Speaker A
No, no, no. I think I've done my remake. I love you like a dysfunctional family. You can't ask somebody to be Wednesday. She's got to kind of just be it. Jenna has that darkness and shadows and things. It's
Tim Burton discusses his love for monster movies, physical film collections, and cinematic dreamlike qualities in a visit to a Paris video store.
Key Takeaways
- Physical film collections offer a unique, tactile experience that streaming cannot replace.
- Monsters in films often embody the most emotional and human qualities.
- Dreamlike cinematic qualities deeply influence Burton’s creative vision.
- Japanese monster movies had a significant impact on Burton’s childhood and artistic style.
- Selecting award-winning films involves balancing artistic consensus and personal resonance.
What the video covers
- Tim Burton shares his nostalgic connection to physical film formats like VHS, DVDs, and Blu-rays, emphasizing their tactile and imaginative value over streaming.
- He reminisces about growing up watching Japanese monster movies such as Godzilla and War of the Gargantuas, highlighting their emotional depth.
- Burton explains why monsters are often the most soulful characters in films, contrasting them with less sympathetic human characters.
- He discusses the dreamlike qualities of certain films and directors, including Mario Bava and their influence on his work.
- Burton reflects on his experience as a jury president and the challenges of selecting award-winning films with strong dreamlike elements.
- He touches on inspirations for his Batman films, especially the character Catwoman, linking them to earlier cinematic influences.
- The interview explores Burton’s views on remakes, asserting he has done his own and prefers original creative expression.
- He talks about the importance of atmosphere, music, and cinematography in creating memorable cinematic experiences.
- Burton shares anecdotes about his career, including chaotic moments on set and his appreciation for classic horror icons like Vincent Price.
- The video captures Burton’s deep affection for cinema as a medium that sparks imagination and emotional resonance.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Remake Discussion
- 01:36Value of Physical Film Collections
- 03:26Japanese Monster Movies and Childhood Memories
- 05:25Monsters as Soulful Characters
- 08:45Influence of Dreamlike Cinema and Mario Bava
- 10:33Inspirations for Batman and Catwoman
- 12:00Career Anecdotes and Classic Horror Influences
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
just more graphic in a way that somehow matched sort of the interior of my mind.
Speaker A
Yeah, you be the creature, be like this cool, kind of friendly doctor, or you could be a complete... Oh jeez.
Speaker A
I'm sorry, everybody. Ah. [Music] And you got to [Music] [Applause] Tim, welcome to JM Vido.
Speaker A
Very nice to be here. It's so, so wonderful to be in a DVD store. It's been a long time since I've been. I could spend hours in here.
Speaker A
Well, you know, it's one of the two last video stores in Paris, actually. Wow.
Speaker A
And just before we start to talk about the film you have chosen, I'd like to ask you what is your relationship with those kinds of places and, more globally, your relationship with the physical edition of films such as DVDs and
Speaker A
Blu-ray? I mean, I used to go to VHS stores, you know, I'm that old, so I used to go to those kinds of things and spend hours in, like, Blockbuster and all those kinds of places. So, for me, I love
Speaker A
it because, I mean, I think the problem with streaming is that you see something you like and then it goes away. And there's something that's really, you know, if you love a film or you love films, there's something, you
Speaker A
know, tactile about just having it and having part of your collection. And so for me, you know, it just spurs your imagination, your memory about certain things and gets you into... Yeah. So you kind of go down different paths and
Speaker A
journeys when you come into a place like this, which is, you know, you could spend hours or days in here.
Speaker A
Yeah. Well, I think we can start. I like to start with the Asian section because I know you grew up watching a lot of Japanese movies.
Speaker A
Yeah. I mean, I'm from Burbank, which is kind of far from Japan, but it was a time when they were shown. There was a theater that I used to go to in Burbank called the Cornell, and
Speaker A
they would have three movies. You see like a triple feature for like 50 cents, and oftentimes they were like Japanese movies, like, you know, Godzilla, War of the Gargantuas, or Destroy All Monsters, Monster Zero. And I just
Speaker A
grew up on them and I love them. And I mean, I wasn't so much of a purist. I mean, I enjoyed the dubbed versions. I mean, I'm from Burbank, so the dubbing was also part of its sort of
Speaker A
weird poetry. There was something about that. It's not so much for the purist, but for me, that's the way I really loved them. And so, you know, I'd see like three Japanese, you know, monster movies in a triple feature.
Speaker A
[Music] [Applause] Obviously, the first one was Godzilla, which, you know, again, if you watch the original, it's incredible. But then I grew up on the Raymond Burr one, the American version. So for me, it's an
Speaker A
interesting juxtaposition to see the original and then the Americanized version of that. But it's beautiful, and the score, the music, everything about it is very, very, very beautiful. Let us call this creature Godzilla according to the legend of Oda
Speaker A
Island. And then, but this one, my favorite, War of the Gargantuas. [Music] [Applause] That one I went like every day of the week to see it. And then it was on TV once, and they showed it every night
Speaker A
at 8:00, and I'd watch it every night at 8:00. And there's something about, you know, in Honda, the director made all those kinds of movies. I mean, he's probably made more movies than most, you know, he's made so many
Speaker A
movies, but the ones really resonated with me. And even when I had my kids, I have a brown Gargantua and a green Gargantua. So, they still, it still affected me that greatly.
Speaker A
You said a very interesting thing about this film is that monsters are the most soulful characters. Is that why most of your characters have a touch of monster in them?
Speaker A
Yeah. Well, I mean, I grew up on monster movies and everybody thought, "Well, you're weird because you like monster movies." The fact is most monsters from, you know, Creature from the Black Lagoon, King Kong, Frankenstein, Wolf Man, all of them, they have an
Speaker A
emotional core to them. I mean, they're like fables. And that's the sense where they're, you know, they're the most human characters in those movies.
Speaker A
Most of those, the human characters are like the angry villagers or, you know, the people poking at the monster and doing all sorts, trying to kill it, all that sort of thing. And so that's why I never saw
Speaker A
it that way. They're much more of the soulful heart of the piece rather than sort of something negative. And then these two, of course, those are beautiful.
Speaker A
[Music] [Applause] Again, it kind of reminds you why you love cinema. The cinematography, the music, the sort of pacing of it, and the sort of dreamlike quality of it is incredible. So those two are
Speaker A
beautiful. And I was wondering if Q inspired you for the Batman, especially the character of Catwoman.
Speaker A
I know it is amazing, you know, and like I said, those are the kind of, that movie is very dreamlike. Yeah. And the sort of cat-like, and there's even the moment, and I didn't realize that because
Speaker A
I actually never saw it. I saw it after Catwoman, and I go, "Oh my God." You know, it almost seems like I had seen it beforehand, but it was something that I saw actually afterward, which really
Speaker A
sort of surprised me. Maybe I don't know. As you want, Mario Bava, uncle, of course Mario, this one you will be dead to man, but you will be alive in death.
Speaker A
[Music] I remember, back in LA, there was a 48-hour horror movie marathon, right?
Speaker A
And I sat through the whole thing, and, you know, you're kind of watching the movies and then kind of you kind of fall asleep and wake up after a certain point. And I remember this one after 48 hours, that one stuck with me because it
Speaker A
was like a dream, and it's like Mario Bava had that kind of quality. But again, it's a bit like those other movies, sort of a dreamlike quality. And so I remember out of that whole 48 hours, that was one
Speaker A
that sort of stayed with me just in terms of imagery, sort of like a dream, nightmare kind of quality. And so that's why I always really loved Mario Bava. He had something very special that was just, you can't quite put your
Speaker A
finger on it. Sort of a dreamlike quality to his work. I heard you wanted to do a remake back in the '90s of Black Sunday.
Speaker A
No, no, no, no, no, no. I've done, I think I've done my remake. But then this one, Uncle Bobby, that's special. I was on the president of the jury that year. And can, right? And, you know,
Speaker A
it's very difficult for artists to discuss, you know, what the best things are, you know, because it's like that movie 12 Angry Men. It's like 12 Angry Art, you know, it's like trying to come to some kind of, you know, thing. But the
Speaker A
weird thing about that movie is, out of all of them, it only had one screening. It's like it was a, you know, because usually they had two screenings. It was one screening. It was like 1:00 in the morning. But it
Speaker A
was a movie that just resonated out of all the movies. It was something. Again, it had a dreamlike quality. There's something about it. And I think that for me, cinema is when it, when it, when, when you retain that kind of dreamlike quality,
Speaker A
and not every movie does that for you, you know, but that one, it did. And then I watched it like many years afterward. Like, that was a strange choice, you know. Then it was on TV, like one, like I saw it a couple years later, and then
Speaker A
it still hit me the same way, which I was surprised about because, you know, when you're in that sort of can environment, your mind's all scrambled, and you don't know what you're really thinking about, really. And so you kind of want to remove yourself from it and then see how you feel, but it still had that power to it.
Speaker A
Was it an easy pick for the rest of the jury as well? Well...
Speaker A
Was it an easy peak for the rest of the jury as well? Well, yeah. I mean, we came to a consent. I mean, which is hard, always difficult, but no, I mean, it was I it was interesting because I
Speaker A
think it surprised everybody, but you know, there's a few people that thought it was an interesting choice because a lot of times, you know, people they go for what's po, you know, what what they think might. So, I think it was a kind
Speaker A
of a a bold choice from us and a surprising one. One that kind of confused a lot of people, but that's what that's that's good.
Speaker A
I personally pick a film by Inaru. Yes. That I really like and it was obviously to talk about with Michael.
Speaker A
Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, my you know, I love it. you know, I worked I worked with it on Beetlejuice and Batman and so I you know and so when I saw that I it was amazing because it was
Speaker A
very very sort of I wouldn't call it um autobiographical but kind of slightly you know I mean there's something about it that so I mean he really captured that whole kind of thing which I thought was quite beautiful.
Speaker A
You know what none of this cost you anything. You risk nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. I'm a actor.
Speaker A
This plate cost me everything. Just on your right there are two film that I wanted maybe to talk about the Yeah. The infest of German expression.
Speaker A
Yeah, of course. You know, I'm I'm from Burbank was not known for its German expressionism, you know, that kind of suburbia. But I think that's kind of why I liked it because, you know, I was drawn to those
Speaker A
kind of, you know, some of the old uh universal horror movies or these because it sort of felt like my mind. I don't know why. I I don't know if it's sort of a reaction against Burbank and wanting
Speaker A
wanting more darkness and shadows and things and and just more graphic in a way that somehow matched sort of the interior of my mind.
Speaker A
I know you pick another film by Robert that we'll talk a bit later, but have you seen this remake of Noatu? Yes. Yeah. No, he's he's very good, Robert. I mean, he does very atmospheric again. He's able to capture
Speaker A
kind of a dreamlike quality in his films, which I I I appreciate. And finally, I'd like to talk about the passion of Juan of Arc because um General Tega said in an interview that actually you you were talking a lot
Speaker A
about this film during the filming of Beetle Juice. Beetle Juice. Yeah. Yeah. It's because I I like like I said, there was something very dreamy about it to me and I it surprised me the whole the cat thing. It's like like I
Speaker A
said, I saw it after I had done um Batman Returns, but I was so surprised.
Speaker A
I kind of wish I'd seen but it was kind of good that I didn't see it. Because but but like I said those that film it it's like why you like making movies you know there's a certain dream like
Speaker A
quality and and just surprising it still surprises me when I see it. She said she was amazed by the performance of Wal Falcone on this one.
Speaker A
Yeah definitely know I mean it's it's it's beautiful on all all levels. Again, he was so beautiful at doing the rhythm of it, the the the cinematography, the music, just they all work as a one beautiful thing. This way.
Speaker A
Yeah, this way. On your right, please. Which way? This way. Other one. This right?
Speaker A
Yeah. In the I have two choices. These two I love. one of my favorites because it's like it's like I love movies that sort of tell you things like a fable and these are like what it's like to be a te young person.
Speaker A
Tommy Tommy, I'm your friend. [Music] I'm the only friend you've got. And that's what I loved about them. They they don't seem like but when I first saw them, I go like, "Yeah, that's what it feels like. That's what it feels
Speaker A
like." And and you know, and so to me, they're a good companion piece, these two. And uh also it stars one of my favorite bad actors, Whit Bell. You he be in the creature, he'd be like this cool like kind of friendly doctor or he
Speaker A
could be a complete you know? I mean that's I love him in these movies.
Speaker A
He's he's an underrated actor that guy. But again, those movies really spoke to me in terms of of of like when you talk about a fable or fairy tale, they're like fables.
Speaker A
And then of course, this is one of my favorites. My eyes are deceiving me.
Speaker A
What you see is real. What's done is done and what I've done is right.
Speaker A
It's the work of science because it's like the original sort of toxic relationship kind of. Again, all these things spoke to me in a certain way. I mean, I used to watch this on TV like a Saturday afternoon before they
Speaker A
had ratings because, you know, it's quite gory and quite, you know, sleazy and kind of I mean, so this one was one of my early memories because it it I can't believe they're showing this on TV on a Saturday afternoon. But again, it
Speaker A
describes a certain kind of relationship which I found very beautiful and very funny and still still uh, you know, resonant today. And again, I, you know, I grew up on the, you know, monster movies and Dracula, but I particularly
Speaker A
like this one. Dracula, look on me, Dracula. Look on me. And remember, it it got not a very good rap reputation, but there was something really beautiful about going from the the old Draen, you go up to the sky and
Speaker A
you see an airplane and it cuts into a rock soundtrack, you know, and it I don't know. this one, even though it it was, you know, deemed a kind of a a failure, I think, but I I love this one
Speaker A
because, you know, mixing, you know, and Christopher Lee I love very much and he was very uh I don't know, that's just one of my that that one always stung out to me because of its uh juxtaposition of
Speaker A
imagery. Master, I did it. I summoned you. It was my will. Do you remember your first meeting with Christopher Lee?
Speaker A
Yes, I do. It was at the Doorchester in um at the hotel in London and he came in and he said talked for like two hours and then he left. I go like it felt like 5 minutes. I go like I was just
Speaker A
hypnotized by Dracula, you know? I mean he had that quality to him. You know what I mean? You just sit there and talk and you just go like m Yeah. No, he was fantastic. What else?
Speaker A
Oh, you know, I mean, I always love, you know, these stop motion always a great thing for me. And I mean, you know, 1 million years BC or this one. This one's a bit more sleazier and funnier than
Speaker A
this one. But, you know, dinosaurs, cave women, what could go wrong? Is it true that there is um parallel universe where mass attack is actually dinosaur attack?
Speaker A
Yeah. Well, there's there was two sets of cards. Yeah. There was a dinosaurs attack and then sim it was a similar thing. It was bubblegum cards you could buy and and you know a little pack of cards and it
Speaker A
was I think it was done by the same company but the the Mars attacks were first and then it was dinosaurs attack.
Speaker A
It was the same thing. It would be a card of, you know, like like in Mars attacks some, you know, setting cattle on fire or, you know, dinosaurs attack attacking the capital building, you know, same thing.
Speaker A
[Music] There is an important film for you. I think it's Phantom of the Paradise.
Speaker A
Yeah. And as I lost control, I swore I'd soul one. That's it. What? The music to open the paradise. After all these years, I finally found it.
Speaker A
You want that creep to open a paradise? I love this movie. I mean, I I I love Brian Dealma, you know. I I love, you know, Carrie Scarf. I mean, I I I I think I've always, you know, whenever I
Speaker A
see, but this one I particularly like cuz, you know, I love I love Phantom of the Opera. But I I just love his take on it and his way of doing it and it was quite emotional and funny and weird and
Speaker A
beautiful and I remember seeing it. I think I saw it at the Cama Dome in uh in Los Angeles. So, you know, it's just very bright, colorful and beautiful. I love that movie. What else? Ah, lighthouse. For any stuff or part of
Speaker A
Winslow, even any scantling of your soul, is Winsslow no more, but is now itself the sea.
Speaker A
All right, have it your way. I like to cook it. As a recent movie, you know, it's it kind of goes with those other films that I was talking about. I I loved its dreamlike quality. I love the
Speaker A
performances. I love the vibe of it. And again, it's I hadn't seen a movie in a while that sort of I kept thinking about, do you know what I mean?
Speaker A
Sometimes you see a movie and we go, but that one I go I kept, you know, I watched it with my son and we were like going, "Oh, that that movie resonates.
Speaker A
That's, you know, it stayed with me for a long time." And, you know, it's it's rare for me and it's also nice when that happens. You know, you know that it's touched something inside.
Speaker A
So, if you want, you have Yeah. Okay. Strong stuff here. I was sort of obsessed by Charlton H in a weird way because I mean I remember when I watched the Ten Commandments, I thought this is like one of the weirdest
Speaker A
horror movies I've ever seen. You know, he starts out as a human being and he kind of turns into a weird religious zombie by the end, you know, and the imagery is so weird. So, I was kind of
Speaker A
obsessed by him. And then around the air, you know, Planet of the Apes and and and Omega Man and Soilent Green. I love this one because he's such a he's like one of the best bad actors I ever
Speaker A
se, you know, he's just got his drama, sense of drama and him being the last man on earth. And I also love the fact like I I've seen the Vincent Price uh version and the the the later one, the
Speaker A
Will Smith one, but I love this one because I love the people. I love the cult, you know, I love, you know, because I didn't like all the CG. I like this one where, you know, their their characters, you know, Matias and all of
Speaker A
that. There's a really haunting and the score I loved. I love the score of this one. I used to watch this one. I went to this every day too to see it every once in a while while it was playing. Show
Speaker A
him my children. Show him the pretty marks. [Music] As you were talking about Vincent Price on your right there is a film that combined two of your passions. Vincent Price and Ed Garland.
Speaker A
Yeah. I mean again I love those Roger Corman you know he house of Usher pit and the pendulum but yeah I mean you know this is where like Vincent I and I love the character you know the oversensitive character I mean that's
Speaker A
what sort of I based Vincent on a little bit my my original little stopotion animated thing and again I know they shot them very quickly and there there just was a sort of a an immediiacy to them and and and like I said this one
Speaker A
pit in the pendulum mask with red death tomb yeah you All those kind of movies I I I loved.
Speaker A
The town is very deep. One of the usher women drowned herself in it. She was never found.
Speaker A
I dare say it's deep enough to swallow this house entire. Actually, to be honest, Vincent was the first thing was one of the first work I saw in Discover You. I was wondering if at that time how difficult was it to
Speaker A
develop a short film? Luckily, Disney was at a point where they were very directionalist and they didn't have, you know, and I was a bad animator then and so I they took me out of doing Fox and the Hound and let me sort of just draw
Speaker A
and design things for other projects. And so there was a project they were going to do stopotion. So they just slipped in a little bit of money to me to just kind of experiment which which would not happen earlier or not happen
Speaker A
later. So I felt at a very interesting time at that company where I got to do something that I would never have gotten a chance to do. So it was very under the radar. It was all in the terms of just
Speaker A
oh experimentation cuz it didn't cost much. So they allowed me to kind of do it which was amazing.
Speaker A
While Vincent backed slowly against the wall. The room started to sway to shiver and creek. His horrid insanity had reached its peak.
Speaker A
Um what I pick a movie I don't know if this is the right one. IPX by Tai West to talk about Jartigga, but I was wondering how you discover her.
Speaker A
Dude, we need to find the keys for that truck. I never should have listened to you.
Speaker A
This is all your fault. Rain, we need to stick together. I hate you. I didn't see it, but I did talk to her.
Speaker A
I think when when she was making it. Um, and you know, I love Jenna because I didn't know her. I mean when I met her I mean we cast the whole thing on Wednesday through Zoom because it was co
Speaker A
so I just talked to her and met through that but the thing I liked about Jenna was you know I'd heard she'd been like a little Disney kid actress right and then all of a sudden she goes from there to
Speaker A
horror movies I go like okay I like her already you know what I mean so that was a good thing you know and then I she kind of I seemed kind of obsessed by horror movies and I go so that was a
Speaker A
connection you know what I mean and so you know then the fact is that she is the perfect Wednesday and that, you know, I think it's part of, you know, you can't ask somebody to be Wednesday.
Speaker A
She's got to kind of just be it. And, you know, Jenna has that. And I think her background in Disney and horror movies probably helped her.
Speaker A
Pugsley, you're soft and weak. You'll never survive without me. I give you two months tops.
Speaker A
I'm going to miss you too, sis. Um, what else? I also pick, I think, a masterpiece by David Croninberg.
Speaker A
Oh, of course. that I heard you almost directed. Well, no, no, no. I think uh I I was going to do I think somebody asked me about Fly Too, but but I I think my idea was too strange
Speaker A
for it. But no, I love David Croninberg. I mean, he's done some amazing movie. I mean, the first one I saw was the one what's the one that Shivers or the It came from within.
Speaker A
But it's strange. Look on this. You know, I remember seeing that at the Cornell Theater, too. And so, from that point on, I I Yeah, he's he's a he he's a great one.
Speaker A
So, on your right, yeah, I picked two um actually um modern superhero movies cuz I wanted to ask you if you are still watching modern superhero movie or not.
Speaker A
Not really. No, I think I lo I lost interest maybe after Batman Returns. [Music] you know, I mean, I I I felt very happy doing Batman because it felt new to me at the time. You know, it was not really
Speaker A
something that would been done. So, it was quite exciting to be involved with that and kind of feel like it was new territory. But then after Batman Returns and then they didn't want me to do another one and this and that, I think I
Speaker A
sort of lost interest in the whole sort of genre really. I mean, so I've seen a few, but I don't really know.
Speaker A
Do you know that you have a funny common point with Matt Ree? Actually, you are the two only directors who direct who directed both a Batman movie and a Planet of the X movie.
Speaker A
Wow. Wow. Jeez, we have something in common. That's funny. I I didn't know that little known fact.
Speaker A
Hey, there you are. What was the homo sapien mean to you again? Huh? We all know it's just Rocket Envy, don't we?
Speaker A
I pick obviously one Adam's a family movie, but I don't know if it's this one that you like.
Speaker A
I never even really saw them. I mean, I've worked with Christina Richie, you know, and I love her and I know she was a great Wednesday and I've seen it, but you know, I was never really a big I
Speaker A
mean, I like Charles Adams drawings, you know, that I grew up looking at those and I love it, but and also was a child during Adam's family, but I was probably more of a monsters kid, but whatever.
Speaker A
And then blah blah blah. I didn't really but the thing that got me interested in in in this was the character of Wednesday and so that's really you know I love the idea of the Adams family but I was never really a giant fan I would
Speaker A
say but the character of Wednesday and then also then kind of trying to bring the family into a little bit more of a kind of reality kind of slight half reality I mean it's not really real but a little bit more reality was something
Speaker A
that really intrigued me. Where's your costume? This is my costume. I'm a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else.
Speaker A
I don't know if you know this one. Yeah. I saw in an interview that you were really in love with Indian.
Speaker A
Yeah. Yeah. But I mean I can't remember the name of it but I went to India many years ago and went to one of their cinemas which are huge and beautiful and I did love you know those three-hour
Speaker A
musicals. I love I I just love the vibe of them. Yeah. [Music] Okay, I think we can go to the last which is animated. Ah, okay. This was the first movie I ever remember really seeing. It had a great
Speaker A
impact on me and I I can remember exactly where it was. You know, it was at the Catalina Island off of Los Angeles. This is incredible theater casino and and it it's like a it's it's funny off the coast of Los Angeles. Got
Speaker A
a kind of a Mediterranean feel to it. and this amazing theater uh in Avalon, this this town. It looks like you're inside of a sea shell. And I will go in as a child and I saw this movie and I I
Speaker A
tell it's it made it's like that's where I fell in love with stop motion animation and it's like I couldn't believe what I was watching, you know.
Speaker A
And so from that moment on, I was a complete Ray Harryhausen fan like a lot of people. And um and it was something that, you know, got me interested in animation, got me kept my interest in it for all this time. And you was lucky
Speaker A
enough to meet him and he was such an amazing artist and man, you know, so I felt very blessed that I was able to kind of finally meet a hero of mine, you know, like I was with Vincent Price. It
Speaker A
was a very and Christopher Lee, you know, and and Michael Goff, you know, I I I've been lucky to meet certain people that has inspired me. And then the amazing thing about that is they all turned out to be sort of amazing people,
Speaker A
you know, that that was a big deal to, you know, cuz sometimes they always say be careful meeting your heroes or who you like because like they could turn out to be complete but you never know. So it was very nice to see
Speaker A
um and meet all these people. But that movie I still remember it feeling that feeling of like wow you know and so that that was a very strong one for me [Music] nowadays that that we have a lot of
Speaker A
different um style of animation in your portion view what make stop motion so special well I mean I remember when I was at my art teacher in high school told me I forgot about it like in one of my little
Speaker A
things. I did a stop motion thing where I took a I made a brain with some pipe cleaner legs and fighting a pair of pliers. You know, I there's something about just the tactile nature of it and you moving it one frame of a time and
Speaker A
seeing I mean I did that with drawn animation, but there's something about some physical thing that you're dealing with and you move it frame at a time and then you see it come to life is quite quite viscerally, emotionally,
Speaker A
artistically strong. So that for that's why it became for me a favorite thing. And that's what amazing when you see like Ray Harry's puppets like the Talos the the the giant from Jason and the Argonauts, right? The the the giant
Speaker A
bronze statue. I saw the original the original size is like that. It's like it was incredible how you know what what he achieved with something you know seemingly so crude.
Speaker A
And we also pick a film that we all really love. Coraline by Hriel. You probably think this world is a dream come true, but you're wrong. The other wybe told me so.
Speaker A
A guy you work with and strange. I don't know why, but a lot of people of They think I did it.
Speaker A
Yeah, exactly. I know. I don't I don't know. Well, I think I know why. It was sort of a marketing campaign from that point of view. So, yeah, I know. But I mean, Henry was he's an amazing talent.
Speaker A
So, you know, I mean, but I I don't that one you have to answer. I don't know. I didn't do it.
Speaker A
Even the film you produced with him like The Nightmare Before Christmas, James Pinch. So, what did you find in him that Well, I mean, I worked with him at Disney for a he went to Cal Arts like and Henry was he was in more of an
Speaker A
experimental and when I did Nightmare, I mean, I could I tried to get that going for 10 years. I had I had that project for 10 years before it got done. And the reason it got done is that I had some
Speaker A
success and but they kept saying, "Oh, do it as a this and do it as a drawing." No, I want to do it as a stop motion thing. So, it took me 10 years. And so, I knew Henry was experimenting with
Speaker A
that. And there was a small group of people that were so but but it wasn't a known it wasn't a done thing. I mean, the only people doing stopotion were like maybe Ardman, which is more claimation and things. So,
Speaker A
nobody was really doing it at that time. So, I knew Henry and I knew about this group of people. So it but it took it was took a long like I said over 10 years to to to to to put that together.
Speaker A
And finally I picked the two Disney movies that you remake in live action. Oh jeez. I'm sorry everybody.
Speaker A
[Music] This is funny because you know like like when I did Alice right it was like okay it was kind of a new thing Disney doing all theah that was the most chaotic movie I ever made because I didn't do I
Speaker A
didn't do any one technique I didn't do motion capture I didn't do that I mixed up every in fact we never you know in modern Hollywood you test a movie before you release it right they couldn't test this because there was nothing there
Speaker A
until the very end it was like a weird puzzle because this person's eyes were bigger. That person's an complete animation. That's half motion capture.
Speaker A
That's half I mean it was truly I mean like a few months before if you'd saw this movie before it came out there was no movie there at all. It sort of materialized at the very end. So it was
Speaker A
most chaotic haphazard movie and will never be no movie would ever be made like that again. I can guarantee it. I need a pig here.
Speaker A
But I was wondering what in the first place attracted you to these two special stories.
Speaker A
Well, I mean, I like Dumbo because I like he's a bit of an outside, you know?
Speaker A
I And also also I think by that point I kind of felt like Dumbo, like some a weird creature trapped at Disney, you know what I mean?
Speaker A
which not was wasn't a good thing but you know that's was kind of cathartic but maybe not in in the best possible way but uh you know because I had such a funny relationship with Disney my whole career I mean even when I was an
Speaker A
animator and then you know I spent a year designing things that never happened and then I did two short films that never were shown and then I left then I went back you know I felt like I was hired and fired like many different
Speaker A
times in my life and so I think finally after I go like you know But you know, I love you, my dysfunction.
Speaker A
We're like a dysfunctional family. So, it was time for me to leave. Let's pretend the shop was on fire. I'd like to know the free film you would save.
Speaker A
Oh, I can't do that. I can't I I could That's like Which child are you going to save? No, no, no, no, no, no. Sorry. You got to get a good answer for me. I can't do that. In fact, you know, when you say
Speaker A
what's your favorite boot, right? I can't ever say. It's like my mind. I don't know if we can do this. I maybe a lot of people can do that. I can't do it. I can't say what's my favorite song,
Speaker A
movie, anything. I have a few. It depends on my my mood and everything, but you know, there's so many. I I don't know. I'd have to probably go down with the shop.
Speaker A
I think that's a perfect answer. Thank you so much, Ste. Thank you. [Music]
Topics:Tim Burtonmonster moviesJapanese cinemaGodzillaphysical film collectionDVD storedreamlike cinemaMario BavaBatman Catwomanfilm nostalgia
