Go to content

Tim Burton honoured with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Tim Burton honoured with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
© Cover Media / © Cover Media

Tim Burton received the 2,788th star on Hollywood Walk of Fame during a ceremony in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Officials from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce presented the artist-filmmaker with the star in recognition of his work on movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, and Sleepy Hollow.

Tim's partner Monica Bellucci was in the crowd, as were guest speakers Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton.

Addressing the audience, Tim recalled how he used to travel on his own from Burbank to Hollywood as a child.

"In fact, I was young enough to think these things were actually gravestones when I first came here," he began, gesturing to the stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame. "I realised John Wayne wasn't buried under that or other people."

Tim went on to share that he was thrilled his star is located outside of Hollywood Toys & Costumes.

"I used to come down here and visit the Larry Edmunds Bookshop and come here and when I found out it was here, I almost started crying because I've been coming here ever since I was a little child and the store hasn't changed at all," the 66-year-old smiled. "So, for me, it's such an honour to have a star but also to have it right here in front of this incredible shop, museum, toy shop, everything... I used to spend my life here. Thank you so much."

In her speech, Winona described giving Tim the star to be "sort of like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the tallest mountain".

She also noted that the Beetlejuice director has "a beautiful and unique understanding of the human heart".

"Whether outcasts, oddballs, terrifying or hilarious, he gives them depth, humour and always a certain gallantry and he gives them their dignity. His heroes are the very outcasts that he loves," she declared of her frequent collaborator. "To work with Tim is like being invited to wander through his heart and imagination. It's the ultimate cathedral and one of my most cherished and sacred places to be and I am eternally grateful for the time that I spent there."

Elsewhere, Michael recounted how stunned he was when Tim suggested he play Batman in the 1989 superhero film.

"He hands me a script and says, 'Please read this and tell me what you think,'" he remembered. "This is after Beetlejuice. After that performance. After that type of movie. He says to the studio, 'I want that guy.' I'll never to this day understand this, why anyone even cared. The uproar... you would've thought we were being invaded. It was unbelievable. The press went crazy. But he stuck by me. And the guts it took to stand by that decision will always be special to me, obviously," the actor continued.

"What that (movie) spawned...there are a lot of people making a lot of money out there with their superhero movies because of his choice and his vision of what those movies could be, because he changed everything."

Tim's latest film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - the sequel to his 1988 feature Beetlejuice - opens in cinemas on Friday.

Subscribe to our newletter!
By subscribing, I agree to receive communications by email from Cogeco Média and its affiliates, including news, updates, activities and contests. You can unsubscribe at any time by using the link at the bottom of our emails or contacting us via our Privacy Policy. Please note, however, that we may still continue to send you service-related and other non-commercial communications. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Streaming will resume following advertisement.
The MTL Hit 40
Live
On air until 20:00