Lost
in Oz (2000) (TV) (story) (pilot)
... aka Tim Burton's Lost in Oz (USA)
The
Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) (story and characters)
... aka Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (USA: complete title)
... aka Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D
(USA: promotional title)
Tim Burton is one of the last
people you'd imagine would become one of the most acclaimed directors in the
world. He is an introverted, unassuming person. His career got underway at the
most famous animation studio in Hollywood, he landed his first directing gig
because of a bootleg tape of a short film that was never released, and (for a
while, at least) he had a movie in the top-ten grossers of all
time.
Timothy William Burton was born August 25, 1958 in Burbank,
California. Burbank may not ring as many bells as Hollywood, but it is the home
to many film and television studios -- NBC, Warner Brothers, Disney, and others.
Burbank was quintessential 1950s American suburbia, a world in which the shy,
artistic Tim was not quite in step with the shiny happy people surrounding him.
He was not particularly good in school, and was not a bookworm. Instead, he
found his pleasure in painting, drawing, and movies. He loved monster movies:
Godzilla, the Hammer horror films from Great Britain, the work of Ray
Harryhausen. One of his heroes was actor Vincent Price.
After high school
in 1976, Burton attended the California Institute of the Arts. Cal Arts had been
founded by Disney as a "breeding ground" for new animators, though they did
offer other courses of study. Burton entered the Disney animation program in his
second year, thinking it would be a good way to make a living. In 1979, he was
drafted to join the Disney animation ranks.
Burton did not enjoy being an
animator, not one little bit. Imagine, if you will, what it's like to be an
animator. Films are projected at 24 frames per second. For a 90-minute film,
that's over 129,000 individual frames. Characters are drawn separately and then
put together, and placed over painted backgrounds. The work requires talented
artists, but they cannot deviate from the structured manner of drawing the
characters. Burton had been brought in to work on The Fox And The Hound. It
bored him silly.
The studio recognized that Burton's talent was not being
utilized. They made him a conceptual artist, the people who design the
characters that appear in the films. He did early work on The Black Cauldron,
the adaptation of the second volume of Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain
(a seven-volume fantasy series). If you're familiar with Burton's artwork, you
can imagine that his concept drawings were nothing like your standard Disney
fare. It didn't go over too well, and it was not used. However, he was set loose
on his own projects. These included a poem and artwork that years later would
become The Nightmare Before Christmas, the animated short Vincent, and the
live-action short Frankenweenie.
The latter two received little or no
outside exposure, but Burton did get to work with his idol, Vincent Price, for
the first time and they remained friends until Price's death in 1993.
Frankenweenie was awarded a PG rating, which precluded its release with their
G-rated animated features. It only saw theatrical release overseas, and a short
release on VHS. However, it would be the film that landed him his first feature
directing job.
Horror writer Stephen King (you have heard of him, right?)
had seen Frankenweenie, and strongly recommended it to Bonni Lee, an executive
at Warner Brothers. Lee then showed the film to Paul Reubens. Reubens was the
man behind Pee-wee Herman, and was in the process of bringing his alter ego to
the big screen. He knew right away that Tim Burton was the perfect choice for
the job, and indeed they were a perfect match. As they say, the rest is
history.
Following the surprise success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure,
Burton didn't make another film for almost three years. It wasn't until he was
offered the anarchic screenplay for Beetlejuice that he finally found another
project suited to his unique vision. The film was an even bigger hit, and led to
Warner Bros. offering Burton the job directing an eagerly awaited comic book
adaptation that had been years in the planning.
Batman was less a movie,
more of an event. It sparked controversy with the casting of Michael Keaton as
the Dark Knight, and generated a merchandising blitz that is now standard for
blockbusters. However, despite all the hype and studio interference, Burton
still managed to put his own stamp on the film and it remains one of the most
influential Hollywood movies of the last few decades. It's box office gross of
over $250 million is also one of the highest in the studio's
history.
Rather than jump into making another blockbuster, Burton used
his new clout to get an extremely personal project greenlit by 20th Century Fox.
Edward Scissorhands was the first time Burton had full creative control over a
feature film, having written the story and also produced the movie. The film was
a hit with moviegoers and critics, and marked the beginning of Burton being
taken seriously as an artist.
He followed it up in 1992 with the sequel
Batman Returns. It was not as big a hit as the first film, and suffered a
backlash from parents who considered it too dark and twisted for younger Bat
fans. Although the film was an artistic triumph, the perceived disappointment
led to Joel Schumacher taking over the franchise (although Burton did have a
producer credit on Batman Forever). The same year Burton also found time to play
a small cameo role in Cameron Crowe's grunge film, Singles.
After finally
seeing his dream project realised with the feature length stop-motion film The
Nightmare Before Christmas, Burton returned to smaller filmmaking with his next
project, Ed Wood. An affectionate tribute to the supposed worst filmmaker of all
time, it was not a hit at the box office, but won Burton the best reviews of his
career, as well as two Oscars. It was followed by an indirect homage to Wood's
films, Mars Attacks! The film was a disappointment at the box office, and
scorned by many critics, but has gained a cult status over the years. Burton
made something of a comeback three years later with his first real horror film,
Sleepy Hollow.
As for Burton's personal life, he married German artist
Lena Gieseke in 1989 (while in the middle of production on Batman). They
separated shortly after filming of Batman Returns. He began dating Lisa Marie
shortly after. She appeared in four of his films: Ed Wood, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy
Hollow and Planet of the Apes.
Between Mars Attacks! and Sleepy Hollow,
Tim Burton spent over a year working on a new Superman film. A preliminary
script draft was written by independent filmmaker and comic geek extraordinaire
Kevin Smith. Nicolas Cage was attached to the project to play the Man Of Steel.
However, Burton was not particularly happy with the script, and a spiraling
budget caused Warner Brothers to pull the plug on the project.
His next
project was a reworking of the classic sci-fi film Planet Of The Apes. The film
was rushed into production after a long gestation period, and may have suffered
as a result. The film was visually stunning, and featured several strong
performances by the actors in Rick Baker's astonishing ape makeup, but it was
regarded as a disappointment by many.
At the same time Burton's personal
life was in a state of upheaval. Both of his parents died within a short space
of time, and his relationship with Lisa Marie ended. Shortly after the release
of Planet of the Apes, Burton began dating one of the stars of the film, Helena
Bonham Carter. Their son, Billy, was born in October, 2003.
Burton's next
project couldn't have been more different, even though it shared the same
producer (Richard D. Zanuck). Big Fish was an adaptation of the novel by Daniel
Wallace. Perhaps the theme of a man trying to reconnect with his dying father
resulted in this being Burton's most personal and emotional film in years, and
it earned respectable reviews and box office.
As for his next project,
Burton is directing another movie based on a novel, Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory. Johnny Depp has already been cast in the role of Willy Wonka, and the
film promises to be one of the most interesting blockbusters of 2005. He is also
working on another stop motion animated film, Corpse Bride, due for release
later the same year.
Welcome to the movies section, here you
will find links to the individual pages of each Tim Burton movie. On these pages
you will find articles, pictures, reviews, interviews and other stuff related to
the movie.
Contact:
Tim Burton
c/o William Morris Agency
151 El Camino Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
USA
Who I'd like to meet:
NEWS
Nightmare Before Christmas 3D poster! With only three months to go before the release, the poster for the 3D version of The Nightmare Before Christmas has been unveiled! Thanks to Aint It Cool News for the scoop.
ally will drop nightshade into Dr. Finkelstein's tea in 3-D come Halloween, when Walt Disney Pictures releases a digitally remastered version of "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas."
The digital release of the 1993 stop-motion animated classic is set for Oct. 20.
"Nightmare" marks the second digital 3-D theatrical release from Disney after "Chicken Little" did banner business last year in digital 3-D on 84 U.S. screens at 81 locations. The digital 3-D boxoffice returns outperformed the standard screenings nearly 3-to-1, according to Disney estimates.
Burton and "Nightmare" director Henry Selick are involved in the digital remastering of the stop-mo feature starring Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, and were "very cheered by the news" that Disney wanted to release the movie in 3-D, according to Selick.
"When visitors came to visit the set of 'Nightmare Before Christmas,' they were always amazed by the intricate sets and beautiful puppets -- that they actually existed in miniature," Selick said Monday. "It was disappointing to see this effect lost on film. By remastering for 3-D, I hope that some of this magic can be captured and shown to the audience in a way they've never seen before."
Selick is directing Laika Entertainment's "Coraline," starring Dakota Fanning, in Portland, Ore. "Coraline" represents the first stop-motion animated film to be shot stereoscopically with a dual digital camera rig for digital 3-D exhibition.
Disney has asked the writer and director to review "Nightmare" materials, QC shots and make appearances when the digital 3-D version of "Nightmare" premieres.
Disney's rerelease of the wicked tale represents the first 3-D feature to stake a claim on the Halloween holiday, much like Warner Bros. Pictures called dibs on the Christmas frame with the 3-D rerelease of 2004's "The Polar Express."
Disney realized that "Nightmare" would make a promising 3-D release while mastering "Chicken Little," according to Lylle Breier, Walt Disney Pictures senior vp worldwide special events.
" 'Nightmare' is a beloved movie, and we always look to what can we do with it," Breier said. "The way Tim and Henry made 'Nightmare' was so cutting edge, it seemed like the perfect film to rerelease using cutting-edge processes. We see this as a natural extension of a spectacular movie."
Burton and Selick have attended Disney's special screenings of "Nightmare" at the El Capitan in Hollywood, where movie fans annually line the block in Halloween costumes. Disneyland similarly puts on a special "Nightmare" theme park attraction every year in time for Halloween.
"Nightmare" is in the early stages of being digitally scanned and converted into 3-D by the computer-graphics group at Industrial Light + Magic. The film represents a repeat gig for ILM's Colum Slevin, who in the summer oversaw the digital remastering of "Chicken Little's" 1,400 computer-animated shots.
Execs were reluctant to discuss the design of the 3-D passive glasses that will be handed out to audiences at "Nightmare" screenings but suggested they will be appropriately ghoulish and collectible.
Domestically, "Nightmare" made $50.3 million when first released in 1993.
Sony Pictures' "Monster House," executive produced by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, is expected to be the next film to play in digital 3-D when released July 21.
Real D and Dolby Digital Cinema, both involved in the 3-D projection of "Chicken Little," did not return calls seeking comment.
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Burton to direct Killers video and Grim Fandango?
Burton will reportedly direct the video for The Killer's song "Read My Mind", which may excite some people. Anyone else remember the last time Burton was rumored to direct a music video (Madonna's "Bad Girl") but it fell though?
And in the crazy, unverified rumors department, Playfuls.com has the story that Burton will direct the feature film of the video game Grim Fandango after he completes Sweeney Todd. Sounds highly unlikely, but then so did the early rumors of him directing Sweeney.
Finally, some news we can confirm is that Burton will be at the 9th International Short Film Festival Expresion en Corto, in the cities of San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato, Mexico from the 22th to the 29th of July, where his films will be honored and he will be part of a conference about "Breaking out" in cinema. Thanks to Pablo Daniel González Cortés for letting us know about this.
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"New"
"SWEENEY TODD"
2008 Musicfilm/Thriller
Seeney Todd - Johnny Depp
Mrs.Lovett - Helena Bonham Carter
Judge Purpin - Alan Rickman
Signor Adolfo Pirelli - Sacha Baron Cohen
Lucy - Laura Michelle kelly
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"RIPLEY..S BELIEVE IT
OR NOT with Jim Carrey Release Date: December 14, 2007
Action/Adventure, Drama
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Thx "Benowulf is here to Kick Arse"
The turkey shot out of the oven and rocketed into the air, it knocked every plate off the table and partly demolished a chair.
It ricocheted into a corner and burst with a deafening boom, then splattered all over the kitchen, completely obscuring the room.
It stuck to the walls and the windows, it totally coated the floor, there was turkey attached to the ceiling, where there'd never been turkey before.
It blanketed every appliance, it smeared every saucer and bowl, there wasn't a way I could stop it, that turkey was out of control.
I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure, and thought with chagrin as I mopped, that I'd never again stuff a turkey with popcorn that hadn't been popped.
![I treni all’alba [Folk Destroyers]](http://b0.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/00243/08/40/243570480_s.jpg)
