Tim Burton on Why the ‘Batman’ Films Have Changed and How ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Saved Him From Retirement After ‘Dumbo’: ‘That Could Have Been It’

variety.com:

Walk of Fame is not one that Tim Burton ever expected. But his reaction to the news perfectly matches the playful, macabre sensibility that has driven his 20 films to almost $4.5 billion in worldwide box office receipts and made a household name out of a filmmaker who has constantly been perceived as an outsider. “I remember, I first thought they were gravestones before I knew what they were,” Burton tells Variety. “I grew up in California where it’s all flat tombstones, so that’s why I mistook it for those.

But I realized fairly early on that Desi Arnaz and John Wayne were not buried underneath [Hollywood Boulevard].” With films like “Sleepy Hollow,” “Corpse Bride,” Dark Shadows” and “Frankenweenie” under his belt, the director knows a thing or two about the living and the dead.

Actor Michael Keaton says that their introduction on “Beetlejuice” immediately underscored not only Burton’s idiosyncratic personality but their creative compatibility. “It wasn’t an easy idea to convey, but his passion and persistence were clear,” Keaton remembers. “That creative process, guided by Tim’s vision, was one of the most fun and fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had.

He is a visionary who sees the world in a way that’s hard to explain, but brilliant when it all comes together.” As they reunite for the follow-up “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” Keaton suggests that Burton’s singular perspective as a storyteller is what earned him a place in the Hollywood firmament.