FACTS AT A GLANCE: Tim Burton
Full Name: Timothy William Burton
Date of Birth: August 25th, 1958
Place of Birth: Burbank, California
Parents: Bill and Jean Burton
Sibling(s): Daniel, better known as Danny Burton
Occupation: Director, Producer, Artist, Photographer, Poet
Education: California Institute of the Arts
Official Site: www.timburton.com
LIST OF CREDITS:
1979--The Fox and the Hound (animator)
?1979?--The Black Cauldron (conceptual artist)
?1980/1981?--Trick or Treat (animator?)
1982--Vincent (director, producer, screenplay)
?1982/1983?--Hansel and Gretel (director)
?1983?--Frankenweenie (director)
1984--Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp (director)
1985--Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (director)
1985--Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Jar (director)
1986--Amazing Stories: Family Dog (executive producer, design consultant)
1988--Beetlejuice (director)
1989--Batman (director)
?1989/1990?--Beetlejuice: The Animated Series (executive producer)
1990--Edward Scissorhands (director, producer)
1992--Batman Returns (director, producer)
?1992/1993?--Singles (actor)
1993--Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (producer)
?1993/1994?--Cabin Boy (producer)
1994--Ed Wood (director, producer)
1995--James and the Giant Peach (executive producer)
1995--Batman Forever (producer)
1996--Mars Attacks! (director, producer)
1998--Hollywood Gum [commercial] (director)
1999--Sleepy Hollow (director)
2000--Timex [commercial series] (director)
CURRENT PROJECTS AND POSSIBILITIES
*Please note, I'm not sure if Tim is actually working on all these projects...a few of them are just romours that have popped up on the web*
--Big Fish (director)
--The Corpse Bride (director)
--X - The Man With The X-Ray Eyes
--Tim Burton's Lost in Oz [TV series] *note, I think this series won't be happening* (director, executive producer)
BIOGRAPHY:
Timothy William Burton was born on the 25 August, 1958 to Bill and Jean Burton, the oldest of two sons by three years (the others name was Daniel, also called Danny). Bill Burton worked for the Burbank Parks and Recreation Department, while his mother ran a gift shop called 'Cats Plus'.
Growing up in Burbank, California, or what Tim calls 'Suburbia', little Timothy wasn't exactly a 'normal' child. He was the quiet one, who didn't quite fit in. The odd kid, who drew strange pictures and dreamed bizzare fantasies. Together with his friends he would create Super 8 movies, one of which was title 'The Island of Doctor Agor'. He used to create tableaux of flying saucers attaking an army; he'd trick the neighbors into believing that aliens had landed; he'd watch sad little cheap horror films. He was a poor communicator and rarely associated with people.
In 1976 Burton became a student at the California Institute of the Arts, or CalArts. A branch of Disney, the institute was intended to train young and aspiring artists to become animators. Burton went there using a scholarship he had won, staying for three years before gaining a job with Disney. He began work on the film 'The Fox and The Hound'. despite the fact that Burton was inable to draw the cute little foxes he had been assigned to. Burton was kept on, however, and picked up work as a conceptual artist on the film 'The Black Cauldron' (both movies quite unremarkable). Says Burton, "I was very strange back then. I could see I had problems. I was always perceived as weird. I would sit in a closet a lot of the time and not come out, or I would sit up on top of my desk, or under my desk, or do weird things like get my wisdom teeth out and bleed all over the hallways. But I've gotten over that. I don't sit in a closet anymore. I was kept at arm's length, but at the same time they let me be. I guess I did enough work not to get fired. I just had to do it fast, and because I couldn't draw it anyway, it didn't matter how much time I spent on it. I was weird at that stage. I was having emotional problems. I didn't know who I was." [from Burton on Burton].
After around 2 years Burton was given $60,000 by Tom Wilhite to produce Vincent, based on a poem Burton had written. That eventualy lead to other projects; Hansel and Gretel, Frankenweenie, and eventually his first big motion picture; Pee-Wee's Big Adenture. After that, Burton became a hot sensation in Hollywood. He went on to make such movies as Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Today he has many plans for many other films, and he's even published a book of poems, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories. He has many plans for the future, and from what it looks like his career is only just taking off.
CONTACT:
>Fanmail: [I recommend using this one]
Tim Burton
c/o William Morris Agency
1325 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019-4701
USA
Tim Burton Productions
Warner Hollywood Studios
1041 N.Formosa Ave.
Writer's Building Suite 10
West Hollywood, CA 90046
Tim Burton
5301 Loma Linda Avenue 8
Los Angeles, Ca 90027
USA
QUOTES:
~~Just a note, for those using this material for reports, I've included the author, publisher, year of publication, and page numbers.
"Sometimes I'll see people wearing the Nightmare Burger King watch in the wierdest places. I just saw somebody wearing it who worked at Carnegie Hall, and it's incredible. People will come up and they'll have a little picture of Jack with them. It's funny because sometimes when things connect with people, maybe not a large group but with some, it's really wonderful to me. A lot of people and critics don't get that there is an emotion underneath these weird, stupid-looking things. Some people do, and that probably means the most to me: that people get the emotional quality underneath the stupid facade."
-from 'Burton on Burton', on The Nightmare Before Christmas; Edited by Mark Salisbury, published by Faber and Faber Limited, 1995. Pg 126
"I remember drawing Jack and really getting into these black holes for eyes and thinking that to be expressive, but not have Sally eyes, would be really incredible. Sally was a relatively new character; I was into stitching from the Catwoman thing, I was into that whole psychological thing of being pieced together. Again, these are all symbols for the way that you feel. The feeling of not being together and of being loosely stitched together and constantly trying to pull yourself together, so to speak, is just a strong feeling to me. So those kind of visual symbols have less to do with being based on Frankenstein, than with the feeling of pulling yourself together."
-from 'Burton on Burton', on The Nightmare Before Christmas; Edited by Mark Salisbury, published by Faber and Faber Limited, 1995. Pgs 122-123
The budget for Nightmare was less than $18 million, a fraction of the cost of producing a drawn animated movie. The film was released on Hallowe'en 1993 in the US and made $51 million at the box office. Rather ironically, it was (mis)perceived as being too scary for kids.
"Which was great, which was interesting, because it's what the story is about. Here you have this story where there are no really bad characters, not even Oogie Boogie; he's not really bad, he's just the weird neighbour in this weird city. And you have this character, Jack, who just wants to do good; he's passionate about something, and basically he ends up being mis-perceived and scaring everybody. It's funny, it took on the life of what it was about in real life. It was like, 'Wait a minute. This is exactly what the movie is about. People are freaking out because they think it's scary, but it's not. There really isn't anything in it.' Kids are incredible. If you show it to a bunch of kids without their parents it's great, but as soon as you get the parents involved, you get: 'This is too scary.' I've seen this happen before and it's a very disturbing phenomenon. If something was too scary for me, I wouldn't watch it, I was never forced to, but when you get a parent giving you this weird vibe, it puts you on edge."
-from 'Burton on Burton', on The Nightmare Before Christmas; Edited by Mark Salisbury, published by Faber and Faber Limited, 1995. Pg 125
Surprisingly, given his six-film relationship with Danny Elfman, Burton chose composer Howard Shore to provide the music for Ed Wood.
The situation with Danny right now, I don't know if it will stay that way or not. I don't know what to say about it because I don't know where it's going. We're taking a little vacation from each other.
-from 'Burton on Burton', on The Nightmare Before Christmas; Edited by Mark Salisbury, published by Faber and Faber Limited, 1995. Pg 142.
Providing the score [for Mars Attacks!] was Danny Elfman, who had had a falling out with Burton prior to Ed Wood.
I think he was mad at me from Nightmare. Nightmare was hard because between Danny, Henry, and Caroline we were like a bunch of kids, fighting. That's what I felt like anyway, and I think it was just one of those times when, like in any relationship, we just needed a break, and it was probably good for all of us. Danny works with many different people, so I think every now and then it's worth trying something new, and I enjoyed working with Howard.
-from 'Burton on Burton', on The Nightmare Before Christmas; Edited by Mark Salisbury, published by Faber and Faber Limited, 1995. Pg 153
The majority of Burton's photographic work features his girlfriend of eight years, Lisa Marie.
I felt a connection when I met her that I'd never felt before and I guess that's chemistry. It's how we have fun, you know. We go on road trips and be as bohemian as we can possibly be in this world. There's some photos in which we made up some weird plants and animals, but most of them are her. It's just nice to have somebody that you love around, as opposed to spending my whole life doing things on my own.
-from 'Burton on Burton', on The Nightmare Before Christmas; Edited by Mark Salisbury, published by Faber and Faber Limited, 2000. Pg 158
