After years of tackling bizarre films about scissor-handed bondage enthusiasts, apes in space, Dracula and other monsters, almost all exclusively starring Johnny Depp, Tim Burton has turned over a new leaf. Title aside, Big Eyes is being billed as Tim Burton’s most “normal” movie since Big Fish, which, if you recall, still featured a giant and a witch.
Sans monsters and Depp, the movie is based on the real-life story of an artist (Amy Adams) whose husband (Christoph Waltz) took credit for her work in ’50s/60s-era San Francisco.
In the 1960s, Margaret Keane’s artwork was sold under the name of her husband, Walter Keane, who claimed credit for her work. Conflict over that issue was cited as one of the reasons they divorced. The Keanes’ divorce proceedings went all the way to federal court. At the hearing, Margaret challenged Walter to a “paint-off” and created a painting in front of the judge to prove that she was the artist. Walter declined to paint before the court, citing a sore shoulder.
Hahahaa. Krysten Ritter and Jason Schwartzman co-star. In theaters Christmas, 2014.
