These days, it seems like every studio has entrusted its mega-franchises to directors with an “indie” edge. But before there were Bryan Singer, Alfonso Cuaron and Christopher Nolan, there was Tim Burton. Fresh off Beetlejuice and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Burton blended his own torqued sensibility with Anton Furst’s remarkable production design. The results were wildly popular, and strangely powerful. The Saturday after Batman opened, Warner CEO Steve Ross told producer Mark Canton “You may be responsible for making the merger happen.” “The merger” of course, was with Time, Inc., which makes its own cameo appearance in the film as Vicky Vale’s employer. As the Joker says when he looks at her pictures of the Corto Maltese massacre, “I don’t know if it’s art, but I like it.”