins” with casting him in the more action-oriented light that resulted in hits like “Taken,” “Unknown,” “The A-Team” and “The Grey.” “Don’t be surprised if he’s tapped to join ‘The Expendables 3.’ “

Simanton put the number for “Taken 2″ around $40 million, while Bock put it at $36 million. Simanton gave “Hotel” the edge against the similarly Halloween themed “Frankenweenie,” which should slide in behind it at #3. Bock said it will be very close between the two — so close, in fact, they could even end up tied for second.

“Macabre has been front and center for family audiences recently as ‘Frankenweenie’ marks the third original animated film in a row that is distinctly derivative of Halloween and its spooky themes, following ‘ParaNorman’ and ‘Transylvania,’ ” said Bock. “Sony’s surprise hit was a graveyard smash last weekend and will no doubt slice some fat off ‘Frankenweenie’s’ box-office cut. Still, this is Tim Burton‘s most commercially viable stop-motion project to date.”

Speaking of commercially viable projects, “Pitch Perfect” will expand into more theaters this weekend, following its successful limited release. Bock put the movie’s second week at about $17 million; Simanton at $14 million.

” ‘Pitch Perfect‘ is going to take over the world,” said MTV Next Movie’s Brooke Tarnoff. “A lot of people have already seen it more than once. And by people, I mean the ladies. And by the ladies, I mean me! It capitalizes on a lot of the things that made ‘Glee’ so popular, with elements of ‘Bring it On’ thrown in. I just can’t imagine this doing poorly nationwide.”

“V/H/S,” “Buttery” and “The Paperboy” are playing in too few theaters to make much of a dent. ” ‘The Paperboy’ is a camp classic in the making with Nicole Kidman having rough sex with John Cusack and peeing on Zac Efron,” said Simanton.

Bock said all three movies “look like they should have gone straight to video,” noting that the big name cast and the aforementioned Efron scene was getting “The Paperboy” the most attention. “It should see a decent per-theater average before it rides a wave of mediocrity to your nearest Redbox,” he concluded.

‘Lone Ranger’ Trailer: Why Does That Look So Familiar?

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Something has been nagging us since we first watched the trailer for Gore Verbinski’s “The Lone Ranger,” starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. It wasn’t that the camera largely avoids the two stars, focusing on the set-up and epic Western action instead, and strangely enough, it wasn’t the bird on Depp’s head.

It’s probably that the trailer for “The Lone Ranger” reminds us of many other movies, so to make sense of all of our confusion, here are the films we can’t get out of our heads.

Monument Valley: “John Carter”
Disney should have probably reconsidered opening the trailer for “The Lone Ranger” with an image of Monument Valley, Utah. While the region’s iconic plateaus are probably best known from the classic Westerns by John Ford, they more recently doubled as the red deserts of Mars in “John Carter,” a very bad and not-so-distant memory for Disney. We have to admit that setting an epic Western here makes complete sense, but its prominence is most definitely curious.

Tom Wilkinson’s Voice: “Batman Begins”
The voice you hear at the beginning of the trailer over all of the Old West images belongs to Tom Wilkinson, who sounds like he’ll be a bad guy in the movie. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard Wilkinson’s American accent, but the menace in his voice has us thinking only one thing: Carmine Falcone. Yes, the voiceover in the “Lone Ranger” has us flashing back to the humble beginnings of Bruce Wayne and his crusade to clean up the mean streets of Gotham. This is by no means a bad thing, since Wilkinson remains one of the best parts of Nolan’s first Batman movie.

The Club Scene:”Moulin Rouge”
It’s difficult to include an over-the-top, old-timey night club scene without echoes of Baz Luhrmann’s hyperactive musical coming to mind. It doesn’t help that there’s a scantily clad woman swinging on a crescent moon that hangs from the ceiling. Just consider yourself lucky no one started singing a creepy version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Helena Bonham Carter: Any Tim Burton Movie
Since the “Harry Potter” series ended, does Helena Bonham Carter star in movies that aren’t directed by Tim Burton? Well, clearly she does, but we’re having a hard time looking at her without assuming that Burton is sitting behind the camera, demanding more cobwebs and pancake makeup. Wait, Johnny Depp’s in this movie? Are we sure Tim Burton isn’t directing?

Johnny Depp‘s Tonto: “Pirates of the Caribbean”
Though he doesn’t show face often in the trailer, Depp’s Tonto already seems like the Native American cousin to Captain Jack Sparrow. The Lone Ranger’s companion may be more on the stoic side than Sparrow ever was, but the shot of him under the train car had us flashing back to the high-sailing hijinks of the Black Pearl’s captain.

What did you think of the “Lone Ranger” trailer? Did it remind you of any other films? Leave your comment below!

Check out everything we’ve got on “The Lone Ranger.”

‘Dark Shadows’ Exclusive Featurette: Undead In The 70′s

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Tim Burton has a certain style that he’s become known for, and the costumes in his movies reflect that. In an exclusive sneak peek from a featurette included on the “Dark Shadows” Blu-ray release, we get an inside look at the process of designing costumes for a Tim Burton movie. It turns out that it’s just as exciting to be a part of creating the outfits as it is to watch them on the big screen.

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“It’s always fun to examine a period within a parameter of a story with Tim because you sort of edit what the period is,” costume designer Colleen Atwood said in the video.

Atwood has worked with Burton on many of his iconic movies, including “Edward Scissorhands,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Big Fish.” The excellent costume design in “Dark Shadows” shows that the two have created a rapport with one another that allows her to design just what he wants to use in his films.

Chloe Moretz in particular seemed to really enjoy the very specific style of Tim Burton costume that was created for her. Atwood said that designing a look for Carolyn Stoddard, who is much younger and more modern than the other characters, gave her some freedom to play around.

“The fashion definitely is a big part of the 1972 part of it, and I love that. My character in particular is super duper ’70s,” Moretz said in the featurette.

“Dark Shadows” is due on DVD on October 2.

Which of Burton’s movies features your favorite of his costumes? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

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‘Frankenweenie’ Exclusive Clip: Tim Burton Dreams Big

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It’s never bad to be in a cat’s good graces, but you might want to stay out of their dreams.

That’s a lesson that child scientist Victor Frankenstein is about to learn all too well in this exclusive clip from “Frankenweenie,” director Tim Burton‘s long-awaited return to stop-motion animated creepiness. The film centers on Victor and the tragic death of his beloved dog Sparky. But death proves to be a fickle beast when Victor uses his powers of science to bring Sparky back to life — much to the dismay of those around him, in true Burton-gone-bananas form.

The resurrection of Sparky might come as a shock to most of the people in Victor’s immediate life, but not to the Weird Girl in Victor’s class. The Weird Girl has a cat named Mr. Whiskers, and aside from being cute and cuddly, the wide-eyed kitty has a far-out power of his own: he dreams of the future.

“Mr. Whiskers had a dream about you last night,” the Weird Girl weirdly tells Victor in our exclusive clip. As proof of that fact, she presents a hair ball in the shape of a “V” — an “omen,” she calls it.

“Last month, he dreamed about Bob, and he fell into a manhole,” the Weird Girl warns. She goes on to describe two other neighborhood kids who found themselves at the heart of Mr. Whiskers’ dreams; one went on to pitch a perfect baseball game, while the other got beaned in the head and lost consciousness.

“If Mr. Whiskers dreams about you,” she concludes ominously, “it means something big is going to happen.”

What big things, you ask? You’ll find out for yourself when “Frankenweenie” hits theaters on October 5, 2012.

Check out everything we’ve got on “Frankenweenie.”

Freddie Highmore Is Going ‘Psycho’

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fdcdd Freddie Highmore Psycho Freddie Highmore Is Going Psycho

When someone mentions Freddie Highmore, your mind probably goes to young Peter, sitting on a bench, in “Finding Neverland,” or Charlie Bucket in Tim Burton‘s revisionist “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Though he’s had a number of more adult roles as he’s gotten older, nothing comes close to what Highmore is about to take on next.

TV Guide revealed that Highmore will play a younger version of Norman Bates, the psycho at the heart of “Psycho,” and the main character of AE‘s new television series. The series, which comes from executive producer Carlton Cuse of “Lost,” has been making a number of big casting announcements recently.

Vera Farmiga will play mother and best friend of Norman, his mother Norma Bates, and Max Thieriot will play a new character to the family, Dylan Bates, Norman’s older James Dean-like brother.

What do you think of the casting of Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!

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Someone Should Tell Winona Ryder That A ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel Is Happening

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Well, our quest for details about a “Beetlejuice” sequel continues, with the most recent stop taking us to Wionna Ryder at the Toronto International Film Festival, where she’s promoting her new crime film, “The Iceman” with Michael Shannon.

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Unfortunately, the former Lydia Deetz didn’t exactly have the deetz on the sequel from Tim Burton and writer Seth Grahame-Smith.

“You tell me — I don’t know!” Ryder said. “I’ve heard from journalists, that’s how I found out, but I’m seeing Tim next week, and I will let you know.”

From what Burton has told us, he’s waiting on a script, but won’t do it without Michael Keaton.

“I’m trying to think about how that would work,” Ryder said. “Obviously I’m not [the focal point]; it’s got to be Michael. So is it happening?” she wondered. “It’s being written, but is it happening? Tim hasn’t confirmed it yet [officially].”

Are you on board for a “Beetlejuice” sequel? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!

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Is ‘Beetlejuice 2′ A Go? Winona Ryder Is On The Case!

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Of all the reboots, sequels and continuations on our “Please, Hollywood, make it!” movie wish lists, the rumored sequel to “Beetlejuice” is definitely near the top. And unlike other seemingly pie-in-the-sky projects, there are multiple reasons to believe we might eventually see a second chapter to Tim Burton‘s delightfully dark and hilarious classic.

Seth Grahame-Smith is in the midst of writing a script commissioned by Burton, who is onboard with the project as long as Michael Keaton returns to his iconic role.

Because of our continued interest in seeing the sequel come to fruition and to theaters everywhere, MTV News asked star Winona Ryder if she had any inside info on the film.

“You tell me — I don’t know!” Ryder said from the Toronto International Film Festival, where she was promoting her film “The Iceman.” “I’ve heard from journalists, that’s how I found out, but I’m seeing Tim next week, and I will let you know.”

If Ryder delivers on that statement, she has plenty of pertinent questions we’d love for her to have answered.

“I’m trying to think about how that would work. Obviously I’m not [the focal point]; it’s got to be Michael. So is it happening?” she wondered. “It’s being written, but is it happening? Tim hasn’t confirmed it yet [officially].”

Burton has confirmed his interest in exploring a sequel, and if Ryder is interested as well, we’re guessing she could also be involved in some way via flashback or cameo, especially since frequent Burton collaborator Johnny Depp seemed plenty game to pop in a frame or two for fun.

Check out everything we’ve got on “Beetlejuice.”

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Michael Clark Duncan’s Stand-Out Roles: Beyond ‘Green Mile’

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In the wake of Michael Clarke Duncan‘s tragic passing, the obituaries and tributes have labeled him as the “Green Mile” actor. While we won’t deny that Duncan’s role as the gifted death row inmate is not only his most recognized performance but also his greatest, many of the actor’s smaller roles have gone unappreciated.

Here is our look at some of Michael Clarke Duncan‘s other stand-out performances.

“Sin City”

For Robert Rodriguez to make as literal an adaptation of Frank Miller’s series of noir comics as he set out to, Duncan was almost required for the role of Manute, the massive one-eyed bodyguard and mob enforcer. The actor left behind all of the humor and good-nature of his previous roles for one delightfully big bad.

“Planet of the Apes”
As hard as it may be to recommend any part of Tim Burton’s remake of the sci-fi classic, Duncan’s work, along with the performance by Tim Roth, remains one of the few high points of an otherwise weak film. With the help of heavy prosthetics, used to transform the actor into a highly evolved gorilla, Duncan took on his animalistic character without losing the human element underneath the thick layer of latex.

“The Slammin’ Salmon”
“You have to dominate the swordfish. Only then can you sauté it.” These are the wise words of “Slammin’” Cleon Salmon, the former boxing champ and restaurant owner at the center of Broken Lizard’s 2009 comedy, “The Slammin’ Salmon.” When he finds himself $20,000 in debt to the Yakuza, Salmon tasks his wait staff with selling enough food to pay it off.

“Kung Fu Panda”
As recognized as he was for his stature, Duncan’s booming voice may have been just as notable, giving him many opportunities to work as a voice actor in animated films. His most notable work was as a part of the star-studded ensemble of “Kungu Fu Panda.” In the film, Duncan played a prison guard rhinoceros named Commander Vachir.

“Armageddon”
A year before his breakout role as John Coffey, Duncan suited up and headed into space as part of a drilling team sent to save the world in Michael Bay’s “Armageddon.” His reward for the mission: a summer spent living in the White House. As Bear, Duncan brought his same big, loveable spirit to the blockbuster, which also starred Ben Affleck, Bruce Willis, and Steve Buscemi.

Share your memories of Michael Clarke Duncan and send your condolences to his family in the comments section.