Filming of Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd" Complete
By Andrew Gans
and Ernio Hernandez
14 Jun 2007
Filming of "Sweeney Todd," the Tim Burton-directed motion picture based on the Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler musical, is now complete.
Variety reports that the $50 million DreamWorks film was completed by director Burton in 50 days. The movie musical is scheduled to open during the last week of December 2007.
"Sweeney Todd" follows the story of a wrongfully imprisoned barber in Victorian England who sets out to seek revenge on the judge who imprisoned him. The stage work features a score by Sondheim and a book by Wheeler based on the play by Christopher Bond.
Burton returns to his familiar casting pool with Johnny Depp (the duo previously teamed on "Edward Scissorhands," "Ed Wood," "Sleepy Hollow," "Corpse Bride" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory") in the title role and Helena Bonham Carter (seen in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Big Fish," "Planet of the Apes" and in voice on "Corpse Bride") as piemaker Mrs. Lovett.
The film also features Alan Rickman (Private Lives, the "Harry Potter" films) as Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall ("Harry Potter") as Beadle Bamford and Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat," "Talladega Nights") as Signor Adolfo Pirelli.
Rounding out the cast are Laura Michelle Kelly (Fiddler on the Roof) as the Beggar Woman, Jamie Campbell Bowen as Anthony, Jayne Wisener as Johanna and newcomer Ed Sanders as Toby. "All the stars [do] their own singing from Stephen Sondheim's music and lyrics," according to a previous announcement.
The production team includes Tony Award winners Jonathan Tunick (orchestrator) and Paul Gemignani (musical supervisor) as well as director of photography Dariusz Wolski ("Pirates of the Caribbean"), production designer Dante Ferrati ("The Aviator"), costume designer Colleen Atwood ("Memoirs of a Geisha," "Chicago"), hair and make-up designer Peter Owen ("The Lord of the Rings") and editor Chris Lebenzon.
The film is produced by Richard D. Zanuck, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and John Logan.
Sweeney Todd originally opened on Broadway in 1979 starring Len Cariou (as Sweeney) and Angela Lansbury (as Mrs. Lovett) — both earned Tony Awards for their performances. Harold Prince directed the production, which took home the 1979 Tony for Best Musical. Subsequent revivals have starred Beth Fowler and Bob Gunton (1989 on Broadway), George Hearn and Patti LuPone (2001 concert), Brian Stokes Mitchell and Christine Baranski (2002 - Kennedy Center) and the recent revival with Michael Cerveris and LuPone.
The score includes such tunes as "The Worst Pies in London," "Johanna," "Pretty Women," "A Little Priest," "By the Sea" and "Not While I'm Around."
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