‘A third Beetlejuice? Let’s do the math: it took me 35 years to make the second one, a third chapter would come when I’m over 100 years old, and I have great faith in medical research, so let’s say it’s possible. Tim Burton is in high spirits as he tells the international press about the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice adventure, a second chapter that his fans have been clamouring for a long time.
‘And I admit I’ve never understood why it’s been so successful. Beetlejuice is a very personal film, and after all these years, to come back into its world, accompanied by a host of people who embrace the way it works like Michael, Catherine, Winona, Jenna, and also Monica, Willem and Justin, who immediately got into the right spirit, was very nice.‘
The cast join him in Venice, at the press conference and then on the opening red carpet of this 81st Venice Film Festival. There was also the risk that Tim Burton might not screen a film at the Palazzo del Cinema again. ‘I’ve been disillusioned with the film industry in the last few years. It’s no secret, and I realised that if I do something new, I have to do it from my heart because I want to do it. I had become a bit like Lydia’s character in this film: sometimes you take a different path when you get older, and I was a bit lost. This film was a re-energisation to get back to the things I love to do, how I love to do them and with the people I love to do them with. I realised that this is the only way to be successful. I didn’t care how Beetlejuice Beetlejuice came out; I had fun doing it, and that’s the most important thing.
And it was also an opportunity to pay homage to Italian genre cinema and some of its master directors that Burton has always loved. ‘Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and many others like them, I’ve always admired their works’. Monica Bellucci, who in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice plays the sensual and fearsome Deloris, an old flame of the leading pig spirit, also discovered this great passion of him. ‘He made me watch practically all their films; Tim loves Italy and Italian cinema,’ said the actress, and on the subject, she was echoed by Michael Keaton, who was thrilled at the idea of being able to get a glimpse of them to get deeper into one of the film’s funniest scenes (which we obviously won’t reveal).
Among the new elements in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, of course, features Jenna Ortega, the young star of Wednesday, who was a real fountain of youth for Tim Burton. Jenna plays Astrid, the daughter of Lydia, a.k.a. Winona Ryder, and like her mother used to be, she’s a very dark teenager. ‘I was excited to be in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. I’m a big fan of the first film, and knowing I was joining such a unique and talented team of people, the best way not to spoil it was to put myself in a corner and watch them. Astrid and Lydia are indeed very similar but with important nuances. Both are angry women, but I think Astrid has more resentment towards the world, and she is processing this trauma.
The generations of Deetz women thus became three. Catherine O’Hara returned to play Delia, now a grandmother, ‘and of course, I can’t deny that it’s been a while; I’m happy to be alive and working with these wonderful people again. Jenna is now part of the family, and I think all three, Delia, Lydia, and Astrid, helped each other grow up together, with grandmother and granddaughter caring for their daughter and mother. Yes, it was also nice to see Michael again, who always has great charm and has not aged a day. In the end, he is still dead‘.
After the original Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder would have worked with Tim Burton again in one of his most popular films, Edward Scissorhands. ‘This film was a dream come true, and it was nice to look into Michael’s eyes again after all these years‘. Indeed, time seems to have stood still for Michael Keaton, 71 years old and magnificently worn, who says that ‘in this film, we discover more about Beetlejuice’s past, thanks to his ex-wife Deloris, the only person he is terrified of‘. Let’s close with Monica Bellucci, who is also Burton’s partner. ‘Tim is an artist, and becoming part of his world is a privilege. ‘
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will arrive in Italian cinemas on 6 September, distributed by Warner Discovery.
Alessandro De Simone
