Tim Burton LACMA Exhibit Opens With Celebrity Guests, Rock Music, Requisite Creepiness

[Tim Burton, Eva Mendes via] I always figured the spookiest thing that would eventually happen at LACMA would be when the ghost dinosaurs rise out of the neighboring Tar Pits and hit up the Contemporary wing, hungry for blood and German Expressionism. In fact, I still believe this, but until that happens, we'll settle for the spookiness of Tim Burton, the straightforwardly named exhibit that opened over the weekend.

Named, of course, after the legendary director (and not Tim Burton who owns a hair salon in Atlanta, thanks Google!), Tim Burton is a retrospective of Burton's drawings, sculptures, concept art, and other produced works. It was also among the highest attended shows in NYC MoMA history, so we knew we had to do it big to match up to our friendly rivals on the East Coast.

Michael Govan, Tim Burton, Slash

Well, as far as big goes, how about a opening reception featuring Tim Burton himself, LACMA director Michael Govan, Danny Elfman, Winona Ryder, Crispin Glover, Bob Iger, Diablo Cody, Slash, Eva Mendes, Brandon Boyd, Baelyn Neff, Johnny Knoxville, Mira Sorvino, Patrick Hoeleck, Martin Landau, Jeffrey Jones, and Kelly Osborne?

The exhibit itself offered everything from the authentic rubber masks that once attempted to contain Michael Keaton's legendary sweating problem (full disclaimer: I just made that up) to the leather-and-scissors bodysuit that Johnny Depp strapped into for his least sexy performance ever (another full disclaimer: I have not seen Pirates 4 and would assume, even with Penelope Cruz involved, that it's even less sexy). And the party? Well, the party offered an unannounced performance from friends of the director and L.A. icons Jane's Addiction:

All in all, a perfectly Hollywood (in the good sense) way to bring the collected work of a native son back home. Winona Ryder, Tim Burton               Slash

Tim Burton, Crispin Glover               Winona Ryder, Jeffery Jones

Eva Mendes, Brandon Boyd, Baelyn Neff

[Photos via Zimbio]