Helena Bonham Carter To Star as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd Film — Page 8

Stephen Sondheim is direclty involved in the project including the approval of all casting. He must have liked HBC.

"I am sure Sondheim would not want a bad movie made with his work."

A Little Night Music

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On the upside, do you think they'll cast Winona Ryder...maybe as the beggar woman? If she's cast, then it could be a Burton movie all-star cast. Sure she can't sing, but it's not like any of that matters for this movie.

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Updated On: 10/18/06 at 07:04 PM

A lot of people steal, she just got caught.

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Winona Ryder should play Patti LuPone in a tv movie.

She wouldn't be my first choice, but it seems inevitable with Burton directing. She is, however, a very fine actress, and I believe she will be just fine.

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I really like that scene in AiA.

I love Ms. Carter's work, however, I just don't see her in this role. I just hope that Mr. Burton knows he is doing the film version of what many many theatregoers, people in the theatre and even some critics call a masterpiece. I also like his work. I love the darkness of it and I think that will work for this film, but the casting, so far for me, leaves a bit to be desired. Depp and Carter work well in his films, but my God, do they have to be in all or most of them?! I was unaware that Streep was being considered. Now THAT I would love to see! JMHO

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Elfman is probably not going to be involved in this, as per Burton's interview with Harry Knowles on AICN.
Ain't It Cool News

ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR FREAKING MINDS?????

I actually was holding out hopes of a good (or at least interesting) interpretation of "Sweeney" from Tim Burton. If you watch his "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" it looks almost like training for "Sweeney"--the set design, camera angles, the way Christina Ricci is made up and costumed (like Johanna).

Also the singing aspect doesn't horrify me as much as...well, everything else. Whoever plays Lovett on film can fake the singing to a degree.

It's just...Bonham Carter and Depp still look (and act) like deranged children. "Sweeney" is about the bitternees and corruption that come with experience. Both of them have yet to grow up onscreen.

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Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I really think people are far too worried about singing. If you are an actor you have trained your voice to a degree and you can elicit emotion with it. On Broadway you need solid technique so that your voice won't give out on you. But in a movie you only have to do it once, so if you aren't using proper technique who really cares. If you want to hear Sweeney sung technically-well, we have plenty of recordings of that to listen to. If you want to see the beautiful monologues/dialogues set to music (read: songs) and acted by very talented screen actors, go see the movie!

I know that I kind of cringe when I hear someone hit a note without proper technique...but let me just say that I loved the casting for the Phantom in the movie...sure he was not a technically great singer, but his voice made me feel something. He didn't need to hit a soaring high note that was well-mixed and reached all the way up to the balcony...he just had to make the movie-going audience feel something with the note, and he did. Sure he was straining to hit it. Sure he wouldn't last doing the role on stage. But...so what?

That said, a non-singer couldn't even fake Johanna or the Beadle, but we only have our casting for Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney right now. Mrs. Lovett can TOTALLY be kinda spoken-through. Sondheim totally wrote it to sound conversational anyway, I feel. Sweeney maybe needs more of a singer. But if Depp has to kinda scream-sing the high notes it won't be the end of the world. I say only worry if we find out that Johanna doesn't have any vocal training...

On a sidenote, I would cum in my pants if Jake Gyllenhaal gets Anthony. I feel that "Johanna" needs a technically trained singer, but as long as Jake Gyllenhaal knows how to use his head voice when appropriate I can't see it being that bad. But then I hear he CAN sing anyway and lost out to Ewan for Moulin Rouge (as did Heath Ledger, hehe)...

Here is an interview with Tim Burton where he discusses the approach he will take on the film's look as well as Danny Elfman and Christopher Lee's involvement:
Tim Burton Interview