One of the classes I'm taking the first session of this winter quarter is Composition and Language II (I passed out of the first class, woot!). Our first writing assignment was to go to biography.com and pick someone that influenced us and write about it, as well as give a little background on them.
Far be it from me to conform and simply regurgitate.....
Feels good to stretch the writing muscles again. I think this will bring an improvement in everybody throughout the course. It's been a long time since we've reached down deep to pull something out.
The obsession began in 1988. My best friend's mother took us to the movie theater to see what became known as a quintessential film and the launching point of a director's career. Horror was mixed with fantasy and comedy; and a little endearing romance was thrown in as garnish. The ghost with the most caught my eye and awoke a craving that slumbered in the body of a young, innocent child. Like infected algae this craving grew, slowly, steadily, and relentlessly for the next thirteen years.
I had been introduced to Mr. Burton.
Tim Burton was introduced to Burbank, California, on August 25, 1958. As a child, he was engrossing with Roger Corman's classic horror films - many of which featured the most versatile of villains Vincent Price. As he aged, Burton developed a love for drawing which lead to his enrollment at the California Institute of the Arts where he majored in animation. Upon his graduation in 1980, he began apprenticing animation at Walt Disney Studios.
By 1982, he grew tired of his work at Disney and decided to strike out on his own, which lead to the release of Vincent. The award-winning film paid homage to the work of his childhood idol by featuring a young boy who wanted to be Vincent Price when he grew up. The next recognized short film was a parody of the classic horror story Mary Shelly's Frankenstein - Frankenweenie (1984). This film lead to Paul Ruben's offer to Burton to direct the whimsical comedy Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985). It was the success of this movie that brought the opportunity to create Beetlejuice in 1988.
I remember arriving at the theater after dark. I remember the crawling black and white stripes, gravestones and ghosts that decorated the lobby. I remember walking from the theater a changed little boy. No more was I a child of sugar, and spice, and everything nice..... slugs or snails or puppydog tails. Within me catalyzed the seed of fantasy and horror; of whimsey and fear. The sun had risen on a new day, casting light upon things that had not been spoken of before. I found a new toy that glittered black and silver.
This claws of this toy clung to my brain. Tendrils began to appear in my artwork, writing, and even clothing choice as the years passed. Batman (1989) became the first film to gross $100 million in the first ten days of release. Next on the list was the bizarre but touching Edward Scissorhands the following year. Perhaps the culmination of the ever-growing obsession was the relase of the stop-animation film The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993. To this day it remains at the top of my movie review list, along with other Burton films such as Batman Returns (1992), Mars Attacks! (1995) and Sleepy Hollow (1999), among others mentioned. The Nightmare Before Christmas even inspired a last moment trip to Disneyland this past October, as the Haunted Mansion ride had been comandeered and redecorated by Jack Skellington for Christmas 2000.
How could a boy resist? I had found the sinister in the humorous; the dark in the delight; the laughter in the terror, and things that go bump in the night. These unique visions have made Tim Burton one of the most distinctive and influential directors of today. It has shown me that no matter how skewed one's own view may be, the only option is to swim in them, for in that strange dance comes true happiness.
Burton, Tim. A&E Biography. http://search.biography.com/print_record.pl?id=23726. Online. 2001.
The Tim Burton Collective. Barking-Dog.net. http://www.timburtoncollective.com/ Online. 2001.
© 01.07.02 in our own name.
Absolutly beautiful. I don't see WHY they were frightened and shocked.. *shakes head, chuckles* Seems a puurrrrfectly natural reaction to me. Good job baby - and I'm glad you are now enjoying the class. *winks* [~ds]