Movies - TV
Tim Burton Turned Down The Chance To Direct 1991's The Addams Family
By DREW TINNIN
Only a short list of directors could bring to “The Addams Family” the visual acumen and weird, mad-hatter energy necessary for it to succeed as an off-center pro-family film. Initially, Orion Pictures considered two names, preferring established directors who had proven themselves eccentric and successful enough to reintroduce the Addams’ to mainstream audiences.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld was the third choice, telling Variety: “There were two other directors approached — Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam” [...] But they both turned it down [...] [Producer] Scott Rudin thought he wanted a visual stylist, not just a comedy director.” Since Rudin couldn’t entice Burton or Gilliam, he landed on Sonnenfeld for his strong visual sense.
At the time, Burton was on a major roll with "Beetlejuice," "Batman," and "Edward Scissorhands," so he seemed the perfect, obvious choice to direct. With the new series "Wednesday," Burton finally got to play in this sandbox, and it has already become Netflix's third-most-popular English-language show ever with 752.52 million hours viewed.