With all the pieces in place – at least behind the camera – Tim Burton can officially dive into pre-production on Sweeney Todd.
Warner Brothers and DreamWorks have teamed up to finance the film, which means that Burton will be directing Johnny Depp as Todd (as previously reported), though no other casting has been announced yet.
For those who still don’t know, this latest version of Sweeney Todd will be based on Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway musical, which tells the tale of an imprisoned barber who plots his revenge and, once he’s released, slices his customers’ throats before sending their bodies to the shop next door to be made into pies. Ironically, Warners had planned to make a film from the show years ago, with Tim Burton attached, but got cold feet when he dropped out. DreamWorks then had the rights, with The Last Samurai’s John Logan writing a new draft of the script and Sam Mendes considering waving the megaphone. But Jarhead intervened and now Burton’s back.
The studio thumbs up means that team Todd has been able to book soundstage space, and will kick off shooting at Pinewood in early February next year. It’s hoped the film will see the inside of a cinema by the end of 2007. Someone get Christopher Lee on the phone...