Tim Burton almost retired during COVID-19 pandemic
Hollywood director Tim Burton has admitted he almost walked away from the movie industry after the COVID-19 pandemic hit but he was "reenergised" when he got the chance to work on Netflix show 'Wednesday'.
Tim Burton almost "retired" after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The Hollywood moviemaker had just released his 2019 movie 'Dumbo' when the industry was crippled by the outbreak - which forced TV and film productions to shut down - and he's revealed he spent the enforced time off looking inwards and contemplating his future.
He told Variety: "It felt like there was a change around the time of COVID where everything was just in flux. And so, rather than get caught up in that, I just worked on my own feelings and things ... Honestly, after 'Dumbo', I really didn’t know. I thought that could have been it, really. I could have retired, or become … well, I wouldn’t have become an animator again, that’s over. "
However, Burton regained his passion for filmmaking after being offered the chance to work on Netflix show 'Wednesday'.
He explained: "'Wednesday' came along. That reconnected me to making things. We went off to Romania and it felt like it was a creative health camp. It went so well ... [It reenergised] me.
"Oftentimes, when you get into Hollywood, you try to be responsible to what you’re doing with the budget and everything else but sometimes you might lose yourself a little bit. This reinforced the feeling for me that it’s important that I do what I want to do, because then everybody will benefit."
After the success of 'Wednesday', Burton got back into moviemaking by returning to his 1998 hit 'Beetlejuice' and reuniting the cast for a sequel titled 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'.
The new film brings back Winona Ryder - who was just 15 years old when she landed the part in the original - and she recently admitted she had a wonderful time making the film as a teenager.
She told 'Extra': "It was a really incredibly special time because I remember like everything about it ... Everyone made me feel so included and that was sort of new because, you know, when you’re a kid actor, they tell you, ‘Stand there and do this,’ and, like, it was the first time, like, Tim was like, ‘What do you think?’ I was like, ‘You care?'"
