Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Images

In addition to directing two of his own films this year, Tim Burton is also producing Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter for Timur Bekmambetov (with whom he produced Shane Acker's 9).

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is based on the novel of the same name that was written by Seth Grahame-Smith (who also wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies).  Grahame-Smith also wrote the screenplay for Burton's Dark Shadows.

Several stills have been released online for the film which premieres June 22 of this year.

There's no trailer yet but you can watch a trailer that was released for the book in 2010:

Frankenweenie Official Site and Facebook Page

Contrasting what Warner Bros. is doing or (not doing) with Dark Shadows, Disney is beginning to do some promotion for Tim's 2012 Frankenweenie (a re-make of his 1984 short).  There is an official website up with a brief synopsis of the film and a single image of Victor with Sparky.

There's also an official Facebook Page where several behind the scenes photos of animators at work have been posted.

Frankenweenie will be released in October so I'm hoping for a trailer by the spring.

Dark Shadows is Still Hush, Hush

Nobody is talking about Tim Burton's Dark Shadows and it's set to be released on May 11, 2012!  There's no poster, no trailer--not even a teaser yet!  I've only seen four images from the set:

It was reported yesterday by MTV that Burton is still editing and working on some visual effects for the film, but with only four months to the release date you'd think the studio would want to start hyping it up!

From the photos, it looks like Johnny Depp's Barnabas Collins make-up takes about 15 years off his face.  The same can't be said for Michelle Pfieffer as Elizabeth but I think I'm most excited to see her performance.  It's been 20 years since she and Burton collaborated on Batman Returns and I loved her performance in that film!  Hopefully they'll be able to create some new magic.

2012 is going to be a busy year for Tim Burton.  He's also producing and directing the new Frankenweenie and producing Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter for Timur Bekmambetov.  Incidentally, it's also a big year for Seth Grahame-Smith who is writing both Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (from his novel).

Perhaps Burton is simply too busy to worry about promotion at the moment.  

Martin Landau at Fan Expo 2011

I was privileged to meet the great Martin Landau at the Fan Expo in Toronto this past weekend.  Landau has had a decades-long career and at the age of 83 he shows no signs of slowing down.  Landau has worked with Tim Burton on four films: Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood, 9 and the currently in-production Frankenweenie.

I asked Mr. Landau what it was like working with Alfred Hitchcock on North By Northwest.  He paused for a moment and then told me that Hitchcock had been "an interesting man" and that he had enjoyed the experience.  I asked if the rumours of Hitchcock ignoring his actors were true and Mr. Landau replied that Hitchcock had not been that way with him.

I explained that Ed Wood was one of my favourite of his films and also one of my favourite Tim Burton films and Mr. Landau was excited to chat about the new full-length version of Frankenweenie for which he is supplying the voice of Mr. Rzykruski.  I'm looking forward to that one!

I had to have Mr. Landau sign a photo of himself as Bela Lugosi from Ed Wood.  This is the role for which he won his Oscar and the one for which he will probably always be remembered best.

Profiles in History Hollywood Auction 44

Profiles in History is gearing up for their 44th Hollywood Auction which takes place May 14 and 15, 2011.  The auction has many Tim Burton items including original artwork and props!

Oogie Boogie has always been a favourite of mine so I've been drooling over the Oogie Boogie puppet and his skull die from Nightmare Before Christmas.  There are a lot of small props and puppet pieces from that film available for auction. There are also several pieces of concept art by Tim Burton and some original storyboards.

The auction also includes several original pieces of art by Burton for The Corpse Bride.  Some of these are really beautiful.

Possibly the greatest Burton treasure in the auction is a series of original drawings from the short film Vincent.  I love this short and I think it would be amazing to have one of these in my collection.

It will be interesting to see the prices some of these fetch.  Tim Burton art is immediately recognizable and it tends to sell at very high prices.

TimBurton.com

For many years, TimBurton.com was simply a black page waiting for something to happen.  Finally, when MoMA created Tim Burton: The Exhibition and The Art of Tim Burton was published, the website got some content!

The site now features flash animation of Tim Burton's art.  Visitors can control an animated version of Stainboy as he walks through a virtual gallery of some of the art that appears in the exhibition.  I love that when he stands still for more than a moment a stain begins to grow on the floor below him.

Who knows when the site may change again but I thought I would grab a few screenshots for the archives in case!

TimBurton.com is an excellent place to see some of the key pieces from the exhibition from your own home.  If you're able to, I highly recommend ordering The Art of Tim Burton as well.  It's a beautiful book and a must for fans of Mr. Burton and his work.

RIP Michael Gough

Michael Gough was an actor best-known for his appearances in the Tim Burton Batman films, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Alice in Wonderland but he had a long and distinguished career beginning in the 1940s.  Gough was born in Malaysia in  1917 and passed away today.

We are fortunate that so many of Gough's memorable performances have been captured on film and television.  He's appeared in a wide range of films from horror to Shakespeare and he was truly wonderful as Alfred Pennyworth in the Batman films.  He will be sorely missed.