Opening this weekend is director Timur Bekmambetov‘s (Wanted) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  Based on the book of the same name from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith and produced by Tim Burton, the film imagines that Lincoln’s mother and grandfather were killed by a vampire and that the president’s resolve to end slavery was due in part to the “fact” that vampires were involved with the slave trade.  Playing Lincoln is newcomer Benjamin Walker and he stars alongside Rufus Sewell, Anthony Mackie, Dominic Cooper, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. For more on the film, here’s all our previous coverage and three clips with twenty minutes of behind-the-scenes footage.

A few days ago I got to speak with Tim Burton in New York City.  We talked about Frankenweenie, his favorite movies, the level of his involvement in the making of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the test screening process, how many deleted scenes there are from his previous films like Batman or Pee wee’s Big Adventure that have never been seen before, the status of the Beetlejuice sequel, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

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.

Doing early press for the black and white, stop-motion animated 3D film Frankenweenie, due out on October 5^th, questions for director Tim Burton naturally turned to what he might decide to focus on next.  While we will post that portion of the interview on May 9^th, I can say that the nearly 30 minutes of footage that we saw was as adorable, twisted and witty as you would expect, and I can’t wait to see the full-length feature.

When asked about whether or not he’s started to think about what his next film will be, Burton said that he’s going to take a break because he thinks it’s embarrassing that he has three movies coming out this year.  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, 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.

We recently brought you a new image from Tim Burton’s adaptation of the cult classic TV series Dark Shadows, and now we have quite a few words from the director on a few of his upcoming projects. He’s currently in post-production on Dark Shadows, which tells the story of a vampire (played by Johnny Depp) who attempts to reintegrate with his descendants after being buried for 200 years. In addition to talking about the setting, tone, and characters of Dark Shadows, Burton gave an update on the Beetlejuice sequel that Seth Grahame-Smith is writing and revealed that they’ll be testing an IMAX version of Frankenweenie. Hit the jump for all the details.

I don’t know if this actually increases the likelihood of a Beetlejuice sequel, but two of the stars are on board if Warner Bros. feels like putting it together.  Moviehole asked Michael Keaton about his interest in a follow-up to the 1988 Tim Burton horror comedy at a press junket for Toy Story 3, to which the actor responded:

“Oh, I’d do that in a heartbeat… Absolutely.  That’s the one thing I’d love to do again.”

Likewise, co-star Geena Davis responded in the affirmative (“I would do that!”) to a similar inquiry last month.  The idea of a sequel has been bandied about for some time (there’s even a script titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian floating out there somewhere), and doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility.  Good to know Keaton won’t be an obstacle if your fingers are crossed.  Hit the jump for a synopsis and trailer of the original.