Tim Burton would be perfect to direct EPISODE III

I know George will direct Ep.3 but it dawned on me a really interesting alternative would be Tim Burton. (Yes, I know there was a poll taken.)

Lucas keeps saying Ep. 3 will be dark, the darkest of all the movies. Well, Burton loves to go "dark." Look at Batman II, that got so dark, Warner Bros. kicked him right out of the franchise(as director)! The Nightmare Before Christmas? (that got weird with Jack delivering scary gifts to kids!)

What would a Burton Star Wars film be like?
No perpendicular lines? Danny Elfman scoring? Would Johnny Depp be in it?
Would 3PO have scissors for hands?
Scarecrows on the moisture farms?

What's your opinion?

 

I have my doubts. My hope is that Lucas allows Peter Jackson to direct the mythical Episodes 7 - 9.

 

As much as I like Tim Burton . . NO.

-Otis

 

I'd laugh like hell if Lucas does such a great job on AOTC, that everyone backpeddles almost as soon as it's released.

 

Tim Burton would be a horrible choice for Episode III, why do so many thing he's such a great director? I always thought his "style" is simply over-relying on dark and moody images. Compared to "Batman," SW doesn't need to be as dark as "Batman/Batman Returns" it wouldn't look right.

I can't wait for GL to surprise everyone with how great AotC is gonna be. I think peopel underestimated his work on TPM, and this is the chance to show the critics don't have a clue.

 

Most of my friends have been saying Peter Jackson should direct Ep 3 since they saw LOTR, and I put Tim Burton in the same 'Bad Ideas' category.
Yeah, they make thir movies look dark, etc, that isn't the problem.
It's the style of direction they use.
The camera work on all 4 SW movies so far has not been particularly fancy, no panning down the side of towers at breakneck speed and so forth.
Jackson and Burton's style is too grand and epic for Star Wars, which IS grand and epic, but in a far more personal way (TPM almost exceeded the boundaries of this, tho for the most part only on establishing shots- the first time you see the royal palace for example).
Great director's, just not suited to Star Wars.

 

FOX1973 . . couldn't have said it better myself.

One thing that people seem to overlook about STAR WARS is the narrative style that flows through ALL FOUR films. It's a deceptively simple visual style that tells the story in a very effective way. It's like Michael Curtiz's style in CASABLANCE, almost invisible. Lucas established it, Kirshner continued it, and Marquand used it so well that his contribution to STAR WARS has been overlooked ever since (even by me. I used to dislike ROTJ as much as the next guy, until recently. Now, I watch more than EMPIRE).

IMHO . . flashy camera work does not a great storyteller make.

-Otis

 

Tim Burton is one of the worst 'action' directors in the business. Having Coruscant turn into a german expressionist painting halfway through the series wouldn't work too well, either.

 

Otis- great point about Richard Marquand's direction.
When TPM came out, a British newspaper reprinted a review of ANH from '77, and the criticism over Lucas' camera work mirrored the views you read so many times on these boards regarding ROTJ.

 

He-he, how did I know this topic was gonna cause **** as soon as I saw the title?
Burton is a better actor's director, and has a more interesting visual style than Lucas. But there's no way he could work with Lucas looking over his shoulder. It wouldn't be fair to either of them.

 

I see the point that Burton does do very good dark films, but he might try too much poetic license with SW and cause a few inconsistancies. Lucas needs a director that takes direction instead of one that is too independant of thought even if he does good dark films.

It would result in a conflict of creativity.

Besides, with that in mind, Burton probably wouldn't want to do it because too much of the creative parameters have already been cemented.

 

Did you see Planet of the Apes?

 

Maybe we get to see a Headless Sith.

Actually, more like we might be more of headless Jedis.

 

Whereas I think T Burton is a good director, I don't think he would be right at all. Yes he directs dark films, but all his films are dark QUIRKY films.

He would just not be right.

And I think to many people are jumping on the Jackson bandwagon. I loved FotR, but it should not be thought of as the next Star Wars. They should not be compared. They are both great.

And I think the biggest problem people had with TPM was the story, moreso than the directing.

I not, sure who I would want to direct is maybe one of the old directors, say maybe Empire's director.

Space Ace

 

Oh good God no.

Burton isn't a film director, he's an art director. And Burton and Jackson both suck at action.

 

Obviously you all have no ide how dark Episode III is going to be. When George says it's going to be so dark, that people wont want to see it, he is not joking around. Tim Burton certainly has an obscure sense of visuals. Stanley Kubrick certainly likes a dark twist. Same with Ridley Scott. But...you enjoy seeing their visions. They're dark, but also attractive.

Those guys would not come close to what I feel George will do, in Episode III. George is going to make a vision you will hate. Hate with a passion. The same amount of passion you love ANH with. But directed towards hatred. It will be equally as powerful as ANH, but in the opposite direction. I'm sure a lot of people will not get it. And rightly so.


Isurus

 

Darthkarma;

Go cast your vote in the EpIII directors thread! I'm bringing it back up!

Krash; Why do so many people think Burton is a great director? Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow. That's why. All of these films are highly recommended to anyone who likes film.

Padme Bra; Jackson sucks at action (woa, rhymes!)? ?

 

Adali-Kiri . .

Even though his fingerprints are all over the look and story of NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Burton didn't direct that one. Henry Selick did.

I love that film, BTW. And it's one of my wife's favorites. The music by Danny Elfman is what makes it great, I think. Actually, it's one of the best thing in most Burton films.

-Otis

 

Quote:
"Padme Bra; Jackson sucks at action "

I think so, yeah. In all those sword fights with the orcs, all the action is really close up and blurry and there's quick Mtv style edits. You can't tell what's going on in the shot until they pull back and reveal the guy standing around a bunch of dead orce. Lucas shoots action at a nice distance, with few cuts and no slow motion. Lucas is one of the greats when it comes to directing action sequences.

And Burton's action scenes are just boring. He's gotten better since the first Batman but he's still not in Star Wars league.

 

Jackson sucks at action

What? That's a little pre-mature isn't it? I mean, c'mon, we won't even see the dude sport a saber till EP2!

Just messin. I understand why people feel disoriented while watching LOTR but the opening scenes of Gladiator had the same effect and I've yet to hear anybody complain about that. While the camera placement (which is really attributable to the cinematographer, not Jackson)is debatable, Bob's choreography (the guy who did ESB and ROTJ)is not. He made it aesthetically pleasing with out resorting to "Crouching Tiger" wire-fu.
I especially love the scene where the head Uruk-hai pulls out the knife from his leg and hurls it towards Aragorn as he blocks it with his sword. It makes a nice *twang* sound and I think everybody cheered in afirmation the first time I saw it.

 

Oh, and by the way while I love the guys work, Burton's a horrible choice for SW. He isn't ESB dark he more Dr. Caligary dark. Not to mention that his brand of dark filming tends to reveal it self more in it's morbid humor.

Ps. His action doesn't "suck" as someone so eloquently put it. Did no one check out the the two on one fight scene in Sleepy Hollow? When the headless horse men cuts the guy in half? That's phenomenal!

 

Adali-Kiri, I'll go find your poll and vote on it. Anyone else who hasn't already done so, cast your vote as well.

I think Robert Zemeckis, in addition to Burton, would do a great job, but we all know it aint gonna happen. The Flanneled One will direct it. He's trying to rack up some credits in the entertainment biz so he can become a big cheese director.

 

"Tim Burton is one of the worst 'action' directors in the business."


PPOR

 

Burton is first and foremost a mood and setting director. He has an odd sense of humor, and that often works well in his films. Though he makes the so-called dark films, I think giving him to direct Episode III would be a horrible idea. Episode I, maybe not so bad an idea. See, one thing that Star Wars needs to stay away from is indulgence, and giving Burton an already dark story would only make him indulge his own senses more. I don't think people realize that sometimes working outside of one's familiarity is actually an advantage, and it actually forces the filmmaker to have constraint and focus on making a good movie. That's why I always felt someone like Frank Darabont would be a perfect director for Star Wars, he would obviously have the help of GL, Lucasfilm, and ILM, but he would seriously be on his toes in making such a drastically different film that his previous ones. One thing Lucas has done in his strive for technological advances is that he has erased much of the limits in filmmaking, but if you go back to see the great films, you'll notice that limitations is often help instead of a blocking stones.

 

Yeah, I was aware that Tim didn't *direct* Nightmare, per ce. But directing animation and live action are two very different things anyway. Glad you liked it, though.

I'm a bit confused about how some of you seem to think Burton and Jackson are bad at directing action. I can't for the life of me figure out what's wrong with the action in FotR, or Sleepy Hollow and the Batman movies. I honestly don't think Lucas is leagues beyond this. And anyway, no one said that Irvin Kershner was a very natural and good choice for directing a SW movie. Actually everybody complained about how he was too old and his style was nothing like what's needed in a SW movie. Then they saw The Empire Strikes Back.

My point is that SW has an established style, and all the directors have so far stuck pretty close to that. As would any other director who agrees to direct a SW movie, that's obvious. I guess the point is that not very many established directors would want to do it.

And I'm all psyched about George directing them himself!