Multi-talented artist and filmmaker Tim Burton can now add "parade participant" to his resume: the creepily-inclined director has just announced that he is designing a new balloon for this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. more ›

A real life Batmobile from Batman Returns is heading to the auction block soon...located at the 38th annual Kruse International auction in Indiana, of all places. The car, which is a much sleeker/less rugged design than the one in the recent Christopher Nolan films, will go to the highest bidder over Labor Day weekend, Wired reports. "The prop vehicle from Tim Burton's 1992 Batman movie is helping generate heat for this year's sale. Similar, but less valuable, Batmobiles have drawn as much as $550,000, according to the auction house." Kruse notes that this "the Warner Bros. & DC Comics sales approval agreement clearly authenticates that this is the number 3 Movie Batmobile," of the 5 that have been on the big screen...but maybe you should hold out for one of the latter ones. more ›

Prestige filmmakers take note: If you want the Times critics to really love you, what you need to do is put the fear in them. At least it worked for Tim Burton; his adaptation of Steven Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd gave reviewer A.O. Scott nightmares. And for that, Scott deems the film “close to a masterpiece, a work of extreme – I am tempted to say evil – genius.” (Current Rotten Tomato rating: 88% fresh.) One big question was whether the non-singing actors cast in the film would be able to pull it off; according to Burton the film is almost 90 sung. Well, it worked for Scott:

Johnny Depp’s voice is harsh and thin, but amazingly forceful. He brings the unpolished urgency of rock ’n’ roll to an idiom accustomed to more refinement., and in doing so awakens the violence of Mr. Sondheim’s lyrics and melodies.

On Wednesday night Tim Burton gave the Film Society of Lincoln Center a 17-minute taste of Sweeney Todd, his film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s macabre musical. The 1979 Broadway hit was inspired by Victorian folklore about a crazed London barber who slits his customers’ throats and, in some versions of the story, colludes with his lover to bake the corpses into meat pies – which become wildly successful! (Ah, the culinary possibilities before rogue... more ›

DANCE: A little while ago we told you about Matthew Bourne's adaptation of Tim Burton’s cult classic Edward Scissorhands into a dance performance. Scissors...dancing...sure, why not? The show opens tonight, and from what we've seen on the commercials that have been running - seems to capture the essence of the movie. more ›

Edward Scissorhands isn't something we ever thought we'd see on the stage, but as you can see from the above clip, that's precisely where it is. Matthew Bourne's dance-theater production of the Tim Burton film tells the story with a 26 person cast...and no words. According to Bourne: more ›

Halloween is Tuesday, which means this weekend is really the time for all of the –ists to celebrate. And whether they’re designing super-spooky costumes or talking about the super-spooky upcoming elections, we’d say that they’re doing a fine job of it. more ›

this way, and sporting those Buddy Holly-esque free plastic glasses during a matinee was a blast. more ›

Our one quibble with last night's Project Runway Reunion was that it was too short. This should have been a two-hour special. more ›

André 3000 and Big Boi bring their Grammy-winning mojo to the big screen this week with their much anticipated musical, Idlewild. Set in a '30s speakeasy complete with marcel wave hairdos and juke joint stepping, the movie also coincides with the release of a new OutKast record featuring songs from the flick. Hopefully director Bryan Barber has made something be more substantial than one terribly long, theme music video. Some might argue drinking lots of beer will make you stupider, but it can't be nearly as brain cell draining as , a new movie from the Super Trooper guys. Though maybe with a few in you and your favorite frat boy in tow, it could be worth a chuckle or two. more ›

ART: The NY debut of Guerra de la Paz is this weekend. The collaborative team of Cuban artists Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz creates among larger-than-life Pieta recasting Michelangelo's masterpiece to honor the pathos of the Gulf warrior. Tribute, a 2-ton rainbow pyramid of used clothing and more. more ›

Of course, after the storm of '06 hits we suggest snowball fights. Prior to the snowfall, however, we offer up the following... more ›

The holidays are upon us. Tomorrow sees the release of two of the more eagerly awaited films of the season, and we haven't even hit Thanksgiving yet! We've been hearing fantastic things about the Johnny Cash biopic ; Phoenix sings all the songs himself. We're not really sure whether that's a plus or not, though, no matter how well he sings. more ›

With 50% chance of rain and air so thick we actually hope it will, we'd be perfectly happy spending the coming days inside a nice, cool movie theater. Of course, Gothamist doesn't need choking humidity to head to the movies, especially when there is a collection of new releases and old programming around town like we have this week. From RESFEST to CMJ Filmfest, and so much more, this is a great week for NYC film lovers. more ›

Au Revoir Simone more ›

Wilder’s public disapproval might just be backlash at Burton who told Empire Magazine he found the 1971 version "quite disturbing" and The Chicago Sun Times the film was a bit too “sappy” & failed to incorporate author Roald Dahl’s vision:

"It's sappy when it shouldn't be sappy and it's weird. Let's just say it's not one of my personal favorites. I'd rate 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' much higher… I responded to the children's book because it respected that children can be adults, and I think adults forget that. There can be darkness and sort of foreboding. Very sinister things are very much a part of childhood. I like that sort of humor and emotion put together."

(available to rent on DVD via Netflix, no less), most people prefer that sensation of wanting to hide behind their seat in the movie theater at the end of October. more ›

[above: Tim Burton. From Nightmare Before Christmas: "Jack in the Graveyard", mixed media on paper, 11 x 14�] more ›