Tim Burton

<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Timothy William Burton (b. August 25, 1958) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director known for his strange, creative films filled with unusual imagery. Burton was born in Burbank, California, to Bill and Jean Burton. He has one sibling, a younger brother named Daniel.

Burton was a shy and imaginative child and spent his youth escaping reality through horror films. Film greats Edward D. Wood Jr. and Vincent Price were main influences. He enjoyed such films as Godzilla, and Hammer horror films.

1 Career
2 Connections
3 Quotes
4 External Links

Career

Following his high school graduation, Burton won a scholarship to attend the Walt Disney founded California Institute of the Arts to study animation. Burton did not, however, enjoy animation and after working on The Fox and the Hound, the studio decided to make better use of his talents and made him a conceptual artist. He did early work on 1985's The Black Cauldron which did not meet Disney's ideals and the work was scrapped. He also wrote and directed the comedy Frankenweenie about a boy who reanimates his dog after it is hit and killed by a car. The film was shelved due to Disney's concern about the film being too scary for children but was released overseas and later on video. Early short works included the short horror pic The Island of Doctor Agor, Doctor of Doom, Stalk of the Celery,Hansel and Gretel and the animated short Vincent in which a young boy fantasizes that he is Vincent Price, Burton's idol.

Burton achieved his first significant success with the film Pee Wee's Big Adventure. actor Paul Rubens had been introduced to Burton's Frankenweenie by Warner Brothers executive Bonni Lee and immediately wanted Burton to direct the film. The movie was a big success but Burton took a break from film and directed episodes of Faerie Tale Theater and Alfred Hitchcock Presents before returning to to film three years later with Beetle Juice. Beetlejuice, a comedic horror film starred Winona Ryder, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Keaton in the title role. The film was a big success and Warner Brothers offered him the film adaptation of Batman. Batman. The making of the film was eventful with many questioning Burton's choice of comedic actor Michael Keaton as the lead. Despite the controversy, the film was a blockbuster hit earning over $250 million at the domestic box office and over $400 million world wide.

Burton followed up his Batman success with he quirky offbeat comedy, Edward Scissorhands starring Johnny Depp in the title role. Burton wrote directed and produced the film and despite or perhaps because of its unusual story and imagery, the film was a success with fans and critics alike.

In 1992, Burton took on Batman Returns. The film failed to live up to its predecessor and many fans and critics found it too dark for younger fans. The film broke the $100 million mark, earning approximately $160 million in domestic theaters but underperforming as compared to Batman. Though both Burton and Keaton were originally slated to take on a third film, disagreements over the style being too similar to Batman Returns led to Burton's removal as director. He was replaced by Joel Schumacher.

Following the debacle of Batman Forever, Burton made small cameo roles in the film Singles and in Hoffa as a corpse. He then turned his attention to his dream project, The Nightmare Before Christmas which he wrote and produced. The project was directed by Henry Selickand cowritten with Michael McDowell and Caroline Thompson. He later worked with Selick on James and the Giant Peach.

In 1994, Burton worked with actor Johnny Depp once again on the film Ed Wood a tribute to the worst filmmaker of all time. The film was not a success at the box office but won two Academy Awards for Best Actor for Martin Landau and Best Makeup. Landau also earned a Saturn Award and a Golden Globe.

Burton followed up with Mars Attacks, a comedic scifi film in which Martians attack Earth for no apparent reason. The film was a critical and financial disappointment but went on to achieve cult status. His next film, the horror fantasy Sleepy Hollow starring Depp and Christina Ricci did much better. Burton also worked on a new Superman film, intended to star Nicholas Cage but the film was scrapped due to a ever increasing budget and Burton's dissatisfaction with the script.

Burton turned his attention to another classic, a remake of the film Planet of the Apes. The film was rushed into production and despite being a financial success was panned by critics and fans as being much weaker than the original film. The film proved vastly different from Burton's usual style and there was question of whether his conflict with the studio led to diminished quality of the film.

Burton then directed Big Fish starring Ewan McGregor and the 2005 reimagining of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Johnny Depp starred as Willy Wonka and the visually stunning film was a great success. He followed up with an animated feature reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride. The film once again starred Johnny Depp as Victor Van Dort, a shy young man who unintentionally finds himself married to a corpse.

Burton's upcoming films include Pee-wee's Playhouse: The Movie and the musical thriller Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street starring Johnny Depp.

Connections

Former fiancee (and frequent Burton actor) is Lisa Marie

Quotes

“Movies are like an expensive form of therapy for me.”

“We all know interspecies romance is weird.”

“One person's crazyness is another person's reality.”

“Each time I've worked with Johnny, he's something different. He's interested in being a character and not necessarily interested in his persona, and I find it very exciting to work with actors like that. He's really willing to take risks that don't have to do with image or money. And each time is just different and better. It's great to find people like that you can communicate with on an almost subconscious level.”

“There's just something visceral about moving a puppet frame by frame. There's a magical quality about it. Maybe you can get smoother animation with computers, but there's a dimension and emotional quality to this kind of animation that fits these characters and this story.”