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Tim Burton
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Tim Burton is an award-winning Film Director and Film Producer. Burton was born in Burbank, California, the first of two sons to Bill Burton and Jean Erickson. His year of birth is sometimes mistakenly given as 1960, most notably in his own books, and the picture book of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Burton described his childhood self as quirky, self-absorbed and highly imaginative. As a teen growing up in Burbank, he staged an axe murder with his brother to scare the neighbors, prompting one to call the police, and this is how he got a nickname, Axe Wound.
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Tim Burton is an award-winning Film Director and Film Producer. Burton was born in Burbank, California, the first of two sons to Bill Burton and Jean Erickson. His year of birth is sometimes mistakenly given as 1960, most notably in his own books, and the picture book of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Burton described his childhood self as quirky, self-absorbed and highly imaginative. As a teen growing up in Burbank, he staged an axe murder with his brother to scare the neighbors, prompting one to call the police, and this is how he got a nickname, Axe Wound. As he grew older, he found home life and school somewhat difficult, often escaping the reality by watching horror and low budget films, to which he would later pay tribute in his biography of Ed Wood. Tim grew up on Evergreen Street, very near the Valhalla Cemetery in Burbank. Tim has spoken in interviews about the "weirdness" of growing up near a cemetery. He attended Providencia Elementary School in Burbank, Luther Burbank Jr. High, and later Burbank High School, which his father Bill had also attended. His father Bill worked for many years in the Recreation Department for the City of Burbank. Another film figure of importance in Burton's childhood is Vincent Price, whose films would deeply influence the upcoming director's career. He was inspired early on by Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion films.
After high school, he won a Disney scholarship to attend the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. He studied at the Character Animation program for three years. Burton's first job in animation was working as a cell painter on Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings. Burton was then hired by the Walt Disney Studios as an animator apprentice. Burton's job was to draw for The Fox and the Hound but he was dissatisfied with the artistic direction of the movie. He later commented on the refusal of Disney to use his design for The Fox and the Hound because his designs made the characters, in opposition to Disney's desires, "look like roadkill." Burton was not happy during his Disney period, but it was then that he wrote and drew the poem and illustrations that would be the basis for his celebrated The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Early career (1980s)
In 1982, Burton made his first short, Vincent, a 5:52 min. black and white stop-motion film based around a poem written by Burton, and depicting a young boy who fantasizes that he is his (and Burton's) screen idol Vincent Price, with Price himself providing narration. The film was produced by Burton's girlfriend at the time, who was an executive at Disney. During production, Burton maintained an office at The Disney Studios. The two also co-authored a screenplay titled "True Love." Once the film was shown at the Chicago Film Festival and released, alongside the teen drama Tex, for two weeks in one Los Angeles cinema, Burton abruptly ended his relationship with his producer-partner-girlfriend. This was followed by Burton's first live-action production Hansel and Gretel, a Japanese themed adaptation of Grimm's tale for The Disney Channel, which climaxes in a kung-fu fight between Hansel and Gretel and the witch. Having aired once at 10:30pm on Halloween 1983 and promptly shelved, it is next to impossible to locate, which contributes to the false rumor that this project does not exist. Next was the live-action short Frankenweenie, starring Barret Oliver, Daniel Stern and Shelley Duvall (an early supporter of Burton's work).
Although Burton's work had yet to see wide release, he began to attract the attention of the film industry. Actor/producer Griffin Dunne approached Burton to direct After Hours (1985), a comedy about a bored word processor who survives a crazy night in SoHo that had already been passed over by Martin Scorsese. However, when financing for The Last Temptation of Christ fell through, Burton bowed out of the project out of respect for Scorsese.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Not long after, actor Paul Reubens saw Frankenweenie and chose Burton to direct the cinematic spinoff of his popular character Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee Herman gained mainstream popularity with a successful stage show at the Roxy which was later turned into an HBO special. The film, 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, a fan of the eccentric musical group Oingo Boingo, asked vocalist/songwriter Danny Elfman to provide the music for the film. Since then, Elfman has provided the score for all but two Burton films (Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd).
Beetle Juice
After directing episodes for the revitalized TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre, Burton received his next big project: Beetle Juice (1988), a supernatural comedy horror about a young couple forced to cope with life after death, as well as a family of pretentious yuppies invading their treasured New England home including their teenage daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) whose obsession with death allows her to see them. Starring Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, and featuring Michael Keaton as the famously obnoxious bio-exorcist 'Beetlegeuse', the film grossed about $80 million on a relatively low budget and won a Best Makeup Design Oscar. It would later be converted into a cartoon of the same name, with Burton playing a role as executive producer, that would run for four seasons on ABC and later Fox.
Batman
Burton's ability to produce hits with low budgets impressed studio executives and he received his first big budget film Batman (1989). The mega-budget production, based in London, was plagued with problems. Burton repeatedly clashed with the film's producers, Jon Peters and Peter Guber, but the most notable debacle involved casting. Burton wanted to cast Michael Keaton from his previous role as Beetle Juice, despite Keaton's average physique, inexperience with action films, and reputation as a comic actor. Although Burton won out in the end, the furor over the casting provoked enormous fan animosity, to the extent that Warner Brothers' share price slumped. Burton had considered it ridiculous to cast a bulked-up he-man as Batman, insisting that the Caped Crusader should be an ordinary (albeit fabulously wealthy) man who dressed up in an elaborate bat costume to frighten criminals. Burton cast Jack Nicholson as the Joker (Tim Curry being his second choice) in a move that helped assuage fans' fears, as well as attracting older audiences not as interested in a superhero film.
When the film opened in June 1989, it was backed by the biggest marketing and merchandising campaign in film history at the time, and became one of the biggest box office hits of all time, grossing well over $400 million worldwide and $250 million in the U.S. alone (numbers not adjusted for inflation) and winning critical acclaim for both Keaton and Nicholson as well as the film's technical aspects. The film proved to be a huge influence on future superhero films, which eschewed the bright, all-American heroism of Superman for a grimmer, more realistic look and characters with more psychological depth.
. The 1989 film Batman gave Burton critical acclaim, and allowed him to create his risky Nightmare before Christmas, a slightly less acclaimed movie than his 1989 blockbuster.
Burton claimed that The Killing Joke was a major influence on his film adaptation of Batman:
"I was never a giant comic book fan, but I've always loved the image of Batman and The Joker. The reason I've never been a comic book fan—and I think it started when I was a child—is because I could never tell which box I was supposed to read. I don't know if it was dyslexia or whatever, but that's why I loved The Killing Joke, because for the first time I could tell which one to read. It's my favorite. It's the first comic I've ever loved. And the success of those graphic novels made our ideas more acceptable."
1990s
Edward Scissorhands
In 1990, Burton co-wrote (with Caroline Thompson) and directed Edward Scissorhands, re-uniting with Winona Ryder from Beetle Juice. Her friend, Johnny Depp, a teen idol at the end of the 1980s 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 one of his his last appearances on screen before his death). Edward looked human, but was left with scissors in the place of hands due to the untimely death of his creator. Set in suburbia (the film was shot in Lutz, Florida), the film is largely seen as Burton's autobiography of his own childhood in the suburb of Burbank. Price at one point is said to have remarked, "Tim is Edward." Johnny Depp wrote 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. Edward is considered Burton's best movie by many fans and critics. Following this collaboration with Burton, Depp went on to star in Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
In 2004 Matthew Bourne came to Burton with the idea to turn the story of Edward into a ballet. In 2005, the ballet first aired. It has now toured the UK, the U.S., Canada and parts of Europe.
Batman Returns
The day Warner Brothers had declined to make the more personal Scissorhands even after the success of Batman, Burton finally agreed to direct the sequel for Warner Brothers on the condition that he would be granted total control. The result was Batman Returns which featured Michael Keaton returning as the Dark Knight, and a new triad of villains: Danny DeVito (as the Penguin), Michelle Pfeiffer (as Catwoman) and Christopher Walken as Max Shreck, an evil corporate tycoon. Darker and considerably more personal than its predecessor, concerns were raised that the film was too scary for children. Audiences were even more uncomfortable at the film's overt sexuality, personified by the sleek, fetish-inspired styling of Catwoman's costume. One critic remarked, "too many villains spoiled the Batman", highlighting Burton's decision to focus the storyline more on the villains instead of Batman. The film also polarized the fanbase, with some loving the darkness and quirkiness, while others felt it was not true to the core aspects of the source material. Tim Burton made many changes to the Penguin which would be applied to the Penguin in both comics and television. While in the comics, he was an ordinary man, Burton created a freak of nature resembling a penguin with webbed, flipper-like fingers, a hooked, beak-like nose, and a penguin-like body. Batman Returns was made for $80 million, equivalent to over $119.8 million in 2007, and grossed $282.8 million world-wide, equivalent to over $423.6 million in 2007.
Burton then went on to do preliminary work on the third installment in the franchise, Batman Forever. Val Kilmer was cast as the title character (after Michael Keaton turned down the offer to reprise his previous role after Burton's departure from the project. Keaton reportedly turned down 35 million dollars to stay on board once Joel Schumacher was hired, which would have made him one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood), Chris O'Donnell was cast as Robin, Jim Carrey was cast as the Riddler (after Robin Williams turned down the part), Tommy Lee Jones was cast as Two-Face, and Nicole Kidman was hired to replace Renee Russo, who was cast when Burton and Keaton were still involved, as love interest Dr. Chase Meridian. Warner Brothers ultimately threw out Burton after they realized the tone of the film was to be similar to Batman Returns. Burton left the Batman franchise (he was credited as a producer in name only for the Joel Schumacher–directed Batman Forever (1995), a movie which he said had a title "like a tattoo you get when you're on drugs").
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Next, Burton wrote and produced (but did not direct, due to schedule constraints on Batman Returns) 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, world and characters. The film received positive reviews for the film's stop motion animation, musical score and original storyline and was a box office success grossing $50 million. Burton collaborated with Selick again for James and the Giant Peach (1996), which Burton co-produced. The movie helped to generate a renewed interest in stop-motion animation. Today it is considered something of a cult classic.
A deleted scene from The Nightmare Before Christmas features a group of vampires playing hockey on the frozen pond with the decapitated head of producer Tim Burton. The head was later replaced with a Jack-o'-lantern.
Ed Wood
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." Starring Johnny Depp in the title role, the film is a homage to the low-budget sci-fi and horror films of Burton's childhood, and handles its comical protagonist and his motley band of collaborators with surprising fondness and sensitivity. Due to creative squabbles during the making of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Danny Elfman declined to score Ed Wood, and the assignment went to Howard Shore. While a commercial failure at the time of its release, Ed Wood was well received by critics and has since gathered a considerable fanbase, as well as helped revive the public interest for the films of Ed Wood Jr. Martin Landau also received an Academy Award, in the Best Supporting Actor category, for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi.
Mars Attacks!
Elfman and Burton reunited for Mars Attacks! (1996). Based on a popular science fiction trading card series, the film was a hybrid of 1950s sci-fi flicks and 1970s all-star disaster flicks—an anarchic cacophony of clever satire and goofy mayhem. Coincidence made it an inadvertent spoof of the blockbuster, Independence Day, made around the same time and released five months earlier. Although the film boasted an all-star cast, including Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J. Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalie Portman, Lukas Haas, Glenn Close, and Rod Steiger among others, the film received mixed reviews by American critics and was mostly ignored by American audiences. It was however more successful abroad, and later managed to gather an American fan base from its television airings and DVD release.
Sleepy Hollow
Sleepy Hollow, released in the autumn of 1999, was a return to vintage Burton, with a supernatural setting, unique sets and another offbeat performance by Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, now a detective with an interest in forensic science rather than the schoolteacher of Washington Irving's original tale. With Hollow, Burton paid homage to the old horror movies from English company Hammer Film Productions. Hammer veteran Christopher Lee is given a cameo role. A host of Burton regulars appeared in supporting roles (Michael Gough, Jeffrey Jones, and Christopher Walken, among others) and Christina Ricci was cast as Katrina van Tassel. Mostly well-received by critics, and with a special mention to Elfman's Gothic score, the film won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction, as well as two BAFTAs for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. A box office success, 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 Planet of the Apes which, as Burton had repeatedly noted, was "not a remake" of the earlier film.
Tim Burton's Lost In Oz
Conceived as an original television series based on the immortal works of L. Frank Baum, "Tim Burton's Lost In Oz" was never aired. Though a pilot script was written by Trey Callaway with direct input from Burton as an executive producer and a number of key scenes were filmed by veteran television producer/director Michael Katleman, budgetary constraints ultimately prevented the project from being fully realized.
The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories
His book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories was published in 1996. The collection of verse is about misfit children such as Oyster Boy, Match Girl, Stainboy (which later became short animations), the Girl Who Turned into a Bed, and other such outcasts. The book was published by the publishing company Faber and Faber, which also published the original artwork of Sleepy Hollow in 1999.
The 2000s
Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes was a commercial success, grossing $68 million in its opening weekend. It was however panned by critics and widely considered inferior to the first adaptation of the book. The main criticism was that the movie went for a more watered down "popcorn" feel than the dark, cerebral and nihilistic tone of the 1968 film. 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 reportedly clashed with the studio during the whole making of the film, once going as far as abruptly leaving the set for the day. There were also many reports about last minute changes in the movie. Despite the commercial success of the movie and an ending that clearly suggested the possibility of a sequel, apparently there are no intentions from the studio or Burton to make another Apes movie. During the making of the film, Burton met actress Helena Bonham Carter, who would later become his partner.
Big Fish
In 2003, Burton went on to direct Big Fish, based loosely on the novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace. The film is about a father telling the story of his life to his son using exaggeration and color. Starring Ewan McGregor as young Edward Bloom and Albert Finney as an older Edward Bloom. The film also stars Jessica Lange, Danny Devito, and Alison Lohman. Big Fish received four Golden Globe nominations as well as an Academy Award nomination for the musical score by Danny Elfman. Big Fish was also the second collaboration with Burton and Helena Bonham Carter, who played Jenny and the Witch with the magic eye that shows Edward Bloom his death. Although it was not a box office success, the film was critically acclaimed and widely considered to be a return to form for Burton.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) is an adaptation of the book by Roald Dahl. Starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket, the film generally took a more faithful approach to the source material than the 1971 adaptation, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, although some liberties were taken, such as adding Wonka's issue with his father. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was later nominated for the Academy Award for Costume Design. Charlie was a huge box office success that made over $207 million domestically. It became one of Burton's most critically-praised movies in years.
Corpse Bride
Corpse Bride (2005) was Burton's second stop-motion film, featuring the voices of Johnny Depp as Victor and Helena Bonham Carter (for whom the project was specifically created) as Emily in the lead roles. In this movie, Burton was able to again use his familiar styles and trademarks, such as the complex interaction between light and darkness, and of being caught between two irreconcilable worlds. The film is often compared to Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Bride is often considered the spiritual successor of Nightmare. Bride received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. Along with Charlie, Bride was one of Burton's most critically-praised movies in years.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
The Dreamworks/Warner Bros. production was released on December 21, 2007. Burton's work on Sweeney Todd won the National Board of Review Award for best director and received a Golden Globe nomination for best director and won an Oscar for best achievement in art direction. Helena Bonham Carter won an Evening Standard British Film Award for best actress for her portrayal of Mrs. Lovett, as well as a Golden Globe nomination.
Actor Johnny Depp was also nominated for the best actor Oscar, for the role of Sweeney Todd. Depp also won the award for Best villain as Todd in the 2008 MTV awards.
Future projects
9
Produced by Tim Burton and set to be released on September 9, 2009 (9/9/09), the story follows 9, a sapient rag doll, played by Elijah Wood, who joins and helps lead a group of his own kind to protect fallen humanity's legacy on Earth from machines that roam the planet. The film is a feature length adaptation of a short film of the same name.
The questing party includes One (Christopher Plummer), a war veteran; Two (Martin Landau), an inventor; Five (John C. Reilly), a mechanic; Six (Crispin Glover), an artist; and Seven (Jennifer Connelly), a warrior.
Alice in Wonderland
An Australian actress named Mia Wasikowska has been cast as Alice. The 18 year old has been featured in shows such as In Treatment and Defiance. The original start date was May 2008. Torpoint and Plymouth will be used for filming from September 1—October 14. These will be scenes set in the Victorian era. During this time, filming will take place in Antony House in Torpoint. 250 local extras were chosen in early-August. Other production work will reside in London. The film was originally to be released in 2009, but was pushed to March 5, 2010.
Also, Johnny Depp will be playing the Mad Hatter, Matt Lucas, leading star of Little Britain, has recently been cast as both Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Helena Bonham Carter will be playing the Red Queen, Stephen Fry (Q.I) is to play The Cheshire Cat, Anne Hathaway has been cast as The White Queen, Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar, and Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts.
Frankenweenie remake and Dark Shadows
Afterwards, he will remake Frankenweenie as a stop-motion film. Burton is also set to direct a film adaptation based on the television series Dark Shadows. Johnny Depp will portray Barnabas Collins with John August currently writing the script. However, Dark Shadows will be pushed back due to Depp and Burton's commitments to other projects.
Personal life
Burton was married to a German-born artist for four years, whom he left for Lisa Marie, a model with whom he lived and was "engaged" to 1992 through 2001. Lisa Marie had parts in all of his films while they were a couple, most notably Ed Wood and Mars Attacks! Burton currently lives with Helena Bonham Carter, whom he met while filming Planet of the Apes - in which Lisa Marie had a small part, whereas Bonham Carter had a starring role. Burton abruptly left Lisa Marie for Bonham Carter and they now have a son, Billy Ray Burton, born October 4, 2003, and a daughter, Nell Burton, born December 15, 2007. Burton and Bonham Carter live in London.
In 2007 Time Magazine said that Tim Burton had attempted suicide, however his agent denies this.
Close friend Johnny Depp is a godfather of Burton's son. In Burton on Burton, Depp wrote the intro, stating, "What more can I say about him? He is a brother, a friend, my godson's father. He is a unique and brave soul, someone that I would go to the ends of the earth for, and I know, full and well, he would do the same for me."
Recurring cast members
Burton often casts certain actors more than once in his films. Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee, Deep Roy, Michael Gough, Jeffrey Jones and Michael Keaton are amongst his most frequent of collaborators.
Bibliography
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)Burton on Burton, edited by Mark Salisbury (1995, revised 2005)The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories (1997)
Filmography
Director filmography
Animator filmography
The Fox and the Hound uncredited (1981) as a Disney animator doing in-between work on the character VixeyTron uncredited (1982)The Black Cauldron (unused conceptual artwork only) uncredited, (1985)
Producer filmography
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)Batman Returns (1992)Cabin Boy (1994)Batman Forever (1995)James and the Giant Peach (1996)Corpse Bride (2005The Devil's Rejects, Saw II, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, ''The Ring Two, ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, ''xXx: State of the Union, ''Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous...
)9 (2009)
Cameos and other film work
Singles (1992)Hoffa (1992)The Nightmare Before Christmas (Deleted Scene)
Internet shorts
Awards
Academy Awards
BAFTA Awards
Cannes Film Festival
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
Golden Globe Awards
National Board of Review Awards
- (2008) Won - Best Director / Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Producers Guild of America Awards
- (2008) Honored- Scream Awards: Scream Immortal Award, for his uniqe interpretation of horror and fantasy.
Television
Music videos
Further reading
- Burton, Tim and Fraga, Kristian (2005) Tim Burton : interviews University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, MS, ISBN 1-57806-758-8
- Hanke, Ken (1999) Tim Burton: an unauthorized biography of the filmmaker Renaissance Books, Los Angeles, ISBN 1-58063-046-4
- Lynette, Rachel (2006) Tim Burton, filmmaker KidHaven Press, San Diego, CA, ISBN 0-7377-3556-2
- Maio, Kathi (May 1994) "Sick puppy auteur?" The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction 86(5): pp. 121–126
- McMahan, Alison (2005) The films of Tim Burton: Animating live action in contemporary Hollywood Continuum, New York, ISBN 0-8264-1566-0
- Merschmann, Helmut (2000) Tim Burton: The Life and Films of a Visionary Director (translated by Michael Kane) Titan Books, London, ISBN 1-84023-208-0
- Page, Edwin (2006) Gothic fantasy: the films of Tim Burton Marion Boyars Publishers, London, ISBN 0-7145-3132-4
- Salisbury, Mark (2006) "Burton on Burton" Revised Edition. Faber and Faber, London, ISBN 0-571-22926-3
- Smith, Jim and Matthews, J. Clive (2002) Tim Burton Virgin, London, ISBN 0-7535-0682-3
- Woods, Paul A, (2002) Tim Burton: A child's garden of nightmares Plexus, London, ISBN 0-85965-310-2
External links
- The Official Tim Burton Website:
- Tim Burton Image Gallery:
- featuring Burton, Depp, Carter and others.
- Netribution
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