The Tim Burton encyclopedia PDF
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THE TIM BURTON ENCYCLOPEDIA THE TIM BURTON ENCYCLOPEDIA Samuel J. Umland ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD Lanham • Boulder • New York • London Published by Rowman & Littlefield A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowman.com Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB Copyright © 2015 by Rowman & Littlefield All photos courtesy of Jerry Ohlinger’s Movie Materials Store All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Umland, Samuel J. The Tim Burton encyclopedia / Samuel J. Umland. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8108-9200-2 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8108-9201-9 (ebook) 1. Burton, Tim, 1958—Encyclopedias. I. Title. PN1998.3.B875U45 2015 791.4302'33092—dc21 2015014712 ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America CONTENTS Foreword by bo welch vii Acknowledgments ix introduction xi entries A–Z 1 selected bibliogrAphy 257 index 259 About the Author 283 n v FOREWORD T im Burton is first and foremost an And I think that is the case in all of artist and a filmmaker. That’s the Tim’s films. He connects with audiences by young man I met in 1986. But he is combining a unique audio-visual language now, also, an icon and an industry. No one with intimate characters designed entirely has navigated the world of art and com- by him and, like him, that represent a char- merce and maintained his integrity and ismatic blend of light and dark, wit and singular vision to the extent that Tim Bur- pathos, strength and vulnerability. As fan- ton has. He has touched hundreds of mil- tastic and whimsical as Tim Burton’s mov- lions of people on our planet (and probably ies feel, the characters are always grounded beyond) with his movies—a lot of movies, in real emotions shared by real people, in fact. Some of them have redefined mov- especially those of heightened sensitivity. ies as we know them. But all of them reflect This is why designing a Tim Burton movie his deep respect for and love of the art and is the greatest opportunity a designer could craft of filmmaking. Thus, The Tim Burton hope for. Strong character design, complete Encyclopedia. with his or her own visual language and a I feel lucky to be asked to write this clear invitation to express the emotions foreword. But the real luck was to col- within that character’s world, equals design laborate with Tim on three of his movies: heaven, that is, once you’ve wrapped your Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Bat- head around Tim’s worldview. And the man Returns. At the risk of geezering out, best way to do that is to look at his draw- I must say, “Those were the days.” Too ings of the characters that inhabit his films. often in modern movies, you can recognize They are always there at the beginning of the fingerprints of a committee or a mar- each film to greet you as they hang from keting concept in the DNA of a film. This his office wall or lay across his desk, the ink was never the case in a Tim Burton film. sometimes barely dry. There’s the script, Granted, on Beetlejuice, a modestly bud- the talk, the process, but those masterful geted movie, we flew delightfully under the character drawings are always the heart and radar, even though Tim’s previous movie, soul of the movie and give every cast and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, was a bona fide crew member the direction and confidence hit. But what made Beetlejuice so special to go “out” there. They set the tone and was how personal and handmade it felt. An tone is the hardest intangible to describe audience can feel that this film was made in filmmaking. His pictures describe things for them. that cannot be described with words. More- n vii viii n FOREWORD over, at first glance, you instantly feel the that you’ll find, as I have, that great film- incredible joy and adventure of a Tim Bur- makers cannot help but infuse their work ton movie. His drawings of Beetlejuice, with their own personality, eccentricities, Edward Scissorhands, Catwoman, the Pen- and passions and that ultimately we really guin, and Batman are etched in my fond like Tim’s movies because we really like memories forever. I think this initial step Tim and his beautiful but complex view in his process, born out of his passion for of our beautiful and complex world. We drawing and animation, distinguishes Tim love his sense of humor, his sense of the from other directors. In the end, filmmak- absurd, and his respect for the audience. ing is a visual medium and though there are I know I do, and I hope he makes enough numerous talented “visual” directors, none movies for The Tim Burton Encyclopedia, is Tim Burton. Volume 2. Okay, so I’m a fan, clearly, of both the product and the process of Tim Burton. —Bo Welch, award-winning And I suspect that if you’re reading this production designer and director book, you probably are, too. I also imagine ACKNOWLEDGMENTS T his book owes its existence to a con- Many others, of course, helped in the versation I had in St. Louis at the completion of this book, and I wish to Popular Culture Association Con- thank them as well. My wife and frequent ference in 2010 with the late Jim Welsh, coauthor, Dr. Rebecca Umland, contrib- who at the time, along with Gene D. Phil- uted several entries to this encyclopedia lips and Rodney F. Hill, was completing the and also proofread much of the manu- editing of The Francis Ford Coppola Ency- script, thus donating considerable time clopedia for Scarecrow Press. I’d never met and energy to the project’s completion. I’d Jim personally, and I wanted to introduce also like to extend a big thank-you to Dr. myself to him because as editor of Litera- Susan Honeyman and Dr. Brian Ray, my ture/Film Quarterly, he accepted my very colleagues in the University of Nebraska at first article, eventually published in 1986 Kearney Department of English, for their and written while I was still a graduate contributions. A huge thank-you as well student, on Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. goes to Kevin M. Flanagan, University of He, of course, didn’t know how momen- Pittsburgh, for his many fine contribu- tous that particular publication was to me, tions. Thanks, too, to Catherine A. Fitzpat- so I wanted to thank him for his support rick, Valen Watson, and Michael Varhol and for helping me get my scholarly career for help with information. I am grateful for started. We quickly struck up a friendly the help of the English department secre- conversation and soon he mentioned his tary, Ruth Behlmann. And a huge thanks to current project on Francis Ford Coppola. Jessi Miller for her help proofing the man- Jim then suggested I meet the editor of the sucript and for her indexing expertise. I encyclopedia series, Stephen Ryan, and also wish to extend a big thank-you to John indicated to me that if I had an idea for a Muto for his help in putting me in touch book project, he’d be happy to recommend with Bo Welch, who kindly agreed to write it to Stephen. Moments later, Jim intro- the foreword. My thanks to Bo for taking duced me to Stephen, to whom I pitched time from his busy schedule to write for the idea, and The Tim Burton Encyclopedia me. Thanks to Stephen Ryan of Rowman & was born. So I have Jim Welsh, whom I Littlefield for his support (and his infinite met only one time in my life, to thank— patience). To those individuals who may again—for his support of my work. He was have been omitted due to my unconscious a friendly, garrulous, and kindly soul, and I neglect, thanks to you all. Finally, I want to grieved at his passing in 2013. He played an express my gratitude toward, and admira- essential role in getting this book published, tion for, Tim Burton, for enriching the lives and I’ll be forever grateful to him. of so many. n ix
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