WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? A dream cast and crew assemble for Tim Burton's first straightforward horror film.

THE CAST

JOHNNY DEPP: Sleepy Hollow is the second in Johnny's 1999 triple threat, following the abysmal Astronaut's Wife and preceding the more promising Ninth Gate. Johnny earned his treasured rank as an 11th Hour Hot Guy in Sci-Fi and Horror by appearing in such genre fare as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Edward Scissorhands, and Ed Wood. He was also in Freddy's Dead, but we forgive him. Johnny stars here as Ichabod Crane.

CHRISTINA RICCI: Cool actress who got her start as Wednesday in The Addams Family and has since moved on to such critically lauded films as The Opposite of Sex, The Ice Storm and Buffalo '66. Christina plays Katrina Van Tassel.

UDO KIER: German actor with mucho genre credibility. Among his many credits include Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, Suspiria, Johnny Mnemonic and Blade. Udo plays Satan's henchman, Dr. Donald Abel.

CASPER VAN DIEN: Fast becoming the Kevin Bacon of the cheeseball set, Casper has appeared over 1999 alone in such films as Shark Attack, The Omega Code, Romantic Moritz, Meltdown, and Modern Vampyres. Something you may have actually seen him in is Starship Troopers, in which he played bug-busting bad-ass Johnny Rico. Here, Casper takes on the role of Brom Van Brunt.

MIRANDA RICHARDSON: Nominated for an Oscar twice (for Tom and Viv and Fatale, respectively), Miranda has also appeared in The Crying Game and was recently seen in the TV-movie Merlin. Miranda plays Lady Van Tassel.

CHRISTOPHER WALKEN: Veteran of over sixty films, in most of which he plays someone freaky. Notable genre fare includes The Dead Zone, The Prophecy and Batman Returns. Walken plays the Headless Horseman, prior to headless state.

CHRISTOPHER LEE: A horror legend known best for his ruthless, totally evil characters. His legacy with Hammer Films includes roles as Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and Fu Manchu. Lee plays the small part of the Burgomaster.

MICHAEL GOUGH: Best known as Batman's pal Alfred, Gough is a veteran of Hammer Films as well as those of Burton's, with over 100 films total to his name. Michael plays the small role of Hardenbrook.

THE CREW

TIM BURTON: One of the most imaginative and visionary directors alive. Best known for the first two installments of the Batman series, Burton also directed Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Ed Wood, among others.

ANDREW KEVIN WALKER: The screenwriter behind the serial-killer flicks Seven and 8mm adapted the Washington Irving tale "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" into screenplay form.

RAY PARK: The man who shall forever be Darth Maul does the stuntwork for the Headless Horseman in Sleepy Hollow. Other credits include Mortal Combat: Annihilation.

KEVIN YAGHER: Make-up artist/puppeteer/producer whose credits include such horror films as the Child's Play series, the Nightmare on Elm Street series, and Bordello of Blood. He co-produced Sleepy Hollow.

DANNY ELFMAN: Burton's constant composer scored all of his films as well as Darkman, Army of Darkness, Mission: Impossible, Men in Black, and A Simple Plan.

OTHER

Sleepy Hollow is a Mandalay Picture distributed by Paramount. It was executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola and Larry J. Franco.

THE PREMISE: A bloody adaptation of the classic Washington Irving Tale. After a series of brutal decapitations -- allegedly by a headless horseman -- occur in the small village of Sleepy Hollow, detective Ichabod Crane is called in to investigate.

GOSSIP and USELESS FACTS:

• The mother of the young Ichabod Crane is played by Lisa Marie, also known as Tim Burton's girlfriend.
• Burton directed the film in the spirit of the old Hammer films from the 1950s and 1960s, which was why he was interested in casting Lee and Gough in cameo roles.
• Burton also was angered by the refusal of the MPAA to give the film a PG-13 rating, as the violence -- although gory -- is clearly unrealistic and not inappropriate for teenagers. The director also had to deal with an absurd protest by the MPAA earlier in the year to what they deemed the overly-graphic nature of the Sleepy Hollow poster.