This week, Tim, Wim and a dwarf named Finbar.

Artists often complain that the audience falls in love with a certain characteristic, then stubbornly refuses to see them in a new light. Personal growth may be good for the soul, but we don’t really want to buy a ticket to it. So three cheers for Tim Burton, who returns to his sweet and twisted roots with his next project, Corpse Bride. A stop-action animated feature based on an old Russian-Jewish folktale about a man who accidentally marries a corpse, the next couple of years should bring us enough classic Burton to wipe out all the painful memories of that pointless ape-film remake. Production for Corpse Bride starts in London this fall and the film probably won’t be released until 2005. But those hungry for a Burton fix can start getting excited for the fanciful Big Fish (out in the UK, Jan 04).

TV stardom doesn’t usually lead to a big-screen career, but the kids from Dawson’s Creek seem to be making the jump pretty easily. Michelle Williams, who played (sort of) bad girl Jen, appears in The Station Agent (out in the UK next year) about a lonely dwarf named Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) who thinks he’s going to live the life of a hermit but instead finds himself stuck with a group of increasingly odd neighbours. Williams plays the librarian who finds herself falling in love with Dinklage’s character. She’s also apparently impressed picky auteur Wim Wenders enough to cast her in his still untitled drama about being homeless in Los Angeles. Jade Chang 03 October 03

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