THE CREATIVE TEAM
In 2005 Tim Burton directed the fantasy adventure "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" starring Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore. Based on the beloved Roald Dahl classic, the film achieved impressive critical and box office success and continues to entertain audiences everywhere. That same year he also directed and produced the dark, romantic animated feature "Corpse Bride," featuring the voice talents of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.
Burton's previous film was "Big Fish," a heart-warming tale of a fabled relationship between a father and son. The film was hailed as Burton's most personal and emotional to date, earning respectable reviews and box office. "Big Fish" starred Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange and Billy Crudup.
Prior to "Big Fish," Burton directed a remake of "Planet of the Apes," a project that brought him together with producer Richard D. Zanuck, the former 20th Century Fox studio head who had greenlit the original film in l968. Burton's remake starred Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan and Kris Kristofferson and was a summer 2001 box office hit.
All of Burton's films are well known for the highly imaginative and detailed world he creates to surround and inform the story. They include "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," "Beetlejuice," "Batman," "Edward Scissorhands," "Batman Returns," "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Ed Wood," "Mars Attacks!" and "Sleepy Hollow."
Burton began drawing at an early age, attended Cal Arts Institute on a Disney fellowship and, soon after, joined the studio as an animator. He made his directing debut with the animated short "Vincent" narrated by Vincent Price. The film was a critical success and an award-winner on the festival circuit. Burton's next in-house project was a live-action short film called "Frankenweenie," an inventive and youthful twist on the Frankenstein legend.
In 1985, Burton's first feature film, "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," was a box-office hit and the director was praised for his original vision. "Beetlejuice (l988)," a supernatural comedy starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder, was another critical and financial success.
In 1989, Burton directed the blockbuster "Batman" starring Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger. Following the triumph of "Batman," the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) awarded Burton the Director of the Year Award. The film also won an Academy Award® for Best Art Direction.
"Edward Scissorhands," starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder and Diane Wiest, was one of the big hits of the 1990 Christmas season and acclaimed for its original vision and poignant fairy tale sensibility. In 1992, Burton once again explored the dark underworld of Gotham City in "Batman Returns," the highest grossing film of that year, which featured Michelle Pfeiffer as the formidable Catwoman and Danny DeVito as the Penguin.
In 1994, Burton produced and directed "Ed Wood" starring Johnny Depp in the title role. The film garnered Academy Awards® for Best Supporting Actor (Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi) and Best Makeup.
Burton conceived and produced the stop-motion animation adventure "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas," an original holiday tale that has become a seasonal perennial. He also produced 1993's "Cabin Boy" and 1995's summer blockbuster "Batman Forever," as well as the 1996 release of "James and the Giant Peach," based on Roald Dahl's children's novel.
Burton produced and directed "Mars Attacks!," a sci-fi comedy based on the original Topps trading card series, starring an elite array of 20 leading players including Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Danny DeVito and Annette Bening.
In 1999 Burton directed "Sleepy Hollow," which was inspired by Washington Irving's classic story and starred Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson and Michael Gambon. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards®, including Best Costume Design and Best Cinematography and won the Oscar® for Best Art Direction. Honors from BAFTA included Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.
Burton authored and illustrated a children's book for "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas," released in conjunction with the film. His next book of drawings and rhyming verse, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories, was praised by the New York Times for "conveying the pain of an adolescent outsider."

JOHN LOGAN
John Logan's work as a screenwriter includes "The Aviator," "Gladiator," "The Last Samurai," "Any Given Sunday," "The Time Machine," "Star Trek: Nemesis" and "RKO 281." He has been twice nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay.
He has also written 14 plays including "Never the Sinner" which has appeared in London's West End and in New York, Chicago, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Austria, Ireland, South Africa and Uruguay. His new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's "The Master Builder" recently appeared in the West End

STEPHEN SONDHEIM
Stephen Sondheim is one of the world's best known and respected composers and lyricist of our time.
In 1979, he wrote the music and lyrics to the original production of "Sweeney Todd," which featured a libretto by Hugh Wheeler and was based on a play by Christopher Bond. It opened on Broadway in 1979 and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical as well as a Grammy Award.
Sondheim's credits include writing the music and lyrics for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (1962), "Anyone Can Whistle" (1964), "Company" (1970), "Follies" (1971), "A Little Night Music" (1973), "The Frogs" (1974), "Pacific Overtures" (1976), "Sweeney Todd" (1979), "Merrily We Roll Along" (1981), "Sunday in the Park with George" (1984), "Into the Woods" (1987), "Assassins" (1991), "Passion" (1994) and "Bounce" (2003), as well as the lyrics for "West Side Story" (1957), "Gypsy" (1959), "Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965) and additional lyrics for "Candide" (1973). "Side By Side By Sondheim" (1976), "Marry Me a Little" (1981), "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" (1983), "Putting It Together" (1993/99) and "Moving On" (2001) are anthologies of his work as composer and lyricist.
For motion pictures, he has composed the scores of "Stavisky" (1974) and co-composed "Reds" (1981), as well as songs for "Dick Tracy" (1990), for which he won an Academy Award® for Best Original Song. He also wrote the songs for the television production "Evening Primrose" (1966), co-authored the film "The Last of Sheila" (1973) and the play "Getting Away With Murder" (1996) and provided incidental music for the plays "The Girls of Summer" (1956), "Invitation to a March" (1961), "Twigs" (1971) and "The Enclave" (1973). "Saturday Night" (1954), his first professional musical, finally had its New York premiere in 1999.
In addition to "Sweeney Todd," Sondheim has won Tony Awards for Best Score for a Musical for "Passion," "Into the Woods," "A Little Night Music," "Follies" and "Company." They all won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award as well, as did "Pacific Overtures" and "Sunday in the Park with George," the latter also receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1985).
Sondheim is on the Council of the Dramatists Guild, the national association of playwrights, composers and lyricists, having served as its President from 1973 to 1981.

SONDHEIM DISMEMBERS 'SWEENEY'

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