Random Fascinating Stories From Making Of 'Edward Scissorhands' (13 items)

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  (#8) Burton Asked Robert Smith Of The Cure To Do The Soundtrack

  Given their similar aesthetic, it's no wonder director Tim Burton was a big fan of new wave, goth-rock band The Cure. As production was gearing up on Edward Scissorhands, Burton asked The Cure singer Robert Smith if he would create the film's soundtrack.

  According to keyboardist Roger O'Donnell, who worked with the band on-and-off early in their career, Smith ultimately passed on the project:

  Another thing I remember but I don’t know how widely known this is was that Tim Burton had asked Robert for The Cure to do the soundtrack to Edward Scissorhands and the script was lying around the studio. I don’t know why we didn’t or what happened, I don’t think we knew who he was at the time.

  Fortunately for Burton, the two did eventually have the chance to work together; Smith provided his take on the Alice in Wonderland track "Very Good Advice" for Burton's 2010 live-action reimagining. 
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  (#12) Winona Ryder Was The Very First Actor To Be Cast

  Winona Ryder, who had previously acted in director Tim Burton's 1988 film Beetlejuice, was the first actor cast in the film.

  At the time, not only were Ryder and Johnny Depp dating, but they were engaged. According to Burton, the star-crossed lovers casting was not intentional. 
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  (#7) Several A-List Actors Were Offered The Titular Role

  Johnny Depp, who had been pigeonholed as a teen heartthrob thanks to his role on 21 Jump Street, was not director Tim Burton's first choice to play Edward. Fox wanted a big name, like Tom Cruise or Tom Hanks, to draw in bigger audiences. Other big names, like Robert Downey Jr. and Jim Carrey, also became interested in the film. Burton, however, wasn't keen on casting a well-known actor, and after seeing Depp's work, he was sold.

  Even after he was cast, Depp was afraid that other actors who had been put up for the role, like Tom Hanks, would come in and replace him. He recounted how he thought he'd be fired two weeks into filming Edward Scissorhands:

  I can remember when we were doing Scissorhands we were living in this sort of resort, some kind of country club thing, and there was a knock on the door... one afternoon while everyone was off rehearsing. There were two young girls at the door and I thought, 'Oh, they found me and maybe they want me to sign something, I don't know.'

  So, I opened the door and said, 'How do you do?' and they said, 'Hi. Is Tom Hanks here? Does he live here?' I said, 'What? No. Not yet.' And I was convinced that Hanks would be replacing me. I was convinced. It was one of the most frightening moments in my career.
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  (#5) Michael Jackson Was Eager To Play Edward

  According to the Los Angeles Times, Michael Jackson eagerly pursued the titular role in Edward Scissorhands. It didn't pan out for the pop star, reportedly because director Tim Burton didn't get back to him, but Jackson was clearly still a fan of the film.

  Jackson had the scissors that actor Johnny Depp sported during filming. He even hired screenwriter Caroline Thompson to write a film of his own to star in, but it never made it past development. 
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  (#11) The Film Marked Vincent Price's Final Theatrical Appearance

  Director Tim Burton had long been an admirer of horror legend Vincent Price before he worked with him in Edward Scissorhands. 

  Burton was obsessed with Price as a child, and he told the Los Angeles Times about Price's profound impact on him:

  I can’t tell you what [Price] meant to me growing up. This sounds dramatic but he helped me live... When you’re a child and a teenager it’s not unusual to go through a melodramatic phase. Some people find release through heavy metal or whatever. But by watching [Price’s] films, there was a catharsis for me. You’re not just watching a low-budget Edgar Allan Poe movie, there’s something else there that’s not on the screen. I channeled my melodrama into that, as opposed to [self-destruction] probably.

  Burton wrote the role of the Inventor - the man who creates Edward - specifically for Price. It was Price's last role before he passed in 1993 at the age of 82. 
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  (#9) Thompson Partially Based Edward On Her Dog

  Screenwriter Caroline Thompson revealed an intriguing piece of trivia to Variety while discussing the film on its 15th anniversary. "Edward’s character was based on my dog. People love their dogs, so just think of him as the best dog you ever had!," she said. 

  Thompson explained why she based Edward Scissorhands on her Border Collie to Pop Sugar:

  Edward was based on Tim. It's kind of a love letter to Tim, but most of his attributes were based on my dog. I had this beautiful Border Collie mix when I was in college. When I was 18, I took this dog to college with me and she had a presence and a character. I swear to God if she had a larynx, she would've talked. I mean, she was that involved in my success. She was everywhere I was, sitting next to me and enjoying everything I was enjoying, but not able to quite do it because she was a dog. And that's how Edward is. He's just sort of like, 'Uhhh, OK I want to be here, but how?'

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