Kolda, Ed Wood

Three elements in Burton's film that pay homage to Ed Wood himself:

1) Glen or Glenda is about Wood’s struggle with his weird obsession with women’s clothing. Ed Wood also has a focus on this issue, though Burton’s film focuses more literally on Wood’s life and relationships. We see how this obsession affects his movie making and his relationship with his girlfriend, who has little tolerance for his cross dressing or movie making. She is the kind of person that Wood has to work against.  

2) The movie has weird quirks that Wood's films also have. For one, there is the use of very unrealistic animation in both Ed Wood and in Tim Burton’s films. In Plan 9 From Outer Space, there are three space ships that are used in the movie frequently. The same spaceships are used in Burton’s opening credits as well as extra animation. The animated octopus tentacle is in reference to the fake octopus with no motor used in one of Wood’s films. And the names written on gravestones is taken straight from the opening credits of Plan 9 From Outer Space.

3) Ed Wood is not what the audience expects. The opening credits set the stage for a horror movie, yet Ed Wood is much more realistic than expected after watching the credits. This is similar to the way Wood’s movies were not what we think they will be. Glen or Glenda for example is supposed to be a funny movie about a sex change. Instead, it is a drama about his own struggles with being a transvestite.

By filming this movie in black and white and adding strange quirks, Burton is paying respect to the way moviemakers had to do things with the little resources they possessed. In a way, he is turning Ed Woods films into one that has a chance of being seen, but does so in a way that praises Wood, and still gives him the credit.