Ilfracombe people were left stunned yesterday (18th January 2011) after A-list director Tim Burton landed at our local Rugby club in a Harrods helicopter.
Residents spotted the eye-catching green, gold and white chopper circling over the town and speculation was soon rife amongst local people, with everyone wondering who could be aboard.
Thanks to the phenomenal power of Facebook, the passenger's identity was revealed by early afternoon; by which time the helicopter had unfortunately departed, leaving many locals disappointed that they had missed out on a once in a lifetime chance to meet their idol.
One local resident told Ilfracombe People "I was so gutted that Tim Burton was in my town today and I didn't even get to catch a glimpse of him! I wrote my dissertation for my degree on his films and have been an avid fan of his ever since I first watched Edward Scissorhands. But nobody knew he was coming to Ilfracombe-it was such a shock...we don't get many famous folk round these parts! I suppose he has to keep it quiet or he would be swamped with fans."
However, all is not lost, and this young fan may well still be in with a chance of spotting Burton in the flesh in the future. If local rumour is to be believed he was checking out various locations in North Devon as possible settings for his latest film Dark Shadows.
The film, a modern remake of the late 1960's vampire soap opera of the same name, will star Burton's regular collaborator and muse Johnny Depp in the title role, and filming is due to start in April of this year.
If Burton should chose a local location it would be a fantastic coup for North Devon, in particular local businesses and the economy. The National Trust property Antony in Cornwall played host to the filming of Alice in Wonderland back in 2008 and according to their website, during the filming period "Local companies are used for everything from fencing posts to the local green grocers. Everything that can be recycled is, to ensure that the experience is as ‘green’ as possible."
So will we be seeing more of Mr Burton in this part of the world in the future? We will just have to wait and see....
- Apparently Clovelly is one of the North Devon locations Burton is considering for filming.
Thanks to the phenomenal power of Facebook, the passenger's identity was revealed by early afternoon; by which time the helicopter had unfortunately departed, leaving many locals disappointed that they had missed out on a once in a lifetime chance to meet their idol.
One local resident told Ilfracombe People "I was so gutted that Tim Burton was in my town today and I didn't even get to catch a glimpse of him! I wrote my dissertation for my degree on his films and have been an avid fan of his ever since I first watched Edward Scissorhands. But nobody knew he was coming to Ilfracombe-it was such a shock...we don't get many famous folk round these parts! I suppose he has to keep it quiet or he would be swamped with fans."
However, all is not lost, and this young fan may well still be in with a chance of spotting Burton in the flesh in the future. If local rumour is to be believed he was checking out various locations in North Devon as possible settings for his latest film Dark Shadows.
The film, a modern remake of the late 1960's vampire soap opera of the same name, will star Burton's regular collaborator and muse Johnny Depp in the title role, and filming is due to start in April of this year.
If Burton should chose a local location it would be a fantastic coup for North Devon, in particular local businesses and the economy. The National Trust property Antony in Cornwall played host to the filming of Alice in Wonderland back in 2008 and according to their website, during the filming period "Local companies are used for everything from fencing posts to the local green grocers. Everything that can be recycled is, to ensure that the experience is as ‘green’ as possible."
So will we be seeing more of Mr Burton in this part of the world in the future? We will just have to wait and see....
