Tim Burton is known for his fantasy and horror movies with a very peculiar visual style, and while he has worked on a number of projects from different universes and more, he also has a long list of unrealized works, and among those is a documentary that was filmed in 1991, yet it has never seen the light of day. Tim Burton’s career as a filmmaker began in the 1970s with different short films, the most notable ones being Stalk of the Celery Monster in 1979 (which caught the attention of Disney’s animation division), Vincent in 1982, and Frankenweenie in 1984.
Burton’s big screen debut arrived in 1985 with Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, which opened many doors for him in the film industry, and after this movie, Burton was able to show his unique approach to horror and fantasy, starting with Beetlejuice in 1988. Since then, Tim Burton’s name has become synonymous with fantasy stories with a horror approach (mostly family-friendly horror) that combine gothic elements as well, such as Edward Scissorhands. Burton has also directed movies aimed at a younger audience, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, and Dumbo.
Given the popularity of Tim Burton since the 1980s, the director has been offered a variety of projects over the years (one of the most talk-about ones being Superman Lives with Nicolas Cage as Clark Kent), but he has also followed some passion projects, though not all of them made it to the big screen. Among those is a documentary on Vincent Price, which was filmed in the 1990s, yet has never been released.
Will Tim Burton’s Vincent Price Documentary Ever Be Released?
Tim Burton is a big Vincent Price fan and it shows in many of his works – for instance, the short-film Vincent is the story of a seven-year-old boy who pretends to be like Vincent Price, and the story is narrated by Price himself. This was the second collaboration between Burton and Price, as they first worked together in the TV movie Hansel and Gretel and reteamed in Edward Scissorhands, where Price played the title character’s creator. While filming Edward Scissorhands, Burton came up with the idea of making an independent documentary on Vincent Price, and he even self-financed the project. Burton shot the documentary, titled Conversations with Vincent, in black-and-white and over the course of three days at the Vincent Price Gallery in Los Angeles in 1991, with interviews with Price, Roger Corman, and Samuel Z. Arkoff.
However, Burton took on the project of Batman Returns and left Conversations with Vincent aside, and Price passed away in October 1993. The following year, Burton was announced to be back to working on his Vincent Price documentary, with Lucy Chase Williams (author of The Complete Films of Vincent Price) working as a consultant, but the project was ultimately abandoned. There have been no updates or comments from Burton about the fate of Conversations with Vincent, so it’s unlikely that it will be completed now and released. Given the legacy of Vincent Price in the horror genre and Tim Burton’s fascination with his work, a documentary on Vincent Price by Burton would have been a very interesting watch, but it might be one of those projects that will never see the light of day.