I firmly believe that Tim Burton is an eccentric genius and possibly one of the most interesting directors in the history of American cinema. But that doesn’t mean I cosign every facet of his life and career. In the middle of the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard divorce drama, Burton clearly sided with Depp, his longtime friend and collaborator. Burton was briefly “on tour” with Depp and the Hollywood Vampires, and there were social media photos of the two men. It was obvious what we were supposed to take away: if a genius like Tim Burton cosigns Johnny Depp, he can’t be too bad, right? So, Burton is currently promoting premiere Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, a film free of Depp, and he got some Depp questions while doing a Q&A session at Fantastic Fest in Austin. Some highlights:
Burton on the press: “Any story I read about anybody I know in the press, I always feel it’s a bizarre parallel. I’ve had things written about me where I go, I’m living in Bizarro World.”
His thoughts on Johnny Depp & the press around him: “I always take it with a grain of salt and everything ends up working itself out. But I love him. I love everyone.”
Working with child actors: “I really don’t like kids very much. I have two kids and I like them… sometimes. But honestly, the weird thing is a lot of the kids in this film hadn’t worked before, some had done movies and some hadn’t. Sometimes you meet children and it’s like they’ve been in this life before, they had a past life. Like oh my god, how old are you? Are you 9 or are you 90? You hear about nightmare children—and I’ve worked with some in the past. They kind of freak me out.”
Well… at least he didn’t offer a full-throated defense of Depp’s actions, nor did Burton climb into controversy by somehow justifying Depp’s alleged behavior. Like, I understand how it’s difficult for many people to imagine that their friend of three decades has turned into an alleged abuser. I also don’t blame those long-time friends for offering support. But it has to be worded the right way, I think? And this is probably the best way to do it – just say, “I love the guy, I hoped everything would work itself out, next question.”
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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