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CG Oompa Loompas or Little People Oompa Loompas' The hardships of making CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY!
Hey folks, Harry here with a tidbit on CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, ya know, the remake that Tim Burton is cooking up. I always though the little people in the original were wonderfully creepy and scary as Oompa Loompas, and I'm curious what exactly the advantage would be to having CG Oompa Loompas would be? I guess, you could have a wider variety the shapes and sizes of Oompa Loompas. I guess the orange skin could be more... realistic? Personally, I want robotic Stan Winston Oompa Loompas... and I want them to malfunction and go on a killing rampage across the English countryside... "OOMPA LOOMPA TERROR THREATENS LONDON" would read headlines... sigh, one can dream...
Harry,
On a recent visit to Pinewood Studios I happened
across the pre-production for the forthcoming Charlie
& The Chocolate Factory movie. I found it quite
amusing to see conceptual drawings for the Oompa
Loompas. Speaking to one of the artists in the bar it
seems as though they're stuck between casting midgets
in the roles or utilising gollum-like CGI characters.
They looked so sweet!
Dunno why I'm telling you this really, just that
no-one else i've told seems to care & I thought you
might appreciate the logistics involved in having that
many CGI characters interacting with actors & each
other.
Stuart
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+ Expand All
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...go CG. Peace Out.
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Mar 03, 2004 12:16:22 PM CST
They could be people with CG-enchanced features...didn't think a
by terry_1978
As excessive as that suggestion is, there's possibilities. No way are they going to use the african pygmy version that Dahl originally wrote, as even I would be a little iffy to see that on the screen, and not just because I'm black. My only hope is that Tim "I am Batduck" Burton follows the book a little more closely than the 70's version, which is still a good movie, though it kind of strayed from the path.
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i just recently read the book, and i think it would be creepier if they were like they were in book. also, the oompa-loompas were only as high as the start of Willie Wanka's knee. they would need some really short people to pull that off. also, if they show the living area of the oompa-loompas, the children are only four inches tall. it needs to be done in cg. they also need to wear animal skin and have a "rosy white" complextion like in the book. it would be a lot less corny than the orange oomps with white coveralls. i'll shut up now.
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If it were another director I might lean towards little people with heavy makeup, but when you consider the greatness of the CG martians in Mars Attacks! (not to mention the great animated bits in Pee-wee's Big Adventure and Beetlejuice) it is clear that Burton should go with animation of one type or another. How about stop motion and computer animation both? That would be my preference. To answer Harry's question, the advantages of using animation would include 1) staying true to Burton's unique visual style 2) staying true to the elfen portrayal in the book (after they changed it from the pygmies in the first edition, which would not be a good idea) and most importantly 3) distinguishing it from the Gene Wilder version and making it stand on its own as a worthwhile new interpretation of the story, which will be a difficult feat
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Mar 03, 2004 5:37:12 PM CST
Johnny Depp is great, but they made a mistake in not casting Joh
by declan_swartz
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Mar 03, 2004 6:48:55 PM CST
I think they should make "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" w
by mbaker
They all become blueberries, Brother.
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I read the book around 1970 before it was "cleaned up". Seriously.
In my version the Oompa-loompas were black - African pygmies to be precise, and when Charlie first sees them when of the kids says "Look at the little chocolate people!" and later Charlie asks Wonka "Are they *really* made out of Chocolate?"
Then Wonka says no, they're pygmies, and he proceeds to tell the story about how he discovered them while exploring a remote part of the world. They loved Cacao beans but couldn't get anyway, and were forced to eat mashed up catipillars.
Sadly, the publisher had Roald Dahl rewrite those portions of the book and the illustrations were redone a few years later.
But SOME of us remember the original.
Bring back the black oompa loompas!
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http://www.borg.com/~superman/Facts.html
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...little people, especially little woman, are freaky as hell. Gollum was good but real oompas would be scary as hell!
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The black pygmy thing... Now I am not really sure what I prefer, regarding the CGI/midgets. The little people were my first choice, but somebody up top mentioned something about 'distinguishing this film from the original' and I have to agree. I say Burton should go with the animation. It will definitely feel more burton-esque.
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this film is not a remake!!!
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Mar 03, 2004 8:04:48 PM CST
And no...don't do African pygmies like in the original book...
by lost skeleton
...because I'm black!
"2" 7/2/04.
Yes, I know the irony of it all. Making fun of little people but being offended by African pygmies...I'm scum -
fuck remakes of ALL KINDS
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He said he hates the original movie because it was cheezy or something like that. Dude, it was pretty DARK by just about any standard if you ask me. What more could you do...have the fucking kids DIE in this one? Give the oompa-loompas fucking FANGS or some shit...make them flesh-eaters? TB sux, and he will fuck this up just like he fucked up Planet of the Apes.
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And instead of CGI or real dwarves, how 'bout Burton laying on us some claymation Oompas? You know, what the Martians in "Mars Attacks!" were supposed to be. It may look a little crude, but I'm sure it would fit into Burton's "Chocolate Factory" fine.
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I can not wait for this. I trust Tim Burton 110% (despite POTA). Depp would just own Willy. And I think that to be done right the Ompa's need to be GGI. And as brillent as the 7o's version was I would love a version that stuck to the book as closly as possible. What ever Tim decides, will be the right descion. I just can't wait for this!!!
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I don't care what the oompa loompas look like, as long as they talk like the aliens in Mars Attacks.
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but midgets did! and goddammit they should be re-cast as Oompa Loompas! (except with sharpened little teeth like pirhanas...
creeeeepy) -
If Gene Wilder were dead he would spin in his grave.
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If Burton's CHARLIE has half the heart of the mighty KRULL, it shall succeed by all measures! By the way, could anyone be weirder than Wilder in the original? You'd have thought he was going to chop up the kids and turned them into flesh chocolate bars.
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Mar 03, 2004 11:46:53 PM CST
Why isn't Del Toro directing this? We could have had bloodthirs
by darth_inedible
Yes foul mouthed Vampire oompa loompas with a taste for children's blood. And Wonka could have been a Catholic priest and the factory could have made hallucinagenic chocolate crucifixes.
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Michael Keaton, anyone?
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If the brother can play Hunter Thompson as brilliantly as he did then there's nothing he CAN'T play.
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Mar 04, 2004 1:26:01 AM CST
They should adapt the Willy Wonka storyline to the Simpsons movi
by warrenperso
...think about it. Grampa escorts Bart and Lisa to Krusty's Chocolate Factory, along with Milhouse as Mike TeeVee, Uder as Augustus, those freaky twins doubling up as Violet Beauregard, Smithers as Slugworth, plus in smaller roles Prof Frink as the Tim Brooke-Taylor scientist, Kent Brockman as, drrr, the news anchor, hell, there are cops in the original so there's Wiggum and Lou et al. Fuckin' hell, it writes itself!!!! Sure they'd have to be a fresh subplot to involve Homer, but it sure plays better than the intended "for the cash" Simpsons movie there cooking up right now...
Think about it. -
Hey, they already did a Wonka-takeoff on "Futurama," the Slurm episode. One of the few standout shows from that series.
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How is a midget supposed to makea living these days outside of porn?!?!?! What's next? CGI candy!
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You are a genius. A) The Slurm 'Futurama' ep was also one of my favorites (although I feel that it was overall a great show). B) The idea of Steve Buscemi as Slugworth is BRILLIANT. There isnt another man in Hollywood who is more perfect.
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McGregor's accent was turd!
This'll be good though. Warwick Davies for Oompa No.3! -
The original Planet of the Apes films and the original Chocolate Factory have been and always will be the 'largest cast of Joe Piscopo ever assembled'. Burton obviously fucked this up in his crappy remake of Apes. We need to rise up and demand that he atone for this travesty by cloning Joe Piscopo. I think we need one hundred of him to do the job properly. Of course, this will give us and extreme over-abundance of Joe Piscopo, an issue that will need to be dealt with immediately. I propose that we put all of our extra, no wait, ALL Joe Piscopos on some sort of galactic shuttle to fend for himselves. Then sit back and wait thousands of years for the new new remake of Planet of the Piscopos--live on CNN.
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Honestly, CG is stupid in this case. Midgets all the way. Also, someone earlier said Depp was wrong for this movie. I have to admit, when I first heard they were doing it, I was annoyed because I like the first one so much, but if they have to make it, Depp is the PERFECT choice. He's not going to be as good as Gene Wilder, but he's the best choice of big actors working today.
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I think they should cast tall people as the "oompa loompas" and little people in the other roles and use "forced perspective" to make it look right. We just don't find this kind of creativity in film making today.
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Mar 04, 2004 9:20:22 AM CST
Stan Winston robotic Oompa Loompas? So they could look as shitty
by gapdragon
No, thank you.
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Mar 04, 2004 9:31:42 AM CST
It makes me sad to think that, as cool as Oompa Loompas are,
by eraser_x
Ewoks could kick the hell out of Oompa Loompas in a battle to the finish. I mean, the Ewoks even defeated Storm Troopers! I hate Ewoks.
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Mar 04, 2004 9:41:03 AM CST
That Family Guy Wonka spoof with Pawtucket Pat was equally as hi
by terry_1978
Oompa-loompa, doo-pa-do-dee, if you are wise, you will listen to me. What do you do when you're stuck in a....chair? Unable to go up and down...stairs? What do you think of the one you call...God? Isn't his absence...ra-ther....odd? Maybe he's for-got-ten you....
That was so horrible, yet I laughed myself almost comatose. -
...if they had cast Christopher Walken as Wonka. But they didn't, so I don't care about it.
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Mar 04, 2004 12:47:34 PM CST
looks like Burton is signed contractually to make one remake for
by mansep
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Little people OOMPAS, all the way! If they decide to go CG, they all better look like little Hulks.
Oh yeah, Xanadu and Sgt Pepper are the best late-70's movie musicals EVER! Any movie that has the coconuts to have George Burns playing Peter Frampton's white Gibson Les Paul guitar and Gene Kelly trying to bang Olivia Newton John are TOPS IN MY BOOK! -
Woo woo!! Someone ought to start up a Krull Thread - or threadjack this one!
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and no heart. Burton will go out of his way for the audience to hate everyone in it because hes incapable of actually grasping real emotion. In other words he is a boy or as I like to say, a hack. Only a dumb ass would use cgi and thats precisely what Burton is.
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It'll be awesome.
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Mar 04, 2004 10:18:31 PM CST
This stupidity has finally forced me to become a talkback member
by fasty
The original was written by Roald Dahl. What more do you want?
Dolemite_fan I agree with your assessment. This movie won't be a patch on the charming, hilarious original.
You want dark?
"Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushing glen,
We dare not go a hunting,
For fear of little men.
You see, nobody ever goes in, and nobody ever comes out."
............................
"There's no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going. There's no knowing where we're rowing or which way the river's flowing. Is it raining? Is it snowing? Is a hur-ra-cane-a blowing? Not a speck of light is showing. So the danger must be growing. Are the fires of hell a-glowing? Is the grisly reaper mowing?! YES! THE DANGER MUST BE GROWING! FOR THE ROWERS KEEP ON ROWING! AND THEY'RE CERTAINLY NOT SHOWING! ANY SIGNS THAT THEY ARE SLOWING!!!"
............................
Mrs. Gloop: He can't swim!
Willy Wonka: There's no better time to learn
.............................
Mrs. Gloop: Don't just stand there! Do something!
Willy Wonka: Help. Police. Murder.
Beat that script, Burton. -
Forgive my ignorance. Perhaps one day you could offer me some pointers so I can be as successful, creative and influential as you obviously are...?
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Mar 05, 2004 2:16:58 AM CST
Harry Dean Stanton - Grandpa Joe Hope Davis - Charlie's mother
by grillskill
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Great. Another generation with psychic scars and emotional trauma.
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...he can so do this part.
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First of all, the term "Midget" (which is technically a very short person due to glandular reasons which, thanks [or not] to hormone therapy, has pretty much been eliminated) ranks right up there with the N-word, so if we could refrain from using it, that'd be great.
Second, as a dwarf/Little Person myself, I totally disagree with making the Oompa Loompas CGI. Granted playing an orange-skinned slave with green hair in a candy factory isn't really a dream job for a dwarf actor, but at least it's a paying gig.
When is enough going to be enough with this? First the DWARFS in LOTR are played by average sized people (not actual dwarfs) and now they're talking of taking away the Oompa Loompas?
What's next, CGI ethnic minority people? Or the virtually disabled? They can't even make a villian scary without digitally enhancing it!
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