"Big Eyes" Rumors; Tim Burton Could Rake in Several Oscar Nominations

Tim Burton hasn't had a great film in several years; his last 2 outings were tepidly received at best. "Alice in Wonderland" broke box office records and started a brief fascination with 3-D films, however, the film was critically lampooned. His follow up, "Dark Shadows" was neither embraced by critics or audiences, so it's safe to say that the director of classics like "Edward Scissorhands" and "Big Fish" is in need of another great project.

It seems like that great project might just be his most recent picture, "Big Eyes" starring 5-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams and 2-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz.

Based on a true story, the film focuses on husband & wife Margaret and Walter Keane (Waltz and Adams) as they navigate a tricky divorce, spawned by authorship of the famous paintings of subjects with very big eyes (they're pretty famous, you've probably seen a dozen of them).

As if the "based on a true story" element of the film wasn't baity enough for awards consideration, there's the fact the film is being handled by Oscar tyrant Harvey Weinstein. If anyone could maneuver Burton back to the Kodak theater, it's him; the last time a Burton film was recognized by the Academy was "Frankenweenie", his animated feature. Burton himself has never really been recognized by the Academy outside of the animated category.

According to Nathaniel Rogers at The Film Experience, however, someone has seen Big Eyes, and word is very, very positive. Much of the praise goes on to Adams in the lead role, and while a win is not a sure thing, it seems as if we can safely bet that the actress will land her 6th nomination in less than 10 years, and her 3rd consecutive nomination (wow).

You can read the whole thing here, which is a very fascinating piece in and of itself, but sparked my interest in the film. It seems like a return to form for Burton, and far from your usual biopic. All of which bodes well for the film.