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Quick Facts
- NAME: Tim Burton
- OCCUPATION: Illustrator, Painter, Director, Producer, Screenwriter
- BIRTH DATE: August 25, 1958 (Age: 54)
- EDUCATION: California Institute of Arts
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Burbank, California
- Full Name: Timothy Walter Burton
- AKA: Tim Burton
- AKA: Timothy Burton
- ZODIAC SIGN: Virgo
Best Known For
Director, producer and screenwriter Tim Burton is known for such films as Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, which blend themes of fantasy and horror.
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Play NowTim Burton. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 02:33, May 25, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/tim-burton-9542431.
Tim Burton. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/tim-burton-9542431 [Accessed 25 May 2013].
"Tim Burton." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 25 2013, 02:33 http://www.biography.com/people/tim-burton-9542431.
"Tim Burton," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/tim-burton-9542431 [accessed May 25, 2013].
"Tim Burton," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/tim-burton-9542431 (accessed May 25, 2013).
Tim Burton [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 25] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/tim-burton-9542431.
Tim Burton, http://www.biography.com/people/tim-burton-9542431 (last visited May 25, 2013).
Tim Burton. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/tim-burton-9542431. Accessed May 25, 2013.
Synopsis
Tim Burton was born on August 25, 1958, in Burbank, California. After majoring in animation at the California Institute of Arts, he worked as a Disney animator for less than a year before striking out on his own. He became known for creating visually striking films that blend themes of fantasy and horror, including Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Quotes
"I have a problem when people say something's real or not real, or normal or abnormal. The meaning of those words for me is very personal and subjective."
"I don't know what it was, maybe the movie theaters in my immediate surrounding neighbourhood in Burbank, but I never saw what would be considered A movies."
"People told me I couldn't kill [Jack] Nicholson, so I cast him in two roles and killed him off twice."
"One person's crazyness is another person's reality."
Early Films
Famed director, producer and screenwriter Tim Burton was born Timothy Walter Burton on August 25, 1958, in Burbank, California. As a child, Burton was engrossed with the classic horror films of Roger Corman—many of which featured quintessential screen villain Vincent Price. Burton also developed a penchant for drawing and enrolled at the California Institute of Arts, where he majored in animation. In 1980, upon his graduation, he began working as an apprentice animator for Walt Disney Studios. Within a year, Burton grew tired with his work at Disney and decided to strike out on his own. In 1982, he released the award-winning short Vincent, which paid homage to the enduring work of his childhood idol.
In 1984, Burton created a unique version of the Frankenstein story with the live-action short Frankenweenie. Impressed with Frankenweenie, Paul Reubens commissioned Burton to direct the wildly inventive comedy Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985). The success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure brought about other opportunities, including the 1988 ghost story Beetlejuice starring Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, and Geena Davis. Often considered the prototypical Burton film, Beetlejuice was recognized for its visual flair and interwoven themes of fantasy and horror.
After forming his own production company, Burton directed the lavish production Batman (1989). With a cast that included Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, and Kim Basinger, the stylized feature became the first film to sell $100 million in the first 10 days of release. The following year, Burton helmed the bizarre but touching film Edward Scissorhands. Featuring notable performances by up-and-coming stars Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder (as well as Price's final feature role as the eccentric inventor), Edward Scissorhands was acclaimed for being both a social satire and a simple tale of love and intolerance.
Batman and Beyond
Directing an ensemble that included Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Walken, Burton reteamed with Keaton for the 1992 Batman sequel, Batman Returns. The following year, he produced the animated musical Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Created with the painstaking process of stop-motion animation, the film became a critical and commercial success, while Burton was credited for his technical prowess.
In 1994, Burton cast Johnny Depp as the title character in Ed Wood—a black-and-white portrait of a middling filmmaker and his all-consuming passion to succeed.
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