Edwards Scissorhands Trivia: 12 Amazing Facts About The Tim Burton Classic
20th Century Fox
Our favourite Tim Burton movie is undoubtedly 1990’s Edward Scissorhands. The film sees an avon lady bring a blade-fingered creation (Johnny Depp) home from a creepy old mansion up on the hill by their house. Edward struggles to fit in, but eventually falls in love with the family’s daughter, Kim (Winona Ryder).
Here are 12 amazing pieces of trivia about the film…
1) The film was based on a sketch by a young Tim Burton
Like a few of Burton’s films, the idea for Edward Scissorhands actually came from a sketch he had drawn as a teenager. As you might imagine, it was of a solemn boy with blades instead of fingers. He must’ve been flicking through his old drawings one day and been struck by the image.
2) Peg is based on the writer’s mother
The script for Edward Scissorhands was largely written by Caroline Thompson. When it came to writing the character of friendly avon lady Peg, she drew inspiration from her own movie, who she said would always invite strangers home and welcome people into the house.
3) It started a long working relationship with Johnny Depp
Edward Scissorhands was the first movie Burton made with Depp. The two struck up a great friendship, and went on to work together on several films including Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Ed Wood and Dark Shadows.
4) Vincent Price had a much bigger role
When writing the script, there was only one actor in mind for the role of the inventor; Vincent Price. In the original script, Price’s inventor was supposed to get much more screentime than in the final film. However, Price was very unwell during scheduled filming, and a lot of his scenes couldn’t be filmed.
5) An emotional Johnny Depp
A story about a kind, shy and lonesome being who is brought down, introduced into a family, only to later be outcast, the film is an emotional rollercoaster, and definitely brings a tear to the eye in places. This emotion certainly wasn’t lost on the lead actor, it seems, as Johnny Depp admitted when he read the script for the first time, he ‘cried like a baby.’
6) Charlie Chaplin was an inspiration for the role
Edward is certainly a man of few words. When Depp was developing the character, he wanted to effectively use expressions and actions to convey his emotions, and so he watched lots of footage of famous silent movie actor Charlie Chaplin.
7) Some of the topiary survives in a New York restaurant
If you were enchanted by Edward’s amazing topiary skills throughout the film, then you’ll be pleased to know that you can actually go and see some of it. It’s on display in the Tavern on the Green – a restaurant in New York!
8) Robert Smith inspired Edward’s hair
When the stylists were deciding which crazy black mess of hair to give Edward, they drew inspiration from the lead singer of British rock band The Cure. Robert Smith is instantly recognisable for his wild jet black hair, and it became iconic for Edward, too!
9) Robert Smith was also offered the soundtrack
A fan of The Cure, Tim Burton approached Robert Smith with the opportunity to record the soundtrack for Edward Scissorhands. Smith was actually too busy at the time working on an album, and had to pass up the offer. The gig went to Danny Elfman, instead, who had already scored Beetlejuice and Batman for Burton, and would later go on to score over a dozen more Tim Burton movies.
10) The film was originally going to be a musical
Burton has pulled off a few excellent musical movies in his time; Nightmare Before Christmas and Sweeney Todd to name a couple. But Edward Scissorhands was originally going to be his first. The original draft was laid out as a musical, but the idea was later dropped. Maybe we’ll see an Edward Scissorhands Broadway musical in a few years, following in the footsteps of Beetlejuice!
11) Tim Burton dressed up an abandoned restaurant for one scene
One scene sees the family eating in a restaurant. The location was actually a real restaurant that had closed down some years before. The restaurant was called Sambo’s, and was part of a chain of the same name. The chain fell out of favour partly due to its politically incorrect name, and most of the chain closed down. The restaurant sat empty until Burton filmed there for Edward Scissorhands.
12) Depp and Ryder got engaged five months after filming
Although they had caught each other’s eyes at a movie premiere before filming Edward Scissorhands, the film allowed them to get a lot closer to each other as their characters fall in love. Five months after filming, the couple got engaged.
There you have it – 12 amazing pieces of trivia.