Tim Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker, animator, and artist, who often works with certain actors and crew members in multiple feature film directing projects.
Film composer Danny Elfman composed the music for most of Burton's feature films, except for Ed Wood (1994), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016). He also composed the music for The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), a stop-motion animated film Burton co-wrote and produced. [1]
The actors who collaborated with Burton the most frequently are Johnny Depp (8 films), Helena Bonham Carter (7 films), and Michael Keaton, Christopher Lee and Michael Gough (5 films each). Other actors that Burton has worked with more than once include Alan Arkin, Danny DeVito, Conchata Ferrell, Albert Finney, Carmen Filpi, Eva Green, Pat Hingle, Jan Hooks, Rance Howard, Jeffrey Jones, O-Lan Jones, Martin Landau, Lisa Marie, Jack Nicholson, Catherine O'Hara, Michelle Pfeiffer, Missi Pyle, Paul Reubens, Alan Rickman, Deep Roy, Winona Ryder, Diane Salinger, Glenn Shadix, Martin Short, Timothy Spall, Terence Stamp, Sylvia Sidney, Christopher Walken, Frank Welker, and Paul Whitehouse.
Actor Jason Hervey appeared in the short film Frankenweenie (1984), before appearing in Burton's feature film-directing debut Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985). [2] Actor Vincent Price worked with Burton on three projects, hosting the television film Hansel and Gretel (1983), narrating the short film Vincent (1982) and appearing in the feature film Edward Scissorhands (1990). [3] Twin actresses Ada and Arlene Tai worked with Burton as uncredited extras in Ed Wood before being cast as the conjoined twins Ping and Jing in Big Fish (2003). [4] In addition to starring in Beetlejuice and its sequel, Edward Scissorhands, and Frankenweenie (2012), Winona Ryder appeared in the Burton-directed music video for the Killers' 2012 single "Here with Me".
Catherine O'Hara, Glenn Shadix and Paul Reubens provided voices for The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) after working with Burton on directorial projects.
Christina Ricci was the first actor to reunite with Burton for television, appearing as a series regular in Wednesday (2022–present) after starring in Sleepy Hollow (1999). Likewise, Jenna Ortega, the leading series regular of Wednesday, reunited with Burton shortly after, starring in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). Steve Buscemi also reunited with Burton as a series regular for the second season of Wednesday after starring in Big Fish as well as Joanna Lumley after having a role in Corpse Bride (2005).
Burton also often works with certain crew members in multiple directing projects. This includes screenwriters Warren Skaaren, Caroline Thompson, John August, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Seth Grahame-Smith and Alfred Gough & Miles Millar, producers Denise Di Novi, Allison Abbate, Richard D. Zanuck, and Derek Frey, composer Danny Elfman, composer/music supervisor/music producer/music editor Mike Higham, costume designer Colleen Atwood, production designers Bo Welch, Alex McDowell, and Rick Heinrichs, cinematographers Stefan Czapsky, Philippe Rousselot, Dariusz Wolski, and Bruno Delbonnel, makeup artists Ve Neill, Stan Winston, and Rick Baker, and editor/executive producer Chris Lebenzon. Burton has worked with director Henry Selick on The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and James and the Giant Peach (1996), the former of which Burton co-wrote. He has also worked with fellow producer/director Timur Bekmambetov and producer Jim Lemley on 9 (2009) and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), for which Bekmambetov also served as director. Burton has also collaborated with puppet manufacturers Mackinnon & Saunders four times: a failed attempt on Mars Attacks!, Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Directed by Tim Burton, it is the first installment of Warner Bros.' initial Batman film series. The film was produced by Jon Peters and Peter Guber and stars Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, and Jack Palance. The film takes place early in the war on crime of the title character (Keaton) and depicts his conflict with his archenemy the Joker (Nicholson).
Daniel Robert Elfman is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his first studio film in 1985, Elfman has garnered international recognition for composing over 100 feature film scores, as well as compositions for television, stage productions, and the concert hall.
Timothy Walter Burton is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. Known for pioneering Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his gothic horror and fantasy films. He has received numerous accolades including an Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and three BAFTA Awards. He was honored with the Venice International Film Festival's Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2007 and was given the Order of the Arts and Letters by Culture Minister of France in 2010.
Winona Laura Horowitz, known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Having come to attention playing quirky characters in the late 1980s, she achieved success with her more dramatic performances in the 1990s. Ryder's many accolades include a Golden Globe, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award.
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American gothic dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren based on a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson. The film stars Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder, and Michael Keaton as the title character.
Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 American gothic romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker, Vincent Price, and Alan Arkin. It tells the story of an unfinished artificial humanoid who has scissor blades instead of hands, is taken in by a suburban family, and falls in love with their teenage daughter.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a 1993 American gothic stop motion animated musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick in his feature directorial debut and produced and conceived by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town, who stumbles upon Christmas Town and schemes to take over the holiday. Danny Elfman wrote the songs and score and provided the singing voice of Jack. The principal voice cast includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix and Ed Ivory.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his feature-film directing debut. The film stars Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, along with E.G. Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger and Judd Omen. The screenplay, written by Reubens with Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol, tells the story of Pee-wee's search for his stolen bicycle and has been compared to the 1948 Italian film Bicycle Thieves.
Frankenweenie is a 1984 American science fiction comedy horror featurette directed by Tim Burton and written by him and Leonard Ripps. It is both a parody of, and homage to, the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Burton later directed a feature-length stop-motion animated remake, released in 2012.
Alfred Gough is an American screenwriter, producer, writer, director, showrunner and creator. He is best known as the developer of The WB/The CW's Superman-prequel television hit series Smallville. Alongside longtime writing/producing partner Miles Millar, Gough also co-created other television programs like AMC's 2015 wuxia-influenced dystopian television series Into the Badlands, MTV's 2016 epic fantasy television series The Shannara Chronicles and Netflix's Wednesday, the Tim Burton helmed Addams Family spin-off. Among his many feature film credits he wrote or produced are Shanghai Noon, as well as its sequel, Shanghai Knights, Spider-Man 2, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Hannah Montana: The Movie and Burton's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
William Glenn Shadix was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for his roles as Otho Fenlock in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice and the Mayor of Halloween Town in The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Beetlejuice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 1988 film Beetlejuice directed by Tim Burton and stars Michael Keaton as the title character, alongside Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara and Winona Ryder. The album features the film's musical score composed by Danny Elfman and two original recordings performed by Harry Belafonte. The soundtrack was released through Geffen Records on June 7, 1988.
Wanted is a 2008 action thriller film directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan, loosely based on the comic book miniseries by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones. The film stars James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common and Chris Pratt.
Frankenweenie is a 2012 American gothic 3D stop-motion animated science fiction horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton, written by John August, and starring Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, and Winona Ryder. A co-production between Walt Disney Pictures and Tim Burton Productions, it is a feature-length remake of Disney and Burton's 1984 short film of the same name, and is also both a parody of and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley's 1818 book Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The film follows a boy named Victor Frankenstein who uses the power of electricity to resurrect his dead Bull Terrier, Sparky, but his peers discover what he has done and reanimate their own deceased pets and other creatures, resulting in mayhem.
Frankenweenie: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score for the Disney film, Frankenweenie, by Danny Elfman, and was released on September 25, 2012.
Tim Burton is an American film director, producer, artist, writer, animator, puppeteer, and actor.
Winona Ryder is an American actress who is known for taking on challenging roles in her earlier films, after which she went on to play more prominent roles in the 1990s. After Ryder's film debut in Lucas (1986), she gained attention with her performance in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988). She further rose to prominence with major roles in Heathers (1988), Mermaids (1990), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Night on Earth (1991), and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). She garnered critical acclaim and two consecutive Academy Award nominations for her portrayals of socialite May Welland in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993) and Jo March in the fifth film adaptation of Little Women (1994). Her other films during this period were Reality Bites (1994), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), The Crucible (1996), Alien Resurrection (1997), Celebrity (1999), and Girl, Interrupted (1999), which she also executive-produced.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a 2024 American gothic dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. A sequel to Beetlejuice (1988) and the second film of the Beetlejuice franchise, the film stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara reprising their roles alongside new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe. Set more than three decades after the first film, it follows Lydia Deetz, now a mother, struggling to keep her family together in the wake of a loss as Betelgeuse returns to haunt her.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2024 film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, directed by Tim Burton. A sequel to Beetlejuice (1988), the film stars Michael Keaton (as the title character), Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara reprising their roles alongside new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe.