Comments | pseudohistorian: Everybody Finds a Way to Shine

pseudohistorian

Everybody Finds a Way to Shine

Mar 08, 2010 10:06

Why is Tim Burton hailed as such a visionary director?

I mean, all he does is make adaptations.

Granted, he's turned to a lot of different source material for his oeuvre--in the course of his career, he's directed feature films based on a sketch comedy character, a comic book character, a biography, a series of trading cards, a short story, an ( Read more... )

gloss

Comments 6

seweccentric March 8 2010, 18:38:36 UTC

I'm not a huge fan - I like Edward Scissorhands, but can't say I've seen much of his work since! You're right about being a one-trick pony, but I guess from his perspective, I'd keep doing it since his pocket-books can't complain :)

And speaking of directors, I really liked the montage that they did for John Hughs - and I guess he was kind of a one-trick pony, too - but his characters were very relate-able.

Did you get a chance to see Dr. Parnassus...? I was trying to go through all the costume nominees before the ceremony. Interesting film. Wanted to watch Nine but didn't get to it.

pseudohistorian March 8 2010, 18:52:49 UTC

I've occasionally said the same thing about musicians when someone complains that "all their songs sound the same." I mean, if everyone continues to buy that one song Nickelback keeps making over and over again, why would they do something else? ;)

Every director has themes (and occasionally actors) they like to revisit, but whatever common elements are there don't stop The Breakfast Club and Weird Science (for example) from being very different movies.

I generally assume you're paying close attention to the Costume category. :) No, I haven't had a chance to check out Imaginarium yet--I've had bad luck recently getting people to come out to movies with me in Winnipeg, so I'll probably be catching up on a lot of this year's Oscar nominees on DVD.

seweccentric March 8 2010, 21:32:06 UTC

LOL, yeah our friend Scott rang the doorbell as they were announcing the Costume nominees, and Dudley got up to answer it, and they're walking into the living room as they're saying "...and the winner is!" and I'm like "Shhhh!!!"

pseudohistorian March 9 2010, 18:53:00 UTC

Well, of course, they were going to come in at that moment... :P

BTW, did you see my implicit question for you in the blog post prior to this one?

lampbane March 8 2010, 21:18:46 UTC

This past weekend I told a friend that I don't think I've actually *enjoyed* a Tim Burton since Edward Scissorhands. Which might not be exactly true, I did enjoy Ed Wood but when I think about it that one wasn't really like all those other films.

I don't think "lack of originality" is really an issue to people, because at this point they're not in love with his ideas, but with his style. And that's perfectly fair, I suppose. But for me, his style is what I'm getting horribly tired of. Why is everything bathed in blue? Why are so many people sardonic and a little crazy? Why is Helena Bonham Carter/Johnny Depp in everything? (Yes yes, I know he's married to her, but lots of people are married without putting their spouse in everything.)

I went to the 9 panel at Comic-Con (not that I wanted to, that's just when I finally got into the room), and I had to leave because the amount of sycophantism people were displaying during the Q&A session just made me sick. Tim Burton didn't even direct the movie! (And it made me sad that no one had ( ... )

pseudohistorian March 9 2010, 17:49:27 UTC

But for me, his style is what I'm getting horribly tired of.

Ditto. I really have no interest at all in seeing Alice in Wonderland because I feel like I've already seen it, due to all the style flourishes you're talking about. (I noticed the crowds because I went to Brooklyn's Finest this past weekend, actually.)

Kevin Smith put his wife in all of his movies until Cop Out, and it annoys me when he does it, too. (At least Carter was already an actress--Jennifer Schwalbach doesn't have the chops to convincingly pull off significant roles like Emma in Clerks II.)

That Comic-Con incident sounds terrible, especially considering how long you would've had to wait to get in there. :/ I know a number of people sharing ass space with the Burton fans you mentioned, so I can only imagine what a huge room full of them must've been like, and I think his name is what has kept me away from 9. (I also wasn't crazy about Night Watch, to be honest, so that didn't help ( ... )