Tim Burton's Big Eyes (Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz ) - December 25, 2014

[Akijama]

Director Tim Burton’s long-developing biopic Big Eyes is finally moving forward. The filmmaker first became attached to the pic back in 2010, when he sparked to a script by Ed Wood scribes Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski that he intended to produce. The film’s story focuses on the artistic coupling of Margaret and Walter Keane. Walter became famous in the 1950s and 60s for paintings featuring saucer-eyed kids, though it was the shy Margaret who really did the work. Margaret eventually tired of the misplaced credit, which led to a divorce and a heated court battle to prove authorship of the paintings.

Ryan Reynolds and Reese Witherspoon became attached to play the couple early last year, but now a different promising duo of actors will be bringing The Keanes to life on the big screen with Burton in the director’s chair, as Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams have signed on to topline the pic. Hit the jump for more.

tim-burton-big-eyesPer Deadline, Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams are set to star in Big Eyes with Burton directing. This is a stellar bit of casting, and both actors are coming off of Academy Award nominations for fantastic work in last year’s Django Unchained and The Master respectively, with Waltz taking home the gold for Best Supporting Actor in his second collaboration with Quentin Tarantino. Burton had yet to commit to his next project as recently as last fall when he was nearing the end of a rather exhausting year that saw the release of two Burton films: Dark Shadows and Frankenweenie.

The filmmaker is also developing a Beetlejuice sequel and a new take on Pinocchio with Robert Downey Jr., but he has now settled on Big Eyes as his next project with filming set to get underway this spring. Moreover, The Weinstein Company has come aboard to handle financing and distribution for the indie. Though Burton certainly has a flair for visuals with larger, genre-oriented studio properties, I’m very, very excited about the prospect of him tackling a smaller-scale drama like Big Eyes.

http://collider.com/big-eyes-tim-bur...ltz-amy-adams/

[KilloWertz]

I'm in. I'm not part of the Tim Burton Hate Club, and I'm also a fan of Amy Adams.

[Oateyboat]

As much as I enjoy most of Tim Burton's work, it's the involvement of Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams that is getting me intrigued about this film.

[SpartanX]

I like Waltz but....


meh

[Monterey Jack]

Wow...a Burton movie sans Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter and not a Burtonized adaptation of a "dark" previous franchise? Count me very interested in this...Burton needs desperately to break out of his current self-parody rut, and a "real world" biopic in the vein of Ed Wood sounds like what the doctor ordered.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Wow...a Burton movie sans Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter and not a Burtonized adaptation of a "dark" previous franchise?

Wow, a movie he thought up on his own, and wasn't Warner or Disney's dancing monkey on a leash, to Alice-ize or Batman-ize an existing overexposed pop franchise/remake on demand?

Wow, a movie that doesn't take a smarmy gay-flavored "John Waters in all but name"* jab at corny expired 50's pop-kitsch topics like....oh, wait, it's the Ed Wood writers and it's about "big-eyed paintings" that nobody's joked about in the last thirty years. Yep, it's still Tim.

Still, it's a..................STEP. At least it's not a Warner or Disney movie.

-----
* -

[Show spoiler]No, seriously, try it sometime: Show "Hairspray" and "Cry-Baby" to a friend who's never seen either, and ask them to name, without looking at the credits, which of the two films Tim Burton directed. Yes, it's a trick question, but the point is to see the answers you get.
Ten bucks says they'll put Cry-Baby into the context of "Burton's directorial style", just because Depp was in it.

[chris_sc77]

Big Fish Eyes....
Really happy Burton is stepping away from the family/fantasy stuff for a while.

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Wow...a Burton movie sans Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter and not a Burtonized adaptation of a "dark" previous franchise? Count me very interested in this...Burton needs desperately to break out of his current self-parody rut, and a "real world" biopic in the vein of Ed Wood sounds like what the doctor ordered.

Agreed - the idea of Burton doing something away from the big-budget family/franchise arena that he's been stuck in (and I say that as someone who liked Frankenweeine and thought Dark Shadows had its moments) and applying his quirk to something with a bit of meat in it makes me interested in the project but to have Adams and Waltz headline it makes me look forward to it even more.

Burton's still capable of greatness - Sweeney Todd was a blast and Big Fish was excellent. It's a shame the likes of Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland have dragged him down in the past decade. Fingers crossed this is a return to form.

[Foggy]

Not a fan of Burton, but I tend to love his more mature work, so I'm interested in this.

[legendarymatt92]

Very interesting. I'm in the minority who like the partnership of Burton and Depp (I think they both compliment each other's quirkiness very well, plus Depp is a great actor) but it'll be nice to see something marginally different from him.

[Poya]

Originally Posted by Akijama

http://collider.com/big-eyes-tim-bur...ltz-amy-adams/

Thank God Witherspoon isn't in this. Adams is a much better actress than the female Adam Sandler.

[jwerk]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Wow...a Burton movie sans Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter and not a Burtonized adaptation of a "dark" previous franchise?

Slow down there, Champ. Just because Waltz & Adams are in it doesn't mean his 2 wives aren't. I'm sure he'll find something for them to do

[Akijama]

Danny Huston in Talks to Join Tim Burton's 'Big Eyes'

[KingRad]

I'm a big fan of Tim Burton, I've enjoyed nearly every project of his. This movie has really peaked my interested, especially with the casting choices. If the casting choice of Ryan Reynolds and Reese Witherspoon would have continued into actual production, I probably would have been turned off from the film, and there would have had to be something quite alluring to draw me back in.

[JavaJulien]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Wow...a Burton movie sans Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter and not a Burtonized adaptation of a "dark" previous franchise? Count me very interested in this...Burton needs desperately to break out of his current self-parody rut, and a "real world" biopic in the vein of Ed Wood sounds like what the doctor ordered.

+1

I am intrigued. Haven't really enjoyed a Burton film since Sweeny Todd, but this sounds enticing, especially for the Waltz/Adams duo.

[Abdrewes]

Ooh, this looks like the most interesting script he's been given since Ed Wood.

[PocosuTheCamel]

Tim Burton and Christoph Waltz sounds like a match made in heaven! Greatly looking forward to this!

[Akijama]

More casting news

Tim Burton's 'Big Eyes' casts Jason Schwartzman

[klauswhereareyou]

I hope this is the return to form that I know Burton is capable of. It wasn't that long ago that he did Sweeney Todd and Big Fish, so I know there are still good films left in him.

[JJBerning]

Originally Posted by KingRad

I'm a big fan of Tim Burton, I've enjoyed nearly every project of his. This movie has really peaked my interested, especially with the casting choices. If the casting choice of Ryan Reynolds and Reese Witherspoon would have continued into actual production, I probably would have been turned off from the film, and there would have had to be something quite alluring to draw me back in.

LOL
you tried to used a big word, but failed..

It is " piqued my interest" that you are trying to say.

"Piqued " NOT "peaked "

different words, different meanings..

" piqued my interest" would mean "made me interested in ..."