French Honor Tim Burton

Director Tim Burton went to Paris this Monday to be inducted into France's National Order of Arts and Letters alongside Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard.

France's Cultural Minister Frederic Mitterand named Burton an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters and Cotillard a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters at the ceremony held at the Cultural Ministry.

Burton called the award "one of the biggest honors I've ever received."

"From the beginning of my career, I always felt a very special place in my heart (for) France," he told the crowd of journalists and fans. "Because whether or not you liked the movies, I always felt that the French were looking for the poetry, looking for the meaning, looking for the things I was trying to do.

"France has such a special place in my heart and I feel much more at home here than I do in my own country, and I always have," he said, adding: "I thank you very much."

Burton will head back to France in May to serve as jury president at this year's Festival de Cannes. Cotillard thanked Burton. She said that Burton "in a way opened the doors to American cinema to me," thanks to her role in his 2003 film, Big Fish, "and has always been my idol," she said.

Burton's latest film, Alice in Wonderland, will have its French premiere on Monday, before hitting Gallic screens on March 24th.





All photos: AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere