Dec 24, 2014 By Austin Trunick

In the late 1950s through the early ‘60s, San Francisco’s Walter and Margaret Keane built a multi-million dollar art empire on top of a silly little lie. Their stylized paintings of young children with oversized eyes were printed off in unlimited editions, slapped into cheap frames, and sold for discount prices at gas stations and supermarkets. They were marketed as Walter’s work, but the paintings – every single one – were made by his wife, Margaret. Screenwriters Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander are masters at penning true-life tales of oddball characters: their previous credits include Man on the Moon, The People Vs. Larry Flynt, and Ed Wood. They started work on Big Eyes a decade ago, originally intending to direct the feature themselves. After a number of stops and false starts, they eventually turned to filmmaker Tim Burton. More