Martin Landau

Tim Burton Talks FRANKENWEENIE, BEETLEJUICE 2, BIG EYES and a PINOCCHIO Film with Robert Downey Jr.

by Christina Radish    Posted: May 9th, 2012 at 9:00 am

The black and white, stop-motion animated 3D film Frankenweenie, from director Tim Burton and based on the ideas in his 1984 live-action short, is a heart-warming tale about a boy and his beloved dog.  After unexpectedly losing Sparky, young Victor (voiced by Charlie Tahan) sews him back together and harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life, but quickly faces unintended and sometimes monstrous consequences for his actions.  The voice cast also includes Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Atticus Shaffer and Winona Ryder.

During an early press day for the film, in which we got the chance to preview nearly 30 minutes of the film, director/producer Tim Burton talked about expanding the original story from his short, where the idea originally came from, casting actors that he hadn’t worked with in a while to voice some of the characters, how the stop-motion medium has changed over the years, his hope that younger audiences will want to explore the monsters that he’s paying tribute to in the film, and post-converting to 3D.  He also talked about the fact that Seth Grahame-Smith is working on writing Beetlejuice 2 and that he might be interested in getting involved depending on what he thinks of the script, the rumor about him doing a Pinocchio movie with Robert Downey Jr., and that Big Eyes is in the works, but that you never know what will be ready to go next.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

First Trailer for Tim Burton’s Stop-Motion FRANKENWEENIE Plus New Images

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 1st, 2012 at 8:44 am

The first trailer for Tim Burton‘s Frankenweenie has gone online.  Half of the trailer is the set-up for people who never saw Burton’s 1984 live-action short of the same name.  A young boy loses his beloved dog, digs up his bet, and brings him back to life Victor Frankenstein-style.  The second half of the trailer shows the fun ways that Burton is going to expand on his original concept, and that seems to involve bringing in other staples of the Frankenstein movies–namely, Igor and the Bride of Frankenstein.  After seeing the trailer, I’m eager to see the other ways Burton will try to expand on his original short-film.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and the new images.  The film features the voices of Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, and Martin Landau.  Frankenweenie opens in 3D on October 5th.

Emilie de Ravin Joins ABC Pilot Drama AMERICANA; Other Networks Continue to Wrap Up Casting

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: February 24th, 2012 at 9:26 pm

Lost alumna Emilie de Ravin has a recurring role on ABC’s freshman drama, Once Upon a Time, but has recently landed another pilot for the network. She is set to co-star in Americana, a soap revolving around a famous fashion family. Here are some other recent casting additions:

• Twilight’s Edi Gathegi will star opposite Kyle Bornheimer in the ABC comedy pilot, White Van Man.
• The CW has added Nicole Gale Anderson and Nina Lisandrello to their Beauty and the Beast drama pilot.
• Martin Landau will team up with Roland Emmerich for an untitled ABC drama pilot.
• Another Twilight alum, Chaske Spencer will join Ethan Embry, Megan Ferguson and Jake McLaughlin in NBC’s Western drama pilot, The Frontier.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

SPACE: 1999 to be Revamped for TV as SPACE: 2099

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: February 9th, 2012 at 7:46 pm

If taking a sci-fi television series from the 20^th century and reworking it for a modern audience could work for ABC’s V, then there’s hope for Space: 2099. Not only does the series have the strong original run of Space: 1999 to draw from, but HDFilms (the company behind the V resurrection) is on board for the remake. The original 1970s series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson starred Martin Landau (Ed Wood) and Barbara Bain (Mission: Impossible) among the crew members of Moonbase Alpha. News of the reboot comes only months after Fox and Seth MacFarlane announced the revisiting of the Carl Sagan miniseries, Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey. Although the project is in early stages of development and hasn’t yet courted any networks, the creative team behind Space: 2099 seem enthusiastic. Hit the jump to see what they had to say and watch an intro from the original series.

The Official Synopsis and Production Notes for Tim Burton’s 3D Stop-Motion FRANKENWEENIE

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 14th, 2011 at 9:20 pm

Walt Disney Studios has released the official synopsis for Tim Burton’s feature-length adaptation of his own 1984 short Frankenweenie:

After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.

Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, and Atticus Shaffer will voice the characters in the 3D black-and-white stop-motion animated film, due October 5, 2012.  Hit the jump to see the full production notes.

SPACE: 1999 Season 1 Blu-ray Review

by Rob Klein    Posted: December 30th, 2010 at 8:00 am

It is about time that Space: 1999 has been released, not only on Blu-ray, but also as one complete season. This release gives you the entire first season packaged together in a seven-disc set, where it had previously been offered on DVD in numerous volumes.  I mean, who has that much shelf space that they can devote a yard and half of storage to Space: 1999 episodes?  Now you can have the entire Season One of Space 1999, occupying but a mere inch of valuable shelf real estate.  My review of the Season One Blu-ray, after the jump.

Winona Ryder, Martin Landau, Catherine O’Hara, and Martin Short Join the FRANKENWEENIE Voice Cast

by Ramses Flores    Posted: September 20th, 2010 at 7:39 pm

Even though the film is still a couple years away, Tim Burton has already lined up a voice cast for his upcoming 3D stop-motion animated film, Frankenweenie.  The film is an adaptation of his 1984 short, and tells the story of “a man who reanimates his dog after it gets hit by a car.” Deadline reports that Winona Ryder will voice the role of Elsa, and Martin Landau will provide the voice for Mr. Rzykruski.  Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara have also been cast and will provide five voices each.  Short will voice Bob, Nassor, Toshiaki, Victor’s Dad, and Mr. Bergermeister.  Meanwhile, O’Hara will voice Edgar, Weird Girl, Victor’s Mom, and Gym Teacher.

The role of each character in the film is still unknown.  Frankenweenie marks the fourth collaboration between Burton and screenwriter John August (Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and will be released by Disney on March 9, 2012.  Hit the jump to check out the original short film.

Martin Landau, Thomas Haden Church, and Ezra Miller Are a REASONABLE BUNCH

by Jason Barr    Posted: September 1st, 2010 at 9:49 am

Here is a bit of casting news for you this morning.  Oscar winner Martin Landau (Ed Wood), Oscar nominee Thomas Haden Church (Sideways), and Ezra Miller (City Island) have joined Sam Levinson’s The Reasonable Bunch.  According to Variety, Landau will play the father of Ellen Barkin’s character, Church will play Barkin’s ex-husband, and Miller will play Barkin’s son.  In addition to these three, Kate Bosworth, Demi Moore, Ellen Burstyn, and the previously mentioned Barkin are also attached to star.

Originally titled Devil in My Shoes, the family drama revolves around “two reckless siblings (Bosworth and Miller) who are dragged to a chaotic family wedding by their overwrought mother (Barkin).”  The Reasonable Bunch will mark the directorial debut of Levinson, the 25-year-old son of Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson (Rain Man), who will be working from his own script.  Filming is set to commence in Michigan next week.

9 DVD Review

by Jackson    Posted: February 11th, 2010 at 6:17 am

It’s rare that two films with the same name come out within months of each other.  After all, the MPAA Title Registration Database exists to protect against just such confusion; however, when both are adapted from pre-established source material, what can the MPAA do?  To be fair, so the two films in question, Nine and 9, are not quite identically titled.  The former is an adaptation of the stage musical of the same name that itself is taken from Fellini’s 8 ½.  This is not a review of that film.  The latter is an expansion of director Shane Ackers’s digitally animated short about a burlap doll that awakens in a post-apocalyptic world devoid of humans and must subsequently struggle to survive.  DVD review of that 9 after the jump.

6 Movie Clips and a 4 Minute Sneak Peak Featurette of Director Shane Acker’s 9

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 23rd, 2009 at 7:08 pm

Opening on September 9^th is director Shane Acker’s debut feature film “9″. The film is based on his short that won an Academy Award, and with the help of producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, he got to make a feature. While I have yet to see “9″, it looks really cool and the people I’ve spoken to that have seen it have told me positive things. So if you’d like to take a look at some footage, after the jump are 6 clips from the film and a 4 minute featurette.

Copyright ©2005 - 2012. All Rights Reserved. California web design