Thanks to his work on blockbuster films like "Alice in Wonderland," life continues to be, for the lack of a better word, a wonderland for legendary producer Richard Zanuck.

The son of iconic studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck, Richard Zanuck, of course, has established himself as a major Hollywood force over the years, having earned a Best Picture Oscar for "Driving Miss Daisy" and Best Picture nominations for "Jaws" and "The Verdict." Yet for all the work he's done over his five-decades-plus in the business, Zanuck said that he never gets used to the chills he gets when he sees a movie with an audience for the first time -- and "Alice in Wonderland" was no different.

"When the lights dim in a theater in front of an audience, that's the scary part -- I've been associated with a couple hundred movies in my career, but I've never lost that sense of fright," Zanuck said in a recent @ The Movies interview. "You may have seen the film dozens of times in various permeations, but you've never seen it in front of strangers who you want to be entertained, moved and a lot of other things. When it's comedy and the first laugh hits, or it's 'Jaws' and the shark jumps out of the water and people scream, then you can sit back and enjoy it a little bit."

Thankfully, Zanuck can go into the DVD and Blu-ray release (Walt Disney Home Entertainment) of "Alice in Wonderland" this week not only with the comfort of knowing audiences loved the film while in theaters, but the reward of knowing that it just became only the sixth film in history to crack the $1 billion box office mark worldwide.

Directed by Tim Burton, "Alice in Wonderland" picks up with the title heroine (Mia Wasikowska) as a 19-year-old girl being ushered into a hastily arranged engagement, and having no real recollections of her time in Underland as a child. But that all changes when Alice once again falls down the rabbit hole and reacquaints herself with the likes of The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the Cheshire Cat (voice of Stephen Fry), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas) and the White Rabbit (voice of Michael Sheen), who are living under the constant threat of the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and her right-hand man the Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover).

"Alice in Wonderland" marks Zanuck's fifth collaboration with Burton since the two filmmakers first joined forces for "Planet of the Apes" in 2001. Zanuck said that he remains continually fascinated with Burton's artistry and looks forward to working with him again and again to see previously untapped parts of the filmmaker's imagination played out.

"I've often wanted an experience something like the movie 'Being John Malkovich,' and think, 'God, I wish I could spend a half-minute in Tim's brain.' It's not an ordinary brain -- it's a very artistic brain," Zanuck enthused. "He is a real artist who sits down and paints, doodles and sketches. The volume of his work is amazing."

Gushing about the director's artwork, which recently was displayed at New York's Museum of Modern Art, Zanuck compared Burton's artistry to Salvador Dali.

"They see things a little bit differently that the normal," Zanuck added. "They see things a little bit off-center. And with Tim, he can transform that into a film story so we can understand the magic of 'Alice in Wonderland' and many other things that he's brought to us from his very unique brain."

Zanuck often refers to Burton's brain as a laboratory, and in the new book "The Art of Tim Burton," he explained that while film is often a close collaborative process between a producer and director, he gives Burton all the space he needs to create.

"My most important job with Tim is to give him time in his laboratory so that he doesn't have to put up with all the logistical work and other difficulties -- and in truth a lot of the nonsense that goes on -- in putting a project together," Zanuck said. "I've said to him, 'I'll handle this and that, and you go back to work in your laboratory. Every director has to have time to think how they're going to do things. There's a million different ways of putting any particular scene on film. Tim's a genius and he needs that time, and my job is to do things that would otherwise clutter up his brain."

Of course, the benefit of Zanuck's continual work with Burton is the likelihood that stars like Depp will be involved. And while he's inspired by Burton's unique, singular vision, Zanuck said seeing both the filmmaker and his frequent star work together is an amazing spectacle to behold.

"Johnny was an unhappy television actor when Tim fought for him to be in 'Edward Scissorhands,' and since then, they've become the best of friends and think very much alike," Zanuck said. "Tim loves challenges in terms of storytelling, and there isn't an actor alive who loves to be the recipient of those challenges more than Johnny. When you think of what he did as Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Willy Wonka or Sweeney Todd, most star actors would be afraid of taking those parts because they could lay tremendously huge eggs with them and it would be the end of their careers."

Despite the crowing achievement of "Alice in Wonderland" at the box office, don't look for the 75-year-old Zanuck to ride happily off into the sunset and call it a day just yet. In fact, it's quite likely you'll see him as the producer on future Burton projects.

"I do feel blessed and I don't feel like I'm finished yet. I look forward to getting up every day and getting off to the office," Zanuck said. "I love what I do."