Gene Wilder DISSES 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'; Calls Tim Burton, Johnny Depp Film 'An Insult' [VIDEO]
Original Willy Wonka actor Gene Wilder spoke about the 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory adaptation Thursday night and did not mince words.
"I think it's an insult," Wilder said of the film. "It's probably Warner Bros.' insult."
The 80-year-old actor made an appearance Thursday night in New York, speaking to Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne.
"Johnny Depp, I think, is a good actor, but I don't care for that director," Wilder added, referring to Tim Burton, "He's a talented man, but I don't care for him doing stuff like he did."
Burton adapted the movie from the 1964 novel of the same name. This isn't the first time Wilder has revealed his feelings about the 2005 adaptation.
"It's just some people sitting around thinking, 'How can we make some more money?' Why else would you remake Willy Wonka?" Wilder said in 2005.
"I don't see the point of going back and doing it all over again. I like Johnny Depp and I appreciate that he has said on the record that my shoes would be hard to fill. But I don't know how it will all turn out. Right now, the only thing that does take some of the edge off this for me is that Willy Wonka's name isn't in the title."
Wilder played the title role in 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, which, ironically, was panned by the book's author, Roald Dahl. Burton also dissed the film, saying in 2005.
"I don't want to crush people's childhood dreams, but the original film is sappy. I responded to the children's book because it respected that children can be adult, and I think adults forget that," he said.
Wilder explained on Thursday that films have become "so dirty" recently, which is why he hasn't acted in anything since 2003. He did admit that if a role in a "nice, good film" came along, he would consider it.
Watch a clip of Wilder performing Pure Imagination in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory:
