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Oscar Winner 2011: Best Costume Design – Alice in Wonderland

Krystal Clark — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 03:03:24 +0000

The winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Costume is Collen Atwood for Alice in Wonderland. When Atwood accepted her award, she attentively read her thank yous off a piece of paper. She gave a little background on the origins of the Alice story via the publisher. She thanked all the people at Disney, Tim Burton, and the cast and crew.

See who she beat out…

The nominees for Best Costume were:

Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood
I Am Love, Antonella Cannarozzi
The King’s Speech, Jenny Beavan
The Tempest, Sandy Powell
True Grit, Mary Zophres

Was it just us or was this an extremely uncomfortable speech to watch? This woman seemed so nervous while on stage. At one point they showed Burton and Helena Bonham Carter in the crowd, and they looked like they were going to walk up there and escort her home. She looked so nervous. She was glued to that piece of paper that she was reading and it was so awkward. The fact that she looked awkward made us feel awkward for her.

As for the award itself, Alice definitely deserved it. The costumes and the visual effects were one of the few things we actually liked about the film.

Do you agree with this year’s winner for Best Costume?

Alice in Wonderland Joins The Billion Dollar Club

Krystal Clark — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:27:44 +0000

Disney’s 3D release of Alice in Wonderland has joined the exclusive club of movies that have earned over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. It was released on March 5th and in just over two months has become one of the highest grossing films of all time alongside The Dark Knight, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and of course Avatar.

The studio sent out a press release announcing their latest achievement stating that Alice in Wonderland is the sixth title to join this exclusive list and the third most popular non-sequel in motion picture history behind only Titanic and Avatar. It was directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, and a slew of other talented actors.

Alice started making history the first week of its release when it became the largest March opening in industry history, the biggest 3-D opening ever and biggest career opening for director Tim Burton. It also became The Walt Disney Studios’ biggest opening for a non-sequel. Domestically, it’s has surpassed $332 million at the box office and is officially the third highest-grossing film in The Walt Disney Studios’ history, behind only Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Depp again) and Finding Nemo.

Alice is expected to hit DVD shelves this summer starting on June 1st in North America, and we’re pretty sure it will rake in even more dough for Disney.

Are you surprised that Alice in Wonderland has made this much money?

Weekend Box Office: Another Win for Alice!

Mali Elfman — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:50:33 +0000

Wow. It’s unbeatable. Tis the year for blockbusters to rule the box office! First Avatar now Alice in Wonderland (although Alice has about another month to go in order to catch up and I don’t think that anomaly will repeat itself seeing as in its 14th week it’s still on our top ten).

For it’s third week in a row, Alice has reigned the top ten beating out all three new comers, Diary of a Winpy Kid (one of the most un-advertised films I’ve seen in a LONG time), The Bounty Hunter and Repo Men. For some reason I was expecting Repo Men, a remake starring Jude Law to come in a bit higher on the charts? No one into stealing organs? I know you can’t be sick of remakes yet seeing as none of you can get enough of the Mad Hatter…

Alice in Wonderland (2010) | Last Week 1 | BV | Weekend Gross $34,500,000 | Total Theaters 3,739 | Average Per Theater $9,227 | Total Gross $265,800,000 | Film Budget $200 | Week 3
Diary of a Wimpy Kid | New | Fox | Weekend Gross $21,800,000 | Total Theaters 3,077 | Average Per Theater $7,085 | Total Gross $21,800,000 | Film Budget $15 | Week 1
The Bounty Hunter | New | Sony | Weekend Gross $21,000,000 | Total Theaters 3,074 | Average Per Theater $6,831 | Total Gross $21,000,000 | Film Budget $40 | Week 1
Repo Men | New | Uni. | Weekend Gross $6,151,000 | Total Theaters 2,521 | Average Per Theater $2,440 | Total Gross $6,151,000 | Film Budget $32 | Week 1
She’s Out of My League | LW 3 | Par. | Weekend Gross $6,015,000 | Total Theaters 2,958 | Average Per Theater $2,033 | Total Gross $19,954,000 | Film Budget $20 | Week 2
Green Zone | LW 2 | Uni. | Weekend Gross $5,963,000 | Total Theaters 3,004 | Average Per Theater $1,985 | Total Gross $24,702,000 | Film Budget $100 | Week 2
Shutter Island | LW 4 | Par | Weekend Gross $4,755,000 | Total Theaters 2,704 | Average Per Theater $1,759 | Total Gross $115,770,000 | Film Budget $80 | Week 5
Avatar | LW 7 | Fox | Weekend Gross $4,000,000 | Total Theaters 1,236 | Average Per Theater $3,236 | Total Gross $736,881,000 | Week 14
Our Family Wedding | LW 6 | FoxS | Weekend Gross $3,800,000 | Total Theaters 1,609 | Average Per Theater $2,362 | Total Gross $13,668,000 | Week 2
Remember Me | LW 5 | Sum. | Weekend Gross $3,300,000 | Total Theaters 2,215 | Average Per Theater $1,490 | Total Gross $13,900,000 | Film Budget $16 | Week 2

What did you pay to see? Do you think Alice can remain #1 for another week?

Box Office Predictions: Alice in Wonderland vs Repo Men

Kara — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:27:04 +0000

This week there isn’t a movie that stands out as an obvious winner at the box office. Films like The Bounty Hunter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid don’t stand a good chance against the two time champ, Alice in Wonderland. Another new release is Jude Law and Forest Whitaker‘s latest action flick Repo Men, which should be filled with fights, explosions, and of course bloody organs. The question is, can the Repo Men take the top spot from Alice?

Diary of a Wimpy Kid looks like it will be a decent family film, but it has gotten little attention from the press. That isn’t going to encourage audiences to see the movie, especially if they’re not fans of the books. The Bounty Hunter on the other hand can be seen everywhere and it looks terrible. As of late people haven’t really been flocking to Jennifer Aniston or Gerard Butler movies, so this might be a match made in box office hell.

Although I wasn’t a fan of Alice in Wonderland, there are some die hard Johnny Depp supporters out there who will flock to theaters just to see him on the big screen again. Plus, films that cater to both kids and adults tend to enjoy more success at the box office.

Repo Men looks like it will be an action movie with a predictable plot but it’s the only new release this week from the genre. The major issue with the film is its R rating; young kids will be shut out, which might cause them to go for Alice instead.

The verdict: Alice in Wonderland. Even though it’s been in theaters for a few weeks now, the other movies seem too mediocre.

What do you think? Do you agree? What will you see this weekend?

Weekend Box Office: Alice Does it Again!

Mali Elfman — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:51:55 +0000

That little blond trouble-maker who can’t help how tall or small she is, but sure as hell knows how to stay on top of the box office top ten! It seems as if audiences all over the world are enjoying Tim Burton‘s tumble down the rabbit whole with his latest 3D adventure Alice in Wonderland. The film has reigned over the top ten for two weeks now and by a long shot. So far nothing has come close to touching it, not even Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon teaming up for a Bourne-like film nor Robert Pattinson in a romantic drama ( apparently all you ladies out there only want him if he’s painted white and with fangs!). Check out this weekends numbers below…

Alice in Wonderland (2010) | Last Week 1 | BV | Weekend Gross $62,000,000 | Average Per Theater $16,631 | Total Gross $208,625,000 | Budget $200 | Week 2
Green Zone | New | Uni. | Weekend Gross $14,535,000 | Average Per Theater $4,840 | Total Gross $14,535,000 | Budget $100 | Week 1
She’s Out of My League | New | Par. | Weekend Gross $9,600,000 | Average Per Theater $3,248 | Total Gross $9,600,000 | Budget $20 | Week 1
Remember Me | New | Sum. | Weekend Gross $8,300,000 | Average Per Theater $3,752 | Total Gross $8,300,000 | Budget $16 | Week 1
Shutter Island | LW 3 | Par. | Weekend Gross $8,140,000 | Average Per Theater $2,426 | Total Gross $108,008,000 $80 | Week 4
Our Family Wedding | New | FoxS | Weekend Gross $7,600,000 | Average Per Theater $4,735 | Total Gross $7,600,000 | Week 1
Avatar | LW 5 | Fox | Weekend Gross $6,600,000 | Average Per Theater $3,842 | Total Gross $730,344,000 | Week 13
Brooklyn’s Finest | LW 2 | Over. | Weekend Gross $4,290,000 | Average Per Theater $2,212 | Total Gross $21,351,000 | Budget $17 | Week 2
Cop Out | LW 4 | WB | Weekend Gross $4,230,000 | Average Per Theater $1,468 | Total Gross $39,442,000 | Budget $30 | Week 3
The Crazies | LW 6 | Over. | Weekend Gross $3,650,00 | Average Per Theater $1,547 | Total Gross $33,358,000 | Budget $20 | Week 3

What film did you pay to see? Was it worth it?

ABC Family Grabs Alice in Wonderland TV Rights

Anet Hovhanesian — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:21:41 +0000

Walt Disney Pictures has made a TV deal with ABC Family regarding the television rights to Tim Burton’s 3D Fantasy, Alice in Wonderland. The movie debuted this past weekend with a ridiculous three day total of $116.3 million domestically. With that type of success it’s no surprise that ABC wanted to get it while it’s hot.

The cable network is owned by Disney so it’s not that surprising that they’ve secured the TV rights to the film. The one piece of uncertainty overshadowing this purchase is the the 3D aspect of the movie. ABC Family hasn’t decided whether or not the film will be telecast in 3D or 2D.

Also on the horizon for ABC, who’s small slate of acquired features includes the Harry Potter franchise, are the TV rights to John Lee Hancock‘s The Blind Side for which Sandra Bullock won Best Actress at the Oscars.

Both features are set to debut on the small screen in 2012. We’re not sure how much was paid out for the rights but we’re hearing that properties of this magnitude cost around $24 million. A small price to pay for two films that have grossed over 200 million dollars worldwide.

Will you be watching Alice and The Blind Side when they debut on TV? Do you think they should premiere Alice in Wonderland in 3D?

Source: Reuters

Weekend Box Office: Alice in Wonderland For the Win!

Mali Elfman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:01:31 +0000

Not only did Tim Burton‘s Alice in Wonderland surpass my expectations and cross the $100 dollar domestic line, but it did so with plenty of room to spare. Worldwide, it’s already made back the $200 million they spent, with an extra $10 million to boot. Looks like it’s a good day for Burton and Disney to fuderwhack (little inside joke for all you who have seen the movie).

And although the Oscars basically ignored Avatar last night, it still managed to bring in another $7 million and top itself with yet another record. While newly anointed Academy Award winner Jeff Bridge’s film, Crazy Heart managed to hang in for another week to see Bridges to the award ceremony – let’s see if his win gives the film yet another burst at the box office…

Alice in Wonderland | New | Disney | Weekend Gross $116,300,000 | Average Per Theater $31,196 | Total Gross $116,300,000 | Cost to Make $200 | Week 1
Brooklyn’s Finest | New | Over. | Weekend Gross $13,500,000 | Average Per Theater $6,973 | Total Gross $13,500,000 | Cost $25 | Week 1
Shutter Island | LW 1 | Par. | Weekend Gross $13,300,000 | Average Per Theater $4,185 | Total Gross $95,825,000 | Cost $80 | Week 3
Cop Out | LW 2 | WB | Weekend Gross $9,145,000 | Average Per Theater $2,903 | Total Gross $32,360,000 | Cost $30 | Week 2
Avatar | LW 4 | Fox | Weekend Gross $7,700,000 | Average Per Theater $3,560 | Total Gross $720,189,000 | Week 12
The Crazies | LW 3 | Over. | Weekend Gross $7,016,000 | Average Per Theater $2,830 | Total Gross $27,409,000 | Cost $20 | Week 2
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief | LW 5 | Fox | Weekend Gross $5,100,000 | Average Per Theater $1,703 | Total Gross $78,033,000 | Cost $95 | Week 4
Valentine’s Day | LW 6 | WB | Weekend Gross $4,270,000 | Average Per Theater $1,405 | Total Gross $106,420,000 | Cost $52 | Week 4
Crazy Heart | LW 10 | FoxS | Weekend Gross $3,350,000 | Average Per Theater $2,630 | Total Gross $29,569,000 | Cost $7 | Week 12
Dear John | LW 4 | SGem | Weekend Gross $2,850,000 | Average Per Theater $1,142 | Total Gross $76,694,000 | Cost $25 | Week 5

What do you think of this weeks numbers?

Box Office Predictions: Will Alice in Wonderland Break a 100 Million?

Mali Elfman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:25:48 +0000

Normally for our box office predictions, there’s a fight for number one, but with Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton‘s highly anticipated Disney masterpiece starring the much loved Johnny Depp, popular up-and-comer Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway and more, competing against an un-advertised cop thriller Brooklyn’s Finest, it’s safe to say that it’s only competition is itself.

Much like other big movies coming out, the film’s budget was massive, so the big question is will it make it back? Opening weekend is always the biggest weekend for a film of this size and it will need to break at least $75 million and possibly $100 million in order to make a dent in the estimated $200 million it cost to make (although I can only imagine what Disney will earn selling Mad Hatter hats, tea cups and other Alice in Wonderland merchandise, which will more than likely make back what they’ve spent).

According to the LA Times:

“Alice” is also opening simultaneously in more than 40 foreign markets that Disney believes represent about 60% of its potential international grosses, adding tens of millions of dollars more to the movie’s take this weekend… In the U.S. and Canada, “Alice” is on track to sell more than $75 million worth of tickets from Friday through Sunday and, according to some estimates, could even exceed $90 million.

There’s no doubt that the film will break some box office records out there and that Disney has put absolutely everything they have into pushing the film onto viewers. Sadly, the movie (which is just as visually stunning but with more edge and creativity) will be compared to recent giant Avatar and no matter what anyone says, it will never be able to bring down that Goliath.

Maybe I have rose colored glasses on, but I’m optimistic about this weekend for Alice. I’m going to guess that the film at least tops $85 million and gets close to, if not crosses the $100 million mark.

What do you think? Am I crazy? Or will this film be a huge hit?

Interview: Johnny Depp for Alice in Wonderland

Krystal Clark — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:34:04 +0000

After over 25 years in the entertainment business there’s nothing Johnny Depp hasn’t done. He’s played almost every role under the sun and he continues to stun audiences with his character choices. This weekend, he’ll star in what seems like his umpteenth Tim Burton production entitled, Alice in Wonderland. The actor plays The Mad Hatter, the highly unconventional, and topically crazy confidant of Alice.

When Depp appeared at the Alice in Wonderland press conference, his presence was very calming but in the back of your mind you knew there was a major star in the room. For someone who’s had his kind of career, he manages to come off as humble, sweet, and oddly funny in a way that only Depp can. He discussed his interest in The Mad Hatter as a tragic character, the evolution of his career, and whether or not he’d star in a motion capture film like Avatar. The actor is truly one of a kind and after seeing and hearing to him in person, you can tell his degree of success is a natural progression because he’s more than just a pretty face.

Depp discussed the first time he read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as a boy and his interpretation of the story. He was particularly drawn to the characters, and to this day he feels like they stick out more than anything else in the story.

I do remember vaguely, maybe when I was roughly 5 years old, reading versions of Alice in Wonderland, but the thing is the characters. You always know the characters. Everyone knows the characters, and they’re very well-defined characters — which I always thought was so fascinating. Most people who haven’t read the book definitely know the characters and reference them. For me, I went back — ironically, it was only maybe a year prior to Tim calling — and I had re-read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and what I took away from it was all these very strange, little cryptic nuggets that he’d thrown in there, and I was really intrigued by them and became fascinated by them because they were asking questions that couldn’t be answered almost, or were making statements that you couldn’t quite understand, like “I’m investigating things that begin with the letter ‘M.’” That took me through a whole stratosphere of possibilities, and then doing a little research and discovering that the M is mercury. And then, “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” Those things just became so important to the character. You realize it the more you read the book. If I read the book again today, I’d find a hundred other things that I missed the last time, so it’s constantly changing, the book.

Alice in Wonderland isn’t the first time Depp has taken on literature from back in the day. He also starred in Finding Neverland as J.M. Barrie, the man behind the popular tale of Peter Pan. It seems that the actor has an affinity for material from that time period.

I just adore it. From certainly J.M. Barrie and the wonderful characters he created to Lewis Carroll, but even French literature. When you read Baudelaire, or over in the States, Poe. It’s like Tim said about Lewis Carroll, you open those books, or you open the Flowers of Evil, and you begin to read, and if it were written today, you’d be absolutely stupefied by the work. It’s this incredible period where the work is timeless, ageless. So yes, I love all those guys. It’s my deep passion, you know, those great 19th century writers.

The actor has collaborated with director Tim Burton for two decades and their professional and personal relationship has steadily grown throughout the years. He talked about how the two creators approach a project and the pressure he always puts on himself to get Tim’s roles right.

Each time out of the gate with Tim, the initial thing for me is to obviously come up with a character. But then, there’s a certain amount of pressure where I go, ‘Jesus, will this be the one where I disappoint him?’ You know what I mean? So, I try really hard, especially early on, to come up with something that’s very different, that he hasn’t experienced before and that we haven’t experienced together before, and that will stimulate and inspire him to make choices based on that character. I try not to embarrass him, basically.

Being that they have such a trusting relationship, we were interested in knowing the reaction the actor had when the character of The Mad Hatter was brought to him. Depp’s no stranger to playing eccentric roles on screen,( i.e. Ed Wood, Jack Sparrow), and he attacked this part with the same kind of enthusiasm.

To be honest, he could have said Alice and I would have said yes. [Laughs] I would have done whatever character Tim wanted. But, certainly, the fact that it was the Mad Hatter was a bonus because of the great challenge to try to find this guy and not just be a rubber ball that you heave into an empty room and watch it bounce all over the place, but just to find that part of the character but also a little bit more of the history or gravity to the guy.

The one thing Depp manages to do that’s been rarely seen in any interpretation of the Alice in story is explore the tragedy of The Mad Hatter. He’s essentially insane, sad, and confused about the world around him. The actor constantly plays up that internal conflict throughout the film because of the character’s background.

There’s the whole Hatter’s dilemma, really, which is where the term, “Mad as a Hatter,” came from. The amount of mercury that they used in the glue to make the hats and everything was damaging. So, in terms of the Hatter, looking from that perspective as this guy who is literally physically and emotionally damaged goods and a little obtuse, I took that and decided that, as opposed to just this hyper-nutty guy, he should explore all sides of the personality at an extreme level. So he could go, from one second, being very highfalutin with a lot of levity, and then straight into some kind of dangerous potential rage, and then tragedy. It was interesting trying to map it out, it was really interesting.

Since the majority of the characters on his resume could be classified as “off the wall”, you might wonder how he keeps them all straight. The actor discussed how he keeps himself in check when doing accents and personas for certain parts.

You definitely have to, I mean, at a certain point, especially if you’re dealing with — I’ve played English a number of times, and used an English accent a number of times, so it becomes a little bit of an obstacle course to go, “Oh, that’s teetering into Captain Jackville,” or “This one is teetering over into Chocolat or Wonka.” You’ve got to really pay attention to the places you’ve been. But hopefully, also, that’s part of it. That’s the great challenge. You may get it wrong. There’s a very good possibility that you can fall flat on your face, but again I think that’s a healthy thing for an actor.

In Alice in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter has a signature dance called Futterwacking and it’s very hard to replicate. It’s referred to as his “happy dance,” one that he’ll only unveil once the evil Red Queen has been defeated. Depp talked about the origin of the dance and how it was created onscreen.

The happy dance was something that Tim was really — he had a very curious vision for the happy dance. And then, I can futterwack with the best of them. We had to treat that like a stunt.

This year, there has been so much talk about Avatar and motion captured performances as compared to real live actors. Depp spoke about whether or not he would get involved in that type of film and wear a blue spandex suit for a particular role in the future.

I don’t know. What color is the suit? It’s black? Well it matches my eyes. I suppose. I don’t care. I mean, I’ll put anything on. It doesn’t matter to me, obviously. [Laughs] Look at me.[Laughs] No, I don’t mind.

Out of all the characters and films he’s worked on, the actor divulged which one his own children connect to the most.

It’s funny because they’ve seen it, but they have a difficult time watching it because it’s their dad and they make that connection. Edward Scissorhands is, by far, my kiddies’ favorite. They connect with the character, and also I think they see their dad feeling that isolation and loneliness. He’s a tragic character, so it’s hard for them. They bawl when they see that.

Depp has had a successful acting career that’s spanned over two decades, with his first major role being Glen in A Nightmare on Elm Street (Yeah, that was him). When he started in the business he had no idea that he would still be acting over 20 years later. His success surprises him more than it does anybody else.

My whole experience on the ride since day one has been pretty surreal in this business and defies logic. I’m still completely shocked that I still get jobs and am still around. But I guess, more than anything, it has been kind of a wonderland. I’m been very lucky. I had no idea where anything was going. But you can’t — it’s almost impossible to predict anything like that.

I had no idea. I felt after I had done Crybaby with John Waters and Edward Scissorhands with Tim that they were going to cut me off right then. You know what I mean? I felt, at that point, I was on solid ground and I knew where I was going and where I wanted to go. I was sure that they would nix me out of the gig. But, luckily, I’m still here.

Alice in Wonderland hits theaters on March 5, 2010.

Movie Releases: Alice in Wonderland and Brooklyn’s Finest

Anet Hovhanesian — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:00:13 +0000

We don’t have a lot of choices this week. In one corner we have the blockbuster film with director Tim Burton and the versatile and talented Johnny Depp together again in a remake of fan favorite fantasy film Alice in Wonderland. In the film we have 19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure. The family adventure brings back all the characters from the Mad Hatter to the Cheshire cat to Tweedledee/Tweedledum.

In the other corner we have an action drama that is filled with more leading male actors than one movie should be able to handle. Brooklyn’s Finest stars Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke AND Wesley Snipes all together in one movie about three unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location after enduring vastly different career paths. If there is one thing Antoine Fuqua’s thriller will not lack, it is talent on screen.

There is no question about who will be victorious at the box office this weekend but don’t sleep on Brooklyn’s Finest, it has all the elements of a good movie. Check out the reviews, showtimes and trailers below…

Alice in Wonderland | Interviews: Tim Burton, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska , Helena Bonham| Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets
Brooklyn’s Finest | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets

Watch the trailers…

Alice in Wonderland

Brooklyn’s Finest

Who is your favorite Alice in Wonderland character? Are you going to see the film this weekend?

Interview: Helena Bonham Carter for Alice in Wonderland

Krystal Clark — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:21:03 +0000

Helena Bonham Carter returns to the big screen this weekend with a larger than life performance in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. It’s the latest in a long line of films that the pair have worked together on alongside frequent collaborator Johnny Depp. When the actress attended the press conference for the feature she was laid back and open with the press about her thoughts on her character, the film, and whether or not the movie should be seen by young children.

In the film, Carter stars as the Red Queen, the sole tormentor of Wonderland, who’s been prophesied to fall from power at the hands of Alice. She’s a caricature in ever sense of the word, but Carter has fun with it and makes her enjoyable to watch. She’s aided by several supporting actors most notably Crispin Clover as The Knave of Hearts, but for the most part she’s a one woman show.

Over the span of Helena Bonham Carter’s career she’s been known to tackle a wide range of characters. She’s been the sweet optimistic girl, the careless free-spirit, and the beautiful sex symbol. In Alice she stars as the frightening villain, which makes you wonder if there’s a specific type of role she gravitates towards more than the other.

Because I’m older, I only get villains. It’s about whatever is well written and has somebody behind the camera that knows what they’re doing and is a really good storyteller.

In this case, the story was well known and versed by the general public so she knew exactly what she was getting into. It was the physical stuff, including the makeup and the digital work that surprised the actress. The Red Queen is known for having a big head but they wanted her body to still be petite. They went through several methods to get the ratio between the two just right.

Because they [journalists] go on about my head, but my waist is digitized. He [Burton] told me that right at the beginning. He said, ‘Don’t worry. You’re going to have it obviously. Don’t go for the full pull-in with the corset every morning.’ And so, I didn’t. And then, halfway through, he said, ‘You know, the waist is going to cost too much.’ So then, halfway through, suddenly I went for the pull and then luckily at the end somebody just told me ‘No, we did. We could do the waist.’

If Carter had to deal with that type of back and forth debate with her costume, we can only imagine what happened with her hair and makeup. The Red Queen has a very unique look, which took a couple of hours everyday to put complete.

They had to get rid of my hair line so you put a bald cap on, that takes about two-in-a-half-hours, then they have to paint it, and then they put my beauty make-up on, that took some time, and my huge wig, so yeah. They didn’t blow my head up every morning, they did that on the camera. I had this one camera, there are two cameras in the world that do this and they just blow your head up. That’s all it does. I had this huge camera dedicated to me. He [Burton] likes to deform me. I like it. I always like looking as different as I can.

Alice in Wonderland uses a lot of heavy CGI for the majority of the characters. There’s only a choice few that aren’t altered in a huge way, Anne Hathaway’s White Queen is a prime example. Every actor didn’t always have the opportunity to perform opposite a human being when the camera’s started rolling. Sometimes they had to improvise.

It was all green, but I don’t know, when you’re acting you have to imagine anyways. The unsung heroes of it are these various green people who gave us their lines off and we had real proper actors who were dressed in leotards. They gave us, if like for instance — I’ve only met Michael Sheen in the last 12-hours, I mean I have met him in life before, but he wasn’t there, I just had like a 12-inch drawing of a rabbit. Behind him was a green screen, green actor, that’s what we had to act opposite. I would have appreciated if [Sheen] would have come in his bunny outfit once, but he didn’t.

She also had to star opposite an unconventional version of Matt Lucas who starred as the Tweedles and talked about how Anne Hathaway improvised her own effects.

Matt had to be like always hunched over, on the floor, whenever I had to look at Matt, he was always in deepest conflict because he had to try to make himself smaller. [Hathaway] is the one who does her own special effects because she doesn’t have anything special done to her, she just does her own gliding, but Matt and me, and Crispin [Glover], I don’t know how he did it. He was on crutches, had no eye and somehow managed to remain upright, I don’t know how he did that. And you all have to act opposite tennis balls and bits of tape, but you do that anyway. Actually, tennis balls and bits of tape can be good actors, the minimal.

The movie has a lot of fantastical elements and does center on the basic story of Alice, but we wanted to know if Carter considered it a family film. There are a lot of Gothic themes and darker moments that take place that might scare small children.

Tim always has this theory that it’s us that have the problem, that we impose fears on our kids and the kids are actually quite robust. But it depends on your kid. I don’t know. We were trying to find a nursery school for our son, Bill. Apparently, according to the Montessori method, they can’t tell the difference between reality and fantasy until age 6. They had recommended no fairytales so that’s why we didn’t send Bill to Montessori because having Tim Burton and fairytales and his world of ideas. Oh! Okay!

Alice in Wonderland debuts in theaters this Friday, March 5, 2010.

Interview: Anne Hathaway for Alice in Wonderland

Krystal Clark — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:05:32 +0000

Academy Award nominated actress Anne Hathaway will be a far cry from her dramatic role in Rachel Getting Married when she appears in Tim Burton’s adaptation of Alice in Wonderland as the White Queen. Hathaway has come a long way since The Princess Diaries by landing roles that constantly challenge her as an actress and this character is no different. She plays one of the good guys in the film, who seeks the aid of Alice to defeat her maniacal sister.

As the White Queen Hathaway is a stark contrast to Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen. She’s fair skinned, fair haired, and free spirited in every sense of the word. As an audience we see the character as the victim of her sister’s wicked ways, but Hathaway doesn’t think she’s that innocent. According to the actress, there’s something else brewing beneath the surface of the White Queen that’s a lot more devious than anything we could ever imagine.

Unlike a lot of people, Anne Hathaway didn’t read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as a child but as an adult, so her first impression of the story was far from the norm.

I was really moved by it, she’s a very emotional character and I think a lot of people feel confused at 19 years old. Who they are? Who they think they are? Who they want to be? You struggle with a sense of identity then and other times in your life. I read the book from that perspective as a girl who’s trying to find her identity, which is great because that’s what the movie really focuses on. Which Alice are you? That’s my experience.

Even though she didn’t get on board with the mythology until later, she was familiar with the Jabberwocky character and shared an experience she had as a child that ended up resurfacing on set for the film.

I’m glad you reminded me about Jabberwocky because when I was in 5th grade I had teacher and he made the entire class memorize Jabberwocky and perform it. I made Tim [Burton] during the battle sequence, I made him let me recite the poem and he was like, ‘it’s not going to be in the film,’ I’m like, ‘I know but just for my own sense of completion, please let me do this.’

Hathaway’s version of the White Queen has been described as “a punk-rock vegan pacifist” who was inspired by bands like Blondie. On the surface it sounds like a weird mix of things that have absolutely nothing to do with Wonderland, but Hathaway begs to differ.

The pacifist thing was in the script. My character has taken a vowel of non-violence, but it was [also] in the script that when she talks about that she hits a bug and then it’s like… I thought about. That gave me the idea that she’s taken this vow against her will, that she recognizes that her sister is sick and believes that an ends to a means is cutting people heads off. It’s her default setting. I’m just like, I don’t want her to be in charge, so I guess I have to be in charge.

Hathaway’s inspiration for the character came from a very random, very eclectic mix of pop culture icons.

I like the idea that my character probably left to her devices, might not have wanted to be queen. Then I started to think about who she was when she was in her off queen time. She spends a lot of time in the kitchen, and I kind of imagined her in mosh-pits and not really punching anyone, but butting against people very hard. I like Blondie, so I thought, she’s blond, so that was kind of obvious, but I still wanted her to have a regal thing so there’s a Greta Garbo movie I watched because I still think no one has ever quite moved on film the way she did. Her whole body just looks like it’s breathing and it was a time where acting was very stylized to kind of be very over the top.

In the film, the White Queen is the exact opposite of her sister, and there’s an interesting dynamic between the two. Director Tim Burton didn’t want their portrayals to be cut and dry, good or bad. He wanted there to be moral ambiguity.

That was one the most fun parts about my character, there was this freedom Tim gave me from the first conversation we had. He said, ‘in Wonderland I don’t want anything to be all good or all bad, so I don’t want it to be the Red Queen is the bad one and you’re like the nice benevolent one who’s all good.’ So he said, ‘have fun exploring the relationship between the two of them that come from the same place.’ I thought, how fun, if my character has a sort of hidden psychosis.

She is interested in knives and things like that, and is kind of adorable on the outside and has tried very hard to become this good almost over the top positive creature, but underneath she has a murderous streak that comes out when she’s around weaponry. It wasn’t necessarily that they were opposites, they were just sisters who were different.

The White Queen is one of the few characters in the film that isn’t CGI. Unlike her co-stars Michael Sheen and Matt Lucas, Hathaway’s character appears the old school way using hair and makeup. We wanted to know if she would have preferred being a partially animated character as opposed to being live action.

Honestly, I would do anything. I’m fond of saying that I would have played a mushroom if that’s the way he [Tim] saw me. I would have happily dawned my green Onesie and been up in stilts. I would have just done anything to be in Wonderland, but I don’t know, it’s kind of nice to be a real person, I have no preference. I’m sorry, I don’t.

Alice in Wonderland opens in theaters nationwide on March 5th.

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