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conference for Sweeney Todd and got to hear the thoughts of stars

Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall and the

younger cast, as well as director Tim Burton and producer Richard

Zanuck.

The event itself, held in a swanky London hotel, was full of

journalists from all over the world, and featured some seriously

strange questions. The most bizarre was the Irish journo who asked

Jayne Wisener (who plays Johanna in the film): "So, you're from Derry

right?" She was. "Well, my cousin owns a pub in Derry, the Old Crown,

have you ever been there?" She hadn't, and will presumably steer well

clear of the place from now on. Very Strange. Anyway, here's what the

team thought about Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street -

out this Friday in the U.K.

Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd

How was it doing your first musical? And will you be doing it again?

JD: We're doing the sequel now [laughs]. I actually did do a musical

many years ago with John Waters called Cry-Baby, but technically it

was only half me - it wasn't me singing. Tim's the only person brave

enough to actually let me try to sing. It was the first time I'd ever

sung - I'd never even sung in the shower, I'm too mortified. But once

I got over the initial fear it was kind of enjoyable. Sondheim's

melodies and lyrics are a real pleasure to tromp around in, it's

really beautiful stuff. Would I ever do it again? No, I doubt it.

What were the biggest acting challenges you faced?

JD: It's funny because early on, when Tim and I talked about Sweeney

and the idea of doing it, 50% of the job would be done before we ever

stepped on the set with the recording of the songs. Then we'd go in

and lip sync to it. Or that's what we thought... But these guys know

as well as I do that you go into the recording studio and sing your

guts out recording the stuff, and do it as best you can and then you

go onto the set. We thought we were going to lip synch but in fact the

only way to do it is to belt it out once again on the set, which is

extremely mortifying. Everyone's very, very close and you just feel

like an idiot at first. But then it was oddly liberating, having music

on the set all the way through. It made it interesting. It felt like

we were doing a silent film.

Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett up to their murderous ways.

Did you base your singing voice on any person in particular, as you

sound a bit like David Bowie when you sing?

JD: A couple of people have said that, which is interesting because I

wouldn't ever dream of attempting to channel David Bowie. He's a big

hero of mine. If there's a similarity it wasn't intentional. And it's

a nice compliment.

You once said that there is always something of you in every role you

play - what part of you is in Sweeney?

JD: I do believe that you have to bring some degree of truth from

yourself to the role and I'll admit it here, I have shaved a grown man

before. I have done it. And it wasn't Tim [Burton].

Did he survive?

JD: [Laughs] He is alive, yeah, he's walking around to this day.

Where did you get your accent come from?

JD: Just from spending time over here, it wasn't any one particular

person that I based it on.

Sweeney seems a bit of a gunslinger with his razors; did you see that

and was it fun playing with the razors?

JD: The holsters seemed the safest area to put the razors. And did I

have fun playing with them? The killing of everyone was the easy part;

the most difficult part was lathering them up and shaving them: that's

the part that freaked me out the most.

Do you see this as a tale of redemption?

JD: I think, as Tim said the other day when we were talking about the

theme of revenge, it's a feeling that most people don't want to admit

to. But I think we all have it secretly in there. I'm a big fan of

revenge; I think it's a story of a man who clearly has obsessions to

avenge the horror that happened to him.

What revenge have you taken?

JD: [Smiles] I can't incriminate myself.

You've been in The Fast Show, so is there any truth to the rumour you

wanted a role in Doctor Who?

JD: No, I didn't really pursue anything with Doctor Who. But The Fast

Show is, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant things I've ever

seen anywhere. When that was mentioned as a possibility I went after

Whitehouse, I stalked him. I was sitting on a tree outside of his

bedroom window with a funny mask on, that's how I got the job

basically. I haven't done that for Doctor Who.

Sweeney Todd helmer Tim Burton.

Tim Burton - Director

What did you use as inspiration for the film?

Tim Burton: A lot of my own anger! I said to Johnny this would be the

perfect job because you don't have to do anything, you don't say

anything and you just look out of the window and brood and be angry

and I told him it was a great job.

Helena Bonham Carter: It's actually a portrait of our home life.

What do you think about the cancellation of The Golden Globes due to

the WGA strike?

TB: Its different hearing about it over here, I'm not really in tune

with what's happening, the only thing I can say is that awards

shouldn't have an impact on a film in terms of people seeing it,

though I guess in some cases films that are different or fall into

strange categories like this one then awards can probably raise

awareness of them. But I guess the sad part about it is that films

that are different won't reach as many people.

What was it about the music that appealed to you?

TB: One of the things I loved about the musical was that you listened

to the soundtrack and it tells you the story we didn't want it to be

like a traditional musical, instead it felt like a silent movie with

music. It's not 'lets get a chorus singing and have extras dancing on

the street', each of the characters, because they're depressed or

happy or crushed inside, the music was a way of expressing their

feelings - that was the structure we used for it. And the contrast

between the imagery, which was quite dark, and the music, which was

lush and beautiful, was something that I'd never seen before and that

was why I wanted to do it.

Helena Bonham Carter lusts after her husbands best friend in the film.

Helena Bonham Carter - Mrs Lovett

Was it easier or harder getting the role when your husband was the

director?

HBC: It was probably harder. I mean he told me: 'You look right for it

but we have no idea if you can sing.' So I thought: 'well, I'll try

and learn' and did singing lessons, but you know I had to be righter

than right. I wouldn't want people saying I got a role in his film

just because I slept with him. At the end of the day Sondheim said I

was okay... and I definitely didn't sleep with him!

TB: That's not what he said...!

How did you find having to lust after Johnny in front of your husband?

Was it awkward?

HBC: Not really... maybe it should have been? No... The fact I was

being paid by my boyfriend to romance his best friend - it was I guess

a strange situation but no I didn't worry about it.

Dick Zanuck - Producer

When you were at Fox you green lit The Sound of Music, Hello Dolly and

Dr Doolittle, why did you green light this?

DZ Well there's no comparison. The Sound of Music was among the first

pictures that I put into production and was a giant hit as every one

knows. I tried to follow that magic with three flops: Hello Dolly,

Star! And Dr. Doolittle - which did little! And I vowed never to go

near a musical again 'til Tim said he would do Sweeney Todd. And

having seen the show in person on Broadway years and years before I

thought "well it's a wonderful piece, but it won't make a picture..."

But when I heard Tim was passionately involved in it and wanted to do

it - that was enough for me. He's the only person I would have wanted

to do this picture.

TB: But what if I said I wanted Rex Harrison instead of Johnny?

Timothy Spall - Beadle Bamford

You're the only one on the panel who you don't see garrotted, I was

wondering if you are upset about that and are you worried about the

reputation you'll get in America because you've played several

unsavoury characters?

TS: I don't worry too much about being typecast. But I mean although I

don't get garrotted there's a nice shot of me shooting down the

trapdoor and my head smashing on the ground and a bit of my brain

comes out, so I didn't feel that left out. You play a disgusting, fat

ugly sexual pervert who thinks he's rather lovely looking, but from

where that came from, I don't really know!

Sweeney Todd is released in the U.K. on Friday.