Ed Wood (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ed Wood

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tim Burton
Produced by Tim Burton
Denise Di Novi
Written by Rudolph Grey (book)
Scott Alexander
Larry Karaszewski
Starring Johnny Depp
Martin Landau
Sarah Jessica Parker
Patricia Arquette
Jeffrey Jones
Vincent D'Onofrio
Bill Murray
Music by Howard Shore
Cinematography Stefan Czapsky
Editing by Chris Lebenzon
Distributed by Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s) September 28, 1994
Running time 127 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $18 million
Gross revenue $5,887,457
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Ed Wood is a 1994 American comedic biopic directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as the cross-dressing cult movie maker Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film, shot in black and white, was based in large part on Rudolph Grey's quasi-biography Nightmare of Ecstasy. The film concerns the period in Wood's life when he made his best-known films and also his relationship with actor Bela Lugosi, played by Martin Landau.

The film was the brainchild of screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski who originally planned to make it with college classmate Michael Lehmann. A lifelong fan of Woods' films, Burton decided to direct the biopic after his plans for Mary Reilly fell through. He immediately contacted Depp and asked him to star in the film as Wood and the actor agreed. Depp decided to draw inspiration for his performance from Andy Hardy, Ronald Reagan, Casey Kasem, and the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. To prepare for portraying Lugosi, Landau watched 25 of the man's films and worked closely with legendary makeup artist Rick Baker.

The film had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival. Though a box office failure at the time of its release, grossing only USD $5.8 million in North America, it was critically hailed. Landau was widely praised for his performance, earning top honors from the Screen Actors Guild, the National Board of Review, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and winning a Golden Globe and an Academy Award.

Contents

[edit] Production

[edit] Origins

Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski had been thinking about writing a screenplay on Ed Wood's life since they were students at the University of Southern California film school.[1] Alexander even proposed making a documentary about Wood entitled, The Man in the Angora Sweater in his sophomore year at USC.[2] However, Karaszewski figured, "there would be no one on the planet Earth who would make this movie or want to make this movie, because these aren't the sort of movies that are made."[2] After school, they became established Hollywood screenwriters known for the Problem Child movie series. They wrote a ten-page treatment and pitched it to director Michael Lehmann who had also gone to USC. Karaszewski remembers that they sold it as "the guys who wrote Problem Child and the guy who directed Hudson Hawk making a movie about the worst filmmaker of all time."[2] Lehmann showed the treatment to producer Denise DiNovi and a deal was struck where Lehmann would direct and Tim Burton and DiNovi would produce.[1] Burton was due to direct the Jekyll and Hyde adaptation movie, Mary Reilly, and was staying in Poughkeepsie, New York when he was approached with the offer to produce Ed Wood.[3] The director began reading Nightmare of Ecstasy by Rudolph Grey (ISBN 0-922915-24-5), a full-length biography, which draws on interviews from Wood's family and colleagues. He also read some of Woods' letters and was taken by how he "wrote about his films as if he was making Citizen Kane, you know, whereas other people perceived them as, like, the worst movies ever".[4] Alexander and Karaszewski wrote a 147-page script in six weeks, working 14-hour days, seven days a week[2] and this got Burton interested in directing the film.[5] The deciding factor for the filmmaker came when the studio wanted to make Mary Reilly sooner than he would have liked and starring Julia Roberts instead of his choice, Winona Ryder.[5] Burton decided to abandon the project and to direct Ed Wood instead with Lehmann moving to direct Airheads.

[edit] Burton and Wood

Burton admits to having always been a fan of Ed Wood, which is why the biopic is filmed with an aggrandizing bias borne of his admiration rather than derision of Wood's work.[6] Burton acknowledged that he probably portrayed Wood and his crew in an exaggeratedly sympathetic way, stating he did not want to ridicule people who had already been ridiculed for a good deal of their life. Burton decided not to depict the darker side of Wood's life because his letters never alluded to this aspect and remained upbeat. To this end, Burton wanted to make the film through Wood's eyes.[6] He said in an interview, "I've never seen anything like them, the kind of bad poetry and redundancy - saying in, like, five sentences what it would take most normal people one...Yet still there is a sincerity to them that is very unusual, and I always found that somewhat touching; it gives them a surreal, weirdly heartfelt feeling."[3] Burton's respect for Wood is also hinted at in his film Edward Scissorhands - the director has stated that he named the lead character in the film Edward because that's Wood's full first name. The relationship between Wood and Lugosi in the script echoes closely Burton's relationship with his own idol and two-time colleague, Vincent Price. He said in an interview, "Meeting Vincent had an incredible impact on me, the same impact Ed must have felt meeting and working with his idol."[1]

[edit] Casting

To portray Wood, Burton called Johnny Depp and "within 10 minutes of hearing about the project, I was committed," the actor remembers.[7] At the time, the actor was depressed about films and filmmaking. By accepting this part it gave him a "chance to stretch out and have some fun", and working with Landau, "rejuvenated my love for acting".[7] The actor was already familiar with some of Wood's films thanks to filmmaker John Waters who had shown him Plan 9 From Outer Space and Glen or Glenda.[7] To get a handle on how to portray Wood, Depp approached Burton who suggested Andy Hardy. The actor said in an interview, "So I saw some Andy Hardy stuff. I had a couple of other things that spiced it up a bit. I came to him and I said, 'Listen, Andy Hardy, but look Ronald Reagan.' And Tim went, 'Wizard of Oz or Casey Kasem.'...We just boiled up this stew and shot it."[8] Depp watched several Reagan speeches because the actor felt he had a kind of blind optimism that was perfect for the role. Depp also borrowed some of Kasem's cadence and "that utterly confident, breezy salesman quality in his voice".[7]

To get a hold on his character, Martin Landau started with make-up tests with Rick Baker. He did not use extensive make-up applications, only enough to resemble Lugosi and allow Landau to use his face to act and express emotion.[9] Once the actor had the makeup on, he had to adjust his facial expressions in order to resemble Lugosi and work on a credible Hungarian accent.[7] For research, the actor watched 25 of Lugosi's films and seven interviews between the years of 1931 and 1956.[9] According to the actor, he did not want to deliver an over-the-top performance. "Lugosi was theatrical, but I never wanted the audience to feel I was an actor chewing the scenery...I felt it had to be Lugosi's theatricality, not mine."[9]

Sarah Jessica Parker was cast as Dolores Fuller and found it a challenge to play "someone as rigid and self-conscious and has absolutely no instincts . . . It's hard to do, because you're never bland enough".[10] Patricia Arquette was cast in the role of Kathy O'Hara and met her real-life counterpart during filming. The actress found her to be "very graceful and very nice".[11]

[edit] Pre-production

The film was originally in development with Columbia Pictures but when Burton wanted to shoot it in black and white, the studio wasn't going to back it because they claimed it would be a hard sell in foreign markets and on video[8] and unless they had a first-look deal.[1] The director insisted on total control and a month before shooting was scheduled to start, Columbia put the film in turnaround. Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Fox became interested in optioning the film, but Burton went with Disney because they gave him total creative control on the condition that he work for scale.[1]

Ed Wood gave Burton the opportunity to make a film that was more character-driven as opposed to style-driven. He said in an interview, "On a picture like this I find you don't need to storyboard. You're working mainly with actors, and there's no effects going on, so it's best to be more spontaneous."[5] Shooting began in August 1993 and lasted 72 days.[8]

[edit] Cast

The film includes cameo appearances from actors who had worked with Wood on Plan 9 From Outer Space. Conrad Brooks (who played one of the comic policemen) appears as a bartender, and Gregory Walcott (who played the hero) appears as one of the potential financiers of Bride of the Monster. In addition, Paul Marco, the other comic policeman, can be spotted in the background.

[edit] Reception

Ed Wood had its world premiere at the 32nd New York Film Festival at the Lincoln Center.[12] Burton's film was also shown shortly after at the 21st Telluride Film Festival[13] and later at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.[14] It went on to open in two theaters on September 30, 1994, Ed Wood grossed $71,566 on its opening weekend. When it went into wide release on October 7, 1994 in 623 theaters, it grossed $1.9 million in its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $5.8 million in North America, well below its estimated $18 million production budget.[15]

Reviews were highly positive. The film currently has a rating of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 70 metascore on Metacritic. Roger Ebert, in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote, "Burton has made is a film which celebrates Wood more than it mocks him, and which celebrates, too, the zany spirit of 1950s exploitation films - in which a great title, a has-been star and a lurid ad campaign were enough to get bookings for some of the oddest films ever made".[16] USA Today gave the film four out of four stars and declared it "Burton's best since Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, and if that doesn't tickle you, stay away from Ed Wood movies".[17] In her review for the New York Times, Janet Maslin said that the film was "an unobtrusively gorgeous black-and-white film with a wide range of striking visual effects".[18] In his review for the Boston Globe, Jay Carr wrote, "Burton makes Ed Wood glow with conviction...Never has such a loser been transformed into such a winner."[19] In the United Kingdom, Kim Newman, in his review for Sight and Sound magazine, wrote, "It is ironic that for all its anecdotal and elliptical approach, Ed Wood is Burton's most successful piece of proper storytelling."[20] However, Desson Howe's review in the Washington Post felt that the film, "despite fleetingly good moments from Landau and Murray - is devoid of character warmth".[21] Despite the film being a commercial failure, Burton is very proud of the movie. He said, "I love the movie . . . It's just that no one came. I guess if I was like everybody else, I would just blame a bad marketing campaign. But that's too easy."[1]

[edit] Awards

Ed Wood was nominated for three Golden Globes: Best Musical or Comedy, Johnny Depp for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, and Martin Landau for Best Supporting Actor.[22] Landau won in his category.[23] Landau and Rick Baker were nominated for and won Academy Awards for their work on the film.[24][25] Landau also won Best Supporting Actor at the first Screen Actors Guild Awards. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski were nominated for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen by the Writers Guild of America which was a surprise as few predicted that it would be considered.[26] The National Board of Review voted Martin Landau Best Supporting Actor and Stefan Czapsky for Best Cinematography.[27] The Los Angeles Film Critics Association also voted Landau Best Supporting Actor, Czapsky for Cinematography, and Howard Shore for Musical Score.[28] The National Society of Film Critics also picked Ed Wood for Best Supporting Actor and Best Cinematography.[29]

[edit] DVD

The DVD edition of Ed Wood initially had difficulty reaching store shelves in North America due to unspecified legal issues.[30] An initial street date of August 13, 2002 was announced[31] only to be postponed[32]. A new date of February 3, 2003 was set.[33] only for it to be recalled again without explanation – though some copies quickly found their way to collectors' venues such as eBay. The DVD was finally released on October 19, 2004,[34] minus the transvestitism-themed featurette "When Carol Met Larry", which is highly speculated was the reason for the legal woes. (Others claimed that Burton thought the featurette mocked transvestites, counter to the themes of the film.) However, on the Dutch and British editions of the DVD (and probably the rest of region 2) this featurette is present. Another theory states that the producers did not have the legal right to release a film including the song "Que Será Será" on DVD. The song barely plays in the background of one scene, but is featured prominently in the cut sequences included. Yet another theory is that it was due to a deleted scene where Lugosi refers to 'those bastards at Universal'. This is supported in that this scene can only be found as an Easter egg on the final DVD release.


[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Salisbury, Mark. "Burton on Burton", Faber & Faber, 2000. 
  2. ^ a b c d Gore, Chris; Jeremy Berg. "Ed or Johnny: The Strange Case of Ed Wood", Film Threat, December 1994, pp. 36. 
  3. ^ a b Smith, Gavin. "Tim Burton: Punching Holes in Reality", Film Comment, November/December 1994, pp. 52-63. 
  4. ^ Dwyer, Michael. "The Stuff Dreams are Made Of", The Irish Times, December 10, 1994. 
  5. ^ a b c French, Lawrence. "Tim Burton's Ed Wood", Cinefantastique, October 1994, pp. 32-34. 
  6. ^ a b Thompson, Bob. "Beyond the Fringe", Toronto Sun, October 4, 1994. 
  7. ^ a b c d e Arnold, Gary. "Depp sees promise in cult filmmaker Ed Wood's story", Washington Times, October 2, 1994. 
  8. ^ a b c Clark, John. "The Wood, The Bad, and The Ugly", Premiere, 1994. 
  9. ^ a b c French, Lawrence. "Playing Bela Lugosi", Cinefantastique, October 1994, pp. 24-25. 
  10. ^ Rea, Steven. "Animated Actress in a Wooden Role", The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 6, 1994. 
  11. ^ Thompson, Bob. "Quirky Arquette Learns to Play Normal", Toronto Sun, October 4, 1994. 
  12. ^ Grimes, William. "New York Film Festival to Show its First Feature by Woody Allen", New York Times, August 27, 1994. 
  13. ^ McCarthy, Todd. "Telluride to Earth: Trouble Ahead", Variety, September 12-18, 1994. 
  14. ^ Carr, Jay. "Carving Out an Affectionate Look at Ed Wood", Boston Globe, October 2, 1994. Retrieved on 2007-05-31. 
  15. ^ "Ed Wood", Box Office Mojo, May 31, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-31. 
  16. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Ed Wood", Chicago Sun-Times, October 7, 1994. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 
  17. ^ Clark, Mike. "Burton's Glorious, Gleeful Ed Wood", USA Today, September 28, 1994. 
  18. ^ Maslin, Janet. "Ode to a Director Who Dared to Be Dreadful", New York Times, September 23, 1994. 
  19. ^ Carr, Jay. "With a mix of optimism and denial, Tim Burton turns Wood into gold", Boston Globe, October 7, 1994. 
  20. ^ Newman, Kim. "Ed Wood", Sight and Sound, May 1995, pp. 44-45. 
  21. ^ Howe, Desson. "Ed Wood: It's a Wrap", Washington Post, October 7, 1994. 
  22. ^ Lowry, Brian. "Gump, Pulp Top Globe Noms", Variety, December 23, 1994. 
  23. ^ "Golden Globe Winners", Variety, January 23, 1995. 
  24. ^ "1994 Oscar Nominations", Variety, February 15, 1995. 
  25. ^ Thomas, Bob. "Wiest, Landau Win Supporting Oscars", Ottawa Citizen, March 28, 1995. 
  26. ^ Cox, Dan. "WGA Taps Quirky Pix", Variety, February 10, 1995. 
  27. ^ Walsh, Thomas. "N.Y. Crix Take Quiz, Tarantino", Variety, December 16, 1994. 
  28. ^ McCarthy, Todd. "L.A. Crix Pat Pulp, Including Travolta", Variety, December 16, 1994. 
  29. ^ McCarthy, Todd. "Nat'l Society Crix Fall for Fiction", Variety, January 9-15, 1995. 
  30. ^ Restaino, Mike. "Ed Wood (Special Edition)", DVDFile, November 3, 2004. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 
  31. ^ Bracke, Peter M. "More Superbits; Buena Vista August title specs; Columbia unveils New Guy", DVDFile, June 3, 2002. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 
  32. ^ Bracke, Peter M. "Street date alert; Spock specs; New Criterion titles; more D-VHS from Fox", DVDFile, July 25, 2002. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 
  33. ^ Bracke, Peter M. "Ed Wood; Rain Man SE, more MGM; Warner TV on DVD", DVDFile, November 5, 2003. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 
  34. ^ Bracke, Peter M. "That's Entertainment! box; Ed Wood returns; Universal classic comedy", DVDFile, July 14, 2004. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
v • d • e
Films directed by Tim Burton
1980s
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) • Beetlejuice (1988) • Batman (1989)
1990s
Edward Scissorhands (1990) • Batman Returns (1992) • Ed Wood (1994) • Mars Attacks! (1996) • Sleepy Hollow (1999)
2000s
2010s