Tim Burton/Johnny Depp
Number of Films Together: 8 — “Edward Scissorhands” (1990), “Ed Wood” (1994), “Sleepy Hollow” (1999), “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005), “Corpse Bride” (2005), “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007), “Alice in Wonderland” (2010), “Dark Shadows” (2012)
History: When Tim Burton was working on his highly touted project “Edward Scissorhands” (the follow-up to his smash “Batman“), he chose an unlikely actor to star: Johnny Depp, then still an achingly handsome teen heartthrob from the popular television series “21 Jump Street,” who had been caked in kabuki make-up, given Burton’s trademark mop-top hairstyle, and outfitted with prosthetic gloves to create the titular look. In a 2010 back-and-forth with Esquire, Burton noted that he and Depp formed an instant connection, based on a “suburban white trash-y connective strand.” They both knew (and loved) the one Humphrey Bogart horror movie he made (“The Return of Dr. X“) and had similar childhoods, even though they were miles apart (Burton grew up in sunny California, Depp in the deep south). Super-producer Scott Rudin said that Depp is playing Burton in all of their movies together, something Depp agreed with but Burton refutes. It’s hard not to see it though, from the lonesome outcast in “Edward Scissorhands” to the cheeseball filmmaker in “Ed Wood” (it’s harder to see the analogy in later years, when both actor and director have gone for more fancifully arch material). The years spent apart in between features do not speak to some kind of contentious, volatile relationship between the two. Burton told the Huffington Post last year that, “I can see him every day and then I can not see him for a couple of years. Everyone is gypsy and nomadic in the film world and they have to be right for the part, so nobody takes offense.” With Burton, Depp seems to know that he can push himself into areas of the grotesque more freely than with other filmmakers, both physically—the scissorhands of ‘Scissorhands,’ elongated fingers in “Dark Shadows,” computer-enlarged eyes in “Alice in Wonderland“—and performance-wise (his ‘Sweeney Todd’ was fearless and he has mentioned that Ichabod Crane in “Sleepy Hollow” was partially inspired by Angela Lansbury on “Murder, She Wrote“). Their partnership is also one of the most successful in cinema history; “Alice in Wonderland” alone grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.
Key Film: “Ed Wood,” Burton’s R-rated, black-and-white masterpiece from 1994. It’s easily Burton’s most personal film and one in which the Depp-as-Burton reading holds the most water. In telling the story of B-movie icon Ed Wood, whose “Plan 9 From Outer Space” is widely regarded (at least until “The Room” came along) as the worst movie of all time, and his relationship with faded horror icon Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau, in an Oscar-winning performance), Burton was opening up about his own relationship with a horror mainstay: Vincent Price. Price and Burton had been friends since Burton made a short film for Disney about a young boy obsessed with Price called “Vincent,” and scored a coup by getting Price to narrate it. He convinced Price, who was in failing health, to co-star in “Edward Scissorhands” as the inventor who creates the titular character, and at the time of Price’s death, was working on a feature-length documentary about their relationship. (Burton never returned to the project.) “Ed Wood” was Burton’s way of working through that relationship and it amounts to his best, most personal, and most deeply felt movie. Depp, for his part, has never been more electrically alive; his line delivery is absolutely hilarious as he conjures a perfect mixture of wide-eyed optimism and an almost childlike naivete. In omitting some of the darker aspects of Wood’s life, including a perilous relationship with drugs and alcohol, they cemented the film as Burton’s autobiographical fairy tale and elevated the character beyond the usual Burton/Depp oddball outcast.
Edgar Wright/Simon Pegg
Number of Films Together: 3 — “Shaun of the Dead” (2004), “Hot Fuzz” (2007) and “The World’s End” (2013)
History: Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg‘s relationship started way back in 1996, when Pegg worked with Wright on “Asylum,” a short-lived Paramount Comedy Channel series that combined a narrative with threads of stand-up material (Wright directed and co-created the six episodes). When Pegg and Jessica Stevenson were cooking up their BBC series “Spaced,” they thought of Wright and had him brought aboard. Wright ended up directing all 14 episodes of “Spaced” and the bond between Pegg and Wright was solidified. When it was time to direct his first proper feature, the zombie farce “Shaun of the Dead,” Wright enlisted Pegg not simply as the star, but also as a co-writer. “Shaun of the Dead” feels very much, in that sense, like a feature-length extension of “Spaced,” all of the editorial tics and crackling dialogue that was developed for the series blossomed, beautifully, in the feature film. It was then that Wright and Pegg started talking about it being the first part of a trilogy, something they dubbed “The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy,” named after a popular British ice cream treat that also serves as an effective hangover remedy. (It’s also a reference to the “Three Colors Trilogy” by Krzysztof Kieslowski.) Two more films have followed: the action movie send-up “Hot Fuzz” and next month’s beautifully melancholy sci-fi ode “The World’s End.” Wright also had a hand co-writing Steven Spielberg‘s “Adventures of Tintin,” which featured Pegg and his “Three Flavours” co-star Nick Frost. Their working relationship seems to be based purely on the things that they mutually enjoy; this isn’t something that has been fraught with hardship or creative differences. They’re a particular kind of amiable geek. And it’s very sad that the trilogy is over.
Key Film: While we want to give a shout-out to “The World’s End,” we’re technically not allowed to talk about it yet and anyway “Shaun of the Dead” is still tops. The reason that “Shaun of the Dead” is so powerful is that it was such a surprise. Not only is it scary and funny, but it’s also an effective romantic comedy, and a sharply incisive look at the way that relationships function (or dysfunction), especially when best friends are involved. (The Pegg/Frost dynamic was developed years before the odious “bromance” term was coined.) There’s something so positive and joyful about “Shaun of the Dead;” it really did mark the arrival of a major new talent. And every film that they’ve done subsequently has built upon what was established in “Shaun of the Dead.” Part of what makes their relationship so powerful is that Pegg both stars in and co-writes each movie, which makes them even more personal. It’s hard not to wonder how much of the Pegg/Wright dynamic is built into whatever on-screen friendship unfolds between Pegg and Frost. While the trilogy of films might be over, we hope that it doesn’t mean that Pegg and Wright’s working relationship is through. For two men who have made a tiny collection of excellent comedies, the end of their partnership would be downright tragic.
Steven Soderbergh/Matt Damon
Number Of Films Together: 7 — “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001), “Ocean’s Twelve” (2004), “Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007), “Che: Part Two” (2008), “The Informant!” (2009), “Contagion” (2011), “Behind The Candelabra” (2013)
History: He might be associated more widely with George Clooney, with whom he made six films and ran a production company, but Steven Soderbergh actually hasn’t worked directly with the star since 2007’s “Ocean’s Thirteen” (a seventh film, “The Man From U.N.C.L.E,” fell apart due to an injury to Clooney). In fact, the filmmaker had another A-list playmate who cropped up more often in the director’s “final” run of movies; namely, Matt Damon. The pair could have ended up never crossing paths: Mark Wahlberg was initially down to play fresh-faced pickpocket Linus Caldwell in “Ocean’s Eleven,” but bailed to star in “Planet Of The Apes,” causing Damon to step in instead. That said, despite Soderbergh initially approaching Damon about “The Informant!” way back in 2001, it took a while for them to sync up; the pair continued to work together on ‘Ocean’s’ sequels (in which Damon was a reliably funny highlight), and with a brief cameo in “Che: Part Two,” but their major collaborations all came quite late: 2009’s “The Informant!,” Damon’s touching regular turn in ensemble disaster piece “Contagion,” and, most recently, a near-career best, vanity-free performance in “Behind The Candelabra.” Soderbergh said to the Huffington Post recently that he was drawn to Damon from “a combination of intelligence, integrity and fearlessness,” expanding on the latter to add, “One of the things I think people will appreciate about Matt’s performance [in ‘Candelabra’] is his absolute commitment to jumping off the cliff and not looking back. There aren’t a lot of actors of his age and caliber who would read this and say yes without hesitating.” Damon, meanwhile, who broke the news of Soderbergh’s retirement, knows more than most how much he’ll be missed. “After I worked with Clint [Eastwood],” he told the LA TImes, “I went back and said, ‘Look, Clint is having a blast and he’s going to be 80 years old.’ And Steven says back, ‘Yeah, but he’s a storyteller and I’m not,’” Damon recounted. “If you’re an actor or a writer or someone working in film, it’s such a waste. For me, I’m going to spend the next 40 years trying to become a great director and I will never reach what he’s reached. And he’s walking away from it.”
Key Film: Damon is terrific in “Behind The Candelabra,” but he’s equally great in “The Informant!,” which is much more of a one-man show. Soderbergh’s absolutely working in service of the actor’s performance, without which the film simply wouldn’t work; Damon’s mix of integrity and pathological fibbing is both hilarious and deeply tragic.
