The Demon Barber is in business: Tim Burton's SWEENEY TODD, starring Johnny Depp, begins principal photography today!

Cameras began rolling at Pinewood Studios today, February 5th, on Tim Burton’s sixth collaboration with Johnny Depp, the DreamWorks/Warner Bros. production of the Stephen Sondheim musical SWEENEY TODD. Yes, Johnny will be doing his own singing as the notorious demon barber of Fleet Street, and Helena Bonham Carter will play the pie-maker Mrs. Lovett. Alan Rickman, Anthony Head, newcomer Jayne Wisener, Timothy Spall, Olivier winner Laura Michelle Kelly, Sacha Baron Cohen and the legendary Christopher Lee round out the exciting cast.

The photo at left is taken from a two-page ad in Variety announcing that “principal photography begins February 5, 2007”–thanks to Emma for the ad and DeepinDepp for breaking the news. You can read more about it on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Tim Burton will be shooting from a screenplay written by producer John Logan, who wrote THE AVIATOR and GLADIATOR. Longtime Burton collaborators Chris Lebenzon (editor) and Colleen Atwood (costumer designer) are back, and the director of photography is the marvelous Dariusz Wolski, who shot all three PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN films. The Zone congratulates the cast and crew of SWEENEY TODD as they begin filming–we wish them a bloody good time. –Part-Time Poet