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Tim Burton

 
Who2 Biography: Tim Burton, Filmmaker
 
Tim Burton
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  • Born: 25 August 1958
  • Birthplace: Burbank, California
  • Best Known As: The director of the comedy-horror film Beetlejuice

Tim Burton was an animator for Disney before being hired by Paul Reubens to direct Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985). The film was a quirky hit, and Burton went on to make the even quirkier hit Beetlejuice (1988, with Winona Ryder) and the blockbuster Batman (1989, with Michael Keaton in the title role). The success of the Batman series (Burton also directed Batman Returns in 1992), and the popularity of his distinctively gruesome humor, made Burton one of the hottest Hollywood directors of the 1990s. Since then he's made stop-animation and live action films with a distinctive look, many starring Johnny Depp. His animated features include The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), James and the Giant Peach (1996, based on a story by Roald Dahl) and The Corpse Bride (2005). His films with Depp include Edward Scissorhands (1990, with Alan Arkin), Ed Wood (1994, with Sarah Jessica Parker), Sleepy Hollow (1999, with Christina Ricci), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005, with Depp as Willy Wonka) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007, with Sacha Baron Cohen). Burton's other films include Mars Attacks! (1996, with Jack Nicholson), the 2001 remake of the sci-fi classic Planet of the Apes (starring Mark Wahlberg) and the 2004 film Big Fish (starring Ewan McGregor).

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Director: Tim Burton
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  • Born: Aug 25, 1958 in Burbank, California
  • Occupation: Director, Writer
  • Active: '80s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Fantasy, Children's/Family
  • Career Highlights: Batman, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Cabin Boy
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Fox and the Hound (1981)

Biography

It should come as no shock to the fans of director Tim Burton that he spent his formative years glued to the tube, watching old cartoons and horror flicks. Such early influences no doubt helped to form the deliciously ghoulish and artfully warped sensibility of a director who was to become known for his forays into the bizarre outer regions of mainstream celluloid. The emphasis on "mainstream" is notable: Burton's career has been distinguished in part by the director's skillful ability to remain just inside the realm of the mainstream while producing work of a decidedly unconventional vision.

A native son of Southern California, Burton was born in Burbank on August 25, 1958. He never really took to suburbia, where he was raised, and instead of joining little league or selling lemonade spent his time drawing, watching old horror movies, and reading the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Winning a scholarship in 1980 to the Disney-created California Institute of the Arts, Burton went to work as an apprentice animator at Disney. It was an aesthetically and financially dead period for Disney animation (megahits like The Little Mermaid were years in the future), and Burton's most vivid memories of his time at the studio were of constant firings, ill-will, indecisiveness, and paranoia. He felt decidedly out of place working on cartoons like The Fox and the Hound, later saying "I was just not Disney material. I could just not draw cute foxes for the life of me." For their part, the Disney higher-ups weren't interested in any of Burton's independent ideas, and refused to release his 1984 short Frankenweenie on the grounds that it was "unsuitable" for children. His first animated short, Vincent -- a 1982 tribute to his idol Vincent Price, who also narrated the film -- met with a similarly cool reception from Disney executives.

After leaving Disney, Burton found both greater creative freedom and commercial success thanks in part to actor/comedian Paul Reubens, who was looking for someone to helm a film about his alter-ego, Pee-Wee Herman. Reubens had watched Frankenweenie; impressed with what he saw, he helped to get Burton hired on as the director of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985). Burton wisely treated the whole project like a live-action Looney Tune, and the film, originally intended for limited release as a kid's picture, became one of Warner Bros.' biggest hits of the early '80s. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure led to the director's next project, Beetlejuice (1988), a comic twist on all the "Shock Theatre" pictures that had kept him up late as a child. The success of the film led to a job directing the 1989 big-budget version of Batman; a darkly lavish, gothic production, the film proved to be a huge hit, securing Burton a place on the roster of A-list directors.

His next film, 1990's Edward Scissorhands, had a lot in common with Burton's earlier Frankenweenie. It was the tale of an artificial boy put together by a benign scientist (Vincent Price again, in one of his last performances), who unfortunately dies before he can complete the boy; as a result, the fabricated youth has hedge clipper-like scissors for hands. Alternately frightening, funny, and touching, Edward Scissorhands proved that Burton could inject humanity and audience empathy into an otherwise unbelievable yarn. By this point Burton was able to write his own Hollywood ticket, which resulted in a lucrative contractual arrangement with his one-time employer, Disney. The company that once refused to release his work now practically tripped over itself giving him carte blanche to produce his next project, a stop-motion animated cartoon about the King of Halloween kidnapping Santa Claus. The film came to fruition as 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas; although it wasn't the hit everyone hoped it would be, Nightmare was irrevocably Burton's film and his film alone, from drawing board to final release. Disney also put Frankenweenie into mass-market distribution at long last, running the onetime "untouchable" film over and over again on cable's Disney Channel.

In addition to his series of successes, there have been a few missteps in Burton's career, notably the lackluster Family Dog (1993), a TV cartoon series co-produced by Steven Spielberg; there was also the middling Cabin Boy, a 1994 film vehicle for Chris Elliott which Burton co-produced. In 1994, Burton again rode high in film-critic circles thanks to his long-awaited Ed Wood (1994), the biopic of another visionary filmmaker, Edward D. Wood Jr., widely celebrated as the worst director in movie history. Burton well understood how it feels to be unappreciated for one's enthusiasms, and Ed Wood, deliberately filmed to emulate Wood's seedy visual style, has emerged as one of the most affectionate film biographies ever made.

After producing the 1995 Batman sequel, Batman Forever, Burton returned returned to the animation style of Nightmare Before Christmas with a 1996 adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic James and the Giant Peach. Later that year, he had great fun using an all-star cast in his spoof/homage to 1950s horror movies, Mars Attacks! Overshadowed by the simultaneous release of the mega-budgeted Independence Day (1996), and uneven with its blend of humor and sci-fi horror, Mars Attacks! was the sort of film that might have made Ed Wood proud. In 1999, Burton returned to the director's chair with Sleepy Hollow, an adaptation of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleep Hollow. Starring Burton regular Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, the film promised moviegoers another dose of the lush, gothic sensibility that Burton served up with such flair.

In 2001, Burton took to the director's chair in an attempt at reviving another dormant franchise, The Planet of the Apes. Promising a "re-imagination" of the ape planet concept rather than a straight remake, Burton's version of the film stars Mark Wahlberg stepping into Charlton Heston's shoes as the astronaut stranded in unfamiliar simian territory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
 
Quotes By: Tim Burton
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Quotes:

"When we were growing up and saw a Ray Harryhausen movie, we were interested in how it was done. But thank God we got to go through the magic of seeing it before we knew how it was done. You were able to get this beautiful, pure, visceral response to something without knowing too much about it."

 
Wikipedia: Tim Burton
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Tim Burton
Born Timothy Walter Burton
August 25, 1958 (1958-08-25) (age 50)
Burbank, California, U.S.
Occupation Director, Producer, Writer
Years active 1971–present
Spouse(s) Lena Gieseke (1989–1991)
Domestic partner(s) Lisa Marie (1993-2001)
Helena Bonham Carter (2001-present)

Timothy Walter "Tim" Burton (born August 25, 1958) is a Golden Globe Award-winning American film director, producer, writer and artist. He is famed for his dark and quirky films, such as Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, which he co-wrote and produced. He is also famous for directing blockbusters including Batman and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Since directing his first feature film Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 1985, he has gone on to direct and produce numerous films, many of which have received Academy Award nominations and wins. He frequently works with close friend Johnny Depp, musician Danny Elfman and partner Helena Bonham Carter. His upcoming projects include the animated film 9 and Alice in Wonderland, the Disney retelling of Lewis Carroll's book.

Contents

Early life

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. Burton described his childhood self as quirky, self-absorbed and highly imaginative. 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.[1][2] 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 The Nightmare Before Christmas.[citation needed]

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 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 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. 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 was 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, he chose Burton to direct the cinematic spin-off 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 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).

Beetlejuice

After directing episodes for the revitalized TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre, Burton received his next big project: Beetlejuice (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 obnoxious bio-exorcist "Betelgeuse", the film grossed $80 million on a relatively low budget and won a Best Makeup Design Oscar. It would 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 production 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 Betelgeuse, despite Keaton's average physique, inexperience with action films, and reputation as a comic actor. Although Burton won in the end, the furor over the casting provoked enormous fan animosity, to the extent that Warner Brothers' share price slumped.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

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."[3]

1990s

Edward Scissorhands

In 1990, Burton co-wrote (with Caroline Thompson) and directed Edward Scissorhands, re-uniting with Winona Ryder from Beetlejuice. 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 and original character created for the film (similar to Superman III's Ross Webster). 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 and grossed $282.8 million world-wide.

Burton did 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 (and reportedly turned down $35 million 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 (after Billy Dee Williams's pay-or-play contract was bought out), 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 subsequently served as producer for the film, but left the franchise altogether afterwards.

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.

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 Béla 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.

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 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. One 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.[4] 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, Alison Lohman, and french actress Marion Cotillard. 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, Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket and Helena Bonham Carter as Charlie's mum (she has been in all of Burtons movies since they first met on the set of Planet of the Apes), 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 Best Costume Design. Charlie was a box office success that made over $207 million domestically. It became one of Burton's most critically-praised movies.

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[who?] the spiritual successor of Nightmare. Corpse Bride received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. Along with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse 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[5] and received a Golden Globe nomination for best director [6] 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. Johnny Depp was also nominated for the best actor Oscar, for the role of Sweeney Todd. Depp also won the the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy, as well as the award for Best villain as Todd in the 2008 MTV awards. Sweeney Todd and Ed Wood are the only Burton films that Danny Elfman did not do the music for.

Future projects

9

Produced by Tim Burton and set to release September 9, 2009, 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 humanity's fallen legacy on Earth from machines that roam the planet. It is a feature length adaptation of a short film.

Alice in Wonderland

An Australian actress named Mia Wasikowska was cast as Alice. The 19 year old featured in shows such as In Treatment and Defiance. The original start date was May 2008.[7] 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.[8] 250 local extras were chosen in early-August.[9] [10] Other production work will reside in London.[11] The film was originally to be released in 2009, but was pushed to March 5, 2010.[12]

Johnny Depp will play the Mad Hatter, Matt Lucas, star of Little Britain, has recently been cast as both Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Helena Bonham Carter will be playing the Red Queen, Stephen Fry 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, Dark Shadows, and 1984 remake

Burton plans to remake his 1984 short film Frankenweenie as a feature length stop motion film.[13] He is also set to direct a film adaptation based on the television series Dark Shadows. Johnny Depp will portray Barnabas Collins as well as co-produce the film, and John August is currently writing the script. However, Dark Shadows will be pushed back due to Depp and Burton's commitments to other projects. According to IMDB, Burton will also be directing another version of George Orwell's novel 1984 in 2010.

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.[14][15] Burton and Bonham Carter live in London.

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 collaborators

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. In addition to this, to date all but two of Burton's films have had music scored by Danny Elfman.

Bibliography

Filmography

Director filmography

Year Film Oscar Nominations Oscar Wins
1982 Vincent
1984 Frankenweenie
1985 Pee-wee's Big Adventure
1988 Beetlejuice 1 1
1989 Batman 1 1
1990 Edward Scissorhands 1
1992 Batman Returns 2
1994 Ed Wood 2 2
1996 Mars Attacks!
1999 Sleepy Hollow 3 1
2001 Planet of the Apes
2003 Big Fish 1
2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 1
Corpse Bride 1
2007 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 3 1
2010 Alice in Wonderland

Animator filmography

Producer filmography

Cameos and other film work

Internet shorts

Awards

Academy Awards

BAFTA Awards

Cannes Film Festival

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

Golden Globe Awards

National Board of Review Awards

Producers Guild of America Awards

  • (2008) Honored- Scream Awards: Scream Immortal Award, for his unique interpretation of horror and fantasy

64th Venice International Film Festival

Television

Music videos

References

  1. ^ "Interview with Ralph Bakshi". IGN Filmforce. http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/518/518805p1.html. Retrieved on 2007-01-09. 
  2. ^ "Bakshi Board Exclusive Interview #8". http://www.ralphbakshi.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1517&sid=601500f503e3dc48d13ca4a47d25be52. Retrieved on 2007-03-22. 
  3. ^ Tim Burton, Burton on Burton: Revised Edition (London: Faber and Faber, 2006) 71.
  4. ^ "http://www.answers.com/topic/tim-burton". http://www.answers.com/topic/tim-burton. 
  5. ^ Tim Burton (i) - awards
  6. ^ 65th Annual Golden Globe awards
  7. ^ Marc Graser (2007-11-15). "Burton, Disney team on 3D films". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117976106. Retrieved on 2008-08-15. 
  8. ^ "Alice in Wonderland - starring Johnny Depp? - to be filmed at National Trust house". The Daily Telegraph. 2008-08-22. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2603396/Alice-in-Wonderland---starring-Johnny-Depp---to-be-filmed-at-National-Trust-house.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-01. 
  9. ^ Tristan Nichols (2008-07-31). "Plymouth in Wonderland". The Herald. 
  10. ^ Tristan Nichols (2008-08-21). "Historic house unveiled as location for Tim Burton's Alice film". The Herald. 
  11. ^ Army Archerd (2008-04-17). "1958: Zanuck's Heaven visits Africa". Variety. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=Variety100&articleid=VR1117984225. Retrieved on 2008-08-15. 
  12. ^ Pamela McClintock (2008-02-20). "Disney unveils 2009 schedule". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981211. Retrieved on 2008-08-15. 
  13. ^ Marc Graser (2007-11-15). "Burton, Disney team on 3D films". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117976106.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. 
  14. ^ "Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter take son Billy Ray for a walk". Celebrity-babies.com. 2007-12-27. http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007/12/tim-burton-and.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. 
  15. ^ "Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton out for a walk in Primose Hill with children". Celebrity-babies.com. 2007-01-28. http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2008/01/helena-bonham-3.html. Retrieved on 2007-01-31. 

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 Read Chapter 3 at FilmsOfTimBurton.com
  • 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

Awards and achievements
National Board of Review
Preceded by
Martin Scorsese
for The Departed
Best Director
for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

2007
Succeeded by
David Fincher
for The Curious case of Benjamin Button
Preceded by
Leslie H. Martinson
Batman film director
1989-1992
Succeeded by
Joel Schumacher

 
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Who2 Biography. Copyright © 1998-2008 by Who2, LLC. All rights reserved. See the Tim Burton biography from Who2.  Read more
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