If there’s a prolific director who has his own distinctive style, it’s Tim Burton. Whether the movie is hit or miss, the filmmaker has always been able to inject his personality and vision into it. He became the voice for a generation of misfits with a dark edge, who gravitated toward his films in the 80s and 90s. And faithful to the material or not, he popularized the superhero movie and established a blueprint for it. It’s natural that a documentary on such a unique talent would manifest, and according to Deadline, a new documentary series on Tim Burton will be heading to the Cannes market.
The documentary, which is currently untitled, will be a four-part series directed by Tara Wood. Wood had previously made two other documentaries about famous filmmakers with a Richard Linklater feature called 21 Years: Richard Linklater and a doc on Quentin Tarantino titled QT8: The First Eight. The Tim Burton documentary features interviews and participation from his regulars which include Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, composer Danny Elfman, Christopher Walken, and Danny DeVito. It will include newer talents he has worked with as well, like Jenna Ortega, Mia Wasikowska, and Christoph Waltz.
The series is being described as “an otherworldly, dream journey into the mind of the man behind Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, Batman Returns, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, the Netflix series Wednesday, and many other indelible projects.”
A release about the doc reads, “Tim continues to build his aesthetic, the Burton-esque style, derived from a wealth of art, cinematic and literary genres. The documentary explores how Burton brings his vision to life through his own joyous idiosyncrasy and his ability to meld the ominous and the frightful with a sense of whimsy. Tim’s films are just the tip of the iceberg.”
With the hit Netflix show Wednesday and the sequel to Beetlejuice coming together, Burton is proving impressive longevity even if the popularity of his latest films pale in comparison to his early works. Depp, a long-time collaborator, and star of a film at Cannes titled Jeanne du Barry, would outline, “The most important filmmaker who changed my life completely is Tim. In the very beginning, he’s the guy that fought for me.”