Tim Burton

Timothy William Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American film director, writer and designer known for his off-beat and quirky style. Especially in his stop-motion animated films, he is known for the exaggerated style of his characters, which still retain their serious, humanlike characteristics. He first came to note directing the Warner Brothers film Beetlejuice, which was followed by the monstrous blockbuster success of Batman in 1989. Following which he continued to make blockbusters as well as smaller dramas that continue to study loneliness in a style influenced by Gothic fairy tales.

Early life

Born in Burbank, California, the first of two sons to Bill and Jean Burton. Burton described his childhood self as quirky, self-absorbed and highly imaginative. He found home life and school difficult and he escaped the reality of everyday life by watching horror and low budget films, to which he would later pay tribute in his biography of Edward D. Wood, Jr. Another film figure of importance in Burton's childhood is Vincent Price, whose filmography would deeply influence the upcoming director's career.

Following high school, he won a Disney scholarship to attend the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. He studied animation for three years and was then hired by the Walt Disney Studios as an animator apprentice. The first film he worked on was Ralph Bakshi's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, for which he is uncredited. Later, Burton's job was to draw for "The Fox and the Hound", which wasn't exactly the direction he had wanted to go at the time. He later commented on the refusal of Disney to use his design for "Fox and the Hound" on the fact that contrary to the general cute look of the movie characters, his designs made them "look like roadkill". Burton was not happy during his Disney period, yet it was during this period that he wrote and drew the poem and illustrations that would be the basis for his celebrated Nightmare Before Christmas.

Early career

In 1982, Burton made his first short film, Vincent, a six-minute film about a young boy who flashes from reality into a fantasy where he is Vincent Price, with Price himself providing narration. This was followed by the live-action short Frankenweenie, starring a young Barret Oliver (as well as Sofia Coppola in a minor part). The film, shot in black and white, was a reenactment of the story of Frankenstein where the mad scientist was replaced by a young Victor (Oliver) reanimated his dead dog after he was killed in a road accident. The film was deemed unsuitable for children due to its "gruesome" concept and was quickly shelved.

Despite being unknown to the public, Burton's projects attracted the attention of the film industry, and after seeing Frankenweenie, TV-host/Actor Paul Reubens (better known as Pee-Wee Herman) hired Burton to direct the movie rendition of his TV show. The movie, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985), was made on a budget of $7 million and grossed more than $40 million at the box office. Burton was a lifelong fan of the band Oingo Boingo and asked member Danny Elfman to provide the music for the film. Since then Elfman has provided the score for all but one Burton film, Ed Wood, which was scored by Howard Shore.

According to Griffin Dunne, he had also approached Burton to direct After Hours (1985), which would have been Burton's first feature-length film. The script was previously presented to Martin Scorsese by Dunne and producer Amy Robinson, but Scorsese was preparing to shoot The Last Temptation of Christ and had to decline. Burton accepted, but when financing for The Last Temptation of Christ fell through, Scorsese contacted Dunne and Robinson, offering to direct After Hours. When Dunne informed Burton of Scorsese's renewed interest, he graciously bowed out of the project out of respect for Scorsese.

After "Pee-Wee", Burton participated in the TV series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", directing the episode "The Jar". He then went on to direct his second movie, Beetlejuice (1988) starring Michael Keaton in the title role. The dark-humour comedy was another hit for Burton, grossing $80 million and bagging an Academy Award for best makeup.

Burton's ability to produce hits with low budgets impressed studio executives and he received his first big budget film Batman (1989). The production of the film, the biggest of all time in 1989, went on with difficulties. Burton's choice of casting Michael Keaton as the caped crusader was not well received by fans. However, by the time film production wrapped, a batmania frenzy took over (thanks to the biggest marketing campaign in movie history at this date), and Batman became a huge success, grossing $250 million and ultimately bringing a darker feel to superhero movies in general.

The 1990s

In 1990, Burton co-wrote (with Caroline Thompson) and directed Edward Scissorhands, which started his collaboration with Johnny Depp. Depp, a teen idol at the end of the 80s due primarily to his work on the hit TV series 21 Jump Street, was cast in the title role of Edward, who was the creation of an eccentric and old fashioned inventor (played by Vincent Price, in his last appearance on screen before his death). Edward looked human, but because unfinished, was left with scissors in the place of hands. Set in suburbia, the film is largely seen as Burton's autobiography of his own childhood in Burbank's suburb. Price at one point said, "Tim is Edward." Johnny Depp has also made a similar comment in the foreword to Mark Salisbury's book, Burton on Burton, regarding his first meeting with Burton over the casting of the film.

By the end of Edward, Burton finally agreed to direct a sequel to Batman on the condition that he would be granted total control. The result was Batman Returns, which featured Keaton returning as the Dark Knight, Danny De Vito (as the Penguin), Michelle Pfeiffer (as Catwoman), and Christopher Walken. The movie's dark and gothic feel, as well as the S&M styling of Catwoman's costume left audiences confused and puzzled, which led to a lower box office hit. This was compounded by Burton's decision to focus the storyline more on the villains instead of Batman (though this was also somewhat true of the previous film). Batman Returns grossed $160 million, much less than expected, and Burton left the Batman franchise from this point on (though he returned as a producer for Batman Forever (1995), a movie which he said had a title "like a tattoo you get when you're on drugs").

He wrote the original story for and produced, but did not actually direct, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), originally meant to be a children's book in rhyme. The film was directed by Henry Selick and written by Michael McDowell and Caroline Thompson, based on Burton's original story. Burton collaborated with Selick again for James and the Giant Peach (1996), which Burton co-produced.

His next film, Ed Wood (1994), was of a much smaller scale, depicting the life of Ed Wood Jr., a filmmaker sometimes called "the worst director of all time". Again starring Depp in the title role, the film is a homage to Burton's childhood full of low budget movies. This is evident in the director's struggle for recognition through adversity. Ed Wood is the only Burton film so far to feature a score not by Danny Elfman. The music for Ed Wood was written by Howard Shore.

The creative duo reunited for Mars Attacks (1996). Based on a popular science fiction trading card series, the film was a spoof of blockbusters such as Independence Day and used B-movie imagery from 1950s sci-fi films. Panned by critics and audiences alike, the film still managed to gather a fan base from its TV runs and DVD exploitations. The film, along with Burton's next project Sleepy Hollow (1999) are viewed as a turning point in his career and style, leaving his dark themes and gothic imagery to move toward a more Hollywood-friendly style.

Sleepy Hollow was released in 1999, again starring Depp (as Constable Ichabod Crane), a host of Burton regulars in supporting roles (Michael Gough, Jeffrey Jones and Christopher Walken, among others) and Christina Ricci as Katrina Anne van Tassel. Mostly well received by critics, and with a special mention to Elfman's especially gothic score, the film won an Academy Award for best art direction as well as two BAFTAs for best costumes and production designs. A box office success, rebounding after the Mars Attacks demise, Sleepy Hollow was also a turning point for Burton. Along with change in his personal life (separation from Lisa Marie), Burton changed radically in style for his next project, leaving the haunted forests and colorful outcasts behind to go on to directing a remake of Planet of the Apes.

The 2000s

Planet of the Apes was a commercial success, grossing $68 million in its opening weekend. The film was a significant departure from Burton's usual style, and there was much subsequent debate about whether the film was really Burton's, or if he was just a "hired gun" who did what he was asked. ^*

Burton went on to direct Big Fish (2003), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and Corpse Bride (2005), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.

In addition to his film work, he has also written the book and Other Stories, a book about misfit children such as Oyster Boy, Match Girl, Stainboy (who used to have his own flash cartoon series on atomfilms.com), the Girl Who Turned into a Bed, and other such outcasts.

Personal life

In 1989, he married Lena Gieseke, a German artist. They divorced shortly after the filming of Batman Returns. He also dated Lisa Marie for a time. He is currently engaged to Helena Bonham Carter (since 2001) and lives in London. They have a son, Billy-Ray Burton, born in October 2003.

The future

On June 13, 2006, Burton announced that he would be postponing his work on Believe It or Not to concentrate on the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Burton's regular, Johnny Depp, has been signed on to play the murderous barber.

In February 2006, in an interview Tim debunked rumors of Beetlejuice 2, Edward Scissorhands 2, and The Nightmare Before Christmas 2. In that same interview, he also expressed interest in an Edgar Allan Poe film in the near future. ^*

In summer 2006 Tim will be doing the music video for The Killers' first single from their upcoming album.

In July 2006, Tim stated that he'll be working on an adaption of the video game The Movie after Sweeney Todd. ^*

Trademarks

A few of his trademarks:

Frequently works with actor Johnny Depp.
Frequently shows dead dogs, clowns, sheep, twisted trees, jack-o-lanterns and scarecrows in his films.
His films frequently have dinner table scenes.
His films often have gothic subtexts.
Personalizes the production logo in the beginning of his films.
Opening credits usually utilize a tracking shot. They also tend to go either on, through, or into something.
His long standing collaboration with Danny Elfman, who scored all his films since Pee-wee's Big Adventure, except Ed Wood, which featured the noted composer Howard Shore. See also List of noted film producer and composer collaborations.
His artwork, and lots of his films are notoriously influenced by the artist Edward Gorey, and his pen and ink drawings.
Often uses shadows for a scary, ominous effect.
His main characters tend to be outsiders, and are usually pale/standoffish.
His works contain quite a lot of black-and-white stripes, crooked spirals and curly edges.
His holiday films often open with a quiet nighttime snowfall, or right when the festivities begin.
He sometimes uses influences from German Expressionist cinema - with very exaggerated sets.
Many characters have very tiny feet and long legs.

Filmography

His directorial credits include:

Sweeney Todd (expected in 2008)
Corpse Bride (2005)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Big Fish (2003)
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Ed Wood (1994)
Batman Returns (1992)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Batman (1989)
Beetlejuice (1988)
"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" - The Jar (1986) (TV work)
"Faerie Tale Theatre" - Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1986) (TV work)
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
Frankenweenie (1984)
Vincent (1982)
Hansel and Gretel (1982) (TV work)

Production credits include:

Trivia

His film Beetlejuice prominently featured Harry Belafonte's hit Banana Boat Song which was co-written by Alan Arkin. Arkin plays Bill Boggs in Edward Scissorhands.
Worked on The Muppet Movie (1979) as an Additional Muppet performer. He also performed a cameo in Singles (1992) from director Cameron Crowe and Hoffa which reunited him with Batman actors Danny DeVito (who directed) and Jack Nicholson, as a corpse.
Uncredited, but involved in the production of The Black Cauldron and The Fox and the Hound (as a Disney animator), and Tron.
In 2006, Burton was nominated for an Academy Award for the film Corpse Bride.
The Boston-based magazine Phoenix gave Burton the title of "26th unsexiest male celebrity".^*
When he was a child growing up in Burbank, he staged an axe murder with his brother to scare the neighbors, prompting them to call the police. He repeated the prank again with similar results.
Often rumored to have performed with the Ska band, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Although there is a Tim Burton in the band, it is not the same Tim Burton.

External links

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