There’s an interview in LA Times with Tim Burton about directing his upcoming movie, Alice in Wonderland. The movie looks like it’s going to be incredible, but it doesn’t take much reading between the lines to see that Burton is not happy filming this movie. He complains incessantly about working with the special effects. Here are some samples:
Q: …how liberating has it been to utilize these new tools [green screen and CGI]?
A: I don’t feel liberated yet, no, only because it’s a very strange process. On a live-action, you’ve got actors, you’ve got sets and that’s what I like. This is almost the opposite of that. You’ve got a lot of pieces and not until very late in the game do you see a finished shot. I think I’ve yet to see a finished shot. It’s quite a scary, daunting process...This is the first time I’ve dealt with a lot of green screen and it drives you nuts. After a while you start to get kind of jittery and crazy.
Q: Would you do something this technically complex again?
A: …I don’t really know what the outcome’s going to be. Any film you do, you just kind of finish and you wish you could spend a little bit more time on this or that…I don’t even think I’m that much of a perfectionist, but it’s hard to let go of anything.
I find it kind of funny that Burton is complaining so much about not being able to see the finished product when his background is in stop-motion, which takes days to produce seconds of film. But compare his reaction to green screen to George Lucas’, who clearly embraced green screen and CGI with open arms. And Burton is arguably a better director. Still looking forward to the movie, if Burton doesn’t go insane during the production. Then again, one might argue that would make for a better movie. Then again, one might argue Burton’s already gone insane. Then again, one might argue that it’s time to move on.
What do you think of the new Alice in Wonderland movie? Let us know in the comments.
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="42940 ">2 Comments
It is kind of wild to think about. Probably the difference with stop-motion and CGI is that it's hands on. He can walk on the set and at least see it, but now he has to wait for things to "render" and that's got to be stressful. After watching all the trailers and posters I've come to the conclusion that this film will be as close to achieving his vision in a live-action movie as he's ever gotten. BTW Thats a good point about Lucas. Cameron developed a technique to watch the CGI live, so I can't help but wonder if that had an effect on the production.
Awesome movie directors are a rare breed of aliens which come from another universe to share their experiences with us.
I think you're being a little tough on Burton! Imagine finding your footing on a strange new CGI world. I'm curious to see how it turns out.