Woody

In Tim Burton' s homage to Ed Wood the filmmaker sheds light upon the hidden side of one of Mr. Burton's idols, Ed Wood. Ed Wood was a strange man but the reason why Burton chose to make a biopic of his life is because Burton and Wood are much the same individual. Edward Wood was a cross-dresser and although it has not been confirmed if Mr. Burton is as well, we can only assume that Burton finds this a honorable trait. The passion and perseverance that Ed Wood showed in his making his films inspired Burton to never give up especially when he was told by Disney that he wasn't what they were looking for. Burton is a misfit and so is Wood so in turn to not be considered as loners and misfits they create a "band of misfits" that help create the magic of each movie. There is also a certain magic in creating films as we can see in Plan 9 From Outer Space. In creating a movie about creating a movie Burton lets the viewer take a peep into the way he thinks of the bold pursuit of movie magic. The backdrops and back-lots of the movie studios also show that the reality of movie-making is less glamorous than people think it to be. In the same way Burton shows love for Ed Wood, Ed Wood shows his love for Bela Lugosi. Burton, in showing his admiration of Wood's pursuits, then does not only show love for just Ed Wood but for a great deal of loners and weirdos out there because Burton is one himself. He sends out a message to all the wacky people out there that they are not alone and are welcomed in his movies and stories. The craziest people are often the most creative.
Burton also addresses the quirks of Wood when some filmmakers would have ignored them completely. Ed Wood being a cross-dresser, as seen by Burton, creates a dark side to humanly pleasures. Burton likes to find characters that have a life hidden away from society, into the inner self. Wood finds comfort in dressing like a woman and feels that he can take charge when wearing women's clothing. Burton does this with many of his characters like Batman, Bruce Wayne feels like he can take charge when he wear a cape and hides his face. It is almost as if Burton presents a transformation from the inside to the outside, much like an inversion of self where what was on the inside is now on the outside. For a person to truly understand the whys and hows one must show them true selves to the people that are the closest to them. Like Ed Wood has done, Wood showed his inner self to the people closest to him and most accepted that. Many people would argue that Wood was a nutcase and a freak but I think that Burton understands Wood better than most people because he can relate to him. That is why Burton chose to portray him in such a positive light, from Burton's point of view.