Ed Wood (film)
Encyclopedia
Ed Wood is a 1994 American comedy-drama
biopic
directed and produced by Tim Burton
, and starring Johnny Depp
as cult film
maker Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film concerns the period in Wood's life when he made his best-known films as well as his relationship with actor Bela Lugosi
, played by Martin Landau
. Sarah Jessica Parker
, Patricia Arquette
, Jeffrey Jones
, Lisa Marie Smith, and Bill Murray
are among the supporting cast.
The film was conceived by writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
when they were students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts
. Irritated at being thought of solely as writers for family film
s with their work on Problem Child
and its sequel
, Alexander and Karaszewski struck a deal with Burton and Denise Di Novi
to produce the Ed Wood biopic, and Michael Lehmann
as director. Due to scheduling conflicts with Airheads
, Lehmann had to vacate the director's position, which was taken over by Burton.
Ed Wood was originally in development at Columbia Pictures
, but the studio put the film in 'turnaround' over Burton's decision to shoot in black-and-white
. Ed Wood was taken to Walt Disney Pictures
, who released the film under their Touchstone Pictures
banner. The film was released to critical acclaim, but was not a box office success. Landau and Rick Baker, who designed Landau's prosthetic makeup
, won Academy Awards for their work on the film.
. Upon hearing of an announcement in Variety
that producer George Weiss
is trying to purchase Christine Jorgensen
's life story, Ed is inspired to meet Weiss in person. Weiss explains that Varietys announcement was a news leak
, and it is impossible to purchase Jorgensen's rights. The producer decides to 'fictionalize' the film titled I Changed My Sex!, and "do it without the shemale
". One day, Ed meets his longtime idol Bela Lugosi
, after spotting him trying out a coffin. Ed drives Béla home and the two become friends. Later, Ed decides to star Béla in the film and convinces Weiss that he is perfect to direct I Changed My Sex! because he is a transvestite.
Ed and Weiss argue over the film's title: Weiss has already had the poster printed, which Ed changes to Glen or Glenda. The shoot finishes on Glen or Glenda, and Ed is enthusiastic that he starred, directed, wrote and produced his own film just like his hero Orson Welles
did when he made Citizen Kane
. Glen or Glenda is released to critical and financial failure. Ed is unsuccessful in getting a job at Warner Bros.
, a producer there tells him Glen or Glenda is the worst film he has ever seen, but Ed's girlfriend, Dolores Fuller
, tells him that he is not "studio material
", and that he should find independent backers
for his next film, Bride of the Monster
. Ed is unsuccessful in finding money for Bride of the Monster, but is introduced to the psychic The Amazing Criswell
.
At a bar, Ed meets Loretta King
, who he thinks has enough money to fund Bride of the Atom. Filming begins, but is halted. Ed convinces meat packing industry
tycoon, Don McCoy, to take over funding the film. McCoy does so, but on the condition that the film ends with a giant explosion, and that his son Tony, who "is a little slow
", is the leading man
. The filming of Bride of the Monster finishes, but Dolores and Ed break up
after the wrap party
, because of Ed's circle of friends and transvestism. Also, Béla, who is revealed to be highly depressed and a morphine
addict, attempts to conduct a double suicide with Ed, but is talked out of it. Béla is put in rehab
, and Ed eventually finds happiness when he meets Kathy O'Hara, who is visiting her father. Ed takes her on a date and reveals to her his transvestism, which she accepts.
Ed begins to shoot a film with Béla outside his home. Ed and company attend the premiere for Bride of the Monster, an angry mob chases them out of the theater. Sometime later, Béla dies leaving Ed without a star. Ed convinces a church leader named Reynolds that funding Ed's script for "Grave Robbers from Outer Space" would result in a box office
success, and generate enough money for Reynold's dream project (the Twelve Apostles films). Dr. Tom Mason
, Kathy's chiropractor
, is chosen to be Béla's stand-in
. However, Ed and the Baptists begin having conflicts over the title and content of the script which they want to have changed to Plan 9 from Outer Space
along with Ed's B movie
directing style, his casting decisions and his transvestism. This causes a distressed Ed to leave the set and immediately take a taxi to the nearest bar
, where he encounters his idol Orson Welles
. Welles tells Ed that "visions are worth fighting for", and filming for Plan 9 finishes with Ed taking action against his producers. The film ends with the premiere of Plan 9, and Ed and Kathy taking off to Las Vegas, Nevada
to get married.
Vincent D'Onofrio
makes a cameo appearance
as Orson Welles
. His voice was dubbed
by Maurice LaMarche
. The film also includes cameos from actors who worked with Wood on Plan 9 From Outer Space, Gregory Walcott
and Conrad Brooks
.
conceived the idea for a biopic
of Edward D. Wood, Jr. when they were students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts
. Alexander even proposed making a documentary about Wood, The Man in the Angora Sweater in his sophomore year at USC
. However, Karaszewski figured, "there would be no one on the planet Earth who would make this movie or want to make this movie, because these aren't the sort of movies that are made." Irritated at being thought of solely as writers for family film
s for their work on Problem Child
and Problem Child 2
, Alexander and Karaszewski wrote a 10-page film treatment
for Ed Wood and pitched the idea to Heathers
director Michael Lehmann
, with whom they attended USC film school. The basis for their treatment came from Rudolph Grey
's Nightmare of Ecstasy, a full-length biography, which draws on interviews from Wood's family and colleagues. Lehmann presented their treatment to his producer on Heathers, Denise Di Novi
. Di Novi had previously worked with Tim Burton
on Edward Scissorhands
, Batman Returns
and The Nightmare Before Christmas
, and a deal was struck with Lehmann as director and Burton and Di Novi producing.
Burton began reading Nightmare of Ecstasy and some of Wood's letters. He was taken by how he "wrote about his films as if he was making Citizen Kane
, you know, whereas other people perceived them as, like, the worst movies ever". Burton admits to having always been a fan of Ed Wood, which is why the biopic is filmed with an aggrandizing bias borne of his admiration rather than derision of Wood's work. The relationship between Wood and Lugosi in the script echoes closely Burton's relationship with his own idol and two-time colleague, Vincent Price
. He said in an interview, "Meeting Vincent had an incredible impact on me, the same impact Ed must have felt meeting and working with his idol." Meanwhile, Burton had been asked to direct Mary Reilly
for Columbia Pictures
with Winona Ryder
in the title role.
However, Burton dropped out of Mary Reilly over Columbia's decision to fast track the film and their interest with Julia Roberts
in the title role instead of Ryder. This prompted Burton to becoming interested in directing Ed Wood himself, on the understanding it could be done quickly. Lehmann said, "Tim wanted to do this movie immediately and direct, but I was already committed to Airheads
." Lehmann was given executive producer
credit. Alexander and Karaszewski delivered a 147-page screenplay in six weeks. Burton read the first draft and immediately agreed to direct the film as it stood, without any changes or rewrites. Ed Wood gave Burton the opportunity to make a film that was more character-driven as opposed to style-driven. He said in an interview, "On a picture like this I find you don't need to storyboard
. You're working mainly with actors, and there's no effects going on, so it's best to be more spontaneous."
Initially, Ed Wood was in development with Columbia, but when Burton decided he wanted to shoot the film in black-and-white
, studio head Mark Canton
would not agree to it unless Columbia was given a first look deal
. Burton said black-and-white was "right for the material and the movie, and this was a movie that had to be in black-and-white". He insisted on total creative control, and so in April 1993, a month before the original start date
, Canton put Ed Wood into turnaround. The decision sparked interest from Warner Bros.
, Paramount Pictures
and 20th Century Fox
in option
ing the film rights
, but Burton accepted an offer from Disney
, who had previously produced The Nightmare Before Christmas. Similar to Nightmare, Disney distributed Ed Wood under their Touchstone Pictures
banner. With a budget of $18 million, Disney did not feel the film was that much of a risk, and granted Burton total creative autonomy. Burton also refused a salary, and was not paid for his work on Ed Wood. Principal photography
began in August 1993, and lasted 72 days. Despite his previous six-film relationship with Danny Elfman
, Burton chose Howard Shore
to write the film score
. Burton admitted he and Elfman experienced "creative differences" during The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Bela Lugosi was not prone to fits of swearing, particularly in front of women. He also did not perform his own water stunt in Bride of the Monster. Lugosi is also depicted as dying alone and miserable. Lugosi's wife of twenty years, Lillian, did leave him in 1953, but he remarried in 1955 to Hope Lininger. They were together until his death a year later. This, plus any reference to Lugosi's teenage son, Béla Jr., were omitted. Burton biographer Ken Hanke criticized the depiction of Dolores Fuller
. "The real Fuller is a lively, savvy, humorous woman," Hanke said, "while Parker's performance presents her as a kind of sitcom moron for the first part of the film and a rather judgmental and wholly unpleasant character in her later scenes." During her years with Wood, Fuller had regular TV jobs on Queen for a Day
and The Dinah Shore Show
, which are not mentioned. Fuller criticized Parker's portrayal and Burton's direction, but still gave Ed Wood a positive review. "Despite the dramatic liberties, I think Tim Burton is fabulous. I wished they could have made it a deeper love story, because we really loved each other. We strived to find investors together, I worked so hard to support Ed and I."
at the Lincoln Center. The film was then shown shortly after at the 21st Telluride Film Festival
and later at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival
, where it was in competition for the Palme d'Or
.
on September 30, 1994. When the film went into wide release
on October 7, 1994 in 623 theaters, Ed Wood grossed $1,903,768 in its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $5,887,457 domestically, much less than the production budget of $18 million.
, 91% of the critics enjoyed Ed Wood, with an average score of 7.9/10. By comparison, Metacritic
collected an average score of 70/100, based on 19 reviews. Roger Ebert
gave a largely positive review: "What Burton has made is a film which celebrates Wood more than it mocks him, and which celebrates, too, the zany spirit of 1950s exploitation film
s, in which a great title, a has-been star and a lurid ad campaign were enough to get bookings for some of the oddest films ever made." Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone presented Burton's decision with positive feedback on not making a direct satire
or parody
of Wood's life. "Ed Wood is Burton's most personal and provocative movie to date," he wrote. "Outrageously disjointed and just as outrageously entertaining, the picture stands as a successful outsider's tribute to a failed kindred spirit."
Janet Maslin
, writing in The New York Times
, thought Johnny Depp
"proved" himself as an established "certified great actor". "Depp captures all the can-do optimism that kept Ed Wood going, thanks to an extremely funny ability to look at the silver lining of any cloud." Todd McCarthy from Variety
called Ed Wood a "a fanciful, sweet-tempered biopic about the man often described as the worst film director of all time. Always engaging to watch and often dazzling in its imagination and technique, picture is also a bit distended, and lacking in weight at its center. The result is beguiling rather than thrilling." Richard Corliss
, writing in Time magazine
, gave a negative review. "The script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
posits Wood as a classic American optimist, a Capraesque
hero with little to be optimistic about, since he was also a classic American loser. That's a fine start, but the film then marches in staid chronological order." Corliss continued, "One wonders why this Burton film is so dishwatery, why it lacks the cartoon zest and outsider ache of Beetlejuice
, Edward Scissorhands
or Batman Returns
."
: Best Musical or Comedy, Johnny Depp for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy
and Martin Landau for Best Supporting Actor
. Landau won in his category. Landau and Rick Baker won Academy Awards
for their work on the film. Landau also won Best Supporting Actor at the first Screen Actors Guild Awards
. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
were nominated for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
by the Writers Guild of America
, which was a surprise as few predicted that it would be considered.
edition of Ed Wood initially had difficulty reaching store shelves in North America
due to unspecified legal issues. The initial release had a featurette on transvestites — not relating to the film or its actors in any way — which was removed from subsequent releases. An initial street date of August 13, 2002 was announced only to be postponed. A new date of February 3, 2003 was set, only for it to be recalled again without explanation, although some copies quickly found their way to collectors' venues such as eBay
. The DVD was finally released on October 19, 2004.
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
biopic
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
directed and produced by Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
, and starring Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
as cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
maker Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film concerns the period in Wood's life when he made his best-known films as well as his relationship with actor Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
, played by Martin Landau
Martin Landau
Martin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
. Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
, Patricia Arquette
Patricia Arquette
Patricia T. Arquette is an American actress and director. She played the lead character in the supernatural drama series Medium for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series....
, Jeffrey Jones
Jeffrey Jones
Jeffrey Duncan Jones is an American actor. He has appeared in many films and television series, but may be best known for his roles as Emperor Joseph II in Miloš Forman’s Amadeus, Charles Deetz in Beetlejuice, and Dean of Students Edward R...
, Lisa Marie Smith, and Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
are among the supporting cast.
The film was conceived by writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are a Hollywood screenwriting team...
when they were students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television , is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest and largest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of...
. Irritated at being thought of solely as writers for family film
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
s with their work on Problem Child
Problem Child (1990 film)
Problem Child is a 1990 American comedy film. It stars John Ritter, Amy Yasbeck, Gilbert Gottfried, Jack Warden, Michael Richards and Michael Oliver. The film was directed by Dennis Dugan.-Plot:...
and its sequel
Problem Child 2
Problem Child 2 is the 1991 comedy film sequel to the 1990 sleeper hit Problem Child; a continuation of the exploits of an adopted orphan boy who deliberately wreaks havoc everywhere he goes...
, Alexander and Karaszewski struck a deal with Burton and Denise Di Novi
Denise Di Novi
Denise Di Novi is an American film producer.-Personal life:When she was three years old, Denise and her family moved to Los Angeles from New York, where her father Gene Di Novi - a musician - made music for the TV shows of Danny Thomas, Dick Van Dyke and Andy Griffith. Prior to that, Gene worked...
to produce the Ed Wood biopic, and Michael Lehmann
Michael Lehmann
Michael Stephen Lehmann is an American film and television director.Lehmann attended Columbia University. His first job in the film industry was answering phones at Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope film company. Later he supervised cameras on films that included 1983's The Outsiders...
as director. Due to scheduling conflicts with Airheads
Airheads
Airheads is a 1994 American comedy film written by Rich Wilkes and directed by Michael Lehmann. It stars Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler as a band of loser musicians called "The Lone Rangers" who take a radio station hostage, just so that their song would get played on the radio...
, Lehmann had to vacate the director's position, which was taken over by Burton.
Ed Wood was originally in development at Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, but the studio put the film in 'turnaround' over Burton's decision to shoot in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
. Ed Wood was taken to Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
, who released the film under their Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...
banner. The film was released to critical acclaim, but was not a box office success. Landau and Rick Baker, who designed Landau's prosthetic makeup
Prosthetic makeup
Prosthetic makeup is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects...
, won Academy Awards for their work on the film.
Plot
In 1952, Edward D. Wood, Jr. is struggling to join the film industryFilm industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
. Upon hearing of an announcement in Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
that producer George Weiss
George Weiss (producer)
George Weiss was an American film producer who specialized in independent 'road show' exploitation Z movies during the 1950s and sexploitation shockers in the '60s that openly defied the motion picture production code of the day.-Glen or Glenda:Weiss is best known as the producer who funded the...
is trying to purchase Christine Jorgensen
Christine Jorgensen
Christine Jorgensen was the first widely known person to have sex reassignment surgery—in this case, male to female.-Early life:...
's life story, Ed is inspired to meet Weiss in person. Weiss explains that Varietys announcement was a news leak
News leak
A news leak is a disclosure of embargoed information in advance of its official release, or the unsanctioned release of confidential information.-Types of news leaks:...
, and it is impossible to purchase Jorgensen's rights. The producer decides to 'fictionalize' the film titled I Changed My Sex!, and "do it without the shemale
Shemale
Shemale is a term used in sex work to describe trans women with male genitalia and augmented female breasts from breast augmentation and/or use of hormones...
". One day, Ed meets his longtime idol Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
, after spotting him trying out a coffin. Ed drives Béla home and the two become friends. Later, Ed decides to star Béla in the film and convinces Weiss that he is perfect to direct I Changed My Sex! because he is a transvestite.
Ed and Weiss argue over the film's title: Weiss has already had the poster printed, which Ed changes to Glen or Glenda. The shoot finishes on Glen or Glenda, and Ed is enthusiastic that he starred, directed, wrote and produced his own film just like his hero Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
did when he made Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
. Glen or Glenda is released to critical and financial failure. Ed is unsuccessful in getting a job at Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, a producer there tells him Glen or Glenda is the worst film he has ever seen, but Ed's girlfriend, Dolores Fuller
Dolores Fuller
Dolores Agnes Fuller was an American actress and songwriter best known as the one-time girlfriend of the low-budget film director Edward D. Wood, Jr. She played the protagonist's girlfriend in Glen or Glenda, co-starred in Wood's Jail Bait, and had a minor role in Bride of the Monster...
, tells him that he is not "studio material
Studio system
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1960s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under...
", and that he should find independent backers
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
for his next film, Bride of the Monster
Bride of the Monster
Bride of the Monster is a 1955 sci-fi horror film starring Bela Lugosi, along with Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy and Loretta King Hadler. It was produced, directed and co-written by Edward D. Wood, Jr....
. Ed is unsuccessful in finding money for Bride of the Monster, but is introduced to the psychic The Amazing Criswell
The Amazing Criswell
Jeron Criswell King , born Jeron Criswell Konig, and known by his stage-name The Amazing Criswell , was an American psychic known for wildly inaccurate predictions...
.
At a bar, Ed meets Loretta King
Loretta King Hadler
Loretta King Hadler was an American actress, best known for the brevity of her career and her relationship with director Ed Wood.-Career:...
, who he thinks has enough money to fund Bride of the Atom. Filming begins, but is halted. Ed convinces meat packing industry
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
tycoon, Don McCoy, to take over funding the film. McCoy does so, but on the condition that the film ends with a giant explosion, and that his son Tony, who "is a little slow
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
", is the leading man
Leading man
Leading man or leading gentleman is an informal term for the actor who plays a love interest to the leading actress in a film or play. A leading man is usually an all rounder; capable of singing, dancing, and acting at a professional level, but never outshining his female co-star...
. The filming of Bride of the Monster finishes, but Dolores and Ed break up
Relationship breakup
A relationship breakup, often referred to simply as a breakup, is the termination of a usually intimate relationship by any means other than death. The act is commonly termed "dumping [someone]" in slang when it is initiated by one partner...
after the wrap party
Wrap (filmmaking)
Wrap is a phrase used by the director in the early days of the film industry to signal the end of filming. Nowadays, the call is more commonly "that's a wrap!"...
, because of Ed's circle of friends and transvestism. Also, Béla, who is revealed to be highly depressed and a morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
addict, attempts to conduct a double suicide with Ed, but is talked out of it. Béla is put in rehab
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
, and Ed eventually finds happiness when he meets Kathy O'Hara, who is visiting her father. Ed takes her on a date and reveals to her his transvestism, which she accepts.
Ed begins to shoot a film with Béla outside his home. Ed and company attend the premiere for Bride of the Monster, an angry mob chases them out of the theater. Sometime later, Béla dies leaving Ed without a star. Ed convinces a church leader named Reynolds that funding Ed's script for "Grave Robbers from Outer Space" would result in a box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
success, and generate enough money for Reynold's dream project (the Twelve Apostles films). Dr. Tom Mason
Tom Mason
Thomas Robert "Tom" Mason was a chiropractor who lived in Los Angeles in the 1950s.-Biography:He is best known as the stand-in for the then recently deceased Bela Lugosi in Edward D. Wood, Jr.'s infamous movie Plan 9 From Outer Space. Dr. Mason Thomas Robert "Tom" Mason (April 29, 1920 –...
, Kathy's chiropractor
Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...
, is chosen to be Béla's stand-in
Stand-in
A stand-in for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting.Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of production. Lighting setup can be a slow and tedious process; during this time the actor will often be somewhere else...
. However, Ed and the Baptists begin having conflicts over the title and content of the script which they want to have changed to Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction film written and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film features Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson and Maila "Vampira" Nurmi...
along with Ed's B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
directing style, his casting decisions and his transvestism. This causes a distressed Ed to leave the set and immediately take a taxi to the nearest bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
, where he encounters his idol Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. Welles tells Ed that "visions are worth fighting for", and filming for Plan 9 finishes with Ed taking action against his producers. The film ends with the premiere of Plan 9, and Ed and Kathy taking off to Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
to get married.
Cast
- Johnny DeppJohnny DeppJohn Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
as Edward D. Wood, Jr.: Burton approached Depp and "within 10 minutes of hearing about the project, I was committed," the actor remembers. At the time, Depp was depressed about films and filmmaking. By accepting this part, it gave him a "chance to stretch out and have some fun", and working with Martin Landau, "rejuvenated my love for acting". Depp was already familiar with some of Wood's films through John WatersJohn Waters (filmmaker)John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
, who had shown him Plan 9 From Outer Space and Glen or Glenda. To get a handle on how to portray Wood, Depp studied the acting of Andy HardyAndy HardyAndy Hardy was a fictional character played by Mickey Rooney in an MGM film series from 1937 to 1958. Spanning over 20 years, the 16 movies were based on characters in the play Skidding by Aurania Rouverol....
, Mickey RooneyMickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
, Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and Casey KasemCasey KasemKemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
. He watched several Reagan speeches because the actor felt he had a kind of blind optimism that was perfect for Ed Wood. Depp also borrowed some of Kasem's cadence and "that utterly confident, breezy salesman quality in his voice". - Martin LandauMartin LandauMartin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
as Bela LugosiBéla LugosiBéla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
: Rick Baker created the prosthetic makeupProsthetic makeupProsthetic makeup is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects...
designs. Baker did not use extensive make-up applications, only enough to resemble Lugosi and allow Landau to use his face to act and express emotion. For research, Landau watched 25 of Lugosi's films and seven interviews between the years of 1931 and 1956. Landau did not want to deliver an over-the-top performance. "Lugosi was theatrical, but I never wanted the audience to feel I was an actor chewing the scenery...I felt it had to be Lugosi's theatricality, not mine." - Sarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
as Dolores FullerDolores FullerDolores Agnes Fuller was an American actress and songwriter best known as the one-time girlfriend of the low-budget film director Edward D. Wood, Jr. She played the protagonist's girlfriend in Glen or Glenda, co-starred in Wood's Jail Bait, and had a minor role in Bride of the Monster...
: Ed's girlfriend before his relationship with Kathy. Dolores is embarrassed by Ed's transvestism, which leads to their breakup. Dolores later becomes a successful songwriter for Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. - Patricia ArquettePatricia ArquettePatricia T. Arquette is an American actress and director. She played the lead character in the supernatural drama series Medium for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series....
as Kathy O'Hara: Ed's girlfriend after his relationship with Dolores. Kathy does not have a problem with Ed's transvestism, and is eventually married to Ed. Their marriage lasts until Ed's death in 1978. She never remarried. Arquette met her real-life counterpart during filming. The actress found her to be "very graceful and very nice". - Lisa Marie as VampiraMaila NurmiMaila Nurmi was a Finnish-American actress who created the campy 1950s characterVampira. She portrayed Vampira as TV's first horror host and in the Ed Wood cult film Plan 9 from Outer Space...
: Hostess of the local Vampira ShowThe Vampira ShowThe Vampira Show was an American variety show hosted by Vampira. The series aired on the Los Angeles ABC television affiliate KABC-TV from April 30, 1954, through April 2, 1955...
. She is dismissive of Ed at first, but decides to join the cast of Plan 9 from Outer Space, on the condition that she have no lines. - Jeffrey JonesJeffrey JonesJeffrey Duncan Jones is an American actor. He has appeared in many films and television series, but may be best known for his roles as Emperor Joseph II in Miloš Forman’s Amadeus, Charles Deetz in Beetlejuice, and Dean of Students Edward R...
as The Amazing CriswellThe Amazing CriswellJeron Criswell King , born Jeron Criswell Konig, and known by his stage-name The Amazing Criswell , was an American psychic known for wildly inaccurate predictions...
: A local psychicParapsychologyThe term parapsychology was coined in or around 1889 by philosopher Max Dessoir, and originates from para meaning "alongside", and psychology. The term was adopted by J.B. Rhine in the 1930s as a replacement for the term psychical research...
TV entertainer. Criswell helps Ed with usual production duties, finding investors and acting in Ed's films. - Max CasellaMax CasellaMax Casella is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television series The Sopranos, Doogie Howser, M.D., and as the voice of Daxter in the Jak and Daxter video game series.-Life and career:...
and Brent HinkleyBrent HinkleyBrent Hinkley is an American actor, director, and playwright. He is best known for his role as "Lou" the sidler in the Seinfeld episode The Merv Griffin Show, Officer Murray in The Silence of the Lambs, and Conrad Brooks in Ed Wood.-Filmography:Film credits include:-External links:* * * *...
portray Paul MarcoPaul MarcoPaul Marco was an American actor who often appeared in movies made by Ed Wood, including the "Kelton Trilogy" of Bride of the Monster, Night of the Ghouls and Plan 9 from Outer Space, in which he played a bumbling, fearful policeman named Kelton.-Career:Born in Los Angeles, Marco started taking...
and Conrad BrooksConrad BrooksConrad Brooks is an American actor. He moved to Hollywood, California in the early 1950s to pursue a career in acting...
: Two of Ed's all-around production assistantProduction assistantA production assistant, also known as a PA, is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production...
s and frequent actors. Paul is hired to find the Lugosi stand-in for Plan 9 from Outer Space, while Conrad accidentally has a brief dispute with Lugosi during Glen or Glenda. - Bill MurrayBill MurrayWilliam James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
as Bunny BreckinridgeBunny BreckinridgeJohn Cabell "Bunny" Breckinridge was an American actor and drag queen, best known for his role as "The Ruler" in Ed Wood's film Plan 9 from Outer Space, his only film appearance.- Early life :...
: Ed's openly-gayHomosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
friend. Bunny is assigned to find transvestites to appear in Glen or Glenda, as well as portraying the "The Ruler" in Plan 9 from Outer Space. Bunny also has an unsuccessful sex reassignment therapySex reassignment therapySex reassignment therapy is an umbrella term for all medical procedures regarding sex reassignment of both transgender and intersexual people...
attempt. - George "The Animal" SteeleGeorge SteeleWilliam James Myers , better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele is a former American professional wrestler and actor...
as Tor JohnsonTor JohnsonTor Johansson , better known by the stage name Tor Johnson, was a Swedish professional wrestler and actor....
: A Swedish professional wrestler hired by Wood to be in two of his films, Bride of the Monster and Plan 9. - Juliet LandauJuliet LandauJuliet Rose Landau is an American actress best known for her role as Drusilla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff show Angel, the latter appearance earning her a Saturn Award nomination. She is also known for co-starring as Loretta King Hadler in Tim Burton's Ed Wood.She has appeared in a...
as Loretta KingLoretta King HadlerLoretta King Hadler was an American actress, best known for the brevity of her career and her relationship with director Ed Wood.-Career:...
: King has an (implied) brief relationship with Ed. She replaces Dolores in the movie "Bride of the Monster" after Wood mistakes her for an heiress able to front the money for the production costs. - Ned BellamyNed BellamyNed Bellamy is an American actor.Bellamy was born in Dayton, Ohio. After graduating UCLA, he founded the Los Angeles based theater company The Actors' Gang with fellow actor Tim Robbins....
as Tom MasonTom MasonThomas Robert "Tom" Mason was a chiropractor who lived in Los Angeles in the 1950s.-Biography:He is best known as the stand-in for the then recently deceased Bela Lugosi in Edward D. Wood, Jr.'s infamous movie Plan 9 From Outer Space. Dr. Mason Thomas Robert "Tom" Mason (April 29, 1920 –...
: Kathy's chiropractorChiropracticChiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...
who is chosen to be Lugosi's stand-inStand-inA stand-in for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting.Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of production. Lighting setup can be a slow and tedious process; during this time the actor will often be somewhere else...
for Plan 9. - Mike StarrMike Starr (actor)Michael "Mike" Starr is an American actor. Starr is notable for his large size, standing 6 ft 3 1/2 in , and has typically been typecast as thugs or henchmen....
as George WeissGeorge Weiss (producer)George Weiss was an American film producer who specialized in independent 'road show' exploitation Z movies during the 1950s and sexploitation shockers in the '60s that openly defied the motion picture production code of the day.-Glen or Glenda:Weiss is best known as the producer who funded the...
: Foul-mouthed Z movieZ movieThe term Z movie arose in the mid-1960s as an informal description of certain unequivocally non-A films. It was soon adopted to characterize low-budget pictures with quality standards well below those of most B movies and even so-called C movies...
producer known for his work on exploitation films. Weiss hires Ed to direct Glen or Glenda.
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"...
makes a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
as Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. His voice was dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
by Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
. The film also includes cameos from actors who worked with Wood on Plan 9 From Outer Space, Gregory Walcott
Gregory Walcott
Gregory Walcott is an American television and film actor. He is perhaps best known for having appeared in the 1959 Ed Wood film, the cult classic Plan 9 from Outer Space.-Early life and career:...
and Conrad Brooks
Conrad Brooks
Conrad Brooks is an American actor. He moved to Hollywood, California in the early 1950s to pursue a career in acting...
.
Production
Writers Scott Alexander and Larry KaraszewskiScott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are a Hollywood screenwriting team...
conceived the idea for a biopic
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
of Edward D. Wood, Jr. when they were students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television , is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest and largest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of...
. Alexander even proposed making a documentary about Wood, The Man in the Angora Sweater in his sophomore year at USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. However, Karaszewski figured, "there would be no one on the planet Earth who would make this movie or want to make this movie, because these aren't the sort of movies that are made." Irritated at being thought of solely as writers for family film
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
s for their work on Problem Child
Problem Child (1990 film)
Problem Child is a 1990 American comedy film. It stars John Ritter, Amy Yasbeck, Gilbert Gottfried, Jack Warden, Michael Richards and Michael Oliver. The film was directed by Dennis Dugan.-Plot:...
and Problem Child 2
Problem Child 2
Problem Child 2 is the 1991 comedy film sequel to the 1990 sleeper hit Problem Child; a continuation of the exploits of an adopted orphan boy who deliberately wreaks havoc everywhere he goes...
, Alexander and Karaszewski wrote a 10-page film treatment
Film treatment
A film treatment is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline , and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits...
for Ed Wood and pitched the idea to Heathers
Heathers
Heathers is a 1989 black comedy film starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater and Shannen Doherty. The film portrays four girls in a trend-setting clique at a fictional Ohio high school...
director Michael Lehmann
Michael Lehmann
Michael Stephen Lehmann is an American film and television director.Lehmann attended Columbia University. His first job in the film industry was answering phones at Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope film company. Later he supervised cameras on films that included 1983's The Outsiders...
, with whom they attended USC film school. The basis for their treatment came from Rudolph Grey
Rudolph Grey
Rudolph Grey is a musician and writer.As an electric guitarist, Grey has recorded and performed under his own name, as well as leading various ad hoc ensembles called The Blue Humans. His music draws on no wave and free jazz....
's Nightmare of Ecstasy, a full-length biography, which draws on interviews from Wood's family and colleagues. Lehmann presented their treatment to his producer on Heathers, Denise Di Novi
Denise Di Novi
Denise Di Novi is an American film producer.-Personal life:When she was three years old, Denise and her family moved to Los Angeles from New York, where her father Gene Di Novi - a musician - made music for the TV shows of Danny Thomas, Dick Van Dyke and Andy Griffith. Prior to that, Gene worked...
. Di Novi had previously worked with Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
on Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. The film shows the story of an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands. Edward is taken in by a suburban family and falls in love with their teenage daughter...
, Batman Returns
Batman Returns
Batman Returns is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to Burton's Batman , and features Michael Keaton reprising the title role, with Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.Burton originally did not...
and The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas, often promoted as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, is a 1993 stop motion musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to...
, and a deal was struck with Lehmann as director and Burton and Di Novi producing.
Burton began reading Nightmare of Ecstasy and some of Wood's letters. He was taken by how he "wrote about his films as if he was making Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
, you know, whereas other people perceived them as, like, the worst movies ever". Burton admits to having always been a fan of Ed Wood, which is why the biopic is filmed with an aggrandizing bias borne of his admiration rather than derision of Wood's work. The relationship between Wood and Lugosi in the script echoes closely Burton's relationship with his own idol and two-time colleague, Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
. He said in an interview, "Meeting Vincent had an incredible impact on me, the same impact Ed must have felt meeting and working with his idol." Meanwhile, Burton had been asked to direct Mary Reilly
Mary Reilly (film)
Mary Reilly is a 1996 film directed by Stephen Frears. The movie was written by Christopher Hampton based on the novel Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin...
for Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
with Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas. Ryder's first significant role came in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice as a goth teenager, which won her critical and commercial recognition...
in the title role.
However, Burton dropped out of Mary Reilly over Columbia's decision to fast track the film and their interest with Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
in the title role instead of Ryder. This prompted Burton to becoming interested in directing Ed Wood himself, on the understanding it could be done quickly. Lehmann said, "Tim wanted to do this movie immediately and direct, but I was already committed to Airheads
Airheads
Airheads is a 1994 American comedy film written by Rich Wilkes and directed by Michael Lehmann. It stars Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler as a band of loser musicians called "The Lone Rangers" who take a radio station hostage, just so that their song would get played on the radio...
." Lehmann was given executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
credit. Alexander and Karaszewski delivered a 147-page screenplay in six weeks. Burton read the first draft and immediately agreed to direct the film as it stood, without any changes or rewrites. Ed Wood gave Burton the opportunity to make a film that was more character-driven as opposed to style-driven. He said in an interview, "On a picture like this I find you don't need to storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
. You're working mainly with actors, and there's no effects going on, so it's best to be more spontaneous."
Initially, Ed Wood was in development with Columbia, but when Burton decided he wanted to shoot the film in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
, studio head Mark Canton
Mark Canton
-Life and career:Canton was born in Queens, New York, the son of Shirley and Arthur Canton, who worked in the film industry on marketing and publicity, e.g. for Lawrence of Arabia. As a young adult, Mark Canton met well known movie people like Alfred Hitchcock and David Lean, and Doris Day visited...
would not agree to it unless Columbia was given a first look deal
First look deal
A first look deal is an arrangement, usually in the film industry, where either a company or in some cases an individual enters into a commercial agreement with a studio under which they must allow the studio the right of first refusal in relation to developing and/or producing a project the...
. Burton said black-and-white was "right for the material and the movie, and this was a movie that had to be in black-and-white". He insisted on total creative control, and so in April 1993, a month before the original start date
Start date
The start date of a film refers to the first day of principal photography.A film project which has been green-lit does not typically enter pre-production until it has been assigned a start date, and for this reason a film with a start date is generally regarded as more likely to proceed to...
, Canton put Ed Wood into turnaround. The decision sparked interest from Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
in option
Option (finance)
In finance, an option is a derivative financial instrument that specifies a contract between two parties for a future transaction on an asset at a reference price. The buyer of the option gains the right, but not the obligation, to engage in that transaction, while the seller incurs the...
ing the film rights
Film rights
Film rights are the rights under copyright law to make a derivative work—in this case, a film—derived from an item of intellectual property. Under U.S...
, but Burton accepted an offer from Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
, who had previously produced The Nightmare Before Christmas. Similar to Nightmare, Disney distributed Ed Wood under their Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...
banner. With a budget of $18 million, Disney did not feel the film was that much of a risk, and granted Burton total creative autonomy. Burton also refused a salary, and was not paid for his work on Ed Wood. Principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
began in August 1993, and lasted 72 days. Despite his previous six-film relationship with Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
, Burton chose Howard Shore
Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
to write the film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
. Burton admitted he and Elfman experienced "creative differences" during The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Historical inaccuracies
When describing historical inaccuracies, Burton explained, "it's not like a completely hardcore realistic biopic. In doing a biopic you can't help but get inside the person's spirit a little bit, so for me, some of the film is trying to be through Ed a little bit. So it's got an overly optimistic quality to it." Burton acknowledged that he probably portrayed Wood and his crew in an exaggeratedly sympathetic way, stating he did not want to ridicule people who had already been ridiculed for a good deal of their life. Burton decided not to depict the darker side of Wood's life because his letters never alluded to this aspect and remained upbeat. To this end, Burton wanted to make the film through Wood's eyes. He said in an interview, "I've never seen anything like them, the kind of bad poetry and redundancy– saying in, like, five sentences what it would take most normal people one [...] Yet still there is a sincerity to them that is very unusual, and I always found that somewhat touching; it gives them a surreal, weirdly heartfelt feeling."Bela Lugosi was not prone to fits of swearing, particularly in front of women. He also did not perform his own water stunt in Bride of the Monster. Lugosi is also depicted as dying alone and miserable. Lugosi's wife of twenty years, Lillian, did leave him in 1953, but he remarried in 1955 to Hope Lininger. They were together until his death a year later. This, plus any reference to Lugosi's teenage son, Béla Jr., were omitted. Burton biographer Ken Hanke criticized the depiction of Dolores Fuller
Dolores Fuller
Dolores Agnes Fuller was an American actress and songwriter best known as the one-time girlfriend of the low-budget film director Edward D. Wood, Jr. She played the protagonist's girlfriend in Glen or Glenda, co-starred in Wood's Jail Bait, and had a minor role in Bride of the Monster...
. "The real Fuller is a lively, savvy, humorous woman," Hanke said, "while Parker's performance presents her as a kind of sitcom moron for the first part of the film and a rather judgmental and wholly unpleasant character in her later scenes." During her years with Wood, Fuller had regular TV jobs on Queen for a Day
Queen for a Day
Queen for a Day is an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners' and viewers' fascination with big-prize giveaway shows. Queen for a Day originated on the Mutual Radio Network on April 30, 1945 in New York City before moving to Los Angeles a few months...
and The Dinah Shore Show
The Dinah Shore Show
The Dinah Shore Show is an American variety show which was broadcast by NBC from November 1951 to January 1956, sponsored by General Motors' Chevrolet division...
, which are not mentioned. Fuller criticized Parker's portrayal and Burton's direction, but still gave Ed Wood a positive review. "Despite the dramatic liberties, I think Tim Burton is fabulous. I wished they could have made it a deeper love story, because we really loved each other. We strived to find investors together, I worked so hard to support Ed and I."
Release
Ed Wood had its premiere at the 32nd New York Film FestivalNew York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
at the Lincoln Center. The film was then shown shortly after at the 21st Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....
and later at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival
1995 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jeanne Moreau *Gianni Amelio *Jean-Claude Brialy *Nadine Gordimer *Gaston Kabore *Michele-Ray Gavras *Emilio Garcia Riera *Philippe Rousselot *John Waters...
, where it was in competition for the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
.
Box office
Ed Wood had its limited releaseLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
on September 30, 1994. When the film went into wide release
Wide release
Wide release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing nationally . Specifically, a movie is considered to be in wide release when it is on 600 screens or more in the United States and Canada.In the US, films holding an NC-17 rating almost never have a...
on October 7, 1994 in 623 theaters, Ed Wood grossed $1,903,768 in its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $5,887,457 domestically, much less than the production budget of $18 million.
Reviews
Despite the film's low box office gross, Ed Wood went on to receive critical acclaim. Based on 57 reviews collected by Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 91% of the critics enjoyed Ed Wood, with an average score of 7.9/10. By comparison, Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
collected an average score of 70/100, based on 19 reviews. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave a largely positive review: "What Burton has made is a film which celebrates Wood more than it mocks him, and which celebrates, too, the zany spirit of 1950s exploitation film
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
s, in which a great title, a has-been star and a lurid ad campaign were enough to get bookings for some of the oddest films ever made." Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone presented Burton's decision with positive feedback on not making a direct satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
or parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of Wood's life. "Ed Wood is Burton's most personal and provocative movie to date," he wrote. "Outrageously disjointed and just as outrageously entertaining, the picture stands as a successful outsider's tribute to a failed kindred spirit."
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
, writing in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, thought Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
"proved" himself as an established "certified great actor". "Depp captures all the can-do optimism that kept Ed Wood going, thanks to an extremely funny ability to look at the silver lining of any cloud." Todd McCarthy from Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called Ed Wood a "a fanciful, sweet-tempered biopic about the man often described as the worst film director of all time. Always engaging to watch and often dazzling in its imagination and technique, picture is also a bit distended, and lacking in weight at its center. The result is beguiling rather than thrilling." Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
, writing in Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, gave a negative review. "The script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are a Hollywood screenwriting team...
posits Wood as a classic American optimist, a Capraesque
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
hero with little to be optimistic about, since he was also a classic American loser. That's a fine start, but the film then marches in staid chronological order." Corliss continued, "One wonders why this Burton film is so dishwatery, why it lacks the cartoon zest and outsider ache of Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...
, Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. The film shows the story of an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands. Edward is taken in by a suburban family and falls in love with their teenage daughter...
or Batman Returns
Batman Returns
Batman Returns is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to Burton's Batman , and features Michael Keaton reprising the title role, with Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.Burton originally did not...
."
Awards
Ed Wood was nominated for three Golden GlobesGolden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
: Best Musical or Comedy, Johnny Depp for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
and Martin Landau for Best Supporting Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year....
. Landau won in his category. Landau and Rick Baker won Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for their work on the film. Landau also won Best Supporting Actor at the first Screen Actors Guild Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards
A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are a Hollywood screenwriting team...
were nominated for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay
The Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay is one of the three film writing awards given by the Writers Guild of America Award....
by the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
, which was a surprise as few predicted that it would be considered.
Home media
The DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
edition of Ed Wood initially had difficulty reaching store shelves in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
due to unspecified legal issues. The initial release had a featurette on transvestites — not relating to the film or its actors in any way — which was removed from subsequent releases. An initial street date of August 13, 2002 was announced only to be postponed. A new date of February 3, 2003 was set, only for it to be recalled again without explanation, although some copies quickly found their way to collectors' venues such as eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
. The DVD was finally released on October 19, 2004.