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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edwood_8386.gif]]
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3->''"Greetings, my friends! You are interested in the unknown. The mysterious. The unexplainable. That is why you are here. And now, for the first time, we are bringing you the full story of what happened. We are giving you all the evidence based only on the secret testimony of the miserable souls who survived this terrifying ordeal. The incidents, faces. My friends, we cannot keep this a secret any longer. Can your heart stand the shocking facts of the true story of Edward D. Wood Jr.?"''
4--> -- '''Criswell'''
5
6''Ed Wood'' is a 1994 {{biopic}} directed by Creator/TimBurton about the career of [[Creator/EdWood Edward D Wood Jr.]], generally acknowledged as being the worst film director in the history of Hollywood. It focuses on a brief period in Wood's life, going from his early days of putting on terrible plays, to the completion of his magnum opus ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace''.
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8Often described as "the kind of biopic Ed Wood would make about himself," the film is notable for depicting cinema's most famously bad director as a highly sympathetic character, helped immensely through Creator/JohnnyDepp's portrayal of Wood as a wide-eyed, endearingly optimistic naif. Wood's experiences also echo those of most artists, and the film depicts Wood struggling to retain his artistic vision (as myopic as it is) despite interference from various, unlikely financial backers. It also deals with Wood coming to terms with his own closet transvestism.
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10This film is also notable for its depiction of the friendship between Wood and fading horror star Creator/BelaLugosi, memorably played by Creator/MartinLandau. Landau would go on to win the [[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestActorInASupportingRole Oscar for Best Supporting Actor]] for his performance.
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12The film was written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and was the first of their three "anti-great man" movies, followed by ''Film/ThePeopleVsLarryFlynt'' and ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' (about Creator/AndyKaufman).
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14Compare ''{{Film/The Disaster Artist}}'', a similarly comedic biopic about a [[Creator/TommyWiseau similarly inept director.]]
15
16----
17!!''Tropes'':
18* AdaptedOut:
19** The movie makes no mention of Alex Gordon, who co-wrote ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster'' with Wood. Nor does it mention ''Film/{{Jailbait}}'', a thriller also co-written with Gordon that Wood made between ''Film/GlenOrGlenda'' and ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster'' and was also the film debut of the late Steve Reeves, the ruggedly handsome champion bodybuilder who went on to become a B-movie cult icon thanks to his portrayal of the mythical demigod hero Hercules in ''Film/Hercules1958'' and ''Hercules Unchained'' (which helped kick off the sword and sandal boom in Italy in the late 50s and early 60s). Wood's first wife, Norma [=McCarty=] (who he was actually married to during filming of ''Plan 9 from Outer Space'') did appear in earlier drafts of the script, but her subplot was cut from the final version.
20** Only two policemen appear in ''Plan 9'' (Paul Marco and Conrad Brooks), and leaves out, among others, Lieutenant "RecklessGunUsage" Harper (played by Duke Moore.)
21* TheAllegedCar: Wood's car, complete with dieseling effects at shutdown.
22* ArcWords: "Gives/gave me the willies"- Vampira says it to describe Bela when presenting ''White Zombie,'' and later a nurse tells Bela this (not realizing who he is) when [[spoiler: he commits himself for drug addiction.]]
23* ArtisticLicenseFilmProduction: Subverted, as he does do all those "simple mistakes". Except that he is shown shooting scenes out of order. He must have been awake that day in film school.
24* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Creator/TimBurton made it clear in interviews that the film is not meant to be a historically accurate biopic of Creator/EdWood, but rather a film that [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade Ed Wood would make about himself]].
25** Despite how Martin Landau portrays him, Bela Lugosi was [=NOT=] prone to fits of swearing, especially in front of women. And this is something Bela Lugosi's family took umbrage with.
26** The same could probably be said regarding his opinion of Boris Karloff. It's said that Lugosi occasionally became jealous of Karloff's greater success, but the two were at worst friendly rivals who enjoyed working together.
27** In the movie, Lugosi's funeral is only attended by Wood and his cohorts. In reality, it was attended by the likes of Karloff, Creator/VincentPrice and Creator/PeterLorre (apparently, Creator/TimBurton either didn't know, or forgot, that Price and Lorre are known for an UrbanLegend where they discuss staking Lugosi's corpse just in case). Also, the movie leaves out the fact that Creator/FrankSinatra quietly paid for his funeral and skips the burning of Lugosi's body (something he had specified in his will), instead showing his coffin going into the ground during his burial (in real life, he would've gone into the ground in an urn). At least Burton got the detail about him being dressed as Dracula right.
28** Sinatra ''also'' sent Lugosi money in hospital so he could finish his recovery treatment. In the movie, Lugosi is forced to leave the hospital early because his insurance doesn't cover the treatment.
29** Paul Marco and Bunny Breckenridge are both present from the opening of the film, with Wood meeting Criswell around the halfway point. In reality, it was Criswell who introduced Paul to Ed, and in turn introduced Wood to Bunny - his roommate at the time.
30* AssociatedComposer: Averted. This is one of only three Creator/TimBurton films that Creator/DannyElfman did not score, the others being ''Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' and ''Film/MissPeregrinesHomeForPeculiarChildren''. Music/HowardShore used music from Wood's films, especially ''Glen or Glenda'' (which provides Wood's {{Leitmotif}}). [[note]]Elfman was going through a minor CreatorBreakdown at the time, as he was attempting to juggle his exploding film scoring career while still fronting Music/OingoBoingo. He left the band shortly thereafter to score films full-time and immediately reunited with Burton for ''Film/MarsAttacks''. Sweeney Todd is self-explanatory as it came with its own score.[[/note]]
31* AudienceSurrogate: The Baptists that finance ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace'' are the most as they are baffled by Ed's directing ineptitude, bad casting, and [[LampshadeHanging point out blatant leaps in logic that everyone will notice.]]
32* BadBadActing: This being a film about the life and work of Ed Wood, you can expect plenty of this.
33** The supreme irony, of course, being the critical acclaim heaped on the cast, most notably Martin Landau who would win the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for playing Bela Lugosi - an honor the real Lugosi, never mind anyone else associated with Ed Wood's films in the 1950s - never attained.
34* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Bela and Ed Wood's friendship started with Bela being flattered by Ed's enthusiasm and admiration for him as an actor. What cemented it was despite how bad Ed's films are, he was willing to do it to at least help Bela get work.
35* BeYourself: The point of the film is basically "love what you do, do what you love". Yeah, Ed may be bad at making films, but it's a passion he undeniably loves doing and, even with all the setbacks, he still plows on.
36* BerserkButton:
37** Don't call Bela "[[Creator/BorisKarloff Karloff's]] {{Sidekick}}". In fact, don't mention Boris Karloff at all.
38** Ed does not like ExecutiveMeddling. [[invoked]]
39* BookEnds: The film begins and ends with Criswell.
40* BrutalHonesty: Ed of all people has a few moments in the movies. Always to reveal the shortcuts or desperation in his moviemaking process.
41-->'''Ed:''' Bela. I have 90 scenes to shoot tonight.
42-->'''Ed:''' Dolores, I have two days to complete this picture. Don't get goofy on me.
43-->'''Ed:''' Look, Lugosi's dead and Vampira won't talk. I had to give somebody the dialogue!
44* BuxomBeautyStandard: Bela on Vampira:
45-->'''Bela:''' I think she's a honey. Look at those jugs.
46%%* CampGay: Bunny.
47* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Ed Wood, through and through.
48* ColorBlindConfusion: The film has Ed being forced by Loretta to choose between a red and a green dress, but when he can't decide asks the director of photography to choose one or the other, only for him to reply that he can't tell them apart. Doubles as both a BreakingTheFourthWall joke as the movie is DeliberatelyMonochrome and a reference to Wood's real-life director of photography Bill Thompson, who was actually color blind.
49* ComedicWorkSeriousScene: This is less of a straight biopic and more of a comedy about making a B-movie. After learning his friend Bela Lugosi has died, Ed mourns him by watching and rewatching the last few minutes Ed filmed of him outside his house for ''Film/PlanNineFromOuterSpace''. It's a very poignant moment, especially when Ed asks the projectionist to run the film again.
50* [[CrazyCatLady Crazy Dog Guy]]: Bela's "children of the night" are his many pet dogs. (...though in real life, Bela owned large, frightening, wolfhounds---RuleOfFunny?)
51* DeathByAdaptation: Or separation rather; Bela's wife Lillian was quite alive when Ed offered Bela work. In real life, Bela turned down Ed's $500 offer, but Lillian influenced him to accept the role in ''Film/GlenOrGlenda'' for $1000.
52* DeliberatelyMonochrome: As a tribute to Ed Wood's movies. This creative decision met [[ExecutiveMeddling a lot of resistance from the studio suits]].
53* {{Determinator}}: Wood is, if nothing else, a man of unparalleled drive and ambition, not letting anything up to and including complete lack of budget, dead actors, reluctant sponsors, or [[GiftedlyBad sheer lack of talent]] get in his way of portraying his artistic vision completely faithfully.
54* DoggedNiceGuy: Ed towards movies.
55* DungeonmastersGirlfriend: Creator/OrsonWelles and Creator/EdWood commiserate over this, among other trials of the independent filmmaker, in a (sadly, probably apocryphal) classic scene.
56* DrugsAreBad: Lugosi's drug addiction.
57* ExactWords: When Ed tells Loretta King about his new movie project, she remarks that $ 60 000 to produce it "seems very reasonable". Because she then asks him if she can play the female lead, Ed thinks they have an unspoken agreement that she can, and will, pay for the entire production. He is wrong.
58* ExecutiveMeddling: In-universe: Ed Wood has to give in to the demands (sometimes reasonable, sometimes stupid) of whoever gives him the money for his pictures. [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] during his meeting with [[spoiler:Creator/OrsonWelles]], who suffers from the same problem.
59* FatIdiot: Although the real-life Tor Johnson may not have been similar to the lumbering mooks he played in Wood's movies, this film portrays him as particularly dimwitted. (In fact, Johnson was already an accomplished bit actor before Wood met him, and had lost his Swedish accent long ago).
60* {{Foreshadowing}}: Early in the movie, notice Ed Wood has movie posters of ''Film/Dracula1931'' and ''Film/CitizenKane'' in his apartment. [[spoiler: Ed ends up meeting both Bela Lugosi and Orson Welles]].
61* FryingPanOfDoom: After Ed has given the leading actress role to Loretta King for his next movie ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster'', Dolores throws dishes and glasses at him. She even throws a frying pan on Ed's head [[DisproportionateRetribution for giving her as the role for the file clerk.]]
62* GentleGiant: Tor Johnson is pretty imposing but comes off as a sweet guy, especially when he asks Bunny what happened to his operation.
63* GiftedlyBad: TheMovie of the trope.
64* GoingColdTurkey: Morphine withdrawal is not pretty.
65* GracefulLoser: No degree of failure can undermine Wood's artistic ambition.
66* HappilyEverBefore: It ends at the premiere of Wood's "masterpiece" ''Plan 9'', thus not cutting into his decay into exploitation, porn, and alcoholism.
67* HighHopesZeroTalent: The writers described Ed Wood as "a man with all the drive and ambition of Creator/OrsonWelles, but none of the talent".
68* HistoricalInJoke [=/=] GeniusBonus: Welles complaining about having to cast Creator/CharltonHeston as a Mexican is a reference to ''Film/TouchOfEvil'', though its kind of anachronistic since Welles never had issues with the casting (none of the Mexican characters are played by Mexicans) and he was not a film-maker who went for MethodActing detail anyway. In addition, it was Welles who made the choice to change the character's nationality when Heston had already been cast.
69* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Dolores Fuller comes off the worst in the movie. In real life, she lived with Ed out of wedlock (scandalous even in Hollywood back in the '50s) and adored Bela Lugosi (she was of Hungarian descent herself), cooking him goulash the way he liked it. She only left Ed because his alcoholism and transvestism were obviously not going to get better and wound up with a more successful entertainment career than the rest of his posse. His last words to Wood? "Ed-die, take good care of Do-lor-es." (They had broken up by that time.)
70* HypocriticalHumor:
71** Before Bela arrives to shoot ''Glen or Glenda'', Wood tells the rest of the team to try not to be star-struck and just treat him like a normal guy. Once Bela actually enters, Ed gleefully shouts his name and races over.
72** During his conversation with [[spoiler:Orson Welles]], Ed rants that "And they always want to cast their buddies--it doesn't even matter if they're right for the part!" That, despite the fact that he's been casting out of his own social circle for his entire career.
73** Bela has a low opinion of Boris Karloff's talent because of his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster. Bela had himself played the monster [[Film/FrankensteinMeetsTheWolfMan at least once]].
74* InTheStyleOf: Music/HowardShore's score recreates many of the musical cues from Ed Wood's films, such as the sweeping music from ''Glen or Glenda''.
75* ItWillNeverCatchOn: The Baptist producers suggest that since graverobbing is immoral, he should change the name of the film to ''Plan 9 From Outer Space''. Wood's response? "That's ridiculous."[[note]]Obviously, he changes his mind on the subject.[[/note]]
76* ItsAllMyFault: Bela confesses that he turned down Frankenstein because the role wasn't "sexy" enough; Ed callously ignores him and just tells him to start acting.
77* JerkassHasAPoint: Vampira is portrayed as something of a snob, but one can't help but see her point about not wanting to feature in an Ed Wood film.
78* {{Keet}}: Ed Wood. On the DVDCommentary, the writers theorize that Ed not only didn't know his movies were bad but didn't even care. He just had so much fun making them.
79* LargeHam: Creator/BelaLugosi is just as hammy when played by Martin Landau as he was in Ed Wood's real films, especially the "''POOOOL DE STREEENK!!! POOOOL DE STREEEENK!!!''" monologue in ''Glen or Glenda''.
80* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: On the scene when Loretta wants Ed to choose a dress, he can't decide, so she says to choose which one, the red or the green. Ed asks the director of photography to choose the red or the green dress, but he says he [[DeliberatelyMonochrome can't see the colors.]] And not because the movie is in black and white, but because he's [[ColorBlindConfusion colorblind]].[[note]] Bill Thompson, Ed Wood's real director of photography, actually was colorblind, and only shot films in black and white.[[/note]] The look on Wood's face is priceless.
81* LighterAndSofter: Closer with Tim Burton's earlier comedy films than his more recent ''Batman'' films. At least part of this is because of the backlash he received from how borderline nihilistic ''Film/BatmanReturns'' was.
82* MagneticHero: Despite his films being bad, Ed attracted a close-knit crew willing to stand by him - bordering on ManipulativeBastard.
83-->'''Bunny:''' How do you do it, Ed? How do you convince all your friends to get baptized just so you can make a monster movie?\
84'''Ed:''' [[InsistentTerminology It's not a monster movie! It's a supernatural thriller!]]
85* MirrorCharacter: When Ed meets [[spoiler: Orson Welles]], it turns out that the two share similar problems with ExecutiveMeddling, unreliable funding, {{Nepotism}}-driven casting decisions and people who think they know best.
86* MistakenForGay: A RunningGag. Each time Ed Wood's transvestism is brought up, he has to explain that he is not "a fruit" and "loves ladies".
87--> '''Vampira''': I thought you were a fag.
88--> '''Ed''': No, I'm just a transvestite.
89** [[TruthInTelevision Truth in Film]]: transvestism is not homosexuality, the point Wood tried to get across in ''Glen or Glenda''.
90* MoneyDearBoy: InUniverse, Bela Lugosi's motivation for starring in Ed Wood's flicks goes from earning a quick buck to [[AwesomeDearBoy rediscovering the sheer joy of acting]].
91* MsFanservice: Lisa Marie as Vampira. Somewhat invoked in-movie by Bela's reaction to seeing her on TV.
92-->'''Bela:''' I think she's a honey. Look at those ''jugs''!
93* MST3KMantra: Wood attempts to invoke this in regard to the artistic flaws of his films. It falls flat since there's something of a difference between telling audiences not to worry about minor plot holes or technical problems, and telling them to overlook obviously fake sets/props and unexplained day/night transitions.[[invoked]]
94* {{Nepotism}}: The meatpacker whom Ed gets to produce ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster'' puts his son in the lead role.
95* NiceGuy: Ed is extremely generous and goodhearted, desperately trying to help his idol get back into the limelight.
96* NoodleIncident: Bunny describing his disastrous trip to Mexico and the mariachi band he brought back with him: "If it hadn't been for these men... I don't know... how I would've... survived."
97* [[invoked]]NoBudget: Par for the course for Ed's movies.
98* OffTheShelfFX: Among other things, the infamous flying saucers from ''Plan 9''.
99* OnlySaneWoman: Dolores, in a relative sense. Most so at the wrap party for ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster'' when she finally calls everyone out, storms off, and tells Ed she's leaving him.
100* PhonyPsychic: Criswell.
101* ThePollyanna: Ed Wood, again.
102* PrecisionFStrike: See "BerserkButton" above.
103* [[invoked]]ProductionPosse: Each new Ed Wood film is made with more or less the same cast and an unchanging crew.
104* ProfessionalWrestling: Ed and friends attend a match, leading to Ed recruiting Tor Johnson for ''Bride of the Monster.''
105* RagsToRiches: Subverted; Ed and crew are in poverty and Ed always expects riches to come out of his movies, but anyone who has watched his [[SoBadItsGood terrible (albeit amusing) movies]] knows that riches would never come. [[ThePollyanna That doesn't stop Ed from being perpetually hopeful and upbeat throughout the movie]].
106* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Wood's ersatz family of actors and crew become this as they go to sometimes ridiculous lengths to get their movies made, whether it's undertaking a group baptism or even going on a stealth mission at night to steal a prop octopus.
107* RealPersonCameo:
108** Conrad Brooks, an actor in Ed's company played in the movie by Brent Hinkley, himself appears as a bartender when Wood [[spoiler:meets Orson Welles]].
109** Gregory Walcott, the lead of ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace'', shows up as a potential backer of ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster'' in the second go-round of fundraising.
110* RunningGag: Ed assuring people that Bela Lugosi is still alive after people initially assumes he was dead. [[spoiler: Though it ultimately turns serious when it happens again after Lugosi actually dies]].
111** Lugosi's apparent jealousy of Boris Karloff.
112** As the movie progresses, Ed's car sounds more and more like it will break down at any moment.
113* SameLanguageDub: Creator/MauriceLaMarche, who is well-known for his Creator/OrsonWelles impression (including ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain''), dubbed over [[Creator/VincentDOnofrio Vincent D'Onofrio]]'s dialogue, purportedly because Burton was dissatisfied with D'Onofrio (who certainly ''looked'' the part, but apparently didn't ''sound'' it). As a result, this is probably [=LaMarche's=] straightest-ever performance of Welles. D'Onofrio, meanwhile, shared Burton's dissatisfaction with his performance and would later release [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-4PPr3r_r0 a short film]] (in which he ''does'' voice Welles) in order to improve on it.
114* SoBadItsGood: In-universe, reactions to Ed Wood's work boil down to this, or to viewing it as irredeemable garbage.
115* StylisticSuck: Again, this was pretty much inevitable.
116* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Bela, when informed he'll have to wrestle with a rubber octopus that won't even move on its own.
117--> ''(sigh)'' You know I turned down ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}''? ...After I did ''Film/{{Dracula|1931}}'', the studio offered me ''Frankenstein'', but I turned it down. ''That'' wasn't "sexy" enough. [[{{Irony}} Too]] ''[[{{Irony}} degrading]]'' [[{{Irony}} for a big star like me....]]"
118* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: In-universe: Ed Wood is unshakably convinced that his creations are fine cinema.
119* TrueCompanions: By the end of the film you wonder whether Ed Wood's cast and crew stick with him because they genuinely believe in his vision, or because for them it's almost as if they are some deranged form of extended family.
120* TruthInTelevision: The colorblind stagehand being asked his opinion on the two dresses is intended to be a MediumAwareness gag about the film's black-and-white photography, but in the early days of black-and-white studio films, colorblind people were hired to determine how colored objects appeared in greyscale.
121* UnbuiltTrope: Bela Lugosi ''was'' the first celebrity to publicly announce that he admitted himself to rehabilitation for substance abuse. By 1994, however, tabloid stories of drugged-up celebrities getting clean were so common that the truncated "rehab" entered the public vernacular, while "rehabilitation" more often referred to people recovering from severe injuries. Because there were concerns about whether modern audiences would know the difference between the two, the film compromises by having Bela start to say "The first celebrity to be admitted to rehab-," before cutting himself off with a coughing fit.
122* UncomfortableElevatorMoment: Ed listening to Bela fixing himself a heroin snack in his kitchen.
123* TheUnintelligible: George "The Animal" Steele had to work with a voice coach to imitate Tor Johnson's voice (although the strange, booming voice he ended up using is somewhat removed from the genuine article). Tor's combination of Swedish accent and jowelly enunciation means he practically mangles every line that Creator/EdWood writes. Not that comprehension is a particularly great loss.
124* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Various facts are manipulated throughout, with Wood's alcoholism and porno-making only brought up in the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue. But fans of Wood still like this film on the grounds that, well, it comes across as the biopic he would have filmed about himself.
125** The film also implies that Bela didn't have the resources to get over his drug addiction and dies penniless and alone. In reality, Music/FrankSinatra helped finance his drug treatment and Bela married a woman who gave him emotional support during his stint at the hospital.
126** Lugosi was very successful under Wood in another arena that wasn't shown in the film: Wood produced a popular Vegas stage show called ''[[https://beladraculalugosi.wordpress.com/1954-the-bela-lugosi-revue/ The Bela Lugosi Revue]]''. It had a scheduled limited run of 8 weeks; Lugosi [[{{Determinator}} doggedly]] worked three shows a day. Unfortunately, the Revue's true intention -- to get Bela more film roles -- didn't work out.
127** Depp's performance as Ed Wood -- in terms of voice, mannerisms, and overall personality -- has very little in common with the real Ed Wood. Burton told Depp to base his performance on Andy Hardy or Ronald Reagan, rather than studying actual footage of the man himself. Compare the parts of the film meant to represent ''Film/GlenOrGlenda'' with the actual film and it's pretty much night and day.
128* ViewersAreMorons: Subverted; while Wood shows a blatant disregard for things like visual continuity and set quality, and justifies this by saying that no-one really pays attention to the smaller details, he does so because he's projecting his own way of watching films onto the audiences, rather than considering them to be... well, morons.
129* VillainyFreeVillain: In the DVDCommentary, even Burton himself points out that though the Baptist producers are antagonists in the film their point of view is entirely sympathetic and justifiable: They're justly concerned that Wood is spending their money making...well, ''Plan 9''.
130* WhamShot: When Bela Lugosi [[spoiler: actually dies]].
131* WhenPropsAttack: The notorious rubber octopus incident from the filming of ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster'' is dramatised within the film.
132* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue
133* WhiteDwarfStarlet: Well, White Dwarf Star: Bela Lugosi.
134* WideEyedIdealist: Ed is this all over.
135* WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief: Sorry, Ed, this ''doesn't'' excuse things like your low production values being painfully obvious onscreen or {{Plot Hole}}s such as it being daytime one minute and the middle of the night the next.
136* WholesomeCrossdresser: Creator/JohnnyDepp as Ed Wood in an angora sweater. Not many people are going to have a problem with that.
137* YourCostumeNeedsWork: A weird version, as a rehab nurse is startled by Bela, saying he looks like that Dracula guy.

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