I remain pretty hesitant about Burton putting his sticky fingers all over Willy Wonka. But he's got Depp, who while he can't possibly touch Gene Wilder will probably do something interesting. He always does. I don't know much about the other people he's casting, but the talent search is under way. Here's our newest BNN reporter Ben with the scoop:

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Tim Burton's cast search continues on the upcoming remake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Based on John Roald's novel, it was good to hear that the film is actually named after the book and not renamed from the first film Willy Wonka and the Choloclate Factory. It's a wonderful story about a boy named Charlie Bucket who hears about a contest to find a golden ticket and get entrance into the mysterious Willy Wonka factory. The catch, there's only five tickets and they've been sent around the globe inside of five Wonka bars. It's the perfect marketing ploy! You can go down to the local drug store today and get a Wonka bar.

Freddie Highmore is Charlie Bucket and Johnny Depp plays Willy Wonka as an oddly introverted man who spends his lonely days and nights inventing candy. This role is perfect for him since Mr. Wonka is a combination of Captain Jack Sparrow and Raoul Duke from Fear and Loathing, very witty.

Tim finds two newcomers for the film. Julia Winter is Veruca Salt, the spoiled rich girl who gets everything from her business savvy father. Interestingly enough, this is Julia's first film. Violet Beaureguard, the obsessive gum chewing girl will be played by Annasophia Robb. Annasophia looks like a young-er Dakota Fanning with numerous projects in development, we will probably see more of her in the near future. Veruca acted out scenes with potential actors for the part of Mike Teevee. The roles of the Teeves and Violet's parents are still to be decided. But what I want to know is, who will play the mysterious Mr Slugworth?



REPORT BY: Ben Pluenneke
Eat till you turn into a blueberry in The CB Forum.
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