Tim Burton Talks “Strange Phenomenon” Of Studio Career, Connection With Johnny Depp & ‘House Of Wax’ Musical With Michael Jackson That Got Away – Lumière Festival

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Tim Burton described his career working uniquely with the Hollywood studios as a “strange phenomenon” in a masterclass at the Lumière Festival in Lyon on Friday.

The Batman, Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, Alice In Wonderland director is being feted on Friday with the prestigious Prix Lumiere of the festival, spearheaded by Cannes delegate general Thierry Frémaux in his other role of director of the Institut Lumiere.  “I started out as an animator at Disney and made a couple of short films and then from my first film, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, I only worked with studios,” he said. “I was a strange phenomenon in a way.

I had some kind of independence, basically because they didn’t understand what I was doing, but still, I manoeuvred my way, not through independent film, but through the studios.” Nevertheless, Burton lamented the passing of the more independently spirit of the New Hollywood era of the 1960s and 70s. “In the 1970s, there was a lot more experimentation and freedom.

It was a time when people like Scorsese, could make more independent-style films. What happened was that once the idea of the blockbuster came out, there was much more focus on business,” he said.  “When I first did Batman, I’d never heard of the word ‘franchise’,” he continued, referring to his 1989 reboot. “After that, it became something else.” Frémaux quizzed Burton on the role he had played in helping to usher in the current era of superhero franchises with Batman and its 1992 sequel Batman Returns, which put him at odds with the studios for its dark tone. “It did feel very exciting to be at the beginning of all of it.