John Logan, the co-producer and writer of Tim Burton's film version of Sweeney Todd, recently spoke with TheaterMania about adapting the much-loved Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical for the big screen. As he tells TheaterMania's Brian Scott Lipton, Logan lobbied hard for the job that would ultimately take him five years to bring to fruition. But as soon as he heard that a film version was in the works, he knew he had to be involved, given how much the Sondheim work meant to him: "I saw the original Broadway production and it changed my life. I think one of the reasons I'm a writer today is because of that night."

After all those years of effort poured into the film, Logan deserves to take pride in the finished result. Even so, he's quick to praise his collaborators on the project. About Johnny Depp's performance in the title role, he says:

What I think he brings to the role is sort of this Byronic quality; there's something so tormented and anguished and poetic about his Sweeney Todd that is wildly appropriate. But I admit I never would have thought that until I saw him on the set and saw how incredibly romantic his Sweeney was.

Given all the Oscar buzz surrounding the Depp's performance and the film itself, it's no surprise that Lipton would wonder what the film's writer/producer thinks of it all. But regardless of the award results, Logan contends that the film has already brought its own rewards:

What matters is that I spent five years of my life working on something that is very important to me, and that Hollywood has finally given Steve Sondheim a movie version of one of his stage shows that is worthy of him, and that Tim Burton is getting to tell a story he has wanted to tell for 20 years—and to see Johnny Depp get a chance to sing in that beautiful voice. That's finally what matters to me.

For the complete interview, visit theatermania.com. To listen to Johnny Depp's performance of "My Friends" from the soundtrack, click on the Nonesuch Radio icon on the upper left of this page.