Happy Halloween from The B-Side! Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.

Today we talk about Tim Burton! The man! The brand! The artist! The director! The lothario (complimentary)! The B-Sides today include Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, and Frankenweenie. Our esteemed guest is Maria Lewis, “best-selling author, screenwriter, film curator and pop culture etymologist currently based in Australia.” 

As Beetlejuice Beetlejuice still rakes in money in theaters, we discuss Burton’s influence, whether or not he’s actually a good director (something Burton himself has questioned in the past), his best films and his worst films, his inspirations, and the love-and-hate relationship with Disney from the very beginning of his career. There is also the observation that most of Tim Burton’s films are some version of Alice in Wonderland. Including, ahem, Alice in Wonderland.

Also discussed is Maria’s very cool podcast “The Phantom Never Dies,” about the superhero serial character The Phantom. Another important mention is Milicent Patrick, the woman who designed the creature from the Creature from the Black Lagoon film. And finally, we take the time to appreciate the incredibly underrated Australian film director Simon Wincer. 

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