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Amelia (2009)The material has been raked over so often, bent to many wills, that it can hardly be viewed as a sacred text so criticism from Carroll purists at this point seems unlikely. Some reports have suggested Linda Woolverton's screenplay has an overtly socio-political message. High hopes can be held for a script penned by the award winning writer of The Lion King, and 'The Beauty And The Beast' Broadway musical (another Disney classic set for a 3D re-release). Burton has described the material in the 'Guardian' as "Whoa man!" believing the story to be like "drugs for children" so perhaps Woolverton will provide grounding for Burton's riffs. The director's frequent muses Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter will take on the Mad Hatter and the Red Queen. A photo of unknown origin has been released on the internet supposedly showing Depp in costume. If it's a real picture from the set, the Mad Hatter will be somewhat demonic. Despite an apparent Hollywood furor around the casting of Alice, with a number of starlets vying for the role, Burton went for a relative unknown, Australian 18-year-old Mia Wasikowska. She has most notably appeared alongside Daniel Craig in Defiance and will be seen in Amelia, a biopic of American pilot Amelia Earhart, due for release in October 2009. The actress is in two officially released set pictures in traditional blue and white Alice costume on board a boat at Plymouth docks. Burton shot the live-action scenes in Devon and Cornwall with the 'Independent' reporting that he used 'historic properties such as the George II mansion Saltram House... and the Royal William Yard." During filming in Plymouth there was a much publicized call for 250 Victorian-looking extras to populate the sets. British comedian Matt Lucas is to play Tweedledum and Tweedledee and has said of the experience to BBC News, "I think a lot of the work is going to be green screen but I've seen some set designs and what the characters are going to look like and they appear absolutely extraordinary." The Cheshire Cat will be played by Stephen Fry who is no stranger to new technologies as narrator of the video game community LittleBigPlanet. Alan Rickman, who played Judge Turpin in Burton's Sweeney Todd, is to be the Caterpillar. The White Rabbit role is being taken on by Michael Sheen, an actor who has seen his star rise rapidly with Frost/Nixon. Of her part as the White Queen Anne Hathaway recently said on the red carpet, she's "cute but psycho". All Hollywood eyes will be on Burton to trump his past triumphs and spark up the 3D revolution, keeping the kids away from their television sets. Let's hope Alice in Wonderland is as "Whoa man" as Disney wants. |
