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Release Date: Fall, 2005 (wide)
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Company: Basic Entertainment (City by the Sea)
Cast: Johnny Depp (Willy Wonka) (in talks); other cast not announced yet.
Cast Notes: (2/7/01) when this project was announced in 1999, Nicolas Cage appeared in some sources as a rumored Willy Wonka possibility, but Warner Bros. has stressed since that there will be no casting until the time of actual filming approaches. One actor who’s expressed interest in playing Willy Wonka is Boogie Nights star John C. Reilly. Rock star Marilyn Manson was quoted in early 2001 as saying that he had been cast to play Willy Wonka, a story which was quickly publicized without, you know, checking with anyone actually involved with the film. Warner Bros. quickly issued a press release debunking the reports (they also had Tim Burton listed as directing, which he isn’t).
(7/29/03) Casting rumors started to swirl again this month, first with a report from the British press that the two top contenders to play Willy Wonka were Michael Keaton and Christopher Walken. Soon after, however, Michael Fleming of “Variety” broke the *real* story, which was that the real top choice for the job is Johnny Depp. All three are part of Tim Burton’s very insular canon of actors, but Johnny Depp in particular, does stand out as being a) a particularly frequent Burton star and b) just the right mix of star power, daring and quirkiness and that certain something that makes you think an actor could do Willy Wonka. I think Johnny Depp is an inspired choice. Here’s hoping he does indeed sign on.
Director: Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Planet of the Apes; next up before this will be Big Fish)
Director Note: (10/15/01) Gary Ross (Pleasantville) was long attached, but has dropped out. (6/18/02) Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little; codirector of The Lion King; next up is Stuart Little 2) is one of the directors on WB’s short list, but he’s not signed. (5/26/03) And the winner is… exactly the guy one probably would have expected when you first heard they were making this remake: Tim Burton. Burton’s flamboyant and dark visual style seems cookie-cutter made for this project.
Screenwriter: Gwyn Lurie (possibly her debut; she’s written several projects, including an adaptation of Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant, but none of them have been produced yet)
Screenwriter Note: Scott Frank (Little Man Tate, Out of Sight, Get Shorty, Dead Again; cowriter of Minority Report) helped get this project started at Warner Bros., but he’s been replaced by Lurie, who’s working from scratch.
Based Upon: The 1964 novel of the same title by Roald Dahl. This is not a direct remake of the 1971 film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder, although both movies are obviously based on the same book. This film is aiming to be more faithful to the original book than Willy Wonka. One expected change is that this probably won’t be a musical.
Oompa-Loompa Note: As noted at this fan site, in the original 1964 edition of the novel, the Oompa-Loompa’s were pygmies from Africa imported to replace the local workers (part of why the city is so impoverished). This movie will definitely use the Oompa-Loompas with “rosy-white skin”, as depicted in later editions.
Premise: Charlie Bucket, a boy from an impoverished family under the shadow of a giant chocolate factory, wins a candy bar contest and is given a tour, along with four other children, of the amazing factory run by the eccentric Willy Wonka and his staff of Oompa-Loompas…
Filming: Production is scheduled to start sometime in 2004.
theres all the info , have fun
elfman musical?
I dunno if its going to be a musical … Since its staying true to the book im not sure. I dont care its gunna be an awesome movie.
Sounds saucy. Here’s hoping the kid actor isn’t one of those overly-annoying kid actors. (I think Burton usually does a good job at weeding out not-so-great actors, though).
If it’s “staying true to the book,” then Depp is the wrong person to play Wonka. Too tall, wrong face,…check out the artwork in the original release of the book, and we need more like a skinny Danny DeVito with a lovely tenor-range voice. Depp may add flair of his own, but he won’t be the BOOK’s Willy Wonka, and for that I am disappointed.
Hello….
Well i was wondering how you would audition for the role…is there a contact number that i could get…..I want to go for the role of Violet….and i’ve been looking everywhere…..
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