Premium Artist Margaret Keane Reveals How She Feels About the Film 'Big Eyes' Starring Amy Adams "I was in shock," Keane tells PEOPLE about seeing Tim Burton's film for the first time By Melody Chiu Melody Chiu Instagram Twitter Melody Chiu is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE. She has been with the brand since 2009, editing, writing and reporting across all entertainment verticals. She oversees PEOPLE's music and events coverage and has written cover stories on Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Melissa McCarthy, Blake Shelton and Sandra Oh. The Los Angeles native graduated from the University of Southern California and has appeared on Extra!, The Talk, Access Hollywood and Good Morning America. People Editorial Guidelines Published on December 27, 2014 02:50 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Bill Ray/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Imprisoned in a room with the curtains drawn for up to 16 hours at a time, forced to paint one big-eyed waif after another for several years in the early ’60s, Margaret Keane never dreamed she’d one day watch her life play out on the big screen. “I was in shock,” the soft-spoken artist, 87, says about first watching Tim Burton’s film Big Eyes. “It was like I was seeing him again.” “Him” is Walter Keane (played by Christoph Waltz), Margaret’s megalomaniac husband who rose to fame after taking credit for his wife’s portraits of saucer-eyed children. Now, 44 years after Margaret revealed to the world that she was the one behind the paintings that became a kitsch sensation, Burton – a longtime Keane collector – is shining a spotlight on the strange tale, with star Amy Adams earning Oscar buzz.