TOP 10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT TIM BURTON

Tim Burton is responsible for some of the best movies ever made. His creative mind and genius brought to life some incredible stories that continue to resonate with people years after they were released. Many people know the movies, but not many know who Tim Burton was.

If you want to learn more about the director behind some of your favorite movies, here are some things about Tim Burton that might surprise you.

He was fired from Disney

If you’ve ever seen a Tim Burton movie, then you know that his style is dark and gothic-like. It’s true in his animated and live action films, and if you were to see one of his movies being played, you’d know it was a Tim Burton movie based off his recognizable style. This style, however, didn’t match up with what Disney was looking for. Maybe you know or you don’t, but Burton worked with Disney shortly after graduating the California Institue of the Arts as an animator for films like The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron. After seeing his talent and Burton expressing his boredom with those type of films, Disney gave him a chance at directing his own short film after his previous first one called Vincent. The film would be known as Frankenweenie, but Disney refused to show it and eventually booted the director being “too dark.”

Of course, we all know now that Burton would get his revenge and pull one over on Disney by becoming the renowned director he is today, and getting the chance to have Frankenweenie become a feature-length film, as well as working with Disney on several other films that were his own vision.

He doesn’t know what that ending of Planet of the Apes was about either

Arguably, the worst movie of Tim Burton’s career is the 2001 Planet of the Apes. Burton admits in an interview with the New York Times that he thinks of the film as a professional low for him. Those not in the film industry might assume that a bigger budget and an open-ended script could make for a better movie, but they usually end up being worse off. In regards to its bizarre ending, Tim Burton remarked that he “had it all figured out,” and that it was private to him, but that he might share it over some LSD.

He helped Obama throw a Halloween Party

Controversy arose around the 2009 Alice in Wonderland-themed Halloween party Tim Burton helped put on for the Obamas at the White House, alongside Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as Alice. The administration kept the party under wraps for as long as they could because of the recession and fearing it would be seen in poor taste to throw an extravagant party when many Americans had lost jobs and were going through financial troubles. Tim Burton decorated the party for the Obamas and even made an appearance in his own Alice-themed costume.

Burton transformed the room the party was held in into the Mad Hatter’s tea party from the film, with a long table decorated with antique linens and huge stuffed animals in the chairs. The party was a success, and the movie released a few after the party took place.

Johnny Depp is the Godfather of his son

Tim Burton and his ex-partner Helena Bonham Carter, whom he met on the set of Planet of the Apes, had two children; Billy Ray and Nell. What most people don’t know about this simple fact is that Depp was actually too shy to ask Depp himself to be his son Billy Ray’s Godfather, so Helena Bonham Carter had to call the actor up herself and do the asking, to which he clearly accepted.

He didn’t actually direct Nightmare Before Christmas

What most people would state is their favorite Tim Burton movie isn’t technically his movie. Burton was busy with another project around the time that Nightmare was being made, so he couldn’t fulfill director duties, and instead, Henry Selick, director of Coraline, took over. Tim Burton is a credited producer, however.

He has a good luck charm

Almost everyone has something they consider to be their good luck charm, and Mr. Burton himself also has one. You might’ve noticed from photos of him at various events, premieres, and other appearances, but Tim Burton always wears a pair of black-and-white pinstriped socks for good luck whenever he makes an appearance at something important.

He and his previous partner Helena Bonham Crater did live together, despite rumors

Burton and Carter’s relationship was a media favorite, and they were always in the public eye with wacky stories about their relationship being made. One of the most notable ones was the rumor that they never lived together in the same home. In an interview some time after the couple split, Carter took it upon herself to clear up those rumors and say that they did live together.

He may be on the autistic spectrum

Helena also diagnosed and claimed that Tim Burton had Asperger’s syndrome while she was researching it for a film she was working on. She realized that her partner shared many of the Asperger’s symptoms and traits, and while the two were watching a documentary about Asperger’s, Burton said that was how he felt as a child.

He’s directed music videos for one band only

We all know Tim Burton is a film director, but he’s also directed a couple of videos for the songs for the songs “Bones” and “Here with Me” by the Killers.

They would be the only two msuic videos he’s ever directed.

He hates how the media perceives him

Tim Burton has built up a reputation of being Hollywood’s weird and dark director, but he actually feels upset that so many people view him to be this gothic, dark weirdo. He’s said to have mentioned in an interview that he could put on a clown outfit and laugh with people, and they’d still call him these things.