Lake - Mr. Wood

            Tim Burton and Ed Wood have many similarities as directors.  Both create movies from the heart and more than that create movies from their own personal life, emotion, and feelings.  Both focus on making films that key in on personal realities more than unrealistic fantasy.  This being said, Burton’s Biopic of Ed Wood attempted to capture the essence of Ed Wood and because of this, the movie is a dull, kind of boring black and white film that left the viewer with more questions than answers.  Ed Wood was considered one of the worst moviemakers of all time.  Burton took a risk by being as real as he was with Ed Wood but the movie shows a kind soul who can’t seem to fully express himself or find someone to accept him for who he is.  All of who he is. 

            Burton used scenes from Wood’s movies to help portray the mental state and mindset of Ed Wood.  He used a scene from Glenn or Glenda in which it shows Ed Wood’s conflicted mind when it comes to becoming a transvestite.  He completely owns his quirky and different habits but knows it is strange and must be masked and hid from society.  Although Burton is not dealing with being a transvestite, he can relate to the feelings of isolation, separation, and being misunderstood.  Burton and Wood are both outcasts and have a need to form a family in which they can feel love and support.  Surprisingly, with all of these things that could hold someone back, both work to create work that they love and they are very passionate and hopeful with the projects they create.  In Burton’s Biopic of Ed Wood he shows the audience how Ed Wood really didn’t pay attention or at the very least didn’t take criticism to the heart or head.  Ed Wood was on his own personal pursuit of happiness and that speaks to Burton.  That is why he created the movie in the manner he did and shows Ed Wood in a very positive light even though he is flawed.  This is another typical Burton move to show how humans are naturally flawed.  Some say that negatives make for better pictures and Burton definitely uses the darker parts of his own and other people’s personalities and lives to create the works that he can, consistently. 

Garcia-Ruiz, Ed Wood

Tim Burton pays homage to Ed Wood by creating a film about Wood’s life in the film industry. The film is about a bad filmmaker, Ed Wood, who is titled as “the world’s worst director” but the film Ed Wood itself turned out to be a well appreciated film to many. It makes sense that Burton would create this film because he can relate to much of what Wood went through while trying to pursue a successful career in the industry. Ed Wood was very different from superstar directors in the way that he created his films but I wouldn’t necessarily say the way he directed. Yes when it came down to the finished product it was crap…but Wood was so passionate about film that the quality didn’t matter to him. Ed Wood created films out of passion and he didn’t care what people had to say about them or him. Wood liked to dress like a woman and it was simply who he was because he felt comfortable. There’s always an appreciation for someone who is confident and passionate with their work and themselves. Burton’s films are definitely not crap but I feel like Burton can relate to him going back to his Disney years when he was unhappy. Burton created artwork that was from his imagination and it was simply rejected because it was weird and not mainstream material; yet he still drew characters the way he saw things because it would have been pointless any other way. Burton kept secrets just like Wood did but there’s respect towards Wood because he faces people with who he is. He wasn’t selfish to who he opened up job positions to so he was clearly accepting of anyone; I can see Burton appreciating this from him. Both had an obsession for horror movies and just like Wood had his all time favorite Bela Lagusi, Burton had his all time favorite Vincent Price. They had idols they looked up to and both of them had the chance to meet their idols while still alive.