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Friday, December 11, 2009
Watch Tim Burton on "The Charlie Rose Show"
In case you missed it, here is the superb interview with Tim Burton on The Charlie Rose Show, which premiered on Thursday, November 26th, 2009. This is most of the episode. It begins with the three curators from the Museum of Modern Art discussing Burton's art, then goes to the man of the hour himself. Rose describes Burton as the "perfect guest", as they enthusiastically talk about a plethora of topics including his most personal films, being a parent, children's artwork, his creative process, and much more:
"It's so surreal that it's a bit of an out-of-body experience," he told MTV News at the MoMA. "So you don't actually feel like it's you; it's somebody else. But like I said, it's a cool honor. I got to see friends that I hadn't seen in many years. It's a real nice thing."
For the filmmaker, this artwork was meant to be more of a personal catharsis rather than made for public viewing. "I've been there [with therapists]. Done that," he joked. "Making movies is an expensive form of therapy, but it's better than therapy. I've had a couple of psychiatrists who were up there in that range."
Burton says he is not very good at drawing, but he likes the honest imperfections of his work. The flaws, the good things, the bad things — it's all a part of what makes it a piece of work," he explained. "I accept the flaws, as much as I may not like them. ... These things should be kept as they are. I grew up loving terrible movies, so you don't want them to change. You want them to be bad as ever."
The grand retrospective "Tim Burton" will be open to the public on Sunday, November 22nd. Members of MoMA can catch a preview of it now. Here are a few samples of the vast array of movie props, paintings, personal photographs, sketches, and artifacts featured in the exhibition (all images courtesy of MTV News):
The gaping maw leading to the beginning of the gallery.
A personal letter from Tim to Johnny Depp.
A conceptual painting of Brainiac for the unrealized film Superman Lives.
Another illustration of Brainiac for Superman Lives.
A painting of the Joker from Batman, the quintessential insane menace.
The disembodied heads of Pierce Brosnan and Sarah Jessica Parker from Mars Attacks!
Artwork from the making of Mars Attacks!, partially inspired by classic B-grade science fiction movies and pulp comics, but very much of Burton's original imagination.
Burton's fear of clowns on a massive scale, in the form of an alien invasion.
A video from YouTube user FGuts123, featuring more previews of the exhibition and some words from Burton himself at the podium during the MoMA press preview:
Tim Burton on the set of Corpse Bride (Photo: Derek Frey)
From November 22nd, 2009 until April 26th, 2010, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City will open their exhibition "Tim Burton," the largest showcase of artwork by the visionary filmmaker. The exhibit will contain over 700 illustrations, sketches, paintings, puppets, photographs, and short and student films by the filmmaker, many of which have never been seen before. There will also be many artifacts from his career as a professional filmmaker, which spans nearly 27 years. Such artifacts will include original puppets from The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, severed head props from Mars Attacks!, and costumes from Batman Returns and Sleepy Hollow. Burton's features will also be screened at the museum from November 18-30.
A familiar sketch of Edward Scissorhands
At a press conference, Burton told reporters that he was excited, but felt a bit surprised by the idea, too. "I didn't grow up in a real museum culture," Burton said at a press conference Wednesday. "I think I went to the Hollywood Wax Museum as my first museum…I was of that generation where I got more out of The Beverly Hillbillies than Monet."
But Burton has found the experience of revisiting decades of his art to be a cathartic and energizing one. "Every now and then, and since I had never done it, it's good to kind of go back and reconnect with yourself," he told reporters yesterday. "It kind of re-energizes you and connects you and gets the nerve-endings going again."
Admission for the MoMA exhibit will be $20 for adults.
There are less than 500 copies of this brand-new expanded rerelease of Danny Elfman's Mars Attacks! score! La-La Land Records has completely remastered all 74 minutes and 48 seconds of orchestral score from the film. The album contains linear notes by Dan Goldwasser and features comments from Elfman.
The price is $19.98, and units are going fast!
Special rerelease produced by MV Gerhard and remastered by James Nelson.
Director Tim Burton has been ordered to stand trial in a lawsuit by his ex-girlfriend Lisa Marie, who claims she's owed millions of dollars.
Los Angeles Superior Court Justice Teresa Sanchez-Gordon ruled on the morning of Friday, July 18th, 2008, that a trial is the best means to determine whether Burton verbally agreed to bankroll Marie for life in return for her acting in his films (which include Ed Wood, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, and Planet of the Apes) and serving as his personal manager, as her suit contends, before allegedly duping her into a much smaller payout.
Burton had fought to have his lawsuit tossed. There has been no immediate comment from neither his publicist nor his lawyer.
While Marie turned up for the proceedings in California, Burton participated on the phone, since he is in London, busy working on his upcoming Alice in Wonderland.
In his motion seeking dismissal, attorney Joseph Mannis argued that any sort of oral agreement was not applicable in this case, because Lisa Marie signed off on a $5.5 million settlement. Per the terms of that deal, Mannis argued, Lisa Marie relinquished all claims to Burton's assets and promised not to file a palimony suit.
But the model and actress, who appeared in small roles in many of Burton's films and whose real name is Lisa Marie Smith, claims she only received $2.7 million and was victimized by a conspiracy. She claims that Burton worked with her own advisers to shortchange her.
Burton filed a countersuit last September seeking a court declaration affirming she was obligated to live up to the prior deal.
One of the plaintiff's lawyers lashed out at the director's camp for a bullying tactic in which they threatened to take futher legal action against her if she fought Burton's petition to dismiss the case.
"They said that if we had the temerity to file papers in opposition to their motion for some reason that they would file a malicious prosecution action not only against Lisa Marie but also against me," cocounsel Judd Burstein told E! News. "It's going to be very interesting what the jury thinks of that kind of hubris."
Burstein added his camp was "very pleased" by the judge's ruling.
"It's not unexpected to us. Nice to know that just because you're a big celebrity you can't get your way by cheating and bullying."
The attorney also said that a chance for an amicable agreement was past.
"We've had some [settlement] talks, but it's not going anywhere," Burstein said. "We want our day in court, and it will be a very bad day for Tim Burton."
Filmscoremonthly.comhas posted information about a new re-recording by Silva Screen Records...
The article says the following:
"'Music from the Films of Tim Burton'
Tim Burton’s career as a director has provided some of the most original and distinctive films in cinema history.
His long working relationship with the musical genius of Danny Elfman is the main subject of this collection of the very best music from his films.
With a collaboration lasting over 25 years, Danny Elfman’s quirky music has more than matched the strange screen worlds of Tim Burton.
Highlights include Breakfast Machine from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Main Title/Ice Dance from Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks! and Beetlejuice.
Also includes selections from Burton’s most recent film Sweeney Todd, composed by Stephen Sondheim."
The tracklisting is as follows:
1. Main Titles – Sweeney Todd 2. No Place Like London – Sweeney Todd 3. A Little Priest – Sweeney Todd 4. Johanna – Sweeney Todd 5. Christmas Eve Montage – The Nightmare Before Christmas 6. The Piano Duet/Victor’s Piano Solo – Corpse Bride 7. End Titles – Sleepy Hollow 8. Themes - Batman 9. End Titles – Batman Returns 10. Main Title/Ice Dance – Edward Scissorhands 11. Finale – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 12. Beetlejuice - Beetlejuice 13. Breakfast Machine – Pee-wee’s Big Adventure 14. Main Title – Ed Wood 15. Mars Attacks! – Mars Attacks
This CD is not composed of the same versions of the music by Danny Elfman, Howard Shore (Ed Wood), and Stephen Sondheim, that we're familiar with. Instead, these are new recordings of those pieces, played by the City of Prague Philharmonic.
What was hoped to be a quick settlement has evolved into a drawn-out legal confrontation between director Tim Burton and his ex, Lisa Marie. The trial is set for August 12th, 2008.
Lisa Marie, 39, originally filed a lawsuit against the filmmaker in 2006.
Marie and Burton met in December 1991 and quickly moved in with one another. At that point, according to her complaint, the filmmaker promised to "share equally any and all property accumulated" and agreed to take care of her financial needs for the rest of her life.
Burton did assist Marie's career: the model appeared in four of his films -- Ed Wood in 1994, Mars Attacks! in 1996, Sleepy Hollow in 1999, and Planet of the Apes in 2001.
But while shooting their last film together, Marie's suit states, Burton dumped the model/actress for Helena Bonham Carter, who played the female lead in Apes. Bonham Carter and Tim Burton currently reside in England with their two children.
Lisa Marie's suit claims that while Burton and Bonham Carter pursued their romance, Marie felt "extremely depressed" for several months.
Marie, whose full name is Lisa Marie Smith, eventually received $2.7 million, but in 2004, she complained of a conspiracy preventing her from obtaining her fair share.
Burton fired back with his own petition, seeking a court declaration which would demand Marie abide by the original agreement.
Mark Salisbury Has Written Companion Book to "Sweeney Todd"
Mark Salisbury, who has interviewed Tim Burton for the book, Burton on Burton, and wrote who the companion book to the 2005 stop-motion film, Corpse Bride, has written the companion book to Burton's upcoming Sweeney Todd.
Salisbury said, "Call me biased regarding Tim Burton, if you like, on account of my long-standing relationship with the man forged through my many years of interviewing him for my book Burton On Burton, but I'm the first to admit I disliked most of his Planet Of The Apes. That said, I love almost everything else he's made, even Mars Attacks which, to my mind, is a work of subversive genius that will, in the not too distant future, finally get the recognition it truly deserves."
He continued optimistically, saying, "There's been some carping in certain online quarters about how Burton's lost it, and about how this is going to be a disaster. Wrong. Wrong. WRONG. I'm not really at liberty to say much about Sweeney, but, take it from me, this is going to be something very special. People are going to be surprised and really blown away when they see what Burton, Depp and co are serving up this time around. Trust me."
Lisa Marie Told to Revise Lawsuit Against Tim Burton
The Associated Press has reported that, on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007, Tim Burton's ex-girlfriend, Lisa Marie, was told to revise her lawsuit against the director. The article went into detail, saying, "a judge ruled it didn't sufficiently support claims that Burton had backed out of a promise to financially support her. " Marie sued in December 2006, alleging that Burton used fraud to "cheat her out of assets he promised to share with her during their nearly 10-year, live-in relationship." Burton's attorneys said that the director already gave Marie $5 million to sign the contract, "which released him from any further claims to his assets." The judge stated that Marie and her attorneys have ten days to revise the action.
Marie was in four of Burton's films: Ed Wood (1994), Mars Attacks (1996), Sleepy Hollow (1999), and Planet of the Apes (2001).
Photo provided by the Associated Press. This picture was taken at the 47th International Film Festival in Berlin on Saturday, February 22nd, 1997, during a press conference for Mars Attacks.
Photo provided by the Associated Press. This picture was taken at the 47th International Film Festival in Berlin on Saturday, February 22nd, 1997, during a press conference for Mars Attacks.
