Okay, this is driving me crazy.  Everyone should know this now, but let’s review, anyway.

It’s a cliche to say that making a motion picture is a highly collaborative art, but it’s certainly true.  However, it is generally accepted that the person most responsible for the content, tone, style and details of a film is the film’s director.

Another important role in making a film is the producer.  The producer’s role can be many things, but in general she is the person who gathers the money and other resources necessary so that the director can make the movie.

Lorenzo di Medici was Michelangelo’s patron early in his career.  Without him, we wouldn’t have the David.  But we don’t refer to “Medici’s David, ” do we?  No, we acknowledge that its creator is Michelangelo.

The same is true with film.  Some film directors, like Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, become such big stars themselves that putting their name on a movie (even though they’re only the producer) can help sell the movie.  I don’t spite anyone trying to get their movie seen, but it always depresses me when I see marketing folks counting on the intellectual laziness of the American public.

The other day I was at the Arclight Hollywood catching up on my moviegoing and I overheard a gaggle of theater patrons referring to “that new Tim Burton movie.”  They were discussing, of course, the animated feature 9, which is an interesting film, but NOT A TIM BURTON FILM. 

I almost interrupted them to say, “Actually, it’s a Shane Acker film.  Burton just paid for it, ” but as I am the picture of restraint I said nothing.

But Burton has long gotten away with this.  People still think of The Nightmare Before Christmas as a “Tim Burton film, ” when it’s actually a Henry Selick film.  Burton produced it and wrote the story the screenplay is based on.

If you MUST refer to an animated film as a “Tim Burton film, ” you may do so with The Corpse Bride, which he co-directed. 

I’m glad I could straighten this out for everyone.  Carry on.