"Amazing . . . that a studio went along with this"–Johnny Depp and Tim Burton discuss SWEENEY TODD with the Los Angeles Daily News

In an article titled “Depp, Burton sing each others’ praises,” Glenn Whipp of the Los Angeles Daily News describes his joint interview with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton; the friends were promoting their most recent collaboration, SWEENEY TODD. The reporter wisely stays with the Q&A format, knowing that their answers need no editorial embellishment. Here is a small sample of the interview:

Q: Producer Richard Zanuck was apparently a little nervous about hearing your singing, Johnny.

Tim Burton: I didn’t know what to expect. And when I finally heard him, I was amazed. It’s a hard musical to do, and he just made it his own. It sounded like him. A lot of times, things get overproduced and you don’t hear the person in the voice. But you heard him. And it had an emotional quality that I had never really heard in the material.

Q: You’ve said that the song you sent Tim, “My Friends,” was the first you’ve ever sung start to finish. That’s a little hard to believe.

Johnny Depp: It’s true. I don’t sing along to music.

Q: “Brown Sugar” comes on . . . .

Johnny Depp: I might sing a little harmony. I might air guitar. Drumming. I like to drum.

Tim Burton: What’s amazing is that a studio went along with this. Nobody knew if he could sing.

Johnny Depp: It’s astonishing. I don’t know what they were thinking. What were you thinking?

Tim Burton: I was thinking it was funny. I can’t tell you how many years I had to fight to get Johnny in my movies. Nowadays, I can’t even open my mouth without the studio asking if Johnny’s going to be in the movie. It was a long time coming. It’s great.

Many thanks to marijose and FANtasticJD for sharing the Glenn Whipp article; you can read it in full on the Zone’s News & Views forum or here: http://tinyurl.com/34rv8k –Part-Time Poet

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