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Mr. Beaks Interviews Tim Burton!
I'm waiting outside Tim Burton's suite at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, staring at a door to which a "Do Not Disturb" sign has been crookedly taped. This dishevelment, I'm guessing, is Burton's doing. Same goes for the ugly, all-caps scrawl underneath: "I'm already disturbed."
This is the message Burton has been steadily transmitting to the world for close to thirty years, with a barbed, but never unpleasant mixture of mirth and moroseness. Burton may have grown up the "creepy" kid who preferred Vincent Price to Burt Reynolds, but he honed his voice as a filmmaker in the safe (if not always encouraging) confines of the studio system, and, by the age of thirty, was one of the most sought-after directors in the business. His dark visions, torn from the thorny thicket of an unhappy childhood, delighted the mainstream; the same people who wrote him off as a weirdo not only made him rich, they gave him the clout to pursue his every artistic whim with little or no studio interference.
This kind of turnabout tormented Kurt Cobain, but it hasn't seemed to bother Burton all that much. Aside from the bloody, Hammer-inspired SLEEPY HOLLOW and his portrait of the unappreciated artist ED WOOD, Burton has maintained a fairly harmonious (i.e. profitable) relationship with his four-quadrant audience; he favors them with sweet, lightly deranged nightmares that suggest the darkness or madness inside of us is to be embraced, not feared.
From "Frankenweenie" onward, Burton has been an unabashed entertainer; his films appear to be the product of a well-adjusted, seemingly content adult. This is why families trust Burton with their kids' impressionable minds as freely as they did with, say, Dr. Seuss; they know the subversion will never topple over into straight-up perversion. Only once did he rip open the long-healed wounds of childhood to reveal the loneliness and heartbreak that (to varying degrees) informs his work; twenty years later, the only curious thing about the self-portraiture of EDWARD SCISSORHANDS is that he did it so early in his career. Did he banish the demons completely?
When I'm finally ushered into the suite, I'm greeted by a smiling, laughing, dressed-in-black Burton (with black sunglasses - which might be an affectation most of the time, but, given the assault of the afternoon light in this over-exposed room, they're actually quite practical today). It seems like the conditions are ideal for a great interview - so it's a pity I had to start wrapping up eight minutes in. But you take what time you can get with the greats, and some of Burton's answers are, I think, revealing with regards to how he continues to thrive within the studio system, and how much of himself he's currently pouring into his work.
This intro is now officially longer than the interview. Here's Mr. Burton...
Mr. Beaks: Something like "Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND" seems so obvious. People hear that, and they say, "What took so long?" How did you approach it? Were you more interested in this particular script or the world of Lewis Carroll?
Tim Burton: The way I could best describe how this one was presented to me was as "ALICE IN WONDERLAND in 3-D!" That just felt really exciting. If someone had come to me a few years ago and said "ALICE IN WONDERLAND!", I don't know that it would've hit me in the same way. But just because the medium and the material seemed right, the trippiness of Wonderland in 3-D just felt really exciting to me.
I didn't grow up on the books so much. I knew Alice more through pop culture, like a Tom Petty video (Laughs) ...or Jefferson Airplane or illustrators and writers incorporating the imagery into their art. It makes you realize how primal those characters are. That's what got me excited. And then I liked Linda [Woolverton's] script, because I'd seen all these other versions, but it never really hit me; it's always been some bratty little girl going (Affecting a prim-and-proper British accent), "Oh, that's weird!" All the characters are weird, but there was never any emotion to it. So this was to try to set the story in a context where it just felt more psychologically founded. It's a girl who's not comfortable in herself and trying to figure things out. That's what Carroll's world is: it's a dreamscape with all these weird characters who help you through your emotional landscape; they get you through the abstracts of life.
Beaks: The nice thing about your narrative is that it doesn't end as a courtroom drama.
Burton: (Laughs) Exactly! There are enough movies like that!
Beaks: That doesn't strike me as a Tim Burton type of finale.
Burton: (Laughing) No.
Beaks: The fascinating thing about your career is that, once upon a time, you were the outsider who found his way into the studio system and made films that were idiosyncratic, but also mainstream. Now, you're an established brand. I'm wondering how you feel about this. Does it feel like you shifted the mainstream to reflect your tastes?
Burton: I don't know. The clearest example to me is BATMAN. I remember how difficult that was. The idea of this dark kind of [movie]... they were scared of it. I mean, they weren't that scared of it. They made it. But it was uncharted territory at the time. So it does feel weird that, now, you can't do anything but that kind of thing. The darker the better; the more psychological the better. It was weird to be starting to toy around with that kind of stuff when it was not really happening. But I don't really think too much about it. You just try to be a moving shark; you just have to keep moving in the water.
Beaks: Do you find it easier to navigate?
Burton: I learned this very early on; I learned this after BATMAN, when I tried to get EDWARD SCISSORHANDS done on a small scale. I've learned from that period on that it's difficult to get any movie made. They throw a curve at you any which way it can be thrown at you - which I find always a bit strange. You're a star athlete, you're about to enter the race, and then they beat the shit out of you. They break your legs and say, "Okay, now go win that race!" I don't really understand that kind of dynamic, where you're not nurturing projects. It is an interesting dynamic, and each and every film has been difficult to get made.
Beaks: So, wait, do you still get studio notes?
Burton: Yeah. Not extensively, but I get the occasional this or that. (Pause) Yeah, I get them.
Beaks: Do you take them?
Burton: (Pause) I got to the point now... I got to this point a long time ago. I used to get really offended by it, but then I got to the point where I'm secure enough to say, "Listen, if somebody's got a good idea, great! And if they don't, great! If the janitor's got a good idea, great! My dentist? Great!" I just try not to get too adversarial. If someone's got a good idea, I take it. But I don't feel obliged to take it.
Beaks: How collaborative are you with the actors with regards to the design of their characters and how they'll fit into the world?
Burton: I've always been pretty lucky. Each thing is a slightly different thing. Something like this is weird because there aren't a lot of sets and things to bounce off of. Usually, what you enjoy when you get actors in costumes on set is that you see the world. In [ALICE IN WONDERLAND], it's much more imagined, which makes it harder for actors. But I was lucky enough on this to get actors who were game; you couldn't really be a method actor on this movie. I don't feel dictatorial, but I always feel that if you choose an actor to do it, you're choosing them because you see something or want something from them, so you kind of want to let them do it. Because if they don't feel it, how can they do it? It's important to try and get the person who senses and feels what their part is.
Beaks: And that they don't overwhelm the film. Even if they're Johnny Depp. He just feels like part of the tapestry in ALICE. He's just another eccentric.
Burton: That's what it's all about as an actor. That's why I like him. He's more like Lon Chaney or Boris Karloff than he is Alan Ladd; he wants to change and be that. He didn't become an actor to be glamorous; he wanted to become characters. That's what's exciting, and those are the kinds of people I enjoy working with. They're not in it for the celebrity or the perks; they're doing it because they kind of want to hide. (Laughs)
(I get the wrap-up signal much earlier than I expected, so I barge right into a question I'd hoped to gradually work up to.)
Beaks: EDWARD SCISSORHANDS is one of the few times a director has completely bared his soul on a studio dime. It's like VERTIGO or E.T. in that regard; it feels like you told us exactly who you are.
Burton: That's right.
Beaks: And you did it fairly early in your career.
Burton: Yeah!
Beaks: Do you ever feel like you made that film too early, that you kind of just gave it all away?
Burton: No, I'm glad I did it then because those feelings were really fresh in me. I guess there's always more things that are percolating. I always try to put stuff of me in everything, whether it's a known property or anything. But even as much as I've been doing known properties, there's always stuff that's kind of percolating. There's always room for more.
Beaks: Do you still feel like that you are that person?
Burton: Oh, sure. You can be the happiest person and have a nice big family, but there's always that thing inside you that stays. You can't help it. It's part of you.
Beaks: Can you see bringing that out in something like FRANKENWEENIE, which you'll be revisiting for Disney in 3-D? Are you finding different parts of yourself being applied to this telling of the story?
Burton: One of the reasons I wanted to do that was that there's a certain emotion in the drawings that I want to get... as much as I loved the short, there's a certain emotional quality of the drawings that I want to get.
And that's ten minutes with Tim Burton! ALICE IN WONDERLAND 3-D opens this Friday, March 5th, in theaters everywhere.
Mr. Beaks
I didn't grow up on the books so much. I knew Alice more through pop culture, like a Tom Petty video (Laughs) ...or Jefferson Airplane or illustrators and writers incorporating the imagery into their art. It makes you realize how primal those characters are. That's what got me excited. And then I liked Linda [Woolverton's] script, because I'd seen all these other versions, but it never really hit me; it's always been some bratty little girl going (Affecting a prim-and-proper British accent), "Oh, that's weird!" All the characters are weird, but there was never any emotion to it. So this was to try to set the story in a context where it just felt more psychologically founded. It's a girl who's not comfortable in herself and trying to figure things out. That's what Carroll's world is: it's a dreamscape with all these weird characters who help you through your emotional landscape; they get you through the abstracts of life.
Mr. Beaks
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Depp seems to be trying way too hard in his last couple of movies with him, and that's always comedic anathema.
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Through the Looking Glass instead of this pseudo-sequel. It's way better fitting to Burton's style, IMO, than Alice.
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his best film
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great video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0JvF9vpqx8 -
"Hi, Im Mr.beaks" ,
(I get the wrap-up signal much earlier than I expected, so I barge right into a question I'd hoped to gradually work up to.)
"I....uh..like you". And thats a wrap! -
Oy, I wish you guys could spread these out for those days when nothing is going on!
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...interview.
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...either, and he articulated exactly why.
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Tim talks like 3D was the whole reason he did the movie, then why not film it in 3D? I'm sure it was post-process like Clash of the titans
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THE LAST FISH PUNCHER HAS SPOKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I remember when it first aired, there was an op-ed about violent music videos and whoever was writing it got some facts confused and claimed the song was "I don't want you anymore". The op-ed was saying how Alice gets eaten and how the last thing she does is scream. Which could be considered true but someone who had not seen the video might get an incorrect idea about the tone of the scene (or scream) from the op-ed alone.
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Sony Pictures Imageworks designed the visual effects sequences.[42] Burton felt 3D was appropriate to the story's environment.[10] Burton and Zanuck chose to film with conventional cameras, and convert the footage into 3-D during post-production; Zanuck explained 3-D cameras were too expensive and "clumsy" to use, and they felt that there was no difference between converted footage and those shot in the format.[43] Director James Cameron, who released his 3-D film Avatar on December 10, 2009, criticized the choice stating "It doesn't make any sense to shoot in 2-D and convert to 3-D."[44] Filming also took place at Culver Studios.[45]
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Are his best films. I wish he would make more films like that then stuff that seems so obvious for him to do.
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There's a difference, I believe. Burton fully intended to shoot this in 3-D, and for all intents and purposes, I think he DID approach it as a 3-D film, only he didn't have 3-D cameras. That's not necessarily what Cameron is criticizing. Cameron is criticizing studio decisions to take a movie that's already been made- where there was NEVER an intention to go 3-D and never any shots planned to be 3-D- and then convert it to 3D. Not the same thing that Burton did, since he approached his shots as a 3D film.
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Ok, Tim Burton is officially not Tim Burton. I mean I guess 15 years of mediocre to horrible films should have tipped me off to that one, he's been making bad movies longer than he made brilliant ones, but that statement makes me want to slap him. Both him and Depp are well past their prime as artists. And Alice looks like unwatchable Narnia garbage, with flaccid and boring production design.
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spent the whole 10 minutes asking about Planet of the Apes. That would've been funny.
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back in the 80's. Beetlejuice, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, and Batman. All fucking perfect minus a few dated Prince songs.
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Mar 02, 2010 4:18:41 PM CST
All the characters are weird, but there was never any emotion to
by porco drunko
Hang on isn't that a good 50% of tim burtons movies. I mean that statement alone explains everything i hated about his version of charlie and the chocolate factory. I love some of Tims work but other times he just seems to in love with the weird to bother creating an emotional truth to the characters he creates.
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Jack Palance incident in Batman. What happened there and got furious with Burton?
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That's exactly what I don't like about this movie. The idea of Tim Burton making a live action Alice with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter is something some nitwit teenage girl would suggest on an imdb message board. And then he goes and does it. He's become a parody of himself. He doesn't take risks like Ed Wood or even Mars Attacks anymore.
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Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov are teaming to bring the Seth Grahame-Smith novel "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" to the big screen.
"Lincoln" reimagines one of the great U.S. presidents as an axe-throwing, highly trained vampire assassin, promising to give new context to real historical events such as the Civil War and Lincoln's ascension to the White House. It begins with his mother's murder when he was still a young boy and his vow of revenge. -
On last week's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Burton said Palance got angry with him when he gave him some simple piece of direction like "Walk into the room." He didn't say why Palance was annoyed exactly. There was a funny moment in the interview when Ross asked Burton and Depp whether they would do a romcom. Burton looked appalled! Anyway, Burton's Batman movies were the best - fact!!!
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and what happened with his former muse Michael Keaton? arent they friends anymore? i really would love to see a new Beetlejuice movie.
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At first I thought you were joking on the heels of Ronald Raygun's apt comment about "something some nitwit teenage girl would suggest on an imdb message board", but then I turned to google. I'm not laughing anymore. As if Abraham Lincoln did not do enough as President of the United States, some 'nitwit' reimagines him as a vampire hunter. What's next, 'George Washington: Serial Killer'?
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is spot on about Burton's career in his ALICE review, go check it out. A great read.
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I completely understand people who dislike Big Fish but it really spoke to me, the same way "Where the Wild Things Are" does for others. MARS ATTACKS is fucking cool too.
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over and over again. he's just a brand now, he makes "tim burton movies." i'd like if he surprised me, or made me even the slightest bit interested. like, alive in wonderland will feel like somewhere i've been before, not somewhere new.
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Mar 02, 2010 7:03:58 PM CST
I wish Tim Burton would have directed Public Enemies
by disgustin_justin
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could find scripts like "Ed Wood" again. It's his best film because it's the tightest script he's ever had to work with. I'd even rather he do stuff like "Big Fish". Even though I'll see "Alice" I wish he'd get off the remake train.
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THE LAST FISH PUNCHER HAS SPOKEN!!!!!!!!
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...I take it." This interview is a goldmine.
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Sleepy Hollow wasn't profitable? I thought it was a hit. His failures are limited (for me) to Mars Attacks, and Planet of the Apes. Ed Wood was great. His Batmans don`t stand the test of time as trendy blockbusters, but as Burton expressions of darkness and social persecution, they remain genius.
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"Cameron is criticizing studio decisions to take a movie that's already been made- where there was NEVER an intention to go 3-D and never any shots planned to be 3-D- and then convert it to 3D." - I hope he gives Lucas a mouthful of abuse when GL processes Star Wars into 3D.
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Great interview. You knocked it out of the park in 10 minutes.
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The last good movie he did was Sweeney Todd and that was a major fluke.
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re: "the last good movie he did was Sweeny Todd". Actually, technically speaking, the last movie he did (as director) WAS Sweeny Todd. And regarding that being a "fluke", I contend that the following Burton movies are absolutely fantastic works of cinematic art: Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Big Fish, Sweeny Todd, and Nightmare Before XMas (producer). His unbelievably good movies are: Batman Returns, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, James and Giant Peach (producer) and 9 (producer). Admittedly, Mars Attacks was crap, Planet of Apes was weak, and Cabin Boy (producer) is never going to make AFC`s list of top 100 movies of any guild. Otherwise, the man`s track record (for me, in my humble opinion) is astonishing.
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Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetle Juice and Edward Scissorhands
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I re-watched it last year and while it may not be a great movie it's still a lot of fun
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And just make a movie.
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funny
http://tinyurl.com/yz4p3ph -
Mar 02, 2010 10:29:31 PM CST
I've been wating every Burton movie over the last few weeks...
by nasty in the pasty
...and he's seriously the most UNDERRATED filmmaker working. Even his "failures" (POTA, Mars Attacks!) are better than most shit releases these days. Batman Returns is HAUNTING (seriously...it's not a "superhero movie" at all, but a fascinatingly perverse journey through the mind of an authentic madman), and Sweeney Todd actually made me like a live-action musical for the first time in EVER. Aside from the Ceon Bros., Burton has one of the best batting averages for any director working today...I have not completely disliked even ONE movie he's done (even his weakest film POTA has lots to enjoy), and his best films are truly wonderful (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Big Fish). And for people bitching about him using the same actors over and over, you must have also complained about John Ford using John Wayne all the time, or Scorsese using De Niro/DiCaprio. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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...but once the Martians (Ack-Ack-Ack!!!) show up and start incinerating evrything in sight, the movie builds from one inspired gag to another. "For dark is the suede that mows like..a harvest."
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I haven't seen it since it was in theaters, but I can recall enjoying Burton's aptly comedic/parodic take on the material. If I'm remembering correctly, 'Mars Attacks' was released shortly after 'Independence Day' and, even as an impressionable youth, found Burton's handling of the scenario far superior. Alien invasions were popular during the cold war because they provided an outlet for the paranoia surging through the zeitgeist. I think Burton understand the anachronistic endeavor of making an alien invasion movie and made a more classic (in that form held closely to content) piece because of it. In short, yes, much love for 'Mars Attacks'.
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Mar 02, 2010 10:57:21 PM CST
Burton is a shadow of his former self / jumped the shark /
by hucksterfinn
a corporate puppet / stale as an artist --- take your pick
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THANK YOU TIM BURTON, and I will only say that ONCE. Now I will say in regards to nearly everything else he has directed: GO FUCK A GOAT TIM BURTON! Make Mars Attacks 2 or eat a bullet!
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thx right bastard
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IAN MCDIARMID + CHRIS WALKEN = CLASSIC dispute at your own risk
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Charlie and Apes were pieces of shit and Big Fish was so-so; I'm not talking about the classic films he made, I'm talking about the last 10 or so years, it's called WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY, and the answer is not fucking much but coast on his "quirky" reputation.
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Where in the hell are the Alice in Wonderland reviews?? Not even from talkbackers who have already seen it in IMAX? Does it suck that bad, or can no one say a word about it yet? It opens in 3 fucking days!!! Actually 2 if you count midnight shows. POST SOMETHING!!!
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Going by the comments in the DVD column these guys have definitely seen it... silence speaks loudly boys... is it REALLY that bad??? Drew and Latauro think so.
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Just a lot of things that connected with him that film, ya know?
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It seems to me that you were holding out on the review because you were afraid if you gave a poor review the interview wouldn't happen. I know you are fond of british slang Harry so I'll spell it out in terms you may understand. Poor form old chap!
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...he tackles original material...instead of trying to do his spin on something that has already been done in the past...and unfortunately...that's what he has been doing for the last decade starting with Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd, and now Alice in Wonderland. He should take a breather...find some original material that inspires him...then continue and stop doing re-interpretations.
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hasn't made a great film since Ed Wood or a good one since Sleepy Hollow.
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Mar 03, 2010 8:45:34 AM CST
Burton will probably remake Edward Scissorhands next.
by mastersofnonepodcast
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There, I said it. People always say how Pulp Fiction was robbed of best picture, but I say Ed Wood was robbed of best picture. I kind of wish he would do more dramedy's in the same vein. Big Fish is another one of my favorite Burton films.
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Mar 03, 2010 10:35:05 AM CST
In the world of AICN talkbacks one or two bad films means...
by rbatty024
that your life as an artist is ruined. Just because Apes and Charlie were huge disappointments (the former was atrocious and the latter was unnecessary) doesn't mean Burton is ruined. Artists sometimes make mistakes and the goal is ultimately to learn from them. Besides, Sweeny Todd was better than it had any right to be. Burton has never made a musical and then goes out to make the best musical in decades. That's not what an artist on the decline does.
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Honestly he has done some awesome stuff but im guessing the only reason he gets away with making what he wants is because he got a pocket A+ list actor.
Kind of wish he would switch it up a little and make other types of movies.
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funniest posting caption i've ever read!
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Why not just give it that title and get it over with?
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bothered by the Johnny Depp: Alice in Wonderland poster?? Does Hollywood WANT me to hate the guy?
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Dark Shadows. Lets hop to it, Burton. I've been waiting a long time for this.
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Mar 03, 2010 1:59:43 PM CST
Why didn't he just make a movie called "The Mad Hatter?"
by threeoranges
I don't think the "Alice in Wonderland" name is so hot with kids that it wouldn't have sold just as well. Don't even bring Alice in and just set the whole damn thing in Wonderland. That is clearly what he wanted to do.
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WE ALWAYS KNOW WHEN A AICN "FAVWIT" MOVIE TURNS OUT BAD BECAUSE HARRY WAITS TIL THE LAST POSSIBLE MOMENT TO PUT UP STAFF REVIEWS SO HE CAN STILL GET HIS "PWESENTS". DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS IS NOT TRANSPARENT?
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Along with Scissorhands, my favorite Burton Film. But Ed Wood, the director, was not an "unappreciated genius" (unless you meant that as a joke). He was a genuinely terrible director. Sure, I like his films (I have the box set!) but they really suck. As long as Burton has been directing films, with the exception of Ed Wood and Scissorhands, I have always called his movies "almost great". Saw Batman, that was "almost great". Mars Attacks, Big Fish...He is an "almost great" filmmaker. And I don't blame any sort of studio interference, I just don't think that his story sense equals his film sense.
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he makes the same movies over and over and over...he's even starting production soon on Frankenweenie...that's the short film he did back as a young lad. Why is remaking that? Because he's regressing as a filmmaker. Burton is one of the most disappointing artists in recent memory. Fail.
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And asks 3 questions, and calls it an interview!
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he doesn't fucking evolve, which is what good artists do. He makes the same movie over and over again and has become a corporatized version of himself, shitting out Tim Burton stamped product after product. He needs to do something other than a fantasy film. Spielberg evolved...he's literally done every single genre masterfully. Scorsese evolved. PT Anderson evolved. Cronenberg evolved. Tarantino evolved. The list goes on. Burton wouldn't have the slightest idea how to make a political thriller for instance. It would come out looking like a fantasy film.
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I love the look of his films and all. But he is so uninspired. He peeked creatively long ago. He needs to find the hunger to tell a story again.
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seems that burton's updated alice is just a big waste of time seems that the plot is much like a tv adaptation that was done not to long ago
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Looking forward to this movie. All the cynicism and unfounded hatred in the world won't stop either of those from being true for me.
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Whether or not a director evolves is a good rubric to use when evaluating his or her worth. I just happen to think Burton has evolved over the years. He has worked in a large array of genres: children's films, superhero movies, horror, science fiction, satire, fairy tales, biographical dramedy, musicals, etc. Just because he has a signature visual style, which is always adapted to fit the story at hand, doesn't mean he does not evolve.
In fact, his last film was the only musical he has ever directed and happens to be the best musical film made in decades. That's not just an artist evolving, but an artist dominating a single genre that he has not experience in. Has he failed at times? Of course he has. I agree with others who say Apes and Charlie are two disappointing films. But a director is allowed to fail so long as he continues to make great films. After Apes he made Big Fish and after Charlie he made Sweeny Todd, which happen to be two of his best films. So, yeah, I think he has evolved. -
It was short but sweet (this quote created by a man, I'm guessing?). I really hope Alice is above Charlie and Planet Of the Apes ! B@^ch Pleaseeeeeeee!!!!!!
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Keeping in mind that opinions are like assholes... Even the "good" reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are lukewarm at best. They all seem to be searching for something positive to say, but mainly just come off as being Burton apologists.
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The Tim Burton movies that came out (approx: Batman Returns, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks, Sleepy Hollow) were absolutely perfect for me. A perfect match of imagery and sound and theme and story and character. Granted, I was a teenager, and I see flaws now I didn't see then, but something about the combination of alienation and strangeness and strange beauty really spoke to me. He really seemed to have something to say about what it was like to be different and weird.
But now, I don't know. In a way it's like his latest movies are the most complete and perfect version of the vision he's always had, with computer technology able to put literally anything he imagines up on the screen exactly as he imagines it. But they all feel so hollow and empty. Some of the scenes from his old movies are just haunting.
Take Batman Returns for example. Almost any scene will do. The one where Batman is out cruising in the Batmobile, and he drives by the building where Penguin is sitting up manically copying birth certificates. It's cold and snowy looking out (they used refrigerated sets, not CG). Batman's by himself. Penguin's by himself. Both are feverishly stuck in their own worlds with nothing better to do than obsess. The movie is about people who are broken and don't know what to do with themselves. Sure, there are big, over-the-top scenes and gruesome images, but there are also the quiet moments of loneliness. Selina Kyle coming home from work to her sad apartment. And it's probably Danny Elfman's best score.
And Ed Wood--why can't he make another picture like that? Small. Intimate. Laser-focused on a fantastic character. It acknowledges that Wood is a crap director, but it doesn't belittle him for it. The movie has a soft spot for the purity and naiveté of Wood's vision of his own art, and his connection to Bela Lugosi. Now that Burton is a marquee name who can make any movie he wants, why doesn't he do something like that again? Ed Wood is the kind of movie they let you make when you've just done two Batmen that were hits. Maybe I need to see Big Fish again--I remember it being sweet and nice, but not as pitch-perfect all the way through as Ed Wood. I guess I just want back the Tim Burton from when I was in high school! Don't think I'll find it in Alice. -
I couldn't even find the review; worst fucking navigation on that site ever.
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Take out the fantasy sequences, and it's a fairly heartbreaking depiction of frayed family ties. The funny thing is, a lot of people hated POTA precisely BECAUSE it wasn't "Burtonesque" enough. Burton may have a "comfort zone" he rarely strays from, but I fucking LOVE his visual style, so why bitch? You don't like his recent movies? DON'T WATCH THEM ANYMORE. David Lynch has virtually never made anything that wasn't a "David Lynch Movie", yet no one is calling for his head on a pike.
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Check this out Harry!! Here www.fanboyweb.com
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Now lets see what the critics will say about Burton once this film releases.
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Returns was in 1992. Sleepy Hollow was in 1999. 7 years. I'm assuming you mean Jr High to Highschool.
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You've obviously never seen THE STRAIGHT STORY. If his name wasn't in the credits, you'd never guess in a million years that David Lynch directed it. Great story told beautifully. It's like Lynch giving Hollywood the finger to show them he can tell a story as good as anyone - without any bizarre bullshit at all.
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Is it true that Expendables was Re-edited?
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Two fantastic movies that aren't much like his other movies...Burton is actually regressing as a filmmaker. If you wanna keep being spoonfed the same gruel, go ahead...I'm skipping it until he does something different. For any doubt about this, watch this video....sums up Burton perfectly: http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1929453
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Utter retarded, poorly designed, directed and executed garbage that makes the original look only more brilliant. Anyone here suggesting that even his POTA his better than most Hollywood films is a dribbling fool in gothy goggled denial
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I thought I was the only one who appreciated that scene in 'Batman Returns'. The sense of isolation and obsession is absolutely haunting. Whenever I think of the film, it's that scene that first springs to mind. Burton is no hack, but success has clearly changed him to a certain extent. I think he sees this, and a nostalgic concern to return to his roots is the main impetus for even considering remaking 'Frankenweenie'.
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i just saw it on tv the other night. it was as bad as i remembered it. i still believe all the dialog was entirely add-libbed on the spot in every scene. i liked batman 2 tho. but ed wood and scissorhands are my fav burtons. i wish he would stop taking studio projects and just do his own work.
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Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Sleepy Hollow. Good stuff.
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Oh boy, that movie is bad and the ending is fucking horrible. They plainly state that he lands on an uncharted planet and somehow at the end Thade has changed the course of history on planet Earth. That ending is just fucking stupid. Also, I don't get the love for Big Fish...I found it to be tedious and boring.
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are not responding to Sweeny Todd, which I still claim is the best musical of the past several decades. Before the film came out people were lambasting Burton for not casting trained singers and claimed it will be a disaster. It turned out to be one of his best films to date. I think tackling a genre you have never stepped foot into counts as evolving.
I also find it interesting that one of the directors name checked as an evolving auteur is Tarantino. Now, I like Tarantino's movies and think he's a talented director, but his single schtick is to make a collage of 70's films. That's been the cornerstone to every movie he has ever made. Even when the genre dictated that he reach back a little farther into film history, as it did with Inglorious Basterds, he just made a collage of 70's films. Burton has showcased a much wider range than Tarantino has, and I don't say this to disparage Tarantino. He's a fine, if overrated, director. -
At the time I liked Batman. I was a dumbfuck kid, and almost can't believe how nuts I was about it. But I am a grown ass man now with kids.
Batman is unwatchable to me now. I want some Batman I am watching the Nolan versions and only the Nolan versions. Batman Returns is unwatchable. I hate that film too. So fucking painful. Fucking midgets (sorry liittle people) in penguin suits. Punching through the car to...no I don't want to go through the list of all the dumbshit in the movie. Its horrid and the only redeeming thing about it is the score. I loathe Burton's Batman movies. I would rather watch the Adam West one.
His POTA film. I want to punch him in the face for making that. What the fuck was he thinking? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A lot of it sucks. Just sucks. But I do like some of it. The kids are worse. Wonka is worse.But I like the Oompa Loompa's more. It looks much better and is closer to the book which I love.
But then there are things I love with Burton. I love Nightmare Before Christmas. LOVE IT. I love Vincent and Frankenweenie and Scissorhands and Sleepy Hallow and Ed Wood.
But here's the deal with this Alice movie. I love the Disney version. We all watch it a lot. I love being high to it. The kids have no idea, and we all just laugh our asses off to it and trip to it, in our own ways. We are all on board for this film, and they are so excited to see it, there is NO TURNING BACK. Now I can save some money and not see this in 3D ( I love 3D in Films especially with Avatar), but the 3D I hear isn't great in this so fuck it. I am really bummed by the negative review (thanks for nothing Harry). The negatives some of which sound like they would bother me too. I guess my expectations have been really lowered so at least there is that. My hype has been put in check big time. Shit I may actually like it more because of it. But I will have some edibles. Wife will drive so no biggie and I will see Alice in Wonderland proper like. The stoned eyes never lie. I am hoping it will be trippy. I am a fan of Depps that is for sure. I may not this take on the Hatter but we will see. Anyway, seeing it as a matinee with my family Saturday so I am hoping its just going to be one of those movies that I end up really loving even though I know others have shit on it. -
Forgot to mention that. But I don't even care to see it again.
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He's acting like he invented stereoscopic 3D. If he had, then fine he can criticize. But he just refined what was already around for years. Cameron and Landau should just shut the fuck up.
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Uh Link?
I know a lot act like they are so bothered by the notion of 3D that the Audacity of Cameron to so fully realized its potential is so upsetting for you. Waaaa.
Personally its annoying that these studios want so much to have Avatar money fast, and by any means necessary, that they are stumbling over themselves. Literally. Poor implementation of 3D is bullshit. Unless that bullshit is on fucking SyFy, do 3D right or don't do it. There is no reason the 3D that was applied to Nightmare Before Christmas was so great but, the 3D in Monsters vs. Aliens fucking sucked. I don't like hearing that Alice has lame use of 3D. That should be one of the coolest things about it. This awesome fantastic colorful world with the amazing depth like was seen in Avatar. you know what? Fuck it, Cameron should be the 3D police. He should be if he is the only one who truly gets it and can make it work at the scale that he used it. I don't really want to spend the extra money on an already expensive day out to the movies on a 3D movie with shitty use of 3D. If Cameron is in the credits for a 3D movie under 3D police I would spend the extra money because I would be confident that the film would have great 3D. I love the shit when its integrated right. -
(re: my earlier post) Batman Returns came out when I was in junior high school and Sleepy Hollow came out when I was in college. I just meant that the movies that came out approximately when I was in high school were in my opinion (at the time) very meaningful to me.
And I agree that the Burton Batman movies had their problems--some of the dialog is horribly hackneyed ("eat floor--high fiber!") and some of the plot is a bit nonsensical. But the quality of Burton movies in my opinion, even when they're good, is not necessarily in the plot or the dialog--it's in the imagery, the themes, and the characters. What exactly is Catwoman trying to do in Batman Returns? Be a hero? Get revenge on Max Shreck? (Great Christopher Walken performance by the way) Kill Batman? Cause chaos?
It's not clear--but some of the moments with her are just haunting. Somehow the image of her putting all her old stuffed animals down the garbage disposal just chills me, and I love how insanely focused and dedicated she is when she cuts up her leather jacket and sews it into a costume. The movie is about people who are so broken that they can't function in normal society, so they dedicate themselves to weird obsessions. That's what all of Burton's best movies are about, and it's hard not to see a little autobiography in them. -
Call it "BETELGEUSE"! :P
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"Dr. Strange" w Johnny Depp as Doc Strange.
"Appearing In Magical3D 2012"
come ON...those Box office numbers would write themself.
I would prefer Guillermo del toro but Burton could pull this off.
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