does anyone want to chat about Big Fish?

[MrBurgerKing]

Mars Attacks is a comedy though, it doesn't take itself seriously like that Monkey Movie (which I initially liked, but now I don't like it because it would make me look like a naive prick).

[bonanzataz]

what's the story for big fish? who's in it and what's it about (briefly, i don't want it to be ruined by spoilers!).

[MrBurgerKing]

Off the top of my head, it's about a man learning about the crazy adventures of his father, who is on his death bed. I think it'll probably all be told in flashback with Ewan McGregor playing the young dad, and Albert Finney playing the dying dad. Billy Crudup is going to portray the son. I think we'll get some crazy Burton visuals with over the top sub-stories, but who knows? This could be one of Tim's best!  

Hell, this response took me a few minutes to type up.. I bet MacGuffin will have already responded by the time I posted.. It'll make me look like a huge horse's ass, not to mention nerd for knowing all about Big Fish. Damn (having a flashback towards those old High School days). Hold on, mind if I get some orange soda to ease this stress?

[MrBurgerKing]

I remember at one point, Spielberg was attached to the project (what a coincidence.. as I'm typing this response, I'm looking at the Schindler's List banner up top.. When I wrote the Burton response, it was the Ed Wood banner). I can understand why, as Big Fish has a big father-son core.

[MacGuffin]

Expanding on Mr. Burger's synopsis:

Cast: Billy Crudup (William Bloom), Ewan McGregor (Young Edward Bloom), Albert Finney (Old Edward Bloom), Helena Bonham-Carter, Steve Buscemi (Norther Winslow), David Denman, Danny DeVito, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman.

Premise: William Bloom (Crudup) tries to learn more about his dying father, Edward (Finney), by piecing together the facts out of the various fantastic tales and legends of epic proportions he's been told over the years (with McGregor playing the young version of Edward in these "retellings" of his stories). Edward was a travelling salesman, often far from home, and it's those journeys throughout the South that are the seed of his son's tales. There are four separate tales told, each fantastic and wild, of Edward's life, with each ending then with him at his deathbed, as William tries to understand his father's great deeds, and failures. The titles of the legends (in the book) are "In Which He Speaks to Animals," "How He Tamed the Giant," "How He Saved My Life," and "His Immortality." Oh, and as you might guess from the title, one of them has a giant fish. (Lange plays Edward's wife)

[bonanzataz]

taz can't wait.

[MacGuffin]

Zanuck says he's hooked on 'Big Fish'
USA TODAY

Big Fish is a movie about tall tales and an Alabama man (played by Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney) who tells them. But producer Richard D. Zanuck swears he's not telling fish stories when he ranks the movie higher than any he has previously produced (including the Oscar-winning The Sting or Driving Miss Daisy) or that he oversaw when he ran 20th Century Fox (including The Sound of Music, M*A*S*H, The French Connection and Patton).

"This is at the top of the list," says Zanuck of Big Fish, an all-star movie directed by Tim Burton and featuring Jessica Lange, Billy Crudup, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito and Allison Lohman. "Certainly not since Driving have I ever had such a good, positive feeling."

Columbia Pictures' faith in the film is borne out by their decision to release Big Fish for the highly competitive Thanksgiving weekend, up against Eddie Murphy's The Haunted Mansion and the second week of The Cat in the Hat with Mike Myers.

"But we're not in it for the weekend," says Zanuck, who believes he has an Oscar contender on his hands. "We're in it for the long haul. I feel in my heart that this is a marvelous film."

[Ghostboy]

That is an incredible image. Since Cat In The Hat looks like utter despicable crap and Haunted Mansion looks fairly standard, I have hopes that Big Fish will emerge triumphant.

Interesting trivia: Cat In The Hat is directed by Burton's former production designer...and, um...Haunted Mansion uses Danny Elfman music during the first half of the trailer.

[Sal]

Whoo!  Hope the trailer comes mighty quick...

[modage]

yeah i had no idea this was gonna be complete in time for release this year.  i figured if they didnt have a date for it, it wasnt coming till early next year at the earliest. this is pretty incredible if it does come out in a few months, but they had better get on them trailers and posters and shit.  cause aint nobody but us geeks heard of it till now.

[modage]

HOLY AWESOME

Tim Burton's "Big Fish" is set to get a release this Thanksgiving (Nov. 26th) in the US, going against "The Haunted Mansion".

[Ghostboy]

Uh oh, themodernage...OLD NEWS alert!

[modage]

but is it OFFICIAL?

[Ghostboy]

No doubt, no doubt. It looks rather repellant, in just about every possible way.

[IHeartPTA]

I wanna see it just to see what Billy Crudup can do besides being Russel Hammond, from Almost Famous. I know he's done other stuff, but nothing as notable as being in a Cameron Crowe movie.