Ed Wood (film)
| Ed Wood | |
|---|---|
| File:Ed wood movie.jpg | |
| Directed by | Tim Burton |
| Written by | Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski |
| Produced by | Tim Burton Denise Di Novi |
| Starring | Jonny Depp Martin Landau Sarah Jessica Parker |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista |
Running time | 127 min. |
| Budget | $18,000,000 (est.) |
Ed Wood is a biopic directed by Tim Burton, stars Johnny Depp as the transvestite cult movie maker Edward D. Wood Jr. The film, shot in black and white, was made in 1994 and based in large part on Rudolph Grey's biography Nightmare of Ecstasy. The film focuses on the period in Ed's life when he made his best-known films, and also his relationship with Bela Lugosi (Oscar winner Martin Landau), the down-on-his luck actor who had starred as Dracula in the film of the same name.
Characters, cast and crew
People represented in the film include:
- Dolores Fuller (Sarah Jessica Parker)
- Bunny Breckinridge (Bill Murray)
- Kathy O'Hara (Patricia Arquette)
- Criswell - (Jeffrey Jones)
- Vampira - (Lisa Marie)
- Tor Johnson - (George "The Animal" Steele)
The film includes cameo appearances from actors who had worked with Wood on Plan 9 From Outer Space. Conrad Brooks (who played one of the comic policemen) appears as a bartender, and Gregory Walcott (who played the hero) appears as one of the potential backers of Bride of the Monster. In addition, Paul Marco, the other comic policeman, can be spotted in the background.
This is the only Tim Burton film to date that does not have a music score by Danny Elfman; the soundtrack for Ed Wood was by Howard Shore.
Factual accuracy
Although the film is avowedly stylized and heightened for comic effect, most of the events it depicts are fairly close to reality, despite their oddness. Still, there are some departures from truth.
- Wood's relationship with Bela Lugosi may not have been as beneficial as the film suggests. Lugosi's son, Bela Lugosi Jr., has stated in interviews that he considers Wood a parasite who exploited a desperate old man.
- In the film, Dolores Fuller learns of Wood's transvestitism after reading the screenplay for Glen or Glenda. In reality, she remained unaware until the film was finished.
- In order to stress Wood's close relationship with Lugosi, Burton makes it look as though the famous shot of Lugosi picking a flower was filmed outside Lugosi's house. In fact, the house belonged to Tor Johnson.
- In the movie, Lugosi's funeral is attended only by Ed Wood and his acolytes. In reality, Lugosi's funeral was well-attended by his family and fellow film stars.
- Wood's meeting with Orson Welles is invented.
- Bela Lugosi's relationship with Boris Karloff was far warmer than the film implies.
- Tor Johnson is seen at the premiere of Plan 9 with two children who are as plump as he is. In reality, Johnson's children were grown up at this time.
Origin
Tim Burton was due to direct the Jekyll and Hyde adapation movie, Mary Reilly and was staying in Poughkeepsie, New York when he was approached with an offer to produce Ed Wood. There were a number of administrative and artistic problems with Mary Reilly, and so Burton decided to abandon the project and to direct Ed Wood instead, on the provision that a script could be written quickly. The script was written in true Ed Wood style. According to Burton, A comparatively large script (of 140 pages) was delivered in record time by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, the writers of the critically derided Problem Child movie series. Alexander and Karaszewski had been fans of Wood since they were students and so it was written with an enthusiasm not unlike that of Ed Wood himself.
According to Burton (in the book, Burton on Burton), there was some karmic significance of his directing Ed Wood in that he was staying in Wood's birthplace at the time of being offered the production rights and Ed Wood's transvestitism parallelled the duality of Mary Reilly's Jekyll and Hyde.
The background research for Ed Wood relied heavily on Nightmare of Ecstasy by Rudolph Grey (ISBN 0922915245), a full-length biography, which draws on interviews from Wood's family and colleagues.
Burton and Wood
Burton admits to having always been a fan of Ed Wood, which is why the biopic is filmed with a certain sympathy and admiration rather than derision of Wood's work. Burton's respect for Wood is also hinted at in his film Edward Scissorhands—the director has stated that he named the lead character in the film "Edward" because of its similarity to the name "Ed Wood." The relationship between Wood and Lugosi in the script echoes closely Tim Burton's relationship with his own idol and one-time colleague, Vincent Price.
DVD
The DVD edition of Ed Wood initially had difficulty reaching store shelves in North America due to unspecified legal issues. In February 2004, a DVD was shipped to stores, only to be recalled again without explanation—though some copies quickly found their way to collectors' venues such as eBay. The DVD was finally released on October 19, 2004.