Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film) sexually transmitted disease. Burton immediately thought of Johnny Depp for the role of Willy Wonka, who in August 2003 joined the film, his fourth collaboration with the director. Lurie's script received a rewrite by Pamela Pettler, who worked with Burton on "Corpse Bride", but the director hired "Big Fish" screenwriter John August in December 2003 to start from scratch. Both August and Burton were fans of the book since their childhoods. August first read "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" when he was eight years old, and subsequently sent Dahl a fan letter. He did not see the 1971 film prior
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film) Jim Carrey as Willy Wonka, believing the duo could make "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" relevant to mainstream audiences, but Liccy Dahl opposed this. After receiving enthusiastic approval from the Dahl Estate, Warner Bros. hired Tim Burton to direct in May 2003. Burton compared the project's languishing development to "Batman" (1989), which he directed, in how there had been varied creative efforts with both films. He said, "Scott Frank's version was the best, probably the clearest, and the most interesting, but they had abandoned that." Liccy Dahl commented that Burton was the first and only director the estate was happy