Tim Burton-Warner Deal Reportedly Near : Studios: Sources say the director’s negotiations with Disney have collapsed.

Walt Disney Studios’ effort to strike a long-term deal with director and producer Tim Burton (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”) have collapsed after more than six months of negotiations, according to sources on both sides of the table.

Warner Bros. is now close to reaching an agreement with the quirky and inventive 34-year-old. Sources say Warner made an offer as soon as negotiations with Disney ended. Burton is reportedly happy with the terms, and his agents at Creative Artists Agency, who declined to comment, are expected to finalize the arrangement soon.

“There are no more discussions at Disney,” said a source close to the filmmaker, noting that while the studio made “several different proposals, Tim wasn’t comfortable with any of them.” The deal Warner is offering “is definitely the kind of overall deal he wanted to make. It satisfies all his desires.”

The source stressed that there is “absolutely no ill will” between Burton and Disney and that the non-exclusive nature of the Warner deal means the filmmaker can continue to work at Disney, where he is currently shooting his labor of love, “Ed Wood,” a black-and-white movie about the 1950s Hollywood director of bad cult films, which was rejected by Columbia Pictures. Burton also produced “Cabin Boy,” which will be released next year, at Disney.

Burton catapulted into the Hollywood big leagues at Warner, where his films have included “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Beetlejuice” and the highly successful “Batman” series.

While details about the Warner deal are sketchy, one executive said restraints and commitments imposed on Burton are much less restrictive than those Disney was demanding. Disney may have eventually backed off some of its demands to save the deal, sources surmise, but reportedly there were certain areas where there was no give.

“Disney doesn’t necessarily have any interest in giving up participation in its animation and theme park businesses,” a source said. Many industry insiders defended Disney’s position, particularly given the company’s existing stronghold in animation.

Said one source: “Why should they give that up and set a precedent (by giving away too much of the pie) when they have movies like ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast?’ ” On the other hand, a top executive who has worked with Burton argued: “Why wouldn’t Tim want to own his ideas? He’s one of the only guys who walks around with animated movies in his head.”

Guaranteed creative control would have to be a major factor to a filmmaker as independently minded as Burton. But, while Disney has a reputation for often meddling in creative matters, Burton was reportedly allowed complete control on “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” although he naturally had to work within certain budgetary limits.

Burton, who remains very close to Touchstone President David Hoberman, and Disney share a long history. The studio was the original breeding ground for the young filmmaker, who worked as an animator there in the early ‘80s after graduating from CalArts.

Over four years, Burton worked on such animated features as “The Fox and the Hound” and “The Black Cauldron,” as well as the experimental animated shorts “Vincent,” about a child envisioning himself as Vincent Price, and “Frankenweenie,” a creative reworking of the 1931 “Frankenstein” classic.

That 28-minute short proved to be Burton’s ticket to Hollywood, attracting the attention of then-Warner Bros. production head Mark Canton, who hired him to direct “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.” The rest, as they say, is history.

Burton has several projects in the works at Warners, including “Batman 3” (to be produced by him and directed by Joel Schumacher next year) and two directorial possibilities “Catwoman,” to be written by Dan Waters and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, and “House of Usher,” scripted by Jonathan Gems.