Jayne Wisener used "artistic licence" to add more background to her 'Unsinkable: Titanic Untold' character.The 36-year-old actress features in the new film – which focuses on the aftermath of the 1912 disaster – as Maggie Malloy and had to put herself in her character's shoes as there was only limited detail about her role.Speaking exclusively to Bang Showbiz, Jayne said: "I play Maggie Malloy, who is a real person, she's a senator's assistant, and she's first generation Irish. There's not a lot of information about her. So I was able to take some artistic licence and give a lot of myself to the character."I did watch half of 'Titanic' just to remind myself more of who the people were like the captain of X, Y, and Z."She continued: "And I kind of, I thought a lot about who Maggie was. And obviously, at some point, she would...
- 3/18/2024
- by Joe Graber
- Bang Showbiz
Last month, we learned that Paramount Home Entertainment would be releasing a five film 4K box set called Paramount Scares Vol. 1, which would include Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and Pet Sematary (1989), plus a pair of recent box office successes, Crawl (2019) and Smile (2022). Intriguingly, Paramount chose to keep the fifth film in the set a mystery… But now that we’ve reached the set’s October 24th release date, it has been revealed that the fifth movie in the set is Tim Burton’s 2007 film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, making its 4K debut! If you’re interested in adding the Paramount Scares Vol. 1 set to your collection, copies can be purchased at This Link.
Directed by Burton from a screenplay by John Logan, Sweeney Todd is based on the stage musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. The stage musical was itself based on the play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond.
Directed by Burton from a screenplay by John Logan, Sweeney Todd is based on the stage musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. The stage musical was itself based on the play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond.
- 10/24/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Stars: Candis Nergaard, Jayne Wisener, David Schaal, Jonny Phillip, David Wayman, Flip Webster, Mark Arden, Denise Stephenson, Chris Bell | Written by Chris Bell, Danny Prescott, Kelly Prescott, Jezz Vernon | Directed by Chris Bell
The thing I noticed most about The Heiress while watching it, is that it is very, very, British for a variety of reasons that I will go into later… The story followss two sisters who live together, Clare and Anna. Clare has seizures and soon starts to see ghosts or at least what she thinks are ghosts, while her sister just thinks she is going crazy. This being a horror movie, the ghosts are real.
So why is it a very British movie? It’s kinda hard to say if you’re not from Great Britain or have never visited here but the locations, the fashion, the dialogue and the characters and the actors they play are all just so…...
The thing I noticed most about The Heiress while watching it, is that it is very, very, British for a variety of reasons that I will go into later… The story followss two sisters who live together, Clare and Anna. Clare has seizures and soon starts to see ghosts or at least what she thinks are ghosts, while her sister just thinks she is going crazy. This being a horror movie, the ghosts are real.
So why is it a very British movie? It’s kinda hard to say if you’re not from Great Britain or have never visited here but the locations, the fashion, the dialogue and the characters and the actors they play are all just so…...
- 4/14/2021
- by Alain Elliott
- Nerdly
Claire (Candis Nergaard) and Anna (Jayne Wisener) have always been close. Claire is epileptic and sometimes gets injured or becomes confused when she has fits, so Anna looks after her. When their grandmother dies it makes sense for them to move into her small suburban house together. They uncover a few strange things when cleaning out the old woman's stuff, including a book which intrigues Claire, but their relaxed attitude to the move changes when Claire begins to see things. Specifically, she's convinced that there are threatening presences in the house. Naturally, given the risk that fits can cause brain damage, Anna suspects a psychiatric cause, but horror fans will not be so quick to jump to conclusions.
Let's get two things out of the way before going into the rest. Firstly, the lighting set-up here is really bad. It's one of those aspects of filmmaking which is easy to forget.
Let's get two things out of the way before going into the rest. Firstly, the lighting set-up here is really bad. It's one of those aspects of filmmaking which is easy to forget.
- 3/15/2021
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Here is the full official trailer for The Heiress, Chris Bell’s supernatural chiller, available to download and rent in the UK from Monday 15th March 2021 on all major digital platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, Sky Box Office, Sony and Google.
The female-driven story, blending the occult with contemporary familial issues, stars Candis Hergaard as Claire and Jayne Wisener as Anna, cousins who share a mysterious connection to a dark family secret. Following the death of Clare’s grandmother, ancient spirits are unleashed and the women must do battle with ‘Lilith’, a malevolent female spirit who has returned to claim possession of Anna’s unborn child.
Directed by Chris Bell and written by Danny Prescott, Jezz Vernon, Chris Bell and Kelly Prescott, The Heiress stars Candis Nergaard , Jayne Wisener, Jonny Phillips, David Schaal, Denise Stephenson, Mark Arden and Flip Webster.
The Heiress is also being released on Tuesday March 16th 2021 in...
The female-driven story, blending the occult with contemporary familial issues, stars Candis Hergaard as Claire and Jayne Wisener as Anna, cousins who share a mysterious connection to a dark family secret. Following the death of Clare’s grandmother, ancient spirits are unleashed and the women must do battle with ‘Lilith’, a malevolent female spirit who has returned to claim possession of Anna’s unborn child.
Directed by Chris Bell and written by Danny Prescott, Jezz Vernon, Chris Bell and Kelly Prescott, The Heiress stars Candis Nergaard , Jayne Wisener, Jonny Phillips, David Schaal, Denise Stephenson, Mark Arden and Flip Webster.
The Heiress is also being released on Tuesday March 16th 2021 in...
- 1/26/2021
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
The Movie Partnership, in association with Old Way Film & Television, will be releasing the powerful and haunting supernatural thriller The Heiress, both in the UK and across the world, excluding US and Canada.
The female-driven story, blending the occult with contemporary familial issues, stars Candis Hergaard as Claire and Jayne Wisener as Anna, cousins who share a mysterious connection to a dark family secret. Following the death of Clare’s grandmother, ancient spirits are unleashed and the women must do battle with ‘Lilith’, a malevolent female spirit who has returned to claim possession of Anna’s unborn child.
Directed by Chris Bell and written by Danny Prescott, Jezz Vernon, Chris Bell and Kelly Prescott, The Heiress stars Candis Nergaard , Jayne Wisener, Jonny Phillips, David Schaal, Denise Stephenson, Mark Arden and Flip Webster.
The Heiress will be available to download from all major platforms including iTunes, Amazon, Sky Box Office,...
The female-driven story, blending the occult with contemporary familial issues, stars Candis Hergaard as Claire and Jayne Wisener as Anna, cousins who share a mysterious connection to a dark family secret. Following the death of Clare’s grandmother, ancient spirits are unleashed and the women must do battle with ‘Lilith’, a malevolent female spirit who has returned to claim possession of Anna’s unborn child.
Directed by Chris Bell and written by Danny Prescott, Jezz Vernon, Chris Bell and Kelly Prescott, The Heiress stars Candis Nergaard , Jayne Wisener, Jonny Phillips, David Schaal, Denise Stephenson, Mark Arden and Flip Webster.
The Heiress will be available to download from all major platforms including iTunes, Amazon, Sky Box Office,...
- 1/6/2021
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Tony winner Ari’el Stachel is set to appear in the A24 Janicza Bravo-directed drama, Zola, opposite title role star Taylour Paige, Colman Domingo, Riley Keough, and Jason Mitchell. It’s based on a series of bizarre 2015 tweets from Aziah ‘Zola’ Wells who detailed a wild 2-day Flordia trip with a sex worker named Jessica, her boyfriend Jarrett, and Jessica’s violent pimp, who went by Z. Ari’el plays Zola’s fiancé, Sean. The film’s source material is a Rolling Stones article Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted by David Kushner. Bravo co-wrote the screenplay with playwright Jeremy O. Harris, Andrew Neel, and Mike Roberts. Stachel, who won the Tony for his role in the stage musical, The Band’s Visit, is repped by Authentic.
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency actress Fiona Dourif will star in Unsinkable, an indie drama...
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency actress Fiona Dourif will star in Unsinkable, an indie drama...
- 11/20/2018
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Written and directed by Alex Barrett, serving as his feature directorial debut and premiered at this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival, Life Just Is follows four university graduates living in London – Pete (Jack Gordon), Tom (Nathaniel Martello-White), Claire (Fiona Ryan>) and Jay (Jayne Wisener) – who find themselves having trouble making the move into adult life. As they hang out, throw parties, and attempt to navigate their new responsibilities, romantic tensions stir and desires to find a spiritual answer to life’s meaning arise, as the true meaning of their friendships are put to the test.
Freeing himself from any distractions due to the film’s small budget, Barrett’s directorial style is very simple, but Life Just Is avoids the flaws of many independent films and doesn’t fall flat to inexpensive looking frames or poor definitions. With minimal cinematic interferences and the use of only a couple of sets,...
Freeing himself from any distractions due to the film’s small budget, Barrett’s directorial style is very simple, but Life Just Is avoids the flaws of many independent films and doesn’t fall flat to inexpensive looking frames or poor definitions. With minimal cinematic interferences and the use of only a couple of sets,...
- 12/4/2012
- by Charlie Derry
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Shooting is underway in Belfast on a modern reworking of the Charles Dickens classic novel for the BBC called ‘The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby' with a cast of mainly Northern Irish actors.
23 year old Andrew Simpson (represented by United Agents), best known for starring opposite Cate Blanchett in ‘Notes on a Scandal’, takes the lead role of Nick.
Produced by double BAFTA-winning production company Kindle Entertainment and directed by David Innes Edwards, the five-episode series will focus on lead character Nick, who investigates corruption in care homes for the elderly.
The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby has been updated to reflect concerns and questions about modern Britain, so Dickens’ exploration of corruption within private boarding schools is transposed to care-homes for the elderly. Just as Dickens did, the drama invites the audience to reflect on how the vulnerable suffer when the pursuit of profit is valued more than human kindness.
23 year old Andrew Simpson (represented by United Agents), best known for starring opposite Cate Blanchett in ‘Notes on a Scandal’, takes the lead role of Nick.
Produced by double BAFTA-winning production company Kindle Entertainment and directed by David Innes Edwards, the five-episode series will focus on lead character Nick, who investigates corruption in care homes for the elderly.
The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby has been updated to reflect concerns and questions about modern Britain, so Dickens’ exploration of corruption within private boarding schools is transposed to care-homes for the elderly. Just as Dickens did, the drama invites the audience to reflect on how the vulnerable suffer when the pursuit of profit is valued more than human kindness.
- 7/5/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (ScreenTerrier)
- ScreenTerrier
Northern Irish actors Bronagh Gallagher (Pulp Fiction), Jayne Wisener(A Kiss For Jed) and Andrew Simpson have all been cast in upcoming BBC series 'The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby', which is currently shooting in Belfast. Adrian Dunbar (Hear My Song) also stars. David Innes-Edwards is directing all five episodes, four of which have been written by Joy Wilkinson (Doctors) and one which was written by Dominique Moloney (Land Girls). Sue Breen is producing for London-based Kindle, while Melanie Stokes and Anne Brogan are executive producing. Northern Irish Jim Creagh (Give My Head Some Peace) is the director of photography, and Nick Emerson will edit. Ifta-winning Hazel Webb-Crozier (Your Highness) is the costume designer on the project.
- 7/4/2012
- IFTN
Our photo gallery has been updated with 11 new high resolution photos from Cary Fukunaga’s adaptation of famous novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë – Jane Eyre. In this adaptation we will watch Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre, Michael Fassbender as Edward Rochester, Jamie Bell as St. John, Judi Dench as Mrs. Fairfax and Imogen Poots as Blanche Ingram. You can check out bigger versions of each by clicking them below.
Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender in Jane Eyre
The movie also stars Sally Hawkins, Jayne Wisener, Sophie Ward, Tamzin Merchant, Simon McBurney and Emily Haigh among others.
Jamie Bell and Holliday Grainger in Jane Eyre
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meet the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Mr. Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close...
Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender in Jane Eyre
The movie also stars Sally Hawkins, Jayne Wisener, Sophie Ward, Tamzin Merchant, Simon McBurney and Emily Haigh among others.
Jamie Bell and Holliday Grainger in Jane Eyre
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meet the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Mr. Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close...
- 2/8/2011
- by Cwickman
- Filmofilia
We have added the first trailer for Focus Feature's forthcoming adaptation of the Charlotte Brontë classic novel 'Jane Eyre'. The period drama stars Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Holliday Grainger, Sally Hawkins, Tamzin Merchant, Jayne Wisener, Sophie Ward, and Imogen Poots.Watch the trailer below in standard or HD;'Jane Eyre' is released across the Us from March 11th. A UK release date is yet to be announced.Based on Charlotte Brontë's classic novel, the romantic drama stars Mia Wasikowska ("Alice in Wonderland") and Michael Fassbender ("Inglourious Basterds") in the lead roles. In the story, Jane Eyre flees Thornfield House, where she works as a governess for wealthy Edward Rochester. The isolated and imposing residence . and Mr. Rochester's coldness...
- 11/10/2010
- by Anthony Pearson
- Monsters and Critics
Yesterday we posted an early poster for Cary Fukunaga’s (Sin Nombre) adaptation of famous novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë – Jane Eyre.
But today we are here to share with you the first trailer for the movie. Check it out below.
In this adaptation we will watch Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre, Michael Fassbender as Edward Rochester, Jamie Bell as St. John, Judi Dench as Mrs. Fairfax and Imogen Poots as Blanche Ingram.
Fukunaga will direct from the script written by Moira Buffini.
Here’s the official Jane Eyre synopsis:
Based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, the romantic drama stars Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) in the lead roles.
In the story, Jane Eyre flees Thornfield House, where she works as a governess for wealthy Edward Rochester.
The isolated and imposing residence – and Mr. Rochester’s coldness – have sorely tested the young woman’s resilience,...
But today we are here to share with you the first trailer for the movie. Check it out below.
In this adaptation we will watch Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre, Michael Fassbender as Edward Rochester, Jamie Bell as St. John, Judi Dench as Mrs. Fairfax and Imogen Poots as Blanche Ingram.
Fukunaga will direct from the script written by Moira Buffini.
Here’s the official Jane Eyre synopsis:
Based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, the romantic drama stars Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) in the lead roles.
In the story, Jane Eyre flees Thornfield House, where she works as a governess for wealthy Edward Rochester.
The isolated and imposing residence – and Mr. Rochester’s coldness – have sorely tested the young woman’s resilience,...
- 11/10/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
Focus Features has debuted the first and great teaser poster for Cary Fukunaga’s (Sin Nombre) adaptation of famous novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë – Jane Eyre.
In this adaptation we will watch Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre, Michael Fassbender as Edward Rochester, Jamie Bell as St. John, Judi Dench as Mrs. Fairfax and Imogen Poots as Blanche Ingram.
So, check out now official Jane Eyre synopsis:
Based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, the romantic drama stars Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) in the lead roles.
In the story, Jane Eyre flees Thornfield House, where she works as a governess for wealthy Edward Rochester.
The isolated and imposing residence – and Mr. Rochester’s coldness – have sorely tested the young woman’s resilience, forged years earlier when she was orphaned.
As Jane reflects upon her past and recovers her natural curiosity, she will return to Mr.
In this adaptation we will watch Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre, Michael Fassbender as Edward Rochester, Jamie Bell as St. John, Judi Dench as Mrs. Fairfax and Imogen Poots as Blanche Ingram.
So, check out now official Jane Eyre synopsis:
Based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, the romantic drama stars Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) in the lead roles.
In the story, Jane Eyre flees Thornfield House, where she works as a governess for wealthy Edward Rochester.
The isolated and imposing residence – and Mr. Rochester’s coldness – have sorely tested the young woman’s resilience, forged years earlier when she was orphaned.
As Jane reflects upon her past and recovers her natural curiosity, she will return to Mr.
- 11/9/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
A late entry for the 2010 Galway Film Fleadh, Maurice Linnane's 'A Kiss for Jed Wood' is to receive its first public screening at this year's Galway Film Fleadh on Friday, July 9th. The film stars Mark O'Halloran (Adam and Paul), Jayne Wisener (Sweeney Todd) and Lee Arenberg (Pirates of the Caribbean). As her task on a TV game show, Orla, a wild 19 year old from Ireland, is sent to New York to get a kiss from country superstar Jed Wood. Ray Timmons, a forty year old with a great future behind him, is dispatched as her cameraman. In New York they meet up with porn film sound recordist Mike and start the quest for the elusive Jed Wood. They are wildly unsuccessful but two events change the course of their quest whilst their odd odyssey is taken up and championed by DJ Carter on radio station Wsnx. When Ray...
- 6/30/2010
- IFTN
by Perri Nemiroff
Fantasy worlds developed by Tim Burton are a lot to digest. It’s not going to be an easy task, jumping from last week’s top film, “Shutter Island,” or even “The Crazies” or “Cop Out,” to the live action/CGI amalgamation “Alice in Wonderland.” Rather than diving in head first on Friday, it might be a better idea to test the waters and acclimate yourself to Burton’s eccentric style.
There’s no way to squeeze in all of Burton’s films before “Alice,” but a proper assortment could do the trick. Follow this step-by-step recipe to ensure that you’ll be fully cooked and ready to indulge in Burton’s latest creation.
"The Nightmare Before Christmas"
There’s no better place to start than with a cult classic widely loved by kids and adults alike. The film first hit theaters back in 1993, but it’s...
Fantasy worlds developed by Tim Burton are a lot to digest. It’s not going to be an easy task, jumping from last week’s top film, “Shutter Island,” or even “The Crazies” or “Cop Out,” to the live action/CGI amalgamation “Alice in Wonderland.” Rather than diving in head first on Friday, it might be a better idea to test the waters and acclimate yourself to Burton’s eccentric style.
There’s no way to squeeze in all of Burton’s films before “Alice,” but a proper assortment could do the trick. Follow this step-by-step recipe to ensure that you’ll be fully cooked and ready to indulge in Burton’s latest creation.
"The Nightmare Before Christmas"
There’s no better place to start than with a cult classic widely loved by kids and adults alike. The film first hit theaters back in 1993, but it’s...
- 3/5/2010
- by MTV Movies Team
- MTV Movies Blog
This coming weekend we all get to go with Alice down the rabbit hole again into the fantastic world of Wonderland. Johnny Depp again teams up with director Tim Burton to bring us this visually stunning and imagination filled motion picture to give us the continuing story of Alice's adventures in the strange world filled is amazing characters.
Joining Depp on the screen for "Wonderland" are Mia Wasikowska (most recently seen in "Amelia") as Alice, Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as The White Queen, Cristin Glover as the Knave of Hearts, Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar and Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit.
In "Alice In Wonderland", 19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.
But did you know that "Alice In Wonderland...
Joining Depp on the screen for "Wonderland" are Mia Wasikowska (most recently seen in "Amelia") as Alice, Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as The White Queen, Cristin Glover as the Knave of Hearts, Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar and Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit.
In "Alice In Wonderland", 19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.
But did you know that "Alice In Wonderland...
- 3/1/2010
- by jgardner@amctheatres.com
- AMC - Script to Screen
Sean Stokes – CEO of Screen Producers Ireland talks to Iftn on the Section 481 Panel discussion held at the week in Cannes and two new features to be shot in Ireland are announced; Octagon Film's 'The Last Furlong' and Ignition Film's 'Lend Me Your Face'. Ignition Film's 'Lend Me Your Face' to be directed by Maurice Linnane and written by Barry Devlin, is reported to commence filming this week in Dublin with Jayne Wisener (Sweeney Todd) and Mark O'Halloran (Adam and Paul) attached. French director Agnes Merlet, who shot 'Dorothy Mills', looks to direct 'The Last Furlong', written by Nick Murphy (The Running Mate). The project will be a co production with Dublin's Octagon Films and France's Fidelite. Production is likely to happen in November of this year in Dublin and Wicklow.
- 5/20/2009
- IFTN
The latest incarnation of terror -- "Boogeyman 3" debuts Unrated on DVD January 20 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The third movies stars Erin Cahill ("Supernatural"), Kate Maberly ("Finding Neverland"), Matt Rippy ("The Dark Knight", "Hellboy II: The Golden Army"), Jayne Wisener ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street"), Mimi Michaels ("Shark Swarm"), Chuck Hittinger ("90210"), Nikki Sanderson ("Coronation Street"), and Elyes Gabel ("Casualty"). Bonus materials include deleted scenes and three featurettes. The DVD will be available for $24.96. When college sophomore Sarah Morris witnesses the alleged suicide of her best friend, it sets into motion a series of horrific events that cause Sarah to fear the supernatural entity known as the Boogeyman. As she tries to...
- 10/24/2008
- www.ohmygore.com/
Movie Info: Writer: John Logan, Stephen Sondheim Director: Tim Burton Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Laura Michelle Kelly, Jayne Wisener Rating: R Studio: Dreamworks Release Info: DVD Release Date: October 21, 2008 Online Availability: Amazon for $27.95 I don’t tend to watch many musicals, though the ones that I do find interest in [...]...
- 10/18/2008
- by Ashtyn
Filming has wrapped on Ghost House Pictures' Boogeyman, which was directed by Gary Jones for a direct-to-dvd release later this year. The site also reveals the entire cast as Erin Cahill, Jayne Wisener, Kate Maberly, Mimi Michaels, Matt Rippy, Chuck Hittinger, Nikki Sanderson, Elyes Gabel, George Yanakiev, W.B. Alexander and George Maguire. The follow up to the successful hit Boogeyman (2006) is the story of an evil that every culture has tried to define by giving it a name and a face. For college sophomore Sarah Morris, that evil is the Boogeyman. When Sarah witnesses the alleged suicide of her roommate, it sets off a supernatural chain reaction. As she tries to convince the rest of her dorm that the Boogeyman does exist, the evil force grows stronger and her friends pay the price. Now Sarah must stop this ultimate evil before the entire campus falls prey.
- 6/12/2008
- bloody-disgusting.com
This review was written for the theatrical release of "Sweeney Todd".
It's 19th century London and everyone is singing, but when arterial blood sprays from the opened throat of Signor Adolfo Pirelli, you know this is no "My Fair Lady".
Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," a savage tale of cannibalism, madness and serial murder, is now Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd". The show couldn't have fallen into better hands. With realistic gore replacing the stylistic bloodletting in the stage version, "Sweeney" loses some of its darkly comic tone -- not a lot of laughs here except the nervous kind.
More akin to Burton's "Sleepy Hollow", where heads rolled like so many bowling balls, his "Sweeney Todd" places its emphasis on Grand Guignol and the deeply human story of twice-lost love and the horrifying destructiveness of revenge.
It took two studios, DreamWorks and Warner Bros., to share the considerable risk of making and marketing this tragic tale that defies so many conventions of the American musical. It will be a significant challenge to find a substantial audience despite the advantage of the Burton and Sondheim brands along with a cast that includes Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.
"Sweeney Todd" comes from an obscure British melodrama -- which might or might not have been based on true 18th century events -- about a deranged barber who slit the throats of customers and his landlady who served the victims up in meatpies.
Sondheim's 1979 show took place within the context of the Industrial Revolution and its rampant corruption and avarice. More satiric opera than musical, "Sweeney Todd" blended together a number of theatrical and literary modes, making the show at once Brechtian, Dickensian and Jacobean. Sondheim acknowledges the influence of the film music of Bernard Herrmann even as he throws in a Viennese waltz or music hall burlesque.
Burton and writer John Logan take all this as a gift, which is then filtered through Burton's own unrepentant sense of the macabre. Except for imaginary sequences or flashbacks to happier days, the film has a monochromatic look with color drained from cityscape. Depp and Carter dress mostly in stark dark clothes with black circles around the eyes, almost as if the figures in Burton's "Corpse Bride" served as models.
In choosing actors who can carry a tune as opposed to singing-actors, Burton has wisely gone for the tragic, emotional heart of the story, narrowing the focus to Sweeney; Mrs. Lovett, the meatpie lady, plagued by unrequited love for Sweeney; and Toby (Edward Sanders, who has a striking voice), the street urchin who assists but is innocent of the pie's ingredients.
Depp is the movie's heart and guts. His Sweeney, nee Benjamin Barker -- having escaped false imprisonment in Australia after 15 years -- is ruled by revenge upon his return to London. Presented with his razors, which Mrs. Lovett (Carter) has lovingly guarded all these years, he grasps a blade with his firm right hand. "At last, my arm is complete again," he thunders.
His homicidal rage centers on Judge Turpin (a dour Alan Rickman), a vile sexual predator who had Benjamin arrested by henchman Beadle Bamford (a smarmy Timothy Spall) so he can steal Benjamin's wife Laura Michelle Kelly) and baby daughter. Sweeney learns that his wife poisoned herself and Turpin, who took the baby as his ward, lusts after the now grown woman Johanna (a wan Jayne Wisener). Anthony Jamie Campbell Bower), a young sailor who rescued Sweeney at sea, now longs to do likewise for Johanna on land.
Thus, a triangle of obsessed characters emerges. Depp plays Sweeney as a man so focused on death, so committed to blood, that he has lost all touch with life. Carter's amoral Nellie Lovett, her hair apparently combed with an egg beater, is herself obsessed with Sweeney. She imagines an impossible life with him without realizing he is unmoored from any reality in which this might take place.
The judge, hungering after young women, is the film's major disappointment. Onstage, the tormented man struggled with his obsession, longing to regain his goodness. Here he is a stock melodramatic villain who lacks any ideals other than those of self-interest, though Rickman uses all the tricks in his actor's bag to coax a human being out of the caricature.
Sanders' Toby is a street kid who turns out to possess a moral compass the adults so sorely lack. Baron Cohen as Pirelli, the barber's first victim, is surprisingly muted. Perhaps the requirement to sing has neutralized Cohen's usual outrageousness. Burton doesn't seem to know what to do with film's ingenues, Wisener's Johanna and Bower's Anthony, so they are largely ignored.
The musical numbers ooze with Sondheim's audacious wit and scathing lyrics. A lullaby conveys menace. A waltz celebrates conspiracy. Cynicism runs through all the songs' social critique.
The blood juxtaposed to the music is highly unsettling. It runs contrary to expectations. Burton pushes this gore into his audiences' faces so as to feel the madness and the destructive fury of Sweeney's obsession. Teaming with Depp, his long-time alter ego, Burton makes Sweeney a smoldering dark pit of fury and hate that consumes itself. With his sturdy acting and surprisingly good voice, Depp is a Sweeney Todd for the ages.
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
DreamWorks/Paramount
DreamWorks and Warner Bros. Pictures present a Parkes/MacDonald/Zanuck Co. production
A Tim Burton Film
Credits:
Director: Tim Burton
Screenwriter: John Logan
Based on the stage musical by: Stephen Sondheim, Hugh Wheeler
Music-lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Producers: Richard D. Zanuck, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, John Logan
Executive producer: Patrick McCormick
Director of photography: Dariusz Wolski
Production designer: Dante Ferretti
Co-producer: Katterli Frauenfelder
Costume designer: Colleen Atwood
Editor: Chris Lebenzon
Cast:
Sweeney Todd: Johnny Depp
Mrs. Lovett: Helena Bonham Carter
Judge Turpin: Alan Rickman
Beadle Bamford: Timothy Spall
Signor Adolfo Pirelli: Sacha Baron Cohen
Toby: Edward Sanders
Johanna: Jayne Wisener
Anthony Hope: Jamie Campbell Bower
Running time -- 116 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
It's 19th century London and everyone is singing, but when arterial blood sprays from the opened throat of Signor Adolfo Pirelli, you know this is no "My Fair Lady".
Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," a savage tale of cannibalism, madness and serial murder, is now Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd". The show couldn't have fallen into better hands. With realistic gore replacing the stylistic bloodletting in the stage version, "Sweeney" loses some of its darkly comic tone -- not a lot of laughs here except the nervous kind.
More akin to Burton's "Sleepy Hollow", where heads rolled like so many bowling balls, his "Sweeney Todd" places its emphasis on Grand Guignol and the deeply human story of twice-lost love and the horrifying destructiveness of revenge.
It took two studios, DreamWorks and Warner Bros., to share the considerable risk of making and marketing this tragic tale that defies so many conventions of the American musical. It will be a significant challenge to find a substantial audience despite the advantage of the Burton and Sondheim brands along with a cast that includes Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.
"Sweeney Todd" comes from an obscure British melodrama -- which might or might not have been based on true 18th century events -- about a deranged barber who slit the throats of customers and his landlady who served the victims up in meatpies.
Sondheim's 1979 show took place within the context of the Industrial Revolution and its rampant corruption and avarice. More satiric opera than musical, "Sweeney Todd" blended together a number of theatrical and literary modes, making the show at once Brechtian, Dickensian and Jacobean. Sondheim acknowledges the influence of the film music of Bernard Herrmann even as he throws in a Viennese waltz or music hall burlesque.
Burton and writer John Logan take all this as a gift, which is then filtered through Burton's own unrepentant sense of the macabre. Except for imaginary sequences or flashbacks to happier days, the film has a monochromatic look with color drained from cityscape. Depp and Carter dress mostly in stark dark clothes with black circles around the eyes, almost as if the figures in Burton's "Corpse Bride" served as models.
In choosing actors who can carry a tune as opposed to singing-actors, Burton has wisely gone for the tragic, emotional heart of the story, narrowing the focus to Sweeney; Mrs. Lovett, the meatpie lady, plagued by unrequited love for Sweeney; and Toby (Edward Sanders, who has a striking voice), the street urchin who assists but is innocent of the pie's ingredients.
Depp is the movie's heart and guts. His Sweeney, nee Benjamin Barker -- having escaped false imprisonment in Australia after 15 years -- is ruled by revenge upon his return to London. Presented with his razors, which Mrs. Lovett (Carter) has lovingly guarded all these years, he grasps a blade with his firm right hand. "At last, my arm is complete again," he thunders.
His homicidal rage centers on Judge Turpin (a dour Alan Rickman), a vile sexual predator who had Benjamin arrested by henchman Beadle Bamford (a smarmy Timothy Spall) so he can steal Benjamin's wife Laura Michelle Kelly) and baby daughter. Sweeney learns that his wife poisoned herself and Turpin, who took the baby as his ward, lusts after the now grown woman Johanna (a wan Jayne Wisener). Anthony Jamie Campbell Bower), a young sailor who rescued Sweeney at sea, now longs to do likewise for Johanna on land.
Thus, a triangle of obsessed characters emerges. Depp plays Sweeney as a man so focused on death, so committed to blood, that he has lost all touch with life. Carter's amoral Nellie Lovett, her hair apparently combed with an egg beater, is herself obsessed with Sweeney. She imagines an impossible life with him without realizing he is unmoored from any reality in which this might take place.
The judge, hungering after young women, is the film's major disappointment. Onstage, the tormented man struggled with his obsession, longing to regain his goodness. Here he is a stock melodramatic villain who lacks any ideals other than those of self-interest, though Rickman uses all the tricks in his actor's bag to coax a human being out of the caricature.
Sanders' Toby is a street kid who turns out to possess a moral compass the adults so sorely lack. Baron Cohen as Pirelli, the barber's first victim, is surprisingly muted. Perhaps the requirement to sing has neutralized Cohen's usual outrageousness. Burton doesn't seem to know what to do with film's ingenues, Wisener's Johanna and Bower's Anthony, so they are largely ignored.
The musical numbers ooze with Sondheim's audacious wit and scathing lyrics. A lullaby conveys menace. A waltz celebrates conspiracy. Cynicism runs through all the songs' social critique.
The blood juxtaposed to the music is highly unsettling. It runs contrary to expectations. Burton pushes this gore into his audiences' faces so as to feel the madness and the destructive fury of Sweeney's obsession. Teaming with Depp, his long-time alter ego, Burton makes Sweeney a smoldering dark pit of fury and hate that consumes itself. With his sturdy acting and surprisingly good voice, Depp is a Sweeney Todd for the ages.
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
DreamWorks/Paramount
DreamWorks and Warner Bros. Pictures present a Parkes/MacDonald/Zanuck Co. production
A Tim Burton Film
Credits:
Director: Tim Burton
Screenwriter: John Logan
Based on the stage musical by: Stephen Sondheim, Hugh Wheeler
Music-lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Producers: Richard D. Zanuck, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, John Logan
Executive producer: Patrick McCormick
Director of photography: Dariusz Wolski
Production designer: Dante Ferretti
Co-producer: Katterli Frauenfelder
Costume designer: Colleen Atwood
Editor: Chris Lebenzon
Cast:
Sweeney Todd: Johnny Depp
Mrs. Lovett: Helena Bonham Carter
Judge Turpin: Alan Rickman
Beadle Bamford: Timothy Spall
Signor Adolfo Pirelli: Sacha Baron Cohen
Toby: Edward Sanders
Johanna: Jayne Wisener
Anthony Hope: Jamie Campbell Bower
Running time -- 116 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 12/4/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It's 19th century London and everyone is singing, but when arterial blood sprays from the opened throat of Signor Adolfo Pirelli, you know this is no My Fair Lady.
Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," a savage tale of cannibalism, madness and serial murder, is now Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd. The show couldn't have fallen into better hands. With realistic gore replacing the stylistic bloodletting in the stage version, Sweeney loses some of its darkly comic tone -- not a lot of laughs here except the nervous kind.
More akin to Burton's Sleepy Hollow, where heads rolled like so many bowling balls, his Sweeney Todd places its emphasis on Grand Guignol and the deeply human story of twice-lost love and the horrifying destructiveness of revenge.
It took two studios, Paramount and Warner Bros., to share the considerable risk of making and marketing this tragic tale that defies so many conventions of the American musical. It will be a significant challenge to find a substantial audience despite the advantage of the Burton and Sondheim brands along with a cast that includes Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Sweeney Todd comes from an obscure British melodrama -- which might or might not have been based on true 18th century events -- about a deranged barber who slit the throats of customers and his landlady who served the victims up in meatpies.
Sondheim's 1979 show took place within the context of the Industrial Revolution and its rampant corruption and avarice. More satiric opera than musical, Sweeney Todd blended together a number of theatrical and literary modes, making the show at once Brechtian, Dickensian and Jacobean. Sondheim acknowledges the influence of the film music of Bernard Herrmann even as he throws in a Viennese waltz or music hall burlesque.
Burton and writer John Logan take all this as a gift, which is then filtered through Burton's own unrepentant sense of the macabre. Except for imaginary sequences or flashbacks to happier days, the film has a monochromatic look with color drained from cityscape. Depp and Carter dress mostly in stark dark clothes with black circles around the eyes, almost as if the figures in Burton's Corpse Bride served as models.
In choosing actors who can carry a tune as opposed to singing-actors, Burton has wisely gone for the tragic, emotional heart of the story, narrowing the focus to Sweeney; Mrs. Lovett, the meatpie lady, plagued by unrequited love for Sweeney; and Toby (Edward Sanders, who has a striking voice), the street urchin who assists but is innocent of the pie's ingredients.
Depp is the movie's heart and guts. His Sweeney, nee Benjamin Barker -- having escaped false imprisonment in Australia after 15 years -- is ruled by revenge upon his return to London. Presented with his razors, which Mrs. Lovett (Carter) has lovingly guarded all these years, he grasps a blade with his firm right hand. "At last, my arm is complete again," he thunders.
His homicidal rage centers on Judge Turpin (a dour Alan Rickman), a vile sexual predator who had Benjamin arrested by henchman Beadle Bamford (a smarmy Timothy Spall) so he can steal Benjamin's wife Laura Michelle Kelly) and baby daughter. Sweeney learns that his wife poisoned herself and Turpin, who took the baby as his ward, lusts after the now grown woman Johanna (a wane Jayne Wisener). Anthony Jamie Campbell Bower), a young sailor who rescued Sweeney at sea, now longs to do likewise for Johanna on land.
Thus, a triangle of obsessed characters emerges. Depp plays Sweeney as a man so focused on death, so committed to blood, that he has lost all touch with life. Carter's amoral Nellie Lovett, her hair apparently combed with an egg beater, is herself obsessed with Sweeney. She imagines an impossible life with him without realizing he is unmoored from any reality in which this might take place.
The judge, hungering after young women, is the film's major disappointment. Onstage, the tormented man struggled with his obsession, longing to regain his goodness. Here he is a stock melodramatic villain who lacks any ideals other than those of self-interest, though Rickman uses all the tricks in his actor's bag to coax a human being out of the caricature.
Sanders' Toby is a street kid who turns out to possess a moral compass the adults so sorely lack. Baron Cohen as Pirelli, the barber's first victim, is surprisingly muted. Perhaps the requirement to sing has neutralized Cohen's usual outrageousness. Burton doesn't seem to know what to do with film's ingenues, Wisener's Johanna and Bower's Anthony, so they are largely ignored.
The musical numbers ooze with Sondheim's audacious wit and scathing lyrics. A lullaby conveys menace. A waltz celebrates conspiracy. Cynicism runs through all the songs' social critique.
The blood juxtaposed to the music is highly unsettling. It runs contrary to expectations. Burton pushes this gore into his audiences' faces so as to feel the madness and the destructive fury of Sweeney's obsession. Teaming with Depp, his long-time alter ego, Burton makes Sweeney a smoldering dark pit of fury and hate that consumes itself. With his sturdy acting and surprisingly good voice, Depp is a Sweeney Todd for the ages.
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Paramount
DreamWorks and Warner Bros. Pictures present a Parkes/MacDonald/Zanuck Co. production
Credits:
Director: Tim Burton
Screenwriter: John Logan
Based on the stage musical by: Stephen Sondheim, Hugh Wheeler
Music-lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Producers: Richard D. Zanuck, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, John Logan
Executive producer: Patrick McCormick
Director of photography: Dariusz Wolski
Production designer: Dante Ferretti
Co-producer: Katterli Frauenfelder
Costume designer: Colleen Atwood
Editor: Chris Lebenzon
Cast:
Sweeney Todd: Johnny Depp
Mrs. Lovett: Helena Bonham Carter
Judge Turpin: Alan Rickman
Beadle Bamford: Timothy Spall
Signor Adolfo Pirelli: Sacha Baron Cohen
Toby: Edward Sanders
Johanna: Jayne Wisener
Anthony Hope: Jamie Campbell Bower
Running time -- 116 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," a savage tale of cannibalism, madness and serial murder, is now Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd. The show couldn't have fallen into better hands. With realistic gore replacing the stylistic bloodletting in the stage version, Sweeney loses some of its darkly comic tone -- not a lot of laughs here except the nervous kind.
More akin to Burton's Sleepy Hollow, where heads rolled like so many bowling balls, his Sweeney Todd places its emphasis on Grand Guignol and the deeply human story of twice-lost love and the horrifying destructiveness of revenge.
It took two studios, Paramount and Warner Bros., to share the considerable risk of making and marketing this tragic tale that defies so many conventions of the American musical. It will be a significant challenge to find a substantial audience despite the advantage of the Burton and Sondheim brands along with a cast that includes Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Sweeney Todd comes from an obscure British melodrama -- which might or might not have been based on true 18th century events -- about a deranged barber who slit the throats of customers and his landlady who served the victims up in meatpies.
Sondheim's 1979 show took place within the context of the Industrial Revolution and its rampant corruption and avarice. More satiric opera than musical, Sweeney Todd blended together a number of theatrical and literary modes, making the show at once Brechtian, Dickensian and Jacobean. Sondheim acknowledges the influence of the film music of Bernard Herrmann even as he throws in a Viennese waltz or music hall burlesque.
Burton and writer John Logan take all this as a gift, which is then filtered through Burton's own unrepentant sense of the macabre. Except for imaginary sequences or flashbacks to happier days, the film has a monochromatic look with color drained from cityscape. Depp and Carter dress mostly in stark dark clothes with black circles around the eyes, almost as if the figures in Burton's Corpse Bride served as models.
In choosing actors who can carry a tune as opposed to singing-actors, Burton has wisely gone for the tragic, emotional heart of the story, narrowing the focus to Sweeney; Mrs. Lovett, the meatpie lady, plagued by unrequited love for Sweeney; and Toby (Edward Sanders, who has a striking voice), the street urchin who assists but is innocent of the pie's ingredients.
Depp is the movie's heart and guts. His Sweeney, nee Benjamin Barker -- having escaped false imprisonment in Australia after 15 years -- is ruled by revenge upon his return to London. Presented with his razors, which Mrs. Lovett (Carter) has lovingly guarded all these years, he grasps a blade with his firm right hand. "At last, my arm is complete again," he thunders.
His homicidal rage centers on Judge Turpin (a dour Alan Rickman), a vile sexual predator who had Benjamin arrested by henchman Beadle Bamford (a smarmy Timothy Spall) so he can steal Benjamin's wife Laura Michelle Kelly) and baby daughter. Sweeney learns that his wife poisoned herself and Turpin, who took the baby as his ward, lusts after the now grown woman Johanna (a wane Jayne Wisener). Anthony Jamie Campbell Bower), a young sailor who rescued Sweeney at sea, now longs to do likewise for Johanna on land.
Thus, a triangle of obsessed characters emerges. Depp plays Sweeney as a man so focused on death, so committed to blood, that he has lost all touch with life. Carter's amoral Nellie Lovett, her hair apparently combed with an egg beater, is herself obsessed with Sweeney. She imagines an impossible life with him without realizing he is unmoored from any reality in which this might take place.
The judge, hungering after young women, is the film's major disappointment. Onstage, the tormented man struggled with his obsession, longing to regain his goodness. Here he is a stock melodramatic villain who lacks any ideals other than those of self-interest, though Rickman uses all the tricks in his actor's bag to coax a human being out of the caricature.
Sanders' Toby is a street kid who turns out to possess a moral compass the adults so sorely lack. Baron Cohen as Pirelli, the barber's first victim, is surprisingly muted. Perhaps the requirement to sing has neutralized Cohen's usual outrageousness. Burton doesn't seem to know what to do with film's ingenues, Wisener's Johanna and Bower's Anthony, so they are largely ignored.
The musical numbers ooze with Sondheim's audacious wit and scathing lyrics. A lullaby conveys menace. A waltz celebrates conspiracy. Cynicism runs through all the songs' social critique.
The blood juxtaposed to the music is highly unsettling. It runs contrary to expectations. Burton pushes this gore into his audiences' faces so as to feel the madness and the destructive fury of Sweeney's obsession. Teaming with Depp, his long-time alter ego, Burton makes Sweeney a smoldering dark pit of fury and hate that consumes itself. With his sturdy acting and surprisingly good voice, Depp is a Sweeney Todd for the ages.
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Paramount
DreamWorks and Warner Bros. Pictures present a Parkes/MacDonald/Zanuck Co. production
Credits:
Director: Tim Burton
Screenwriter: John Logan
Based on the stage musical by: Stephen Sondheim, Hugh Wheeler
Music-lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Producers: Richard D. Zanuck, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, John Logan
Executive producer: Patrick McCormick
Director of photography: Dariusz Wolski
Production designer: Dante Ferretti
Co-producer: Katterli Frauenfelder
Costume designer: Colleen Atwood
Editor: Chris Lebenzon
Cast:
Sweeney Todd: Johnny Depp
Mrs. Lovett: Helena Bonham Carter
Judge Turpin: Alan Rickman
Beadle Bamford: Timothy Spall
Signor Adolfo Pirelli: Sacha Baron Cohen
Toby: Edward Sanders
Johanna: Jayne Wisener
Anthony Hope: Jamie Campbell Bower
Running time -- 116 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 12/4/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.