Tim also has enough confidence so that it always looks like a Tim Burton film, but it really is collaborative. You're allowed to do it your way but of course he's always going to choose his way.
What I really learned from Tim Burton is that it's important to have your own person in a role because you can't play a character unless there are elements of human behaviour that you yourself understand. I was really struck by how Tim Burton would like to sit and chat about you... or question things which then you had never thought about. It is a good thing to always step back a bit with things like that. But I try my damned hardest to learn something from everything I do.
It was Tim Burton's 'Batman' in, what, '89, I think? What we could see was there was someone behind the curtain controlling all of this, and you could see it from one Tim Burton film to the next, that the guy who made 'Edward Scissorhands' also made 'Batman.' You could connect the dots because his style was so distinct.
Working with Tim Burton is like a psychic experience -Tim waves his hands and says, 'I don't know,' and you go home and do it. He's the most articulate nonverbal person in the world. He doesn't say a word, and you know exactly what it means.
Doing Tim's film is always going to be the most pleasure. Let me just put it that way. So, without drawing favorites one way or the other, getting back with him and doing Mars Attacks! was certainly a special treat.
Whenever anybody asked me, 'Who is your number one director to work with?' I would always say Tim Burton.
Tim is old school. He plays that way. That's why a lot of fans identify more with a Tim Heskett than with someone who is more dynamic. The more dynamic guy might be more pleasing to the eye, but he doesn't contribute any more to his team winning than Tim does.
Tim Burton - he's not exactly a subtle filmmaker. I mean that in a good way.
Because the world of this film begins and ends in the imagination of Tim Burton, you're not seeing a movie that's been shot on locations that you've seen a million times. Because this world has no rules, you're seeing so many different and separate brushstrokes and colors and characterizations somehow getting combined through Tim.
Yeah, in every film that I've been lucky enough to do with Tim, there's always some form of torture, and the nails were Tim's idea. They were the length of the fingers and stuff, but it was okay because I had a troop of people who would help me go to the bathroom. They had to have treatment afterwards but they're okay now. That is true.
I am definitely a Tim Burton fan. I had seen 'Edward Scissorhands' enough times to know it by heart. That's exciting: to work on something you feel like you really get.
I've always liked fairy tale and spectacle. I wouldn't say I was a fantasy fan, but anything beyond reality I've always found exciting - the work of David Lynch, the work of Tim Burton. But for me, I also love those things that are absolutely about human relationships.
When I was younger, I used to love Tim Burton's 'Batman.' I was, like, 15, and even then, I was aware, 'This is really the Joker's film.' It's like, the Joker just takes over, and Batman, you really don't learn too much about him.
I kind of stumbled into comics in a roundabout way. One of the first films my father introduced me to was the 1989 'Batman,' the Tim Burton one.
For me, one of my favorites, director-wise, is Tim Burton. I also really admire the work of actors like Sean Penn. He is probably my favorite actor because of his dedication and commitment to roles, and the ability to morph and change himself when he needs to. It's about dedication and commitment and a passion.
I'm being photographed, worrying about my hair - and yet here I am, I've directed a feature film, why do I care about the way I look? Who cares? Does Tim Burton care? Does Joel Coen?
One of the high points in my career came from a time I had with Tim Conway on a film when I had him fall down with laughter. I had this scene with him where I was this mechanic down fixing his car. I can't remember what my line was as written, but they were okay with me doing a made-up line. So Tim asks me what's wrong with his car, and I look up and say, "Well, looks like you got a squirrel caught up in there."