Burton began reading "Nightmare of Ecstasy" and some of Wood's letters. He was taken by how he "wrote about his films as if he was making "Citizen Kane", you know, whereas other people perceived them as, like, the worst movies ever". Burton admits to having always been a fan of Ed Wood, which is why the biopic is filmed with an aggrandizing bias borne of his admiration for Wood's work, rather than the derisive attitude of Wood's detractors. The relationship between Wood and Lugosi in the script echoes closely Burton's relationship with his own idol and two-time colleague, Vincent Price. He said in an interview, "Meeting Vincent had an incredible impact on me, the same impact Ed must have felt meeting and working with his idol." Meanwhile, Burton had been asked to direct "Mary Reilly" for Columbia Pictures with Winona Ryder in the title role.