Unhappy with Vincent D'Onofrio's verbal impersonation of Orson Welles, Tim Burton had his voice dubbed by Maurice LaMarche.
One day, Kathy Wood, Edward D. Wood Jr.'s wife, visited the set and asked to meet Johnny Depp. That day, they were filming a scene where Wood would look really messed up, which made Burton nervous for what Kathy would think of the movie. When Depp exited his trailer, she said "That's my Eddie."
Tim Burton said that he was drawn to the story because of the similarities between Edward D. Wood Jr.'s relationship with Bela Lugosi and his own friendship with Vincent Price late in the actor's life.
At the time, Johnny Depp was depressed about films and filmmaking. By accepting this part, it gave him a "chance to stretch out and have some fun", and working with Martin Landau "rejuvenated my love for acting".
Gregory Walcott: the potential backer who introduces Wood to Vampira. Walcott played Jeff Trent, one of the lead roles in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957). In real life, Wolcott was the one put forward by the Baptist investors to play the lead in Plan 9, which resulted in Wood's depicted meltdown in the film. He was a member of the congregation and was a busy actor in television and occasional screen roles.
Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski: the film's screenwriters are the white-tuxedo-clad members of Vampira's entourage at the Brown Derby.
Tim Burton: [Frankenstein] Bela dismisses Boris Karloff's role of the Frankenstein (1931) monster as "all makeup and grunting." In real life, Bela Lugosi was offered the role. He judiciously turned down the role because it didn't have any speaking lines and was written as a one-dimensional killing machine without depth. When Karloff was offered the role, it had gone through monumental changes, including a different part (completely rewritten by then) and a new director, James Whale.
Tim Burton: [Dracula] At their first meeting, Ed tells Bela that he saw him perform 'Dracula' in Poughkeepsie in 1938: Edward D. Wood Jr. was born in October 1924, so would have been 13 or 14 years old at that time.
Tim Burton: [Le Magicien d'Oz (1939)] According to Johnny Depp, Ed Wood's mannerisms are based on Jack Haley's Tin Man.
Tim Burton: [classical music] Soundtrack includes movements from "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" by Johann Sebastian Bach, "Swan Lake" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Ralph Vaughan Williams's version of "All Creatures of Our God and King".