Tim Burton claimed that Prince was ruined for him by ‘Batman’
In 1989, Warner Brothers released the first instalment of the initial Batman film series, a project that saw Tim Burton was on directing duty, while Michael Keaton played the titular hero opposite Jack Nicholson’s Joker. One of the most interesting features of the film, though, was a soundtrack provided by none other than Prince.
However, Burton felt that Warner Brothers had pressured him to allow Prince to provide the soundtrack for the film. He admitted in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1992 that he was a great fan of the legendary musician but sadly regretted the collaboration. “This is what happened,” Burton said. “You learn something new every day. Now, here is a guy, Prince, who was one of my favourites. I had just gone to see two of his concerts in London, and I felt they were like the best concerts I’d ever seen.” So far, so good, but the joy of music wasn’t to last long.
Burton continued: “They’re saying to me, these record guys, it needs this and that, and they give you this whole thing about it’s an expensive movie, so you need it. And what happens is you get engaged in this world, and then there’s no way out. There’s too much money.”
Evidently, it was the fact that Warner Bros had been pushing for their artist to sign onto the film that rubbed Burton up the wrong way. “There’s this guy you respect and is good and has got this thing going,” he added. “It got to a point where there was no turning back. And I don’t want to get into that situation again.”
It’s a great shame that Burton was somewhat forced to sacrifice his love for one of his favourite artists just because producers of his film had wanted Prince to provide the soundtrack, and Prince was unlikely to have wanted to upset the apple cart. “It was… it was… it completely lost me,” he lamented.
However, the biggest tragedy of all came when Burton noted, “And it tainted something that I don’t want to taint, which is how you feel about an artist. And actually, I liked his album. I wish I could listen to it without the feel of what had happened.” Sadly, it’s likely that the experience left a sour taste in Burton’s mouth whenever he listened to the iconic musician’s work.
