Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American film director and producer, Known for popularizing Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his gothic horror and dark fantasy films. He has received numerous accolades including an Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and three BAFTA Awards. He was honored with the Venice International Film Festival's Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2007 and was given the Order of Arts and Letters by Culture Minister of France in 2010. Burton made his directorial film debut with the comedy Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) and gained prominence for Beetlejuice (1988) and Edward Scissorhands (1990). Burton also directed the superhero films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992); the animated films Corpse Bride (2005) and Frankenweenie (2012); the science fiction films Mars Attacks! (1996) and Planet of the Apes (2001); the supernatural horror film Sleepy Hollow (1999); the fantasy films Big Fish (2003), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Dark Shadows (2012) and Dumbo (2019); the musicals Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007); and the biographical dramas Ed Wood (1994) and Big Eyes (2014). Starting in 2022, Burton has directed several episodes for the Netflix series Wednesday, for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. He also directed Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024), the sequel to the 1988 film. Burton has frequently collaborated with composer Danny Elfman, who scored all but three of his films. He has released several books including The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories (1997).