Alice in Wonderland!

As most of you know Tim Burton is doing a new version of Alice in Wonderland scheduled to be released in 2010 and the buzz around this movie is insane! Everyone was amazed by his remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and now fans of Burton are counting down the days until we can see his new masterpiece. There have recently been pictures of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter which is shown above and believe me, as a Burton (and Depp) fan, I cannot wait for this movie!! Because this movie is only in Post Production a lot of information isn't available but the hype sure is...proving that Burton has definitely made an impression on the world enough that people cannot wait to see his take on movies. According to IMDB.com this movie is to be released on March 5, 2010 and that it is currently in post production. For a full list of cast and crew go to this link to read up on it and to stay informed on the movie. As a huge Tim Burton fan and am counting down the days to see this movie which I'm sure will be A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! (by the way 324 days as of April 15, 2009, haha)

I hope that after reading all of these posts I've done, this might persuade you to go see any movies that Burton has done, they all have their own unique style that captures audiences everywhere. So I encourage you to sit back and enjoy all the movies he has made, is making, and will make because I'm sure they will all entertain everyone who sees them!

Filmography

Before I talk about one of Burton's other films in great detail, I thought it would be a good idea for everyone to see everything that he has done throughout his life (you may be surprised on what Tim Burton has worked on!) All information is taken from imdb.com. Enjoy!

Producer:
Frankenweenie (2011)
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
9 (2009)
Corpse Bride (2005)
The World of Stainboy (2000)
Lost in Oz (2000)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
Batman Forever (1995)
Ed Wood (1994)
Cabin Boy (1994)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Batman Returns (1992)
Beetlejuice (1989-1991)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Luau (1982)
Stalk of the Celery (1979)

Director:
Frankenweenie (2011)
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Cinema16: American Short Films (2006)
Corpse Bride (2005)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Big Fish (2003)
Planet of the Apes (2001)
The World of Stainboy (2000)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Ed Wood (1994)
Batman Returns (1992)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Batman (1989)
Beetle Juice (1988)
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
Frankenweenie (1984)
Vincent (1982)
Luau (1982)
Hansel and Gretel (1982/II) (TV)
Doctor of Doom (1979)
Stalk of the Celery (1979)
The Island of Doctor Agor (1971)

Writer:
Frankenweenie (2011)
Corpse Bride (2005)
The World of Stainboy (2000)
Lost in Oz (2000)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Beetle Juice (1988)
Frankenweenie (1984)
Vincent (1982)
Luau (1982)
Hansel and Gretel (1982/II)
Doctor of Doom (1979)
Stalk of the Celery (1979)
The Island of Doctor Agor (1971)

Actor:
Hoffa (1992)-Corpse
Singles (1992)-Brian
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)-Thug in alley
Luau (1982)-The Supreme Being/Mortie
The Muppet Movie (1979)-Muppet Performer

Animation Department:
Amazing Stories (1987 : animation designer)
Family Dog (1987 : designer)
TRON (1982 : animator)
Luau (1982 : animator)
The Fox and the Hound (1981 : animator)
Stalk of the Celery (1979 : animator)

Art Department:
The Black Cauldron (1985 : conceptual artist)
Frankenweenie (1984 : storyboard artist)

The Corpse Bride

So the above video is an interview with Tim Burton discussing his latest film The Corpse Bride and some of the things he liked most about it. The one part of the interview I enjoyed the most was when he talked about the difference between the "living world" and the "dead world". For anyone who has seen this movie, I'm sure you instantly realized that the living world was almost all in a gray scale form, very lifeless, boring, and ordinary; but the dead world was vibrant, loud, colorful, and very interesting. When I first saw this movie, I knew that Burton did that for a reason, to symbolize the difference between worlds and to make the film his own...and when he said exactly that in this interview I was excited to know that I can kind of think like he does. Tim Burton definitely has his own way with creating a look and feel for all of his films and the more he makes the better he gets. This interview basically explains how different stop animation has become over the past few years and how it is still an amazing art form that should never be lost. I really enjoyed actually taking the time to just sit and listen to what this man has to say about one of his movies and I think you will too, so I really encourage you to watch this interview about The Corpse Bride to learn a little and to understand Burton just a little more too.

Burton Speaks

I know in my last blog post I said I was going to focus on another of Tim Burton's films, but I decided on listing some of his famous quotes instead. I think after reading some of these quotes, you will begin to see Burton's personality and how he views the world and his work. It definitely helped me get to know my favorite director just a little bit more, so sit back and enjoy some of Tim Burton's famous quotes about his life and his movies:

1.) “Movies are like an expensive form of therapy for me.”

2.) “I've always been more comfortable making my decisions from the subconscious level, or more emotionally, because I find it is more truthful to me, Intellectually, I don't think like that because I get uncomfortable. I'm more wary of my intellectual mind, of becoming delusional if I think of it too much.”

3.) “People told me I couldn't kill Nicholson, so I cast him in two roles and killed him off twice.”

4.) “If I had a choice about going to a meeting at a studio or changing a nappy, I'd choose the nappy.”

5.) “One person's crazyness is another person's reality.”

6.) “People might say 'oh its too dark and scary' for children but you could say that about 'Nightmare before Christmas' also. People say their dog even liked watching 'Nightmare Before Christmas'. So this is for animals, children, whoever.”

7.) “Each time I've worked with Johnny, he's something different. He's interested in being a character and not necessarily interested in his persona, and I find it very exciting to work with actors like that. He's really willing to take risks that don't have to do with image or money. And each time is just different and better. It's great to find people like that you can communicate with on an almost subconscious level.”

8.) “There's just something visceral about moving a puppet frame by frame. There's a magical quality about it. Maybe you can get smoother animation with computers, but there's a dimension and emotional quality to this kind of animation that fits these characters and this story.”

9.) "I`ve always loved the idea of fairy tales, but somehow I never managed to completely connect with them. What interests me is taking those classic images and themes and trying to contemporize them a bit. I believe folk tales and fairy tales have some sort ..."

10.) "I wouldn`t know a good script if it bit me in the face."

Those are just 10 quotes that I love from this man, there are plenty more to be found for sure, but I think these 10 help shape the man that is Tim Burton. My next blog will be about another one of Burton's famous movies, and also another one of my favorites...stay tuned.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Okay, so it's time for the first in depth look at one of Tim Burton's films, and I chose to discuss Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because it is my favorite. This re-take on the classic short story written by Roald Dahl was amazing; not only did follow the original story almost word for word, it gave a whole different feel on this classic story compared to the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I did some reading on several interviews with Burton about this movie, as well as just some normal information reguarding the film and I will explain them here.

When Burton began filming in June of 2004 (through October of 2004) he had an estimated $150,000,000 budget, a great cast and an amazing story to tell. Almost everyone had already seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at least once in their lives, so impressing that audience was a big feat; even I was a little skeptical (but me being a Burton fan, I couldn't wait to see what he would come up with). Based on the films gross, Burton did a great job...even with the low opening weekend of about $57,000,000 the word got out and people liked the newer version of the film. This film had 31 nominations for award and gathered up 9 wins making it a great success in the eyes of most. The best part about this film however was the fact that it stayed so close to the original story. One of the interviews that I read between Tim Burton and IGN's Steve Head talked directly about this:

"Q: Do you think the squirrel sequence might present something a little too dark for kids?

BURTON: No, because I mean, that's the thing. I go back and I look at the book and I look at the original thing and we're probably even lighter in a certain way. When you read it in the book it almost seems more traumatic and horrible, and yet this is a children's classic. I think adults forget sometimes what it's like to be a kid. That's why I like the book and that's why I think it remains a classic. You kind of explore those kind of edgier aspects of childhood.

Q: Did you have any aversion to the idea that this was a remake? But again, what it is for you is a re-envisioning of the source material, not a remake of the 1971 movie.

BURTON: I felt for this book, I didn't feel as daunted by the movie because I didn't have quite the same impact for me as other movies and things. So, the intent for me was to try to, even though we changed things, it was like I said to try to be more true to the spirit of the book."

The interview also talked about how Burton and Depp worked together to make Willy Wonka the weird guy they thought he should be and added the back story to make sense of it all. Burton also discussed the how hard casting children can be, but how he was so happy to get the actors/actresses that he did because they really made the movie what it was. The interview also discusses a little more about Burton's relationship with Danny Elfman and some of the creative aspects reguarding this movie and if you want to read more here's a link to the interview I used for this blog. This is a great movie, with the classic Tim Burton feel, and if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Yes, it's way different from the 1971 version, but Tim decided to be just like the book...dark and a little weird and I really think he did a magnificent job in doing so. Stay tuned for more tid bits of information on a few more of Tim Burton's films and maybe just some random information about the man with the dark vision for movies.

And the Award Goes To...

Okay, I know I said that my next blogs would be focusing on particular films that Tim has been involved with, but I decided that I wanted to do a little information about all of Tim Burton's awards (both ones that he has won, and ones he has been nominated for) because even being nominated is a honor. All of this information is taken off on imdb.com and I'm just putting it here so you all can know the achievements of my favorite director, Tim Burton. So here we go, the first list is his nominations in chronological order followed by his wins:

Nominated
1990 - Best Director - Saturn Award - Beetlejuice
1993 - Best Director - Saturn Award - Batman Returns
1995 - Best Feature Film - Golden Palm Award - Ed Wood
1996 - Best Foreign Film - Silver Condor Award - Ed Wood
1997 - Best Director - Saturn Award - Mars Attacks!
1997 - Best Animated Motion Picture - Golden Satellite Award - James and the Giant Peach
2000 - Best Director - Saturn Award - Sleepy Hollow
2000 - Best Director of a Foreign Film - Silver Ribbon Award - Sleepy Hollow
2001 - Best Internet Video Premier - Video Premier Award - The World of Stainboy
2004 - Best Director - CFCA Award - Big Fish
2004 - Best Director - BAFTA Award - Big Fish
2004 - Best Director - Critics Choice Award - Big Fish
2004 - Best Foreign Film - David Award - Big Fish
2005 - Best Foreign Film - Silver Condor Award - Big Fish
2006 - Best Animated Feature Film - Academy Award - Corpse Bride
2006 - Best Foreign Feature Film - Amanda Award - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
2006 - Best Directing in an Animated Film - Annie Award - Corpse Bride
2006 - Best Foreign Film - Silver Condor Award - Corpse Bride
2006 - Best Director of a Foreign Film - Silver Ribbon Award - Corpse Bride
2006 - Animated Motion Picture - Animated Motion Picture Award - Corpse Bride
2008 - Best Director - Saturn Award - Sweeny Todd
2008 - Best Director - Critics Choice Award - Sweeny Todd
2008 - Best Director - Golden Globe Award - Sweeny Todd

Won
1984 - Audience Award - Vincent
1992 - Best Foreign Film - Sant Jordi Award - Edward Scissorhands
2005 - Best Animated Film - Future Film Festival Digital Award - Corpse Bride
2006 - Best Animated Film - BAA Award - Corpse Bride
2007 - Best Director - NBR Award - Sweeny Todd

As you can see, this man has a lot of accomplishments under his belt with more to come I am sure. Stay tuned to my next blogs that will take in depth looks at Burton's films; what he's done and what he's working on.

Starting Out

Timothy William Burton was born on August 25, 1958 in Burbank, CA and according to all his biographies was one of the last people who would become a well known face in the movie industry. Growing up, Tim was very quiet, introverted, and didn't really stand out in the world around him, but all that was about to change after high school. Tim decided to attend the California Institute of the Arts and in his second year after being given a fellowship by Disney, Tim joined the Disney Animation team. Once he graduated he instantly went to work for Disney and his first project was none other than Disney's The Fox and the Hound. Tim Burton quickly realized animation was not what he wanted to do so Disney decided to give him free reign (sort of) to think of his own ideas and to make him a character designer for the movie The Black Cauldron. Even still Tim, didn't really like the animation and so be began coming up with his own ideas...ideas such as Vincent and Frankenweenie. After those two animated films, Tim eventually gave up the animation phase of his career except for The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride and started his real career being a director in great films that I'm sure everyone has seen at least once in their life; the same films I will be discussing in the next blogs.