Ed Wood is a 1994 American biographical film directed and produced by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as the eponymous cult filmmaker. The film concerns the period in Wood's life when he made his best-known films as well as his relationship with actor Bela Lugosi, played by Martin Landau. Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, Lisa Marie, and Bill Murray are among the supporting cast.
The film was conceived by writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Alexander first proposed it as a documentary, when he was a student at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Years later, irritated at being thought of solely as writers for family films with their work on Problem Child (1990) and its 1991 sequel, Alexander and Karaszewski struck a deal with Burton and Denise Di Novi to produce Ed Wood. Initially, Michael Lehmann was chosen to direct the project, but due to scheduling conflicts with his work on the film Airheads (1994), he had to vacate the director's position, which was taken over by Tim Burton.
Ed Wood was originally in development at Columbia Pictures, but the studio put the film in "turnaround" over Burton's decision to shoot in black-and-white. Ed Wood was taken to Walt Disney Studios, which produced the film through its Touchstone Pictures banner. The film proved financially unsuccessful, returning only $13.8 million against an $18 million budget, but was met with critical acclaim upon release, with particular praise for Depp and Landau's performances and the makeup, and won two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Landau and Best Makeup for Rick Baker (who designed Landau's prosthetic makeup), Ve Neill and Yolanda Toussieng. The film is now considered to be a cult classic and one of Burton's best works.
Plot
In 1952, aspiring writer and director Ed Wood is struggling to break into the film industry. After learning that producer George Weiss is trying to purchase Christine Jorgensen's life story, Ed meets with Weiss to direct a now fictionalized film titled I Changed My Sex! but is rejected. Ed then meets his longtime idol, horror film actor Bela Lugosi, whom he befriends. Ed persuades Weiss to let him direct by arguing that having a star in the film would sell tickets, and they could sign the financially struggling Lugosi for a low price. Ed shows the film's completed script to his girlfriend, Dolores Fuller, and reveals that he is secretly a transvestite (having worn women's clothing for personal comfort since childhood), but Fuller struggles to accept this.
During production for Glen or Glenda, which is now about a transvestite, Ed takes to film production with an unusual approach, shooting only one take per scene, giving actors little direction, and using stock footage to fill in gaps. The film is released to critical and commercial failure, preventing Ed from getting work at Weiss' Screen Classics or making a partnership with Warner Bros. executive Feldman. On the advice of Fuller, Ed decides to finance his next film, Bride of the Atom, independently. He befriends Tor Johnson after a wrestling match and casts him, while also becoming friends with famous psychic The Amazing Criswell, who advises Ed on how to sell himself better. Meanwhile, Ed discovers that Lugosi has developed a morphine addiction.
Following a failed fundraising dinner at the Brown Derby, Ed meets Loretta King, whom he mistakes for a wealthy heiress; he asks her to fund the film and casts her as the lead instead of Fuller, who is relegated to a smaller role, infuriating her. Filming begins but is halted when it is revealed that Loretta is actually poor, so Ed convinces meat-packing industry tycoon Don McCoy to continue funding the film, who agrees as long as his son is cast as the lead. At the wrap party for the film, now retitled Bride of the Monster, Fuller breaks up with Ed due to his cross-dressing and the poor quality of his films.
After the government cuts off Lugosi's unemployment benefits, he checks himself into rehab to cure his drug addiction, and Ed meets Kathy O'Hara, who is visiting her father there. He takes her on a date and reveals his transvestism to her, which she accepts, and they begin a relationship. After Lugosi is checked out of rehab, he and Ed shoot scenes for a new film outside his home. Ed and company—including TV horror host Vampira—later attend the premiere of Bride of the Monster, where an angry mob chases them out of the theater.
Lugosi dies, leaving Ed without a star. After learning that his landlord's church is struggling to produce a series of religious films about the Twelve Apostles, Ed convinces him to have his church fund his script for a science fiction film, Grave Robbers from Outer Space, which could result in a box-office success and generate enough money for the landlord's dream project. Ed hires Vampira, Tor, Criswell, and Kathy's chiropractor Dr. Tom Mason to star in the film (the latter being a stand-in for Lugosi), and he and all his friends partake in a baptism ceremony at the church.
During filming, Ed clashes with the Baptists over the title, script content, and Ed's B movie directing style, eventually renaming the film Plan 9 from Outer Space. Frustrated, Ed goes to the nearest bar, where he encounters filmmaker Orson Welles who, struggling with similar issues while working on Don Quixote, encourages Ed to assert his artistic vision, and cites Citizen Kane as the project where he had complete creative control. Filming concludes with Ed defying his producers' wishes.
At the premiere of Plan 9 from Outer Space, Ed dedicates the film to Lugosi, and as the film plays, he quietly tells himself, "This is the one I'll be remembered for." Afterwards, Ed and Kathy head to Las Vegas to get married. A textual epilogue reveals that Ed failed to achieve mainstream success in Hollywood before his death in 1978, and was posthumously named "Worst Director of All Time", though that honor eventually earned him worldwide acclaim and a new generation of fans.
Cast
Johnny Depp as Ed Wood: Burton approached Depp and "within 10 minutes of hearing about the project, I was committed," the actor remembers. At the time, Depp was depressed about films and filmmaking. By accepting this part, it gave him a "chance to stretch out and have some fun" and working with Martin Landau "rejuvenated my love for acting". Depp was already familiar with some of Wood's films through John Waters, who had shown him Plan 9 from Outer Space and Glen or Glenda. To get a handle on how to portray Wood, Depp studied the performance of Jack Haley as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, and the acting of Mickey Rooney, Ronald Reagan and Casey Kasem. He watched several Reagan speeches because the actor felt that "he had a kind of blind optimism that was perfect for Ed Wood." Depp also borrowed some of Kasem's cadence and "that utterly confident, breezy salesman quality in his voice". Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi: An old popular horror film actor whom Ed helps. Rick Baker created Landau's prosthetic makeup. Baker did not use extensive make-up appliances, only enough to resemble Lugosi and allow Landau to use his face to act and express emotion, which consisted of a set of ears, nose, chin, and an appliance that covered his upper lip. For research, Landau watched 25 of Lugosi's films and seven interviews between 1931 and 1956. Landau did not want to deliver an over-the-top performance: "Lugosi was theatrical, but I never wanted the audience to feel I was an actor chewing the scenery... I felt it had to be Lugosi's theatricality, not mine." Sarah Jessica Parker as Dolores Fuller: Ed's girlfriend before his relationship with Kathy. Dolores is embarrassed by Ed's transvestism, which leads to their breakup. Dolores later becomes a successful songwriter for Elvis Presley. Patricia Arquette as Kathy O'Hara: Ed's girlfriend after his relationship with Dolores. Kathy does not have a problem with Ed's transvestism, and eventually marries Ed. Their marriage lasts until Ed's death in 1978. She never remarried. Arquette met her real-life counterpart during filming. The actress found her to be "very graceful and very nice". Jeffrey Jones as The Amazing Criswell: A local psychic TV entertainer. Criswell helps Ed with usual production duties, finding investors and acting in Ed's films. G. D. Spradlin as Reverend Lemon: a Baptist minister who funds Plan 9 from Outer Space. Vincent D'Onofrio as Orson Welles: Appears in a cameo late in the film. Maurice LaMarche provided Welles' voice in an uncredited performance. Lisa Marie as Maila Nurmi / Vampira: Hostess of the local Vampira Show. She is dismissive of Ed at first but agrees to join the cast of Plan 9 from Outer Space, on the condition that she has no lines. Bill Murray as John "Bunny" Breckinridge: Ed's drag queen friend who helps him with Plan 9 from Outer Space. Mike Starr as George Weiss: Short-tempered and foul-mouthed Z movie producer, known for his work on exploitation films. Weiss hires Ed to direct Glen or Glenda. He threatens to kill Ed over the phone following Glen or Glendas critical and commercial failure. Max Casella and Brent Hinkley as Paul Marco and Conrad Brooks: Two of Ed's all-around production assistants and frequent actors. Paul is hired to find the Lugosi stand-in for Plan 9 from Outer Space, while Conrad accidentally has a brief dispute with Lugosi during Glen or Glenda. Juliet Landau as Loretta King: King replaces Dolores in Bride of the Monster after Wood mistakes her for an heiress able to front the money for the production costs. George "The Animal" Steele as Tor Johnson: A Swedish professional wrestler hired by Wood to be in two of his films, Bride of the Monster and Plan 9. Ned Bellamy as Dr. Tom Mason: Kathy's chiropractor who is chosen to be Lugosi's stand-in for Plan 9. Stanley DeSantis as Mr. Feldman: an executive at Warner Bros., to whom Ed shows the first cut of Glen or Glenda in an attempt to make films for Warner Bros.; he later tells Ed over the phone that it is the worst picture he has ever seen. Rance Howard as Old Man McCoy: a meat-packing tycoon, who agrees to fund Ed's next picture, Bride of the Monster, in exchange for his son Tony being the leading man and the film ending with an explosion. Korla Pandit, credited as "Indian musician", essentially appears as himself; like he originally did on his 1950s TV program, Pandit plays organ and does not speak in this cameo.
The film also includes cameos from actors who worked with Wood on Plan 9 from Outer Space, Conrad Brooks (as a bartender) and Gregory Walcott (as a potential backer).
Production Writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski conceived the idea for a biopic of Ed Wood when they were students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Alexander even proposed making a documentary about Wood, The Man in the Angora Sweater, in his sophomore year at USC. However, Karaszewski figured, "there would be no one on the planet Earth who would make this movie or want to make this movie, because these aren't the sort of movies that are made." Irritated at being thought of solely as writers for family films for their work on Problem Child and Problem Child 2, Alexander and Karaszewski wrote a 10-page film treatment for Ed Wood and pitched the idea to Heathers director Michael Lehmann, with whom they attended USC film school. The basis for their treatment came from Rudolph Grey's Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr., a full-length biography, which draws on interviews from Wood's family and colleagues. Lehmann presented their treatment to his producer on Heathers, Denise Di Novi. Di Novi had previously worked with Tim Burton on Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and a deal was struck with Lehmann as director and Burton and Di Novi producing.