Burton, Tim

Tim Burton was born in 1958 in Burbank , California , USA , into the family of Bill and Gene Burton (Erickson), the owners of a small Cats Plus gift shop that sold feline- related items. Sometimes in the information to the director’s books, Burton’s year of birth indicates 1960. This information is erroneous; Burton has repeatedly apologized for this omission ^[2] . Tim Burton was the first child in the family. The father of the future director held a position in the Burbank Park and Recreation Department . The Burton House on Evergreen Street is still preserved. It is located near Burbank Airport and Valhalla Cemetery . Burton would later reflect his vision of his hometown in the movie Edward Scissorhands .

Childhood and study

In his youth, he played water polo for the school team, he preferred solitude, listening to punk rock and having fun going to the movies . The repertoire of his favorite movie theaters is most often limited to second-rate science fiction and horror films . At one time, he dreams of working as an actor, "managing the rubber monster Godzilla " from Japanese films. Inspired by the movie works of Ray Harrihausen , he early tries to make his own puppet cartoons - most of them are lost, or are considered to be such.

After leaving school ( born Burbank High School ) in 1976 he entered the California Institute of the Arts ( born California Institute of the Arts , abbr. CalArts ). During his studies, Burton often replaced the writing of educational works with short amateur films based on a given material. This time period includes, for example, the lost short films "Houdini", "Island of Dr. Agor" and others ^[3] , as well as the animated film " Following the footsteps of a celery monster ."

Disney Studio Jobs and First Films

In 1979, Burton began working as a character designer, and then as an animator at Walt Disney Studios . He was fired several times and re-adopted. Burton's first major work was coloring frames in the cartoon of Ralph Bakshi " The Lord of the Rings " (1978) ^[4] . Burton also took part in the creation of the tapes Fox and Dog (1981), Black Cauldron (1985) and the first Disney film with the active use of computer graphics - Tron (1982).

At the same time, Burton and his friends made his last "independent" film " Luau - a party in Hawaiian ." For a long time nothing was known about this film, except for a small mention in one of Burton’s interviews that for the sake of entertainment he and his friends also made a film about a Mexican monster, aliens and surfers .

Burton later compared work at Disney Studios to military service (although he never served in the army ).

A number of Burton's work will remain incomplete. For example, a film about children's adventures on the eve of Halloween Trick or Treat was frozen at the level of development of the concept of characters.

In addition, Burton directed the film adaptation of the tale " Hansel and Gretel " (1982) specifically for the Japanese branch of Disney Channel.

Burton subsequently shot his first six-minute animated film Vincent at Disney Studios. His next work, " Frankenvini " (1984), the studio did not dare to release on screens, considering this film incompatible with the image of a children's company, and it was released only in 1992. At the same time at the studio Burton met his first regular girlfriend Julie Hickson . Under her influence, most of Burton's first independent films were shot. Hickson also contributed to the development of the first draft script for Batman (1989).

The Beginning of the Big Movie

“ Frankenvini ”, despite the practical ban, went to the studios in the form of several promotional copies and attracted the attention of the famous comedian Paul Rubens . As a result, he instructed Burton to shoot the full-length film P-Vee 's Great Adventure . During the filming, Burton made friends with the composer Danny Elfman , who from that moment became almost a constant composer in his films.

The film Big Pi Adventure was a significant commercial success. This fact prompted the leadership of Warner Brothers Studios to entrust the budding director with an upcoming adaptation of Batman comics. However, due to the lengthy processing of the original scenario, filming was postponed indefinitely. During this break, Burton as a director participated in two television projects, he shot the fairy tale " Aladdin and his magic lamp " and detective " Pot ".

By virtue of a previously concluded contract with the studio, Burton had to make another film. He rejected the scripts of second-rate comedies that came to him after the success of "Pee-Vee." As a result, this film was Beetlejuice (1988), followed by two films that marked the beginning of the revival of the Batmanians in popular culture: Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).

During this period, Burton agrees with the famous photographer Lena Geyske , with whom she marries on February 24, 1989. On December 31, 1991, the couple divorced.

Lisa Mary Period

Many researchers of Burton's work believe that his women had a strong influence on the work of the director. The influence of the former striptease dancer Lisa Mary , the artist , and subsequently the actress , with whom the director met for a long time, was also engaged, became engaged in early 1992 and lived together until 2001.

During this time, the most revealing films for Burton’s work were made: “ Edward Scissorhands ” (1990), “ Ed Wood ” ( 1994 ), “ Sleepy Hollow ” (1999) and others.

The film “Edward Scissorhands” marks the beginning of Burton’s continued collaboration with actor Johnny Depp . Depp tops the list of actors constantly acting with Burton and is considered Burton's alter ego .

On the set of Edward Scissorhands, Burton became very close to the idol of his youth by actor Vincent Price (they met while voicing the animated film Vincent ). The friendship resulted in the filming of the documentary Talking with Vincent . The film remained unfinished due to the death of the actor in 1993.

Twice the director tried himself in the shooting of commercials : in 1998 he shot the Garden Gnome commercial for advertising the Hollywood Gum chewing gum , and in 2000 he shot two commercials for the Timex watch company under the names Kung Fu and Mannequin. In the movie “Mannequin”, the main role was played by Lisa Mary, who also appeared in episodic or supporting roles in almost all Burton films from 1994 to 2001 and voiced some characters in the series “ Steinboy - the Spot Boy ”.

In addition, Burton actively wrote scripts for his own films and cartoons (“Edward Scissorhands,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas, ” later “The Corpse of the Bride ” and many others).

The puppet animated film “The Nightmare Before Christmas ”, staged due to the heavy workload of another director ( Henry Selick ), based on one of Burton’s early poems, at first did not receive the audience’s recognition, but, being released on video, caused great success and for a long time became his visiting card .

In 1995, the first edition of the classic collection of Burton on Burton interviews by American film critic Mark Salisbury was released . The preface to the collection was written by Johnny Depp. In February 2008, the book was published in Russian by the ABC Publishing House under the title Tim Burton. Interview: Conversations with Mark Salisbury. "

This period is also characterized by the largest number of films that were proposed for the filming of Burton, but for one reason or another the filming was either suspended or the director's post passed to others: for example, Burton could make the films “ Mary Reilly ” (was replaced by Stephen Frears ), “Superman is alive” (canceled), “Dinosaurs are attacking!” (Delayed), “Man with infrared vision” (delayed), sequels to Beetlejuice , “The Fall of the Escher House” based on the story of Edgar Allan Poe , film in the style of Russ Meyer 's flick “Go Baby Go, ”- a total of about a dozen projects. In addition, Burton planned to film Lisa Mary in the lead role in the remake of the classic horror film Mario Bava's " Mask of Satan " based on Gogol 's novel " Wii ".

In 1997, he published the book The Sad Death of an Oyster Boy with his own illustrations . According to Burton himself, said in a television interview, - this is not a children's book and it is unlikely that children will understand it.

Then, at the suggestion, Mary began to get involved in Zen meditation practices , which helped him through a series of important closed projects for him, and was more and more inclined towards vegetarianism . More deeply became his passion for photography. Burton experimented with widescreen and digital cameras . The object of his shooting was most often Mary.

This year ^{[ specify ]} Burton accepted an invitation to participate in the jury of the Cannes International Film Festival .

Helena Bonham Carter Period

In 2001, Burton began filming a remake of the 1968 fantasy film Planet of the Apes . At this point, Burton is interested in the English actress Helena Bonham Carter . Their union with Lisa Mary is breaking up. In court, the director pays $ 5.4 million to his ex-wife (the payment will be delayed due to Burton's fault for three years) ^[5] . A few years later, Lisa's demands for Mary to pay her an extra sum of money were rejected in court.

In October 2001, Burton became engaged to Bonham Carter. The Planet of the Apes, released in July of that year, raised $ 180 million in the United States alone with a budget of $ 100 million ^[6]

The death of both parents and the subsequent birth (October 4, 2003) of Billy Ray's son was reflected in his most controversial film, Big Fish . Unusual for the rest of Burton’s work, the film served as the basis for rumors and speculation in the press about the director’s creative crisis.

However, these rumors were dispelled by two subsequent paintings: “ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ” based on the children's story by Roald Dahl and the puppet cartoon “ Corpse of the Bride ”. For the last director was nominated for an Oscar in 2005. In them, Burton returned his characteristic dark manner of narration, and the films themselves were accompanied by significant box office success.

In the summer of 2006, Burton tried to realize a long-standing plan to film the history of adventurer and naturalist Alexander Ripley . The project was called " Believe - I do not believe ." However, due to problems with exceeding the budget, its implementation was first delayed, and then completely assigned to another director ^[7] . Tim Burton at first remained only as a producer , and then, in October 2006, he left the project altogether. Then, in 2006, he directed a music video for the song “Bones” by The Killers . In late October, Warner Bros re-released the animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas in stereoscopic imaging . Along the way, a double disc was reissued with an expanded soundtrack for the film. Later, an official statement by Disney about the 3D-remastering of the cartoon " Vincent " appeared.

In 2006-2007, Burton attempted to film the musical Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd, a Demon Hairdresser from Fleet Street . On September 5, 2007, he received a special award from the Venice Film Festival - the Golden Lion for his achievements in life and work , in the same place, within the framework of the announced Burton Day, an 8-minute excerpt from the future film was shown ^[8] . In 2007, Tim Burton was noted by Entertainment Weekly magazine as one of the 50 greatest (according to the publishers of this American weekly) filmmakers in the history of cinema. He took 49th place, becoming the youngest of the designated persons ^[2] .

Two weeks earlier, Burton and Bonham Carter officially announced their second pregnancy ^[9] - Burton's daughter was born on the night of December 15, 2007. For a long time, the couple hid her name. 8 months later, in an interview, Bonham Carter reported that her daughter was named Nell ^[10] .

At the end of October 2007, Warner Bros. announced the launch of the new film “ Apprentice of the Ghost ” based on Joseph Delaney’s children's historical novel of the same name, with Burton as a director. At the end of March 2008, Burton was recalled from the project ^[11] due to employment.

In November 2007, Disney Studio announced its intention to engage Burton in two animated 3D projects: the production of Alice in Wonderland and a remake of his own movie Frankenvini . Burton wanted to act not only as a director, but also as a producer and co-author of the script for the new version of Frankenvini.

In early 2008, Burton spoke about his marriage to Bonham Carter, which may take place in the very near future ^[12] . The couple later sold their apartments in Los Angeles and finally moved to London .

In October 2008, Burton was awarded the Scream honorary award for his contribution to the development of the horror movie genre .

In 2010, he became an officer in the French Order of Arts and Literature ^[13] . In 2010, Burton became the chairman of the jury of the 63rd Cannes Film Festival ^[14] .

In December 2014, it became known that Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter broke up after 13 years of marriage ^[15] .

Director

• 1971 - The Island of Doctor Agor (short)
• 1971 - Prehistoric Caveman / Prehistoric Caveman (animated, short)
• 1972 - Tim's Dreams (Short)
• 1974 - 1997 (short)
• 1976 - Houdini : The Untold Story excerpts shown at Burton London Film Festival in December 2007
• 1978 - Welcome To My Nightmare (short, considered lost)
• 1979 - Following the footsteps of a celery monster / Stalk of the Celery (animated, short, excerpts shown on Spanish television in 2006)
• 1979 - Doom Doctor / Doctor of Doom (Short)
• 1982 - Vincent / Vincent (animated, short)
• 1982 - Luau - party in Hawaiian / Luau (for a long time was considered lost, excerpts were shown on French television in 2001)
• 1982 - Hansel and Gretel / Hansel and Gretel (TV)
• 1984 - Frankenweenie (short film)
• 1985 - Aladdin and His Magic Lamp / Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (TV)
• 1985 - Pee-wee's Big Adventure
• 1986 - Pot / Alfred Hitchcock Presents - The Jar (TV)
• 1988 - Beatlejuice / Beetlejuice
• 1989 - Batman / Batman
• 1990 - Edward Scissorhands / Edward Scissorhands
• 1990 - Conversations with Vincent (documentary, not finished)
• 1992 - Batman Returns
• 1994 - Ed Wood
• 1996 - Mars attacks! / Mars Attacks!
• 1999 - Sleepy Hollow
• 2000 - The Spot Boy and His World / The World of Stainboy (animated, short)
• 2001 - Planet of the Apes
• 2003 - Big fish
• 2005 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• 2005 - Corpse Bride (animated)
• 2006 - video for the Bones song by The Killers
• 2007 - Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• 2010 - Alice in Wonderland
• 2012 - Dark Shadows
• 2012 - Frankenweenie
• 2012 - video clip for the song The Killers by Here with Me
• 2014 - Big Eyes
• 2016 - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
• 2019 - Dumbo / Dumbo

In another capacity

Actor

• 1971 - The Island of Doctor Agor - Creature
• 1976 - Houdini : The Untold Story - Houdini
• 1979 - Doom Doctor / Doctor of Doom
• 1982 - Luau - Party in Hawaiian / Luau - Super Being and Morty
• 1989 - Batman / Batman - Cameo
• 1991 - Singles - Brian
• 1992 - Hoffa / Cameo
• 2012 - Men in Black 3 - Cameo
• 2012 - Vampire Kisses / Blood Inside / Vampires Kiss / Blood Inside - Van Helsing
• 2016 - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - a man on a ride

Animator

• 1978 - Welcome To My Nightmare
• 1978 - The Lord of the Rings
• 1979 - Following the Trail of the Celery Monster / Stalk of the Celery
• 1981 - The Fox and the Hound - animator
• 1982 - Vincent / Vincent
• 1982 - Tron / Tron - animator
• 1992 - Home Dog / Family Dog - Character Designer
• 1993 - The Nightmare Before Christmas - Character Design
• 2000 - The Spot Boy and His World / The World of Stainboy - Character Design

Screenwriter

• 1971 - The Island of Doctor Agor
• 1976 - Houdini : The Untold Story
• 1979 - Following the Trail of the Celery Monster / Stalk of the Celery
• 1979 - Doom Doctor / Doctor of Doom
• 1982 - Vincent / Vincent
• 1982 - Luau - party in Hawaiian / Luau
• 1982 - Hansel and Gretel / Hansel and Gretel - author of the idea
• 1984 - Frankenweenie
• 1988 - Beatlejuice / Beetlejuice
• 1990 - Edward Scissorhands / Edward Scissorhands - story
• 1990 - Beatlejuice / The Beatlejuice : The Animated Series - script for a series of episodes
• 1993 - The Nightmare Before Christmas - story
• 2000 - The Spot Boy and His World / The World of Stainboy
• 2000 - Lost in Oz / Lost in Oz - pilot episode scenario
• 2005 - Corpse Bride - characters
• 2012 - Frankenweenie

Producer

• 1979 - Following the Trail of the Celery Monster / Stalk of the Celery
• 1982 - Luau - party in Hawaiian / Luau
• 1990 - Edward Scissorhands / Edward Scissorhands
• 1990 - Beetlejuice / The Beatlejuice : The Animated Series - Executive Producer
• 1992 - Home Dog / Family Dog - Executive Producer
• 1992 - Batman Returns
• 1993 - The Nightmare Before Christmas
• 1994 - Ed Wood
• 1994 - Jung / Cabin Boy
• 1995 - Batman Forever / Batman Forever
• 1996 - Mars attacks! / Mars Attacks!
• 1996 - James and the Giant Peach!
• 2000 - The Spot Boy and His World / The World of Stainboy
• 2000 - Lost in Oz / Lost in Oz - Executive Producer
• 2005 - Corpse Bride
• 2009 - 9/9
• 2010 - Alice in Wonderland
• 2012 - President Lincoln: Vampire Hunter / Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
• 2012 - Frankenweenie
• 2014 - Big Eyes
• 2016 - Alice Through the Looking Glass / Alice Through the Looking Glass

Writer

• 1987 - The Nightmare Before Christmas
• 1997 - The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories
• 2018 - The Nightmare Before Tim Burton's Christmas. Graphic Novel / Tim Burton`s Nightmare Before Christmas. Graphic Novel

• Tim Burton. Interview: Conversations with Mark Salisbury = Burton on Burton: Revised Edition. - SPb. : ABC classic, 2008 .-- 400 p. - ISBN 978-5-91181-753-4 .
• Nathan Ayan. Tim Burton. The cult director and his work / Translator Kruchin E. .. - Bombora, 2018. - 176 p. - (Gift editions. Cinema.). - ISBN 978-5-04-092922-1 .

• Tim Burton on the Internet Movie Database
• timburton.com (English) - Tim Burton official site