John August

Projects

UK Charlie teaser now up

Charlie, Projects

[[Burning Puppets]](http://wwws.warnerbros.co.uk/movies/chocolatefactory/?frompromo=movies_comingsoon_charlieandthechocolatefactory#)Warner Bros. UK has a new [teaser trailer](http://wwws.warnerbros.co.uk/movies/chocolatefactory/?frompromo=movies_comingsoon_charlieandthechocolatefactory#) up for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s almost exactly the same as the US version, with the addition of some burning puppets about two-thirds of the way through, right after the lyric, “A magician and a chocolate wiz.”

“What’s the deal with those flaming puppets?” you may well ask.

Well, they were always supposed to be there. In the movie, these puppets sing the catchy-yet-annoying “Willy Wonka” song, and well, things go awry. Apparently, the US version of the teaser trailer was supposed to be identical to the UK version, but when the MPAA reviewed the trailer, they wouldn’t approve the puppets being on fire. (For whatever reason. I don’t know the details, and it’s only frustrating to speculate.)

The good news is that thanks to the web, you can see the teaser as it was meant to be. [See it here.](http://wwws.warnerbros.co.uk/movies/chocolatefactory/?frompromo=movies_comingsoon_charlieandthechocolatefactory#)

Corpse Bride trailer up

Corpse Bride, Projects

Corpse BrideThe [trailer](http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/corpse_bride/) for Corpse Bride is now up at Apple. Before you ask, I don’t know if this is a teaser or the final trailer. It does a good job setting up what the movie is about, so I’m not sure they’ll need to cut a longer version.

Corpse Bride is the second animated movie I’ve worked on, the first being [Titan A.E.](http://imdb.com/title/tt0120913/combined). Unlike Titan, which was a combination of traditional and computer animation, Corpse Bride was done with stop-motion animation like Tim Burton’s earlier [The Nightmare Before Christmas](http://imdb.com/title/tt0107688/combined). The artistry behind the animation is painstaking — each frame you shoot is pretty much the way it’s going to be in the final film.

From a writer’s perspective, there’s not a lot of difference between writing for animation and writing a normal live-action movie. Where you feel the difference is in production and post. In “normal” movies, it’s not too hard to re-arrange a scene, or change a line of dialogue in editing. With this technique, there’s less wiggle room. Once the shutter clicks, you’re pretty much locked. In some ways, that’s liberating. It means there’s a lot more attention to the details from the outset.

The movie comes out at Halloween in the States. (I’m not sure about the rest of the world.)

New photos up

Charlie, Projects

Charlie RiverCourtesy [FilmForce](http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/574/574697p1.html), there are new photos up for two projects. Click on each for a larger version.

The first is from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, showing most of the principal cast in the Chocolate Room.

From left to right, the characters in the photo are Charlie Bucket, Veruca Salt, Grampa Joe (Charlie’s grandfather), Mrs. Gloop, Mr. Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Ms. Beauregarde, Willy Wonka, Mr. Teavee and Mike Teavee. Not pictured is Augustus Gloop. Anyone who’s read the book can probably figure out why.

Charlie RiverThe second photo is from Corpse Bride, and shows Victor Van Dort practicing his wedding vows, while nervous bride-to-be Victoria looks on. The film is in production in London.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory teaser up

Charlie, Projects

The [teaser](http://mp3content01.bcst.yahoo.com/bmfroot02/BMFShare02/yahoomovies/4/10140065.mov) for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is now up at Yahoo!, for those who are interested. It should be attached to movies beginning this weekend.

One good thing about a movie like this is that you don’t have to worry about the trailer spoiling the movie, because the story is already familiar to most people. If you go through the teaser frame by frame, you can match up pretty much everything with events from Roald Dahl’s book. That’s not to say there aren’t some surprises in the movie, though.

Thanks to reader Steve for pointing out the link.