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Tag: beetlejuice

  • A ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel Probably Won’t Happen

    A ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel Probably Won’t Happen

    Warner Bros.

    More than 30 years after the film hit theaters, talk of making a sequel to classic horror-comedy “Beetlejuice” is still percolating. But how likely is it that that film will ever materialize?

    According to director Tim Burton, fans shouldn’t hold their breath. A new report from USA Today says that when asked what was happening with “Beetlejuice 2,” the filmmaker “mumbled” an answer of “Nothing, nothing.”

    When asked directly if the movie would ever get made, Burton replied, “I don’t know. I doubt it.”

    Warner Bros. also seemed to put the nail in the sequel’s coffin, with a studio spokesperson telling USA Today that “the project isn’t in active development.”

    So what gives? After all, Burton and stars Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder have all publicly discussed the sequel in recent years. Warner Bros. even hired a new screenwriter for the project back in 2017, and reportedly had plans in place to get “Beetlejuice 2” into theaters in time for the 1988 film’s 30th anniversary.

    Original co-screenwriter Larry Wilson thinks that it all comes down to the story, and trying to put a new spin on the original writing and offbeat vibe of the first film is no small task.

    “The bottom line is, Tim Burton and Michael Keaton are not going to think about a ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel unless it somehow catches the energy of the first film. And that’s not easy,” Wilson explained to USA Today. “‘Beetlejuice’ really was lightning in a bottle.”

    That being said, Wilson added that the creative team was very eager to check out the new “Beetlejuice” musical, which is opening on Broadway later this month. If all goes according to plan, it could perhaps relaunch plans for a sequel.

    “It seems like they have really reinvented the movie and it’s looking like a real hit,” Wilson told USA Today. “So we’ll sit tight until then.”

    Maybe keep your striped suit on standby, just in case.

    [via: USA Today]

  • Every Tim Burton Movie, Ranked From ‘Beetlejuice’ to ‘Batman’

    Every Tim Burton Movie, Ranked From ‘Beetlejuice’ to ‘Batman’

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  • 17 Things You Never Knew About ‘Beetlejuice’

    Say “Beetlejuice” three times and, whoosh! 30 years go by.

    Released on March 30, 1988, “Beetlejuice” gave Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder career-defining roles, made Tim Burton an A-list director (and enabled him to make “Batman” with Keaton), spawned a popular animated series, and made viewers laugh so hard that they’re still bugging Keaton to make a sequel. (Fingers crossed.)

    Still, as often as you’ve re-watched the horror comedy over the past three decades, there’s still plenty you may not know about “Beetlejuice,” including who almost starred in it, how much darker it was supposed to be, which on-set romance blossomed into a marriage, and which titles were (thankfully) rejected. Put on some Harry Belafonte music and read on.
    1. “Beetlejuice” started out as a spec script by Michael McDowell, with revisions by Larry Wilson. Wilson showed it to an executive at Universal, who thought the script was too weird and awful and told Wilson he was committing career suicide by showing it around as a calling card. Nonetheless, McDowell and Wilson quickly sold the screenplay to producer David Geffen.

    2. Burton was looking for a follow-up to his debut film, the hit “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” He didn’t like any of the wacky-comedy scripts he was getting (one became Bobcat Goldthwait‘s talking-horse farce “Hot to Trot“). But then Geffen gave him “Beetlejuice.” As it turned out, Burton and McDowell had already worked together on an episode of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” that McDowell wrote and Burton directed.
    3. The early drafts of the screenplay were much darker, with more gore and violence, as well as more ethnic stereotyping in the character of Beetlejuice. The sequence of the group possession at the dinner party involved a vine-patterned rug coming to life to ensnare the guests, rather than the revised scene of the group being compelled to dance to calypso music. Writer Warren Skaaren was hired to revise the screenplay further.

    4. Burton’s initial idea for the title role was to cast Sammy Davis Jr. It was Geffen who suggested Michael Keaton.
    5. Casting Winona Ryder as Lydia was much easier; Burton picked her because he’d liked her performance in high school drama “Lucas.”

    6. Burton got turned down by a number of actresses before finally settling on Winona Ryder for the role of Lydia Deetz. Previous candidates included Sarah Jessica Parker, Brooke Shields, Molly Ringwald and Diane Lane.
    7. Anjelica Huston nearly played the part of Delia Deetz. It was only after Huston fell ill that Catherine O’Hara was cast as her replacement, and only after O’Hara initially declined the offer.

    8. The film’s outdoor scenes were shot in East Corinth, Vermont. Some of the sets had to be built from scratch, including the Maitlands’ house and the covered bridge where they have their fatal accident. Interiors were largely shot on a Hollywood soundstage.
    9. The movie’s budget was a modest $15 million, including just $1 million for special effects. So most of the effects shots had to be done in camera, or with handmade stop-motion animated puppets that animator Burton added in post-production. Burton felt that the low-budget, hand-crafted effects created a surreal, shabby vibe that suited the story.

    10. The production designer on the film was Bo Welch, who had designed sets on just one other film before (another horror comedy, “The Lost Boys“). Toward the end of the shoot, Burton encouraged Welch to ask out co-star Catherine O’Hara. He did, and the two eventually married.
    11. Welch’s inspiration for the vast bureaucratic limbo that is the movie’s afterlife was the interior of the Johnson Wax building in Oklahoma, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The actual set was fairly small, no more than 75 feet wide, but was made to look bigger via matte paintings of columns stretching into the distance.

    12. Warner Bros. wasn’t fond of the title “Beetlejuice” (due to marketing reasons) and suggested the bland “House Ghosts” instead. Burton jokingly suggested “Scared Sheetless,” only to learn to his horror that Warners kinda liked it and was seriously considering using it.13. Late actor Glenn Shadix, who played Otho in the film, was so fond of the song “Day-O” that it was played during his funeral in 2010.

    14. While “Beetlejuice” is notable for its use of catchy Harry Belafonte tunes like “Day-O,” originally Burton planned on using an R&B-focused soundtrack for the film.
    15. “Beetlejuice” earned $74 million at the domestic box office. It was the tenth biggest hit of 1988.

    16. The hair and make-up that transformed Keaton into a rotting ghoul won an Oscar.
    No Merchandising. Editorial Use Only. No Book Cover Usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock (1547787a) Beetlejuice (On Set) Film and Television 17. For decades, fans have asked Keaton, Ryder, and Burton whether there will ever be a sequel. One seemed to be brewing in recent years, with frequent Burton collaborator Seth Grahame-Smith writing the script, but Burton remained reluctant, and the project has apparently fizzled out. Nonetheless, there were plans to bring a “Beetlejuice” musical to Broadway by late 2018.

  • Michael Keaton and Tim Burton Are ‘Excited’ About ‘Beetlejuice 2’: Report

    The sequel to “Beetlejuice” is a little closer to actually happening: Deadline reports that Mike Vukadinovich has just been hired to rewrite the script for “Beetlejuice 2.”

    Vukadinovich wrote the sci-fi indie “Rememory,” which premiered at Sundance. He also wrote the upcoming “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride,” based on the Disneyland ride. (Did we really need a movie of that? Okay then.)

    There are no official deals yet in place for original star Michael Keaton or director Tim Burton, but according to Deadline, the two “have been excited at the thought of collaborating on a sequel.” They’re currently working on the live-action “Dumbo.”

    We don’t have a synopsis of the sequel, or details about whether any of the original cast — including Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin, and Geena Davis — will also be returning. It’s hard to imagine Beetlejuice without Lydia, the goth girl so memorably played by Ryder in the 1988 film.

    [Via Deadline]

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  • Tim Burton Gives Update on ‘Beetlejuice 2’: ‘There’s Nothing Concrete Yet’

    "Alice Through The Looking Glass" - European Film Premiere - Red Carpet ArrivalsIt seems that every year there’s renewed hope that a “Beetlejuice” sequel will finally get off the ground, but as more and more time passes, the prospect of the follow-up actually materializing looks grimmer and grimmer. Now, director Tim Burton has given an update on the proposed project, and while he’s still interested in making it happen one day, he has some sobering news for fans: It’s not happening yet.

    That was the gist of Burton’s response when asked about “Beetlejuice 2” by Collider in a recent interview. While the director told the site that he has the support of his original stars, Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, all the stories that have churned through Hollywood’s rumor mill over the years about the sequel’s many alleged stops and starts are just not true. (And no, he isn’t trading in Keaton for frequent collaborator Johnny Depp, either.)

    “This is the thing, it’s something that I’m interested in,” Burton told Collider, bashing incorrect reports like the aforementioned switcheroo. ” … [T]he fact of it is I have talked to Michael and I have talked to Winona, I’ve talked to a few people. It’s something that I really would like to do in the right circumstances, but it’s one of those films where it has to be right. It’s not a kind of a movie that cries out [for a sequel], it’s not the Beetlejuice trilogy. So it’s something that if the elements are right—because I do love the character and Michael’s amazing as that character, so yeah we’ll see. But there’s nothing concrete yet.”

    That’s a bit disappointing, especially in light of the news that “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” scribe (and Burton’s “Dark Shadows” screenwriter) Seth Grahame-Smith had agreed to take a pass at a “Beetlejuice 2” script just last year. But apparently, nothing ever came of that collaboration, and perhaps that’s for the best — if it wasn’t right, there’s no use is resurrecting a beloved character like Beetlejuice if the project won’t be on par with the original product.

    So will “Beetlejuice 2” ever actually happen? At this point, it looks like it may not. But never say never — or at least make sure Burton, the true authority on the subject, is the one who’s saying it.

    [via: Collider]

    Photo credit: Getty Images

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  • Winona Ryder Confirms ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel

    It’s showtime!

    The ghost with the most will return for a second haunting in a “Beetlejuice” sequel, Winona Ryder confirmed Monday on “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”

    The 43-year-old was asked if rumors of a sequel to the 1988 comedy are true, and she referenced a statement director Tim Burton made last year in which he said “there is a script” and that she is to appear in the project. “If he said it, then I can say it,” Ryder tells Meyers, adding, “but I don’t know much more else.”

    “Beetlejuice” catapulted Ryder into superstardom when she was then 16 years old, starring opposite Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin and Michael Keaton in the title role. Though it’s been nearly 30 years since the film debuted, she says she’s surprised by how it continues to court young fans. “Little kids, I’m so touched by it. There’s so much CGI and Middle Earth, and they still love ‘Beetlejuice,’” she says.

    But one thing that doesn’t surprise Ryder is when fans of the movie request that she says “Beetlejuice” three times – which summoned Keaton’s ghoulish cad character into the real world in the movie. Unfortunately the requests don’t always come at the most convenient moments. “I have not been let through airports unless I say it,” she shares. “Obviously it’s better than a strip search.”

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  • Michael Keaton Plays ‘Batman’ & ‘Beetlejuice’ With the ‘SNL’ Cast (VIDEO)

    Michael Keaton, SNLSaturday Night Live” this weekend, and while he was there ostensibly to promote his Oscar-nominated role in the Best Picture winner “Birdman,” the actor was instead bombarded by requests from the cast the reprise two of his most iconic roles: Batman and Beetlejuice.

    During his monologue, Keaton was interrupted by Taran Killam and Bobby Moynihan, who begged the actor to “play ‘Batman’ with us” and “play ‘Beetlejuice’ with us,” citing their childhood love of those two ’80s classics. The castmates broke into song to explain how much they idolized Keaton, and those movies in particular, as Keaton stammered and became more and more uncomfortable.

    Things escalate until Killam and Moynihan decide to just act out scenes from “Batman” and “Beetlejuice” themselves, hilariously dressing up as characters from each film (Killam as Catherine O’Hara in “Beetlejuice” was especially inspired) and editing Keaton into the clips. Jay Pharoah also periodically pops in as The Joker and Harry Belafonte, adding another clever visual gag to the proceedings.

    Check out the hilarious bit below, and enjoy having the “Will you play ‘Batman’ with us, Michael Keaton?” tune stuck in your head all day.

    Photo credit: YouTube

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  • ‘Beetlejuice 2’ Could Start Shooting Later This Year (Fingers Crossed)


    Buzz about a potential “Beetlejuice 2” has been ongoing pretty much ever since the classic Tim Burton film first hit theaters in 1988. But now, with Burton confirming that a sequel is indeed in the works, it seems that the movie is actually, really, 100 percent happening — and may begin production as early as this year.

    Writer Seth Grahame-Smith (“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”), who’s co-writing the script and co-producing the flick with his “Dark Shadows” collaborator Burton, gave a status report on the project in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, and dished out a bunch of scoop about the follow-up.

    First, Grahame-Smith confirmed what Burton had alluded to during a recent press tour for “Big Eyes”: Winona Ryder will be back. And after publicly hinting that he’d be interested in the sequel, Michael Keaton is also on board, according to Grahame-Smith.

    As for what the writer’s script entails, Grahame-Smith didn’t provide any actual details about a plot, though he did say he’d already written several drafts, and has gotten approval from Burton and Keaton.

    “I think we landed on the right idea, landed on the right approach,” the writer told EW. “It’s just now making sure that-for me-I don’t want to s–t my pants in front of the entire world making a sequel to one of my favorite movies.”

    As for when the world might finally see the heavily-anticipated flick, Grahame-Smith indicated that production could begin sometime later in 2015.

    “Where it stands now is Tim’s got to get ready to make [‘Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children’], and then hopefully we are set, deals are done, and we’re waiting in the wings ready to go right after ‘Peregrine’s’ wraps up,” Grahame-Smith told EW. “The ideal timeline is we’re really getting into it toward the end of this year.”

    We can’t wait.

    [via: Entertainment Weekly]

    Photo credit: Getty Images

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