Tim Burton casts his Alice- Page 2

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 9:41am

ALICE is veddy, veddy British story that is incredibly hard to adapt to film (or the stage, for that matter).

Still the best adaptation is Jan Svankmeijer's creepy, brilliant masterpiece ALICE.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 9:43am

i'm hoping that the rumors are correct and hbc will be playing "random naked woman who shows up once every few minutes for no apparent reason and spreads her legs."

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 9:47am

my favorite version is Randy Greif's ALICE IN WONDERLAND, but its an audio experience, not video.
Randy Greif's ALICE IN WONDERLAND

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 9:55am

That's good DG.

I love Tom Wait's ALICE, even if I have no idea which songs are about what.

Wonder if they'll do the usual thing and morph in ideas from both books...cause I love Tweedle Dee and Dum and the Jabberwock.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 10:00am

Am I the only one who saw Jan Svankmeijer's ALICE??? Shame on you!

Norn, you especially need to get thee to netflix at once!

ALICE

Updated On: 7/25/08 at 10:00 AM

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 10:02am

Borstal-
If I had NetFlix I totally would. It looks good.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 10:21am

Borstal, yeah, I saw the Svankmeijer film. I liked her entrance into Wonderland a lot. Not my favorite of his, I liked LITTLE OTIK more, but I should probably revisit his ALICE.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 10:44am

Oh!
Anyone else play American McGee's Alice? Great game, if the ending was HORRIBLY rushed and short.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 10:45am

Ohhh, LITTLE OTIK is just so brilliantly weird!

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 10:53am

Now let's see Tim Burton do a version of LITTLE OTIK, man! Yeehaw!

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 12:00pm

Why is Alice so old???

[JenNYferTheatrical]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 12:04pm

I'm really excited about this- loving the idea of Tim Burton's Alice!

[JenNYferTheatrical]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 12:04pm

I'm really excited about this- loving the idea of Tim Burton's Alice!

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 12:09pm

You think she's old, see Coral Browne in DREAMCHILD.

Whatever happened to DREAMCHILD? It really has fallen off the map, hasn't it?

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 12:17pm

Yeah, seriously in danger of becoming one of those lost movies. Such a good film.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 12:24pm

OMG! I love you for posting this! Tim Burton is brilliant.

I also hope HBC is in it. And Dianne Wiest would be great as the Queen. Like "The 10th Kingdom" ....only better.

And I say bring on the jabarwocky! (sp?)
That thing used to scare the crap out of me as a child.
Not gonna lie. It still does a bit. :/

"Planet of the Apes" aside, "Alice in Wonderland" is the perfect piece for Tim Burton.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 12:40pm

Jabberwocky is part of THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, not ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND.

Which brings up the question of how closely the script will stay to the story. Most of the best bits are in LOOKING GLASS anyway.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 12:44pm

Yeah, I have no problem with him merging the two stories though.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 1:14pm

Borstal, the Svankmeijer used to be one of my favorite "secret" things. I loved showing it to people for the first time. I hadn't thought about it for years, but last year when I was trying to think of a present for a friend, it popped into my head to find the DVD. I worried that it wouldn't have held up, but my friend flipped over it. He projected it on the wall during his party--adding another surreal note to both the film and the party.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 2:20pm

I've seen Dreamchild. I own it on VHS too.

But unless Burton's Alice is senile, you don't have a point.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 2:43pm

Well, actually, this is all pretty pointless until the movie is completed and we've all seen it.

Just bringing up a movie I like, that's all. No harm meant...

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 2:50pm

I guess I should ask you all what you think the point of "Alice In Wonderland" is.

Burton (to me) is a horrible choice to direct it. He'll just bring out the freaky nightmarish aspects, as so many have tried to do before him, and we'll all watch it sink faster than Titanic. There have already been 800 versions like that, and they bore me to death (and haven't scared up much audience with that approach either).

I suggest you go back and read the original books. There's a whimsical quality that no film of Alice has been able to capture so far. A satire. A parody of life. The Disney version came the closest, and is the most successful version (in all respects).

Alice is a child, not a young adult (unless she's a moron) trying to make sense of the adult world around her. In her daydreams, we see how confusing it all can be to a child trying to figure out both the world and human nature. It's innocent. Not deranged. Things are not what they should be, and logic doesn't "rule" in Wonderland. The Disney film got it right in the first 5 minutes of the movie. They set everything up that was to follow beautifully. And the pacing was fantastic, where everyone else gets bogged down quickly by trying to add lengthy songs, soliloquies or "fleshing out" the characters, instead of looking at the overall journey.

It's probably one of the most challenging books to try to adapt for film or stage. Many have tried and most have failed.

So if I'm going to just watch yet another adolescent Brit called Alice wander around yet another "dark" freak house for two hours to no ultimate point or understanding of the material, count me out. That would make as little sense as Wonderland itself. I can picture myself checking my watch already.

And I can also see Burton adding some lame backstory about the White Rabbit's father removing all the clocks from the walls, so he's paranoid about being LATE all the time. Good god. And Alice will come to terms with her love and respect for the White Rabbit at the end, and all will be lovely.

He'd better focus on the point of the pointless Wonderland. And the humor. It'll be plenty dark with him at the helm.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 2:51pm

I loved "Dreamchild." What a lovely, lovely performance from Coral Browne. I knew her only as Vera Charles, so I did not see that coming.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 2:53pm

Updated On: 1/14/09 at 02:53 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 2:57pm

Dreamchild was fantastic!

And Frank Oz would be my first choice to direct a film of Alice.

But it really comes down to the script. Without the proper focus and pacing on the page (so difficult in this case), the story's dead in the water no matter who directs it.