Tim Burton named Cannes jury head

CANNES, France, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. movie director Tim Burton has agreed to serve as jury head at France's 63rd Cannes film festival, organizers announced Tuesday.

Burton's films include "Beetlejuice," "Batman," "Edward Scissorhands," "Ed Wood," "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Sleepy Hollow," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Sweeney Todd."

"After spending my early life watching triple features and 48-hour horror movie marathons, I'm finally ready for this," The Hollywood Reporter quoted Burton as saying of his appointment as festival jury head. "When you think of Cannes, you think of world cinema. And as films have always been like dreams to me, this is a dream come true."

"It's the first time an artist whose origins are in animation will preside over the jury of the Festival de Cannes," the entertainment industry trade newspaper reported Cannes president Gilles Jacob said. "We hope his sweet madness and gothic humor will pervade the Croisette, bringing Christmas to all. Christmas and Halloween."

The 2010 festival is scheduled to run May 12-23.