The Weekend edition of USA TODAY, published on November 2nd, prominently features SWEENEY TODD in its Holiday Movie Preview: “[S]tar Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton have claimed a macabre musical corner of Broadway as their own,” writes Susan Wloszczyna. Her article contrasts supposedly “heavy” or dark offerings with “light” escapist entertainment, pointing out the contrasts in this year’s holiday slate. “I consider SWEENEY TODD to be on the dark side, but entertaining,” stresses producer Richard D. Zanuck. “It’s nearly wall-to-wall music, almost operatic in nature. But once you get into it,” Zanuck promises, “it becomes very natural.” Nor is the amount of blood spilled in the movie worrisome, says Zanuck, because “it is taken out of the realm of realism. [It’s] a Kill Bill kind of blood. It’s not to be taken seriously.”

USA TODAY took SWEENEY TODD seriously enough to make it the one movie they featured on their front page; look who’s in the right corner, above the fold, advertising the movie preview section? http://tinyurl.com/27jrlt Yup . . . the homicidal barber and his pie-making partner! And the USA TODAY story quashes some foolish rumors about SWEENEY TODD’s running time being overlong–not so, reports Wloszczyna. “SWEENEY moves in a swifter fashion than some musicals of late,” she writes, “shaved down to a mere 108 minutes from the 2 1/2 hour stage version.”

The Zone thanks emma for posting the USA TODAY article; you can read it in its entirety on the News & Views forum. For a larger version of the newly released Leah Gallo photo of Sweeney with his razor, click here: http://tinyurl.com/2mdbcd –Part-Time Poet