A Morning Consult study polled more than 2000 Americans, from diverse backgrounds, on their opinions on film, TV, streaming and more specifically, their thoughts on their favorite directors. The results were quite surprising: Tim Burton was the winner of the 18-34 year old demographic.
At first, Burton being Americans’ favorite filmmaker might be a strange outcome, but he has been in the news a lot lately with the incredible success of his Netflix series “Wednesday”. Also, many of his best films feel timeless.
Burton’s style is indeed distinct, he’s an obvious “auteur,” and his filmography does span generations, from young Millennials to Gen Z-ers. A filmography that includes Batman, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Sweeney Todd will do that.
Steven Spielberg, who was the overall demo winner, followed closely behind, with Clint Eastwood, Jordan Peele and Quentin Tarantino rounding out the top five.
Back in October, Burton said he was done making Disney movies, insinuating that he felt like a prisoner working for the mouse house. Following his experiences working on Disney’s live-action version of “Dumbo”, he admitted feeling trapped like the titular elephant:
“My history is that I started out there. I was hired and fired like several times throughout my career there. The thing about Dumbo, is that’s why I think my days with Disney are done, I realized that I was “Dumbo”, that I was working in this horrible big circus and I needed to escape. That movie is quite autobiographical at a certain level.
What’s next for Burton? There are rumors that “Beetlejuice 2” has already started production, but I have no way to confirm that. I’m currently asking around and, when I gather up more info, will probably write something about it very soon.