Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

[SHAFTR]

I enjoy the 2001 gag in the trailer and the look of the film looks fun, but it still doesn't look very good.

first look = aesthetic

second look = appear to be

[Pubrick]

third look  

[SHAFTR]

third look  

ugh, same as 2nd.

[Pubrick]

ugh, it was a joke from the beginning.

[Fernando]

If you can't see the pic...

[SHAFTR]

Yes, that was the part of the trailer that I enjoyed very much.

[deathnotronic]

This looks much better than I expected, but it's still going to be bad.

[MacGuffin]

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Meets Danny Elfman
Oingo Boingo madman maintains his ongoing collaboration with Tim Burton.
 
Noted Hollywood composer Danny Elfman, who has maintained a long-standing professional relationship with director Tim Burton, continues his collaborative efforts by supplying the music to the upcoming film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Elfman's score to the film, which will be released by Warner Sunset Records on July 12th, 2005, just three days prior to the film's release, marks the 11th time that he and Burton have worked together.

For the film Elfman not only composed the entire film score, but also wrote the original song "Wonka's Welcome Song" (Elfman wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics with screenwriter John August). Elfman has also wrote the music for four additional songs that feature lyrics based on elements of Roald Dahl's classic book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book by Roald Dahl. These four songs will be the first time since The Nightmare Before Christmas that Elfman has sung the lyrics to some of his songs.

The four tracks in question will be Oompa-Loompa songs about four of the children who win tickets to tour Willy Wonka's incredible chocolate factory: "Augustus Gloop," "Violet Beauregarde," "Mike Teavee," and "Veruca Salt" set the mood for this visually stylistic film.

"The great part of working with Tim on the music was that he kept throwing me off center by suggesting different styles of music that I wasn't expecting. His ideas have so often led me to places that I wouldn't have thought of, but remain my favorites. In particular on the songs for Charlie, Tim and I worked very closely together and the challenge was to give each song for each child their own distinct feel," explains Elfman. ""Augustus Gloop" was inspired by big brassy Bollywood production pieces; "Violet Beauregarde," the gum-chewer, threw back to a retro 70's funk feel; "Mike Teavee," needed something frenetic and hyperactive like he is, the short attention spanvideo game rock kid; and "Veruca Salt" who goes down the garbage chute has lyrics about fish heads."

[MacGuffin]

Someone as beautiful, rich and famous Johnny Depp usually gets my blood boiling just from his existence, but his brilliant turns in some of my favorite films such as Ed Wood, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and now Charlie and the Chocolate Factory have changed all that. Also the fact that we got to go a press junket in the Bahamas because he is shooting both Pirates of the Caribbean sequels there didn’t hurt either.

Depp is a very soft spoken man who litters his speech with humor and goodwill and he was a pleasure to meet. He is very friendly even when many of the journalists were crowding him and surprising him with flash photography.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the most faithful adaptation of a Roald Dahl novel ever onscreen. In fact, Dahl is even credited with the lyrics to the Oompa-Loompa songs.

Daniel Robert Epstein: Was it your idea to do this junket in the Bahamas?

Johnny Depp: No, I wish that I could take credit for it. It just so happened that we were doing Pirates [of the Caribbean] part two and three so it worked out that the dates were going to be all down around in this area. They said, “Well, why not do the press junket there?” I said, “Okay, done fine.” I just figured that everyone would enjoy that, too.

DRE: You worked with Tim Burton on two projects at the same time, The Corpse Bride and Charlie. How was that?

JD: It was very interesting because when we were doing Charlie, Tim came to me and said, “I have this other thing that I'm thinking about doing. It's a stop motion thing. I'd like to give you a script. Take a look and tell me what you think.” I read the script and I thought that it was amazing and brilliant. But I had no idea that he was going to be doing them simultaneously. He literally would leave the set of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and go into the recordings and the stop motion things. It's an incredible energy that he has. For me it was really strange. I'd literally leave the stage from playing Wonka and then have to go and find this other character on the walk to the studio. Though anything with Tim is always just a blast.

DRE: Why are you both drawn to such quirky characters?

JD: One thing that Tim and I share is a kind of fascination with the human animal. I think that we also share the idea that most people in life, especially the ones who are considered super normal, if you really take a step back and observe them and watch them a bit, you'll realize that they're actually completely out of their minds. Most people are really nuts and that's fascinating to me. I think that Tim feels the same way.

I just love and respect Tim so much that I would do anything with him. The thing that I most enjoy about our relationship, our friendship, is that there's a lot of trust. One minute he and I are talking very deeply about Captain Kangaroo and then the next thing I know, we're doing impersonations of Sammy Davis Jr. and Charles Nelson Riley. We can go anywhere.

DRE: You’re very open about who was the inspiration for your character in Pirates of the Caribbean. Was there anyone who was the model for Wonka?

JD: On this, there wasn't specifically any one or two guys that were models for the character. But there were memories that I have as a little kid watching children's shows and children show hosts. I distinctly remember, even at that age, thinking that their speech pattern and the kind of musical quality of the way that they were speaking to the camera and to the children that I thought was really strange. Guys that I watched like Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Rogers and all of these guys became that main part of the ingredient. Then also game show hosts that I remember seeing and watching and thinking, “My God, they can't be like that at home. They can't actually be like that.” That led me to believe that they put on a mask in a way, that all important positive smile. That was the other side of Wonka. Then doing stuff for the look of Wonka was incredibly important. It was important to put that costume on and click those veneers into my mouth for the teeth which actually changed the shape of my face a little bit.

DRE: Which of the children in the movie are your children most like?

JD: I think that they'd both be closer to Charlie and his personality. Luckily the kids are pretty well balanced and not monster like at all.

DRE: How about you as a child?

JD: I'd like to think that I was like Charlie, but I don't think I was, as my mom uses a term, “a hellion.” I wasn't obnoxious or precocious, but I was curious. There were a lot of practical jokes and things like that. I got on her nerves basically. I pissed her off quite frequently.

DRE: How was it working with the kids in Wonka?

JD: Freddie [Highmore] is pretty impressive. The first thing that struck me about Freddie when I met him on Finding Neverland was his eyes. It wasn't just because they're these piercing beautiful blue eyes, but there's a purity in Freddie that is astonishing. It's mesmerizing and it is like he's incapable of lying or telling a lie. Then you get to work with him and you see what his abilities are as an actor, which are endless. Beyond all of the great things that Freddie is, he wants to play football. He goes on vacations with his family and he plays games and he's just a really normal, very well grounded kid.

DRE: Did you get to know the Oompa-Loompa man himself, Deep Roy?

JD: He's a ball and a real force to be reckoned with. I started calling him the hardest working man in show business. I'd see him on a Tuesday, Deep Roy and he'd be in his red outfit and then on the Wednesday he'd be in his blue outfit and then on Thursday the white one and then on Friday he's dressed up as like this 80's metal star. He was all over the place and just incredible.

DRE: The flashbacks Wonka has to the memories of his father were not in the original novel, how do you think they deepened the character?

JD: The first thing that I thought was that it was very brave of [screenwriter] John August and Tim to make that decision but still be able to keep it in the spirit of Roald Dahl's intent. That was no small undertaking and in terms of cinema that's a great tool. It's a beautiful luxury that you have as an actor because it explains a lot of where Wonka comes from. But for an audience it gives you a little bit more insight to what this guy is and how he's become what he's become.

DRE: You’ve gotten Oscar nominations two years in a row, would you like to get another for this film?

JD: It’s not something that I think about everyday because I try not to think about that kind of stuff. I'm really flattered and honored that I've been able to get the nominations and various awards that I ended up getting. That was like totally unexpected and shocking to me. In fact that's sort of enough for me. The nominations are fine. I don't need more. I don't really want to go up in front of all those people and say thanks. That just scares the shit out of me. It would be nice, but I don't need it.

DRE: On the new Pirates movie sets, is there pressure since you are following up such a big hit?

JD: What was weird was that we didn't quite know what to expect before we went back into Pirates. A lot of things had happened. Orlando [Bloom] had some big movies and Keira [Knightley] had some big stuff too. Everyone is all over the map and we didn't quite know what to expect. [Director] Gore [Verbinski] obviously has been working like a demon. But honestly we stepped on the set for the first day and for me jumping back into the skin of Captain Jack felt like we'd had just a week off from the first one. It's been a really great time. Everything has been super good and fun. I think that it's going to be good, knock wood.

DRE: I heard that on the day that Hunter S. Thompson took his own life, you powered through and kept working.

JD: On the day that Hunter made his exit, I found out about an hour or two after it actually happened. It was and is devastating. Even though on one hand I understand that a guy who lived his life exactly the way that he wanted to live it, so he made his exit in the same way, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. He was a great hero and a great pal, a great friend. He was a father and a grandfather. He was so many things to so many people. I'll miss him everyday. I think about that bastard everyday.

DRE: Is it hard to be away from your family for so long while you are working?

JD: They're with me. The most that I've ever been apart from my kids and my girl has been like four or five weeks and that drove me mad. One shouldn't have to do that. I can't do it. So as much as is humanly possible I bring them with me on location. If Vanessa [Paradis] is doing a film and I'm not working, I'll go on location with her. I have to have them around.

DRE: What did you do here together?

JD: All the fun stuff like running around on the beach with the kids, going swimming, taking them out on a boat. We haven't swam with any dolphins and certainly not any sharks. I hope that we won't swim with sharks.

DRE: Why do you keep your house in France?

JD: I don't want to be stuck in one spot. My childhood was spent moving around and we were total nomads, man. We were moving from one place to another all the time and that's kind of ingrained into my psyche and my being. I couldn't stand being in one spot for too long a period. For example, we essentially split the year with six months in Los Angeles and six months in France. It just seems to work for us.

DRE: Which one do you like the most?

JD: I very selfishly and very simply like keeping a distance from Hollywood and the social expectations in Hollywood because I'm not good at it. I'm really not good at that kind of game. I find great comfort in having that distance because I don't have the pressure or the responsibility of knowing who's the top dog this week and who's out from last week. I don't know who anyone is and I really like that.

DRE: How was it dealing with the negative reaction to the film you directed, The Brave?

JD: I wouldn't say it was traumatizing, but we had the premiere of the film at night and the reception for the film was beyond any expectations that I had. I had no idea that I'd be looking at Bernardo Bertolucci sitting there watching my film then to have Michelangelo Antonioni say bravo to and to also to receive applause. Then the next day the majority of it was American press. and they just turned it into this horrible thing. Once again everyone is entitled to their opinion. Maybe it's a bad film. Maybe it's a good film. But to me it's just a film. It's something that I needed to make, but they were sort of vicious about it. One of my favorite reviews, someone said, “I haven't seen such an ugly group of people since Luis Buñuel.” I thought, “That's good. I like Luis Buñuel.”

DRE: Are you almost done with shooting the Pirates movies?

JD: We've been shooting Pirates for months and months now. We had a hiatus that was supposed to start tomorrow. But we went into hiatus a bit early because there were bits that we were going to shoot up in Grand Bahaman, but there were sets and stuff that weren't ready. More than that though, one of actors, one of our main guys, Kevin McNally ended up with a really nasty ear infection in both ears. He was in England and was unable to get on a plane. So they just weighed out all of the options and said, “Well, we'll just break now. Go on hiatus and when we start up again, we'll finish the bits from two.”

DRE: Is Keith Richards going to make a cameo?

JD: I don't know exactly. It looks like it's going to happen, but I don't know when. It's all going to depend on where we are and where he is because he's got a little thing called The Rolling Stones tour.

[MacGuffin]

Tim Burton’s new film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is his best work since 1994’s Ed Wood. I would say that casting Johnny Depp as the obsessive compulsive child hating Willy Wonka is an inspired choice but since this is their fourth collaboration that point appears to be moot. Depp has totally and completely entered himself into Roald Dahl’s universe and given himself over to this wild and wooly character with chocolate running in his veins.

Daniel Robert Epstein: Have you hit the waterslide yet?

Tim Burton: No, but I did go swimming in the shark tank the other night. That was fun.

DRE: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has a lot of references to Wonka’s dysfunctional relationship with his father. Why do so many of your films have that theme in them?

TB: Yeah, I've got some problems. You might've seen me enough to realize that by now though.

DRE: I know you were bricked up in your room as a kid.

TB: My parents are dead, so the answers about that will remain unanswered. I guess they didn't want me to escape. With these kinds of things in your life you try and work out your issues in the movie movies, but then you realize that those kinds of traumatic issues just stay with you forever. So they somehow keep reoccurring. No matter how hard I try to get them out of my head they sort of stay there.

DRE: Did you and Johnny Depp talk about the character of Willy Wonka?

TB: Johnny and I have this process where we speak in the abstract to each other and yet we can still somehow understand one another. But we never used one reference. I do remember that we had conversations and one of the things that we did talk about is that in our childhood, in every city child there is some weird children's show host that has a weird name. Usually they have a kind of funny haircut and then as you got older and thought back on them you go, “That guy was fucking weird, man. What was that guy all about?” Like Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Greenjeans, so we were kind of using that kind of reference point. I think that the great thing about [Roald] Dahl's writing is that he left that character kind of ambiguous. We did give him a little bit of backstory that's not in the book, but that weird, kind of mysterious nature of the character still felt important.

DRE: The movie feels very adult though.

TB: That's what I like about the book and Dahl's writing and why I wanted to do it. He was like an adult writer for children. He didn't speak down to them and it's kind of a book that you could read at any age and get something out of. He was very clever about being specific and subversive and off kilter and kind of leaving you guessing a little bit. We did try and keep that feeling in.

DRE: Do you think there are parts of this film that are too adult?

TB: No. That's the thing, I go back and look at the book and I look at the original movie and we're probably even lighter in a certain way. When you read the book it almost seems more traumatic and horrible and yet this is a children's classic. I think that adults forget sometimes what it's like to be a kid. Dahl explored those kind of edgier aspects of childhood.

DRE: What did you think of Gene Wilder’s portrayal of Willy Wonka?

TB: I think he was great. None of us on this production were ever trying to top that. Our goal was to try and be a bit more true to the spirit of the book. Instead of having a golden goose and an egg we have the squirrels and the nut room.

DRE: Would the project have been less attractive if you couldn’t add in Wonka’s backstory?

TB: It's fine in the book but we just felt that if you have an eccentric character you kind of want to get a flavor of why he is the way he is. Otherwise he's just a weirdo. If your father was a dentist and Christopher Lee you can see where that might cause you some traumatic experiences in your life.

DRE: Is Willy Wonka just nuts?

TB: No, I think that he comes across as emotionally repressed and stunted. When people get traumatized they just sort of shut down. I've met people who are kind of geniuses in one area but are completely deficient in all other areas of their life. So it's sort of the mixture of those things.

DRE: How was working with the Oompa-Loompa man himself, Deep Roy?

TB: To me there were three options. You either hire a cast of Oompa-Loompas or the more modern approach would be to make them all CG. But I've worked with Deep Roy before and to me he's just an Oompa-Loompa. There was no question in my mind and to have it all not be CG was important. In a technical manner it was more cost effective than doing all special FX shots because we could actually use him in certain shots with certain lenses and camera angles so that he could interact with Johnny and the kids on occasion so that he didn’t always have to be added in later.

DRE: How was it casting all the kids for the movie?

TB: Casting kids is harder than casting adults. I hadn't seen Finding Neverland, but when Freddie Highmore walked into the room I just knew that he was right. It was like that with all of the kids. These kids all had what I'd call a cinematic quality. Even though they're all good kids, there had to be a seed of what they are. I tried to find the seed of what they were especially the ones that hadn't acted before. It was important that they had something of their character in them as people.

DRE: What was the inspiration for the sets?

TB: It's all organic. The blueprint of the book was there, but the great thing about Dahl’s writing is that he leaves a lot open for interpretation. We had sort of complete freedom to devise what each of the rooms and the Bucket house looked like. It didn't feel like we were constrained by anything. It had quite an experimental feel as we were making it and that was fun. I enjoyed finding the right consistency for the chocolate so that it didn't look like a brown water.

DRE: Was doing the chocolate river fun?

TB: If you'd been in the chocolate room like in the last week we were shooting in there it started to smell so bad. Literally you’d open up the stage doors and people were complaining.

DRE: Did you save any of the props?

TB: I don't try and save too much. I did keep the Oompa-Loompa psychiatrist chair which is very appropriate and very comfortable actually.

DRE: Dahl wrote a sequel called Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, are you interested in that?

TB: No and you can count on it.

DRE: Was there ever any question in your mind that Johnny Depp was going to play Wonka?

TB: No, but it was the first time that I didn't have to talk anyone into it. Before I could even open my mouth the studio goes, “What about Johnny Depp?” I said, “Well, okay. If you're going to force him on me.”

DRE: What makes Johnny Depp the ideal actor for your films?

TB: He's a character actor in a leading man's body. He's ready to do anything. He's probably more like Lon Chaney than he is a leading man. He wants to transform and be different characters. He's an actor that you think about perhaps even for female roles. He can do it all.

DRE: How is The Corpse Bride going?

TB: We're still finishing that. It was good because we could only work with the kids on Charlie so much during the day so sometimes we'd work a day and then we'd go over to the sound booth and do some voice work on Corpse Bride. It was kind of a chaotic situation but I'm excited about that one.

DRE: Did one film affect the other?

TB: No because animation is such a slow motion process. Sometimes there would only be a few seconds a week to look at. It was good in a certain way because I was obviously hardcore on Charlie but Corpse Bride is slower so I can have a bit more objectivity on it.

DRE: I still meet people that think that you directed The Nightmare before Christmas instead of Henry Selick. Did you take a co-directing credit on The Corpse Bride to circumvent that notion?

TB: No and this is hard to explain but I'll try. With Nightmare it was so completely my developed thing so I felt so comfortable about what it was and it was so clearly delineated in my mind that I just felt comfortable and I knew Henry [Selick] could pull it off. With Corpse Bride there was a seed of an idea and so it took more development therefore I had to be involved at a slightly different level so to speak. That's why I got a little more in depth into this one.

DRE: Sidney Lumet wrote in his book, Making Movies, that he’ll do two studio movies then one personal film. It seems that you adhere to that as well.

TB: I try and treat each time as though it's personal for me. You spend so much time on it that you have to personalize it. But after doing a big one it's kind of like you do get traumatized by it a little bit and maybe the next time you think about perhaps not doing that again. So it's not necessarily a hardcore rule but I can certainly understand that.

DRE: Has having your first child made you want to do more films for children?

TB: No, I don't think that it has anything to do with that. It's not like all of a sudden I'm going to be making the Teletubbies movie or The Wiggles feature film any time soon. I don't think it has altered my thinking. In fact I'm more inclined to think about making porno movies or something than I am children's films.

DRE: What would a Tim Burton porno film be like?

TB: I'd only make G rated porno movies.

DRE: Are you interested in seeing Batman Begins?

TB: I have interest but literally on my way to the Bahamas I was in the screening room finishing up this one. So after you spend 15 hours a day working on your film you're not going, “Okay, lets go see a movie.”

DRE: Have you met any of your Goth fans?

TB: I live up in North London near Camden and it's like we're back in the late 70's and it's beautiful. I was out in the English countryside a few weeks ago and I just ran into a girl with a Nightmare before Christmas purse and it was just so beautiful and touching. That's the amazing thing. I encounter people every now and then that make me realize who I make movies for.

DRE: What do you think about the way Disney turned the Haunted Mansion theme ride into the Nightmare before Christmas?

TB: It makes me laugh because when we first made the movie they didn't even want to put out a trailer. It went from that to what it has turned into. I'm just a little upset that they didn't invite me to the opening so I have a little bit of an issue with them. But it's also great too.

DRE: How is it working with Todd McFarlane on the Corpse Bride toys?

TB: I haven't seen anything yet. I'm hoping that it turns out good. The good thing about a stop motion puppet is that it's different from live action. You can look at the puppet and go, “Just make it look like that.” It's quite easy or it should be anyway. Hopefully it'll turn out because the puppets are really beautiful.

[GoneSavage]

MacGuffin:  Visits SuicideGirls for the articles.

[MacGuffin]

MacGuffin:  Visits SuicideGirls for the articles.

I can't afford the $4 a month.  

[Ultrahip]

Many clips.

http://www.iesb.net/wb2005/062905.php

[Ravi]

MacGuffin:  Visits SuicideGirls for the articles.

I can't afford the $4 a month.  

I'm not surprised, given your posts in I Just Bought.

[MacGuffin]

Jacko and the "Chocolate Factory"
Source: E! Online

The longish black hair. The pale skin. The ornate suit jacket. The--how should we say?--less than traditional adult male speaking voice.

That is fabled candymaker Willy Wonka as embodied by Johnny Depp in director Tim Burton's new take on the children's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

One problem: "I think the casual viewer is going to see Michael Jackson."

So says Patrick Lee, news editor of online's Sci Fi Wire. And chances are the casual viewer wouldn't disagree.

"It's very scary," laughs Houston-based blogger Laurence Simon.

Like other moviegoers, Simon made the Depp-Jackson-Wonka connection almost instantly when he saw the Chocolate Factory trailer. An offhanded remark last month on his blog, This Blog Is Full of Crap (IsFullofCrap.com), about how much he wasn't looking forward to Burton's film led one commentator to crack, "What's the problem...? Don't have the stomach for Michael Jackson and the Chocolate Factory?"

The properly titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens July 15. In a summer dominated by bad buzz about the less than blockbuster box office, it is one of Warner Bros.' brightest hopes, along with Batman Begins and The Dukes of Hazzard.

Having one of its prized properties--much less, a PG-rated kids' fantasy--linked to a fallen pop star with longish black hair, pale skin, a whisper for a speaking voice, a penchant for military garb and a recent acquittal on child-molestation charges is likely not what the Hollywood studio had in mind when it turned Burton and company loose on author Roald Dahl's beloved, if preternaturally creepy, tale.

And, according to Depp, who openly copped to stealing riffs from rocker Keith Richards for his turn as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, it is absolutely not what the actor had in mind when he was conjuring the eccentric first brought to the big screen by Gene Wilder in 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Children-show hosts like Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Rogers, these are the innocuous sorts who inspired Depp's Wonka, he has said.

"Everyone is entitled to think what they want," Depp said last week in a news conference in Nassau, Bahamas, "even while being violently wrong."

Wrong or no, the suspicions abound. At that press conference, Lee says the Jackson question came up "a lot."

Lee, for one, is more willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the filmmakers, perhaps because he's seen the movie in its entirety. "The nature of the character Willy Wonka is not Michael Jackson," he says. "Willy Wonka hates children--that there sets him apart from Michael Jackson."

Box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian also has seen the film. Depp's Wonka, he says, "comes off more as Mr. Rogers than Michael Jackson."

If the trailer is creeping out audiences, says Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., then that might not be such a bad thing for the film's box office. Dahl's tale of gluttony, greed and Oompa Loompas, after all, has never been confused for a Disney fairy tale. As such, the trippier the trailer, the potentially more intrigued the audience.

"They have come to expect the unexpected with Johnny Depp," says Dergarabedian. "Were it another actor, maybe it wouldn't come off as well."

The last time Depp arguably veered into Jackson territory, in Finding Neverland, the 2004 biopic about big-kid-at-heart Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, the actor earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

As long as Depp doesn't earn sustained unwanted comparisons to Jackson in Chocolate Factory, the Oompa Loompas likely will go along their merry, vaguely unsettling way.