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