Timothy William "Tim" Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an
American film director, producer, writer and artist. He is famed for his dark and quirky films, such as
Beetlejuice,
Edward Scissorhands and
The Nightmare Before Christmas, which he co-wrote and produced. He is also famous for being the director of several popular blockbusters including
Batman,
Batman Returns,
Sleepy Hollow,
Planet of the Apes, and
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Since directing his first feature (
Pee-wee's Big Adventure) in 1985, he has gone on to direct and produce numerous films, many of which have won
Academy Awards. He frequently works with close friend
Johnny Depp, musician
Danny Elfman and partner
Helena Bonham Carter.
Burton's most recent film was 2007's
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. His most recent production is the
Shane Acker animated sci-fi fantasy
9, a co-production with
Timur Bekmambetov. His next film
Alice in Wonderland is due for release March 5, 2010.
Early life
Burton grew up in
Burbank, California, the son of Jean, a shop manager, and Bill Burton, a parks department sports coordinator and minor league baseball player.
[www.filmreference.com/film/72/Tim-Burton.html] Burton attended
Burbank High School. After graduating he attended the
California Institute of the Arts.
