The SAU Buzz

Issue date: 3/4/10 Section: Features

Media Credit: The Buzz/MCT Johnny Depp stars alongside Mia Wasikowska as the Mad Hatter in "Alice in Wonderland."

Tim Burton is back in theaters on March 5 with "Alice in Wonderland" but, unlike the filmmaker's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," this bookshelf adaptation veers from its namesake source material in major ways. We spoke about that and other matters with 20-year-old Aussie newcomer Mia Wasikowska, who has the title role in the film, which also stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover and Alan Rickman. The film is called "Alice in Wonderland," but really this is neither a pure adaptation of Lewis Carroll's writings nor a remake of previous films. This is a whole new story, correct?
Wasikowska: It's a completely different and new story, but it has a lot of the same characters in it. It has the same feel of the original stories, but it's really fun to explore a story that goes further and imagines what all these characters would be like several years down the tracks. Alice doesn't have a recollection of her first visit there. She's gone back and is discovering this world and finding herself again in this place that she doesn't even remember.
Question: There are very few directors who have a style and vision that is instantly recognizable as perhaps Woody Allen and Quentin Tarantino are on that list among contemporary filmmakers, but there's no question that Tim Burton is at the very top of that list. If you walk into a theater where a Burton movie is playing, you know it right away. That must make him an intriguing figure for actors.
Wasikowska: Absolutely. It is so cool to be part of his vision, to be able to start a project and see it all the way through to the end. It's almost like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was such a fan of his films growing up, movies like "Edward Scissorhands" and "Ed Wood." He has such a distinct style and a distinct sense of humor. And working with him it's been such an amazing thing to see something first on the page and then watch it become real as he brings it to life. He has such a cool energy too.
Q: This movie took you into the world of green-screen moviemaking. I visited the set and it was a little disorienting just walking around in there; it messes up your depth of perception. Was it a struggle for you in any way.

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