Editing Big Fish (section)

===Casting===
[[File:Ewan McGregor Cannes 2012.jpg|thumb|upright|Ewan McGregor in 2012]]
For the role of Edward Bloom, Burton spoke with [[Jack Nicholson]], Spielberg's initial choice for the role. Burton had previously worked with Nicholson on ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]'' (1989) and ''[[Mars Attacks!]]'' (1996). In order to depict Nicholson as the young Edward, Burton intended to use a combination of [[computer-generated imagery]] and [[prosthetic makeup]]. Jinks and Cohen, who were working with [[Ewan McGregor]] on ''[[Down with Love]]'' (2003) at the time, suggested that Burton cast both McGregor and [[Albert Finney]] for Edward.<ref name="Faber"/> After viewing Finney's performance in ''[[Tom Jones (1963 film)|Tom Jones]]'' (1963), Burton observed similarities between him and McGregor, and coincidentally found a [[People (magazine)|''People'' magazine]] article comparing the two.<ref name="Empire"/> The Scottish McGregor found it easier to perform Edward's [[Southern American English|Southern American]] accent than a standard American accent. He said of the Southern accent: "[Y]ou can really hear it. You can get your teeth into it. Standard American is much harder."<ref>{{cite news|last=Murray|first=Rebecca|url=http://movies.about.com/cs/bigfish/a/bgfhem120903.htm|title=Ewan McGregor and Alison Lohman Pair Up on Screen in "Big Fish"|work=[[About.com]]|date=2003-12-09|access-date=2009-07-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201030308/http://movies.about.com/cs/bigfish/a/bgfhem120903.htm|archive-date=February 1, 2009|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The same dual casting applied to the role of Edward's wife, Sandra, who would be played by [[Jessica Lange]] and [[Alison Lohman]].<ref name="Faber" /> Both Burton and Zanuck had been impressed with Lohman's performance in ''[[White Oleander (film)|White Oleander]]'' (2002), and felt she was the ideal candidate for the role.<ref>{{cite news|last=Maynard|first=Kevin|url=https://variety.com/2003/legit/news/fish-tale-brings-burton-to-fantasyland-1117881568/|title='Fish' tale brings Burton to fantasyland|work=Variety|date=2003-03-03|access-date=2009-06-20}}</ref> Burton's girlfriend, [[Helena Bonham Carter]], was cast in two roles: Jenny and the Witch. Her prosthetic makeup for the Witch took five hours to apply. She was pregnant during filming and experienced [[morning sickness]], which was exacerbated by the fumes from the make-up.<ref>{{cite news|last=Murray|first=Rebecca|url=http://movies.about.com/cs/bigfish/a/bgfhhb120903.htm|title="Big Fish" Makes a Big Impression on Its Cast|work=About.com|date=2003-12-09|access-date=2009-07-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222215442/http://movies.about.com/cs/bigfish/a/bgfhhb120903.htm|archive-date=February 22, 2009|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Burton personalized the film with several cameos. While filming in [[Alabama]], the crew tracked down [[Billy Redden]], one of the banjo players from ''[[Deliverance]]'' (1972). Redden was a co-owner of a restaurant in Clayton, Georgia, and he agreed to appear in the Spectre sequence. As Edward first enters the town, Redden can be seen on a porch plucking a few notes from "[[Dueling Banjos]]".<ref>{{cite video |title=Big Fish |date=2004 |medium=DVD commentary track |publisher=Columbia Pictures |time=30:47 |people=Burton, Tim}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Buncombe |first=Andrew |date=2003-11-16 |title=Deliverance: Billy's back with his banjo |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/deliverance-billys-back-with-his-banjo-735871.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424021236/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/deliverance-billys-back-with-his-banjo-735871.html |archive-date=April 24, 2008 |newspaper=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> [[Daniel Wallace (author)|Daniel Wallace]] makes a brief appearance as Sandra's economics teacher.<ref>{{cite video|people=Burton, Tim|date=2004|title=Big Fish|medium=DVD commentary track|publisher=Columbia Pictures}}</ref>