Burton’s dark sensibilities

Real locations are the key to make Miss Peregrine more palpable, says director Tim Burton

Tim Burton, the outrageous visionary who took us to amazing places that can only be described as cinematic nirvana through his film, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.

Did your childhood inspire you to be filmmaker?

Yes, I think that you really are formed by what impresses you, what makes an impression on you when you’re younger. Even though I like the new movies, those old ones are part of what inspires you. When artists say they are inspired by things in their life or early life, I get that it’s something that never quite leaves you. That’s why I explore certain themes and ideas because that is who I am.

Did you always like unusual bed time stories?

I liked monster movies which sort of formed bed time stories to me. But it’s certain that those films were like weird bed time stories.

What were the challenges you faced while adapting the book?

I think adapting a book which people like is always a challenge. This one was a particular one, one of the things I liked was the way Ransom Riggs constructed a story around these photographs because obviously you are making a movie, you have to condense things, make things different. Ransom was very supportive of these things.

What fuses your creative juices?

In a world where there is so much chaos, it’s nice to take a deep breathe and clear your mind by not thinking about anything. Have a little

cleansing moment, where one just observe things, take a moment and look at things from a different perspective.

How was it like working with such an impressive cast?

I like to work with different people. In this particular case, I loved working with Eva. Since I’ve always wanted to work with Sam Jackson so that was a dream come true. Judi Dench and Terrence Stamp are great actors, and the best thing about them is that they really inspire you.

Tell us more about the film?

They are so many elements that I love in this film. But the idea of them being labeled as peculiar is rather disturbing. However, what I liked the most is the fact that at the heart of it, with all their peculiarities, they’re still just children, and that’s an important message for me. Also the character of Jake, has all the feelings of a teenager — the feeling that you don’t fit into the society, seeing monsters, the dilemma of whether they are real or not. But I certainly connected with him, especially because when you’re alone, you don’t feel like a part of the world.

What did you love most about the film?

The thing I love the most is that with all their peculiarities, they are basically real kids — the sort of theme I like. Everybody used to think that being peculiar is bad but I always thought that it was good because these children are quite, soft spoken, lonely, emotional, sensitive and artistic at the same time. According to me, the word peculiar is a synonym of positivity.

From CGI to sop motion there are many elements in the film, what was that like?

In this particular film we had more live locations, real houses and a lot of it was for several reasons. It was mixed because not all the kids were accustomed to movie sets. So, rather than putting them in front of a green screen it was important that they feel like they were a part of the house. Also, the film has such fantastic elements that it was important to try and make it look as real as possible. We had a real house, we did real stunts, all the kids wanted to do their own stunts because that was the most exciting thing to do, and it helped as it

was part of the story. We did a few stop motion sequences, probably would’ve done more but it was very time consuming. These kind of things really help anchor it for not just the kids, but all the actors and the crew.

What did you think about the book?

Riggs uses antique photos that he collected as the inspiration for the books and then created characters and a plot to combine all of the photos into one cohesive story. One look at the illustrations and I fell in love with them. When, I read the book at last, I was blown away by how he constructed the book around these photographs?

 How did you maintain the balance in the film, so that it’s neither too crazy nor too creepy?

Well I always like a mixture of things so even in all the creepy stuff I always try to add some humour. So it’s a mixture of things, but I never do something just to make it seem weird.

What is the message the film is trying to convey?

All I want people to understand is that one should embrace the positive side of themselves. And don’t think of yourself as a negative character.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children airs on January 14 at 1:00pm and 9pm on Star Movies and Star Movies HD