Steve Buscemi in ‘Boardwalk Empire’. Photo: HBO Entertainment.
Preview:
‘Wednesday’ Season 2 will see Steve Buscemi join the ensemble.
He’ll appear alongside star Jenna Ortega.
The Netflix series has been a huge hit for the streaming service.
Given that the first season was a gigantic hit for Netflix, the streaming service has naturally been eager to have work start on the second so as to capitalize on its pop culture consciousness awareness (translation: the series broke the record for hours viewed on the service and has been massive on TikTok).
Yet it was stymied by the writers’ and actors’ strike last year, not to mention the increasingly busy schedule of star Jenna Ortega, who plays the title character, the eldest child of the Addams family.
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Now, though, with production due to be underway any day now (with a location switch from the first season’s Romania to Ireland), news is finally starting to emerge, as Variety reports that Steve Buscemi is joining the cast.
Who is Steve Buscemi playing in ‘Wednesday’ Season 2?
Steve Buscemi in 1996’s ‘Fargo’. Photo: Gramercy Pictures.
Official word on Buscemi’s character is naturally being kept in a locked dungeon for now, but according to Variety’s sources, he’s the new principal of Nevermore Academy, where Wednesday studies (and solves mysteries. And gets wrapped up in love triangles, much to her surprise and disgust).
It’s not a job to be taken lightly –– the previous incumbent (Gwendoline Christie’s Larissa Weems) died by poison needle.
Who else is in ‘Wednesday? Season 2?
(L to R) Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, and Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams in Netflix’s ‘Wednesday.’
Confirmed as returning so far are Ortega, Hunter Doohan (Tyler Galpin), Emma Myers (Enid Sinclair), and Joy Sunday (Bianca Barclay), who all stopped by last year’s big Netflix fan event to tease information on the new season.
We’re apparently to expect another member of the Addams family showing up (so far the show has seen Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, Luis Guzmán as Gomez, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley and Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester), though details have yet to be released.
“We can’t wait to dive headfirst into another season and explore the kooky, spooky world of Nevermore… We just need to make sure Wednesday hasn’t emptied the pool first.”
Director Tim Burton (who executive produces and handled several episodes of Season 1) is expected to return for this one.
When will ‘Wednesday’ Season 2 be on Netflix?
Netflix has yet to confirm a date for the second season, but with filming only starting now and a likely effects-heavy post-production schedule, we can’t imagine it hitting screens much before the end of this year.
Director/Writer Jade Halley Bartlett behind the of scenes of the Psychological Thriller film, ‘Miller’s Girl,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with filmmaker Jade Halley Bartlett about her work on ‘Miller’s Girl,’ developing the screenplay and the themes she wanted to explore, avoiding tropes, the complex characters, Jenna Ortega’s performance, working with Martin Freeman, and crafting the movie’s ambiguous ending.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about developing the screenplay and the themes that you wanted to explore as a director?
Jade Halley Bartlett: So, it originally started as a play that I wrote in 2011, as sort of a love letter to my muse. Her name is Julianne. She’s a terrific actress, and I wanted to write something for her. I was an actor living in New York City, not working, post-recession. I’d never really written before, so I was like, what am I going to do with my certificate of participation from an acting school? So, I said, I’m going to write for my friend. So, I called her, and I said, “If you could play any character, who would it be?” She said, “A psychopathic killer child.” So, I was like, I’m going to write about the birth of a villain, which is what I set out to do. So, in the original play, Cairo is that, and then as I adapted it to screen, Me Too happened, and I was suddenly gob smacked by the fact that I had not written one villain, but two. As I was working through my internalized misogyny, which didn’t even let me see what Jonathan was, I got to develop him further in that way. I use the word villain lightly, because none of the characters in this film, I think can fit the basket of victim or villain. They’re all the facets of these things. So, it was exciting to be able to move forward with characters who weren’t in the binary of characters who sat in this kind of moral gray area that I think is closer to what real life is inside of a heightened fairy tale movie.
(L to R) Martin Freeman as Jonathan Miller and Jenna Ortega as Cairo Sweet in ‘Miller’s Girl.’ Photo Credit: Zac Popik.
MF: Can you talk about avoiding some of the “older man/younger woman” tropes and what you wanted to bring that was new to the “teacher/student” dynamic?
JHB: I mean, it is a trope. This story clearly is a trope, and I wanted to upend our expectations of what that trope is by not having a perfect victim or a perfect villain. Now, often I think in these types of relationship stories, which will continue to be told, they’re mostly told by men. Historically, I think in cinema these stories have been told by men, and I’m not a man, and the whole thing is from the female gaze. So, I think that really excites me about this trope and reworking what it is having it be from Cairo’s perspective, which is inherently my perspective, which is female.
Jenna Ortega as Cairo Sweet in the Psychological Thriller film, ‘Miller’s Girl,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Obviously, Jenna Ortega is one of the most popular young actresses working today. Can you talk about casting her and what she brings to a role like this?
JHB: Humanity. I think that’s really one of the most stunning things that she brings. Jenna’s very funny. I think she’s a very charming, funny person, but she, like me, has gothic proclivities, and I was really surprised at how much heart she brought to a character that I think could quite easily be very arch or very pretentious. Even though you see her, we feel her heartbreak with her, and you watch those scales grow over her, but you can still feel the pulse inside of her, and I think that is both beautiful and quite terrifying.
Jenna Ortega as Cairo Sweet in the Psychological Thriller film, ‘Miller’s Girl,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: It seems that through most of the movie, Cairo is really the character holding all the power, which isn’t always the case in this type of story. Can you talk about that?
JHB: I mean, these tropes often deal with a vixen, a siren or some young girl who is out to destroy somebody. Cairo doesn’t. Cairo lives in a house with no parents, and all the literature she’s ever read, and the movies she watches are 19th and 20th century, which are inherently problematic. They’re way behind the curve. So, she is not really equipped going into a situation like this to understand what real life is. When she idealizes Jonathan, and it’s shot this way, we shot him from below, so we’re seeing him the way she does. When he ultimately humiliates her and shames her, her heart shatters in such a way that she is so ill-prepared for what that’s going to be, that she makes this great turn. Then of course, we shot him from above to examine how she sees him. I think that the power that she has is something that she comes to understand. She does not know that she has it in the beginning because she doesn’t know why she would ever need to wield it. There’s this great quote by Ani DiFranco that says, “Any tool is a weapon if you hold it right.” I think that’s what Cairo is.
(L to R) Martin Freeman as Jonathan Miller and Dagmara Domińczyk as Beatrice June Harker in the Psychological Thriller film, ‘Miller’s Girl,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: It also seems like Jonathan’s insecurities and his failing marriage have led him to a place where he is susceptible to Cairo’s advances. Is that correct?
JHB: Yes. I mean, they’re both deeply problematically romantic people, and Jonathan is dangerous his hubris won’t let him see what he really is, which is sort of a comment on me. I didn’t see what he really was either. So, his translation into that version in the screenplay is also my understanding of him as well, and Beatrice (Dagmara Domińczyk) became that voice for me throughout the story. Jonathan is not a strong person. I think he is much closer to the real-life version of how these things happen. He’s not a capital “V” villain. He doesn’t know he’s the villain. His inability to see his responsibility in this whole scenario, I think is really terrifying.
Martin Freeman as Jonathan Miller in the Psychological Thriller film, ‘Miller’s Girl,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: I haven’t really seen Martin Freeman play a role like this before. Can you talk about working with him and was he comfortable going to all the places he had to emotionally for this character?
JHB: He was extraordinary. Martin got the movie green lit. I wrote him a letter. I was like, “Please, please meet me,” and he did. We talked for like two hours on Zoom, and he just really understood the context, the content and the character. He wasn’t afraid of Jonathan. He wasn’t afraid to explore a man who has weaknesses and has vulnerabilities in a way that I don’t think we typically see characters like this. He also exhibited such an extraordinary amount of humanity. I think because Martin has such warmth and kindness, and he’s a surgeon of an actor, he’s so deft. I think if he was harder or anything other than Martin, it would be very easy to vilify this character. But because Martin has this warmth and humanity, you can relate to him and it’s certainly what I feel when I watch him. I think the relatability of both of those characters is what gives more nuance to this story that has been told many times.
(L to R) Martin Freeman as Jonathan Miller and Jenna Ortega as Cairo Sweet in the Psychological Thriller film, ‘Miller’s Girl,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Can you talk about Ortega and Freeman’s on-screen chemistry and was it obvious to you the first time you put them in front of the camera together?
JHB: I wish I had footage of the camera test that we did. Everybody in there was like, “Oh my God.” Because their chemistry, they’re both so intelligent and they’re wonderful when they’re speaking, but what happens when they’re not speaking, it crackles through the air. They’re very generous actors with each other, and obviously there’s so much dialogue. They both came really prepared with that dialogue. So, when they came to set, because they knew all the language, we could just get in and play, and they’re both so incredibly professional and they’re both fun people. They’re electric together.
Jenna Ortega as Cairo Sweet in the Psychological Thriller film, ‘Miller’s Girl,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Finally, the movie’s finale is purposely ambiguous, can you talk about crafting the ending?
JHB: That is exactly the ending it’s always been. I wanted to leave with a question because I think it’s too tidy to tie it up in a bow. I want the audience to ask themselves, who does she become? Who does he become? I wanted it to feel like a short story. I think short stories are the most perfect format of storytelling. You don’t have to fill it with too much. It’s almost like a good joke where you’ve got the setup and then you’ve got the punchline at the end. It leaves you with a question or it leaves you with an emotion. I didn’t want to tie anything up. I wanted the audience to ask themselves who these characters are, what are they going to do, and why am I the audience member? What are my judgments of these characters and why have I made them?
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What’s the plot of ‘Miller’s Girl’?
A talented young writer (Jenna Ortega) embarks on a creative odyssey when her teacher (Martin Freeman) assigns a project that entangles them both in an increasingly complex web. As lines blur and their lives intertwine, professor and protégé must confront their darkest selves while straining to preserve their individual sense of purpose and the things they hold most dear.
The 75th Emmy Awards ceremony was broadcast Monday night.
‘Succession’, ‘Beef’ and ‘The Bear’ scooped a lot of awards.
The show also brought out casts from veteran series.
While there have been a number of award ceremonies (the Directors Guild, the Critics Choice Association) that feature television among their trophies, Monday night was the big one for TV –– the 75th Emmys. Delayed from September last year (so these are technically the 2023 Emmys), they were finally handed out Monday night.
In the lead up to the award, there were questions as to whether there would be a lot of repeat winners, including ‘Ted Lasso’, which has done well in recent years, and whether that, along with ‘Succession’, would benefit from voters looking to reward them for their final seasons (neither show, let’s be honest has needed it, but the fact remains).
‘Succession’ once again dominated, along with ‘Beef’ (in limited series categories) and ‘The Bear’, the three shows winning multiple awards, to no-one’s surprise.
Anthony Anderson proved to be an engaged and entertaining host, kicking things off with a tribute to the television he loved growing up and popping up to move things along from time to time (at one point donning an ‘American Horror Story’ gimp suit), with his mother, Doris, acting as a human alternative to play off music (also used judiciously so the joke never wore thin).
Aside from the awards, the show looked to generate buzz by reuniting the casts of some classic and iconic shows including ‘Cheers’, ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, the latter an odd once since it’s still on the air (but everyone still thinks of the original lineup).
Those were much more of a mixed bag –– the ‘Cheers’ gang were game and warm, but does it really count as a ‘Game of Thrones’ reunion when it’s just Peter Dinklage?
(L to R) Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans, Brian Cox as Logan Roy, and Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch on HBO’s ‘Succession.’ Photograph by Macall B. Polay/HBO.
Beau Willimon (‘Andor’)
Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, Brett Baer (‘Bad Sisters’)
Outstanding Writing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
(L to R) Lee Sung Jin, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun attend Netflix’s Los Angeles premiere of ‘BEEF’ at Netflix Tudum Theater on March 30, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.
Outstanding Directing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
(L to R) Lee Sung Jin, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun attend Netflix’s Los Angeles premiere of ‘BEEF’ at Netflix Tudum Theater on March 30, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.
Lee Sung Jin (‘Beef’)
Jake Schreier (‘Beef’)
Carl Franklin (‘Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’)
Paris Barclay (‘Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’)
Christopher Landon attends Netflix’s ‘We Have A Ghost’ Premiere on February 22, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.
Preview:
Director Christopher Landon announced via social media that he’s left the new ‘Scream’ Movie.
The move follows the firing of Melissa Barrera and the departure of co-star Jenna Ortega.
‘Scream VII’ is currently not dated for release.
‘Scream VII’ is starting to feel like a victim of its own iconic Ghostface killer, hunted down by the forces of bad luck and bad karma. The latest strike is the departure of director Christopher Landon, who follows stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega away from the movie (the actors departed for different reasons, more on that below).
Christopher Landon attends Netflix’s ‘We Have A Ghost’ Premiere on February 22, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.
Landon, in a twitter post, explained his moving on and the reasons for it:
“I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited ‘Scream 7’ weeks ago. This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on. I have nothing more to add to the conversation other than I hope Wes’ legacy thrives and lifts above the din of a divided world. What he and Kevin created is something amazing and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow.”
Why is Jenna Ortega not returning for the seventh ‘Scream’ movie?
Jenna Ortega attends the world premiere of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ on November 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Netflix.
Officially, the story, according to Deadline is one of scheduling issues brought about because of the actors’ strike –– Ortega has a few days’ work left to complete ‘Beetlejuice 2’ and will spend a chunk of next year filming the second season of hit Netflix series ‘Wednesday’ in Ireland.
With ‘Scream’ looking to get the movie going ahead now the strikes are over, it appeared she simply won’t have time to make both projects.
We’re still not certain why Spyglass (and studio Paramount) couldn’t simply hit pause until Ortega had space in her schedule, but of course the franchise needs to rumble on.
Yet the timing is also intriguing given the other big ‘Scream’ wrinkle…
What happened with Melissa Barrera and ‘Scream’?
(L to R) Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter) and Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’
Why are we a little suspicious of the timing? The Ortega news arrives one day after her co-star Melissa Barrera was dropped from the franchise for social media posts supporting Palestine in the tragic, ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
While calling for a cease fire in the conflict might not seem all that controversial, some of the reposts on Barrera’s Instagram account have edged over into potentially troubling opinions on Jews.
‘Scream’ production company Spyglass issued a statement on the situation:
“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”
When will ‘Scream VII’ be released?
With no director and a likely need for big re-writes to accommodate a casting change, ‘Scream VII’ is on pause for now and has no set release date.
Ghostface in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’
Jenna Ortega attends the world premiere of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ on November 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Netflix.
Preview:
Jenna Ortega is no longer appearing in ‘Scream VII’.
She reportedly has a schedule clash with filming ‘Wednesday’ Season 2.
The news comes just as co-star Melissa Barrera is dropped from the film over controversial social media posts.
The ‘Scream’ franchise has been hit with a one-two punch of its main stars departing.
Today brings word that Jenna Ortega, who has played Tara Carpenter for the most recent two entries (directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett), will not return for the seventh installment.
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Why is Jenna Ortega not returning for the seventh ‘Scream’ movie?
Officially, the story, according to Deadline is one of scheduling issues brought about because of the actors’ strike –– Ortega has a few days’ work left to complete ‘Beetlejuice 2’ and will spend a chunk of next year filming the second season of hit Netflix series ‘Wednesday’ in Ireland.
We’re still not certain why Spyglass (and studio Paramount) couldn’t simply hit pause until Ortega had space in her schedule, but of course the franchise needs to rumble on.
Yet the timing is also intriguing given the other big ‘Scream’ wrinkle…
What happened with Melissa Barrera and ‘Scream’?
(L to R) Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter) and Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’
Why are we a little suspicious of the timing? The Ortega news arrives one day after her co-star Melissa Barrera was dropped from the franchise for controversial social media posts.
‘Scream’ production company Spyglass issued a statement on the situation:
“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”
And Landon put his own statement on Twitter, but then deleted it:
“This is my statement: 💔 Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
Obviously losing its two main stars (Ortega in particular had been a big draw for the last couple of movies) is a huge issue for the ‘Scream’ series, and it’ll mean some serious reconsideration in creative terms.
There are certainly paths forward, including a movie that returns the focus to the surviving veteran cast, including Courteney Cox (and potentially backing a dump truck full of money to Neve Campbell’s house to try and tempt her back after she skipped the most recent film) or going the reboot route completely with a fresh cast trying survive Ghostface’s stalk-and-slash machinations.
As of now, the new ‘Scream’ is not far enough along to lock down a release date. Especially given that it’ll need a giant re-write…
(L to R) Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter), Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks-Martin) and Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks-Martin) star in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’
(Left) Tim Burton attends the world premiere of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ on November 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix. (Right) Nicolas Cage in ‘The Flash.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
In that talk about ‘Beetlejuice’, he also covered the use of AI to create Burton-esque versions of Disney characters. He’s not, as you might suspect, a fan. And he referenced the technology again in an interview with the British Film Institute that touched on one of his great unmade movies, ‘Superman Lives’
Nicolas Cage as Superman in the documentary ‘The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened?’
In 1998, Burton was getting ready to shoot a new version of Superman called ‘Superman Lives’ with Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel. The director had spent two years in extensive pre-production and had gotten to the point of shooting tests of Cage in character in his suit (images of which didn’t officially emerge until 2009) when studio Warner Bros. pulled the plug on the movie due to creative differences.
“Tim Burton is a genius. He’s a great artist, and I’m sure he would have done something really magnificent with the story of Superman, and I knew I was going to go towards something quite unique and different than anything you’ve seen with Superman, but having said that, in a way it was a win-win for me that it didn’t work out, because the power of the imagination allows you to imagine what that might have been like. That might be even more powerful than the finished product, so I think it worked out.”
And for Burton, he has no regrets about the failed project, as he revealed in the BFI piece:
“I will say this: when you work that long on a project and it doesn’t happen, it affects you for the rest of your life. Because you get passionate about things, and each thing is an unknown journey, and it wasn’t there yet. But it’s one of those experiences that never leaves you, a little bit.”
That said, he’s not pleased that a version of Cage’s Superman –– played by the actor himself –– showed up in ‘The Flash’s big, climactic parallel worlds-collide scene.
Burton on the use of Cage’s Superman in ‘The Flash’
The big scene, which used a mo-capped Cage briefly shown, also has CG versions of classic Superman and Flash characters, such as Christopher Reeves’ Supes and Helen Slater as Supergirl, forms part of a moment where the boundaries between realities start breaking down when Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen tries to change the space-time continuum.
You get the feeling Burton would want to wind time back and stop the decision to have Cage appear…
“This is why I think I’m over it with the studio. They can take what you did, ‘Batman‘ or whatever, and culturally misappropriate it, or whatever you want to call it. Even though you’re a slave of Disney or Warner Brothers, they can do whatever they want. So, in my latter years of life, I’m in quiet revolt against all this.”
Still: ‘Beetlejuice 2’, coming next year from (checks notes) Warner Bros. And then there’s ‘Wednesday’ Season 2, from (checks other notes) Netflix.
Tim Burton attends the world premiere of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ on November 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Netflix.
It’s hard to avoid the biggest story in entertainment right now –– the fact that obstinate studios refuse to offer decent deals to writers and actors so that they might be able to earn a fair living, which has resulted in strikes by the unions.
One of the movies affected by the industrial action, which has effectively brought production in Hollywood and by the bigger companies (some independents have waivers to continue work). And that includes the long-awaited ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel, ‘Beetlejuice 2,’ being overseen by director Tim Burton.
According to a new interview with the filmmaker in UK newspaper Independent, he was achingly close to finishing the movie when the shutdown occurred.
“I feel grateful we got what we got. Literally, it was a day and a half. We know what we have to do. It is 99% done.”
And he’s sorry to have had to stop working on it, since it was giving him a chance to have fun making a movie:
“I really enjoyed it. I tried to strip everything and go back to the basics of working with good people and actors and puppets. It was kind of like going back to why I liked making movies.”
(L to R) Jenna Ortega and Tim Burton attend the world premiere of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ on November 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.
Little has been officially announced about the movie, which has a script credited to Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Mike Vukadinovich, but it will catch up with the family of Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz, who now has a daughter (played by ‘Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega’), with her stepmother, Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara) also involved.
And, of course, it’ll see the return Michael Keaton’s “bio-exorcist”, a chaotic ghost who specializes in ridding houses of living beings, and who caused so much trouble for Lydia in the 1988 original.
“At its heart ‘Beetlejuice 2’ is a story about a family. And now it’s 30 years later and what are the intricacies and the human condition in keeping a family together all that time set in the craziest world possible?”
Worries about artificial intelligence being used as a way to replace creative humans is a core issue of the strikes. And it’s something that Burton himself is not too keen on either.
A Buzzfeed article used the technology to imagine creepy Burton versions of classic Disney characters such as Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. The director admits that some were “very good”, but still doesn’t like the idea.
This was Burton’s take:
“I can’t describe the feeling it gives you. It reminded me of when other cultures say, ‘Don’t take my picture because it is taking away your soul. What it does is it sucks something from you. It takes something from your soul or psyche; that is very disturbing, especially if it has to do with you. It’s like a robot taking your humanity, your soul.”
Assuming it can be finished in time, ‘Beetlejuice 2’ is scheduled to be released on September 6th, 2024.
Tim Burton attends the world premiere of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ on November 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.
(L to R) Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin in season 4 of HBO’s ‘Succession.’ Photograph by Claudette Barius/HBO.
The 2023 Emmy Award nominees were announced this morning during a virtual event hosted by actor Yvette Nicole Brown and TV Academy chair Frank Scherma.
The biggest changes this year were positive forward movement for Asian and Latino representation, with the likes of ‘Beef’, ‘Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega and ‘The Last of Us’ Pedro Pascal breaking through in various categories.
(L to R) Charles (Steve Martin), Mabel (Selena Gomez) and Oliver (Martin Short) on Hulu’s ‘Only Murders In The Building’. Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu.
For the Emmy Academy’s complete list, click here. The awards ceremony is scheduled for September 18th, the ongoing writers’ strike and a potential actors’ strike may well result in a delay.
Willem Dafoe stars as Nemo in director Vasilis Katsoupis’ ‘Inside,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Wolfgang Ennenbach / Focus Features.
As the cameras continue to roll in the UK under the direction of Tim Burton, the sequel to 1988 cult fantasy comedy horror ‘Beetlejuice’ is adding to its cast.
So far, the movie’s ensemble has been a mix of returning cast from the original movie and some new additions as the story moves forward into the present day.
The original, as you may know, saw a couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) getting into an accident while driving home to their dream house. When they realize that A) they’re now dead and B) that their house has been sold to an extremely annoying new family (including Lydia Deetz, played by Winona Ryder, who forms a bond with them), they engage the services of a “bio-exorcist” from the Netherworld. Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) promises to rid them of the frustrating new dwellers, but his chaotic style ends up threatening everyone.
1988’s ‘Beetlejuice’ saw the spirits of a deceased couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) harassed by an unbearable family (Jeffrey Jones as Charles Deetz, Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz and Ryder as Charles’ daughter, along with various assistants and hangers-on) that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit (Keaton’s Betelgeuse, which is how his name is spelled) to drive them out.
But when Betelgeuse’s malicious chaos becomes too much, the ghostly couple team up with Lydia to try and stop him. Famously, he’s summoned by saying his name three times.
Burton enjoyed making ‘Beetlejuice’ enough that in 1990 hired Jonathan Gems to write a sequel called ‘Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian’, which would have seen the Deetz’ head to the island nation to open a resort, only to build on the burial ground of an ancient Hawaiian Kahuna. The spirit comes back from the afterlife to cause trouble, and Betelgeuse’s services are once more reluctantly required.
The idea languished in development for nearly a decade, going through different scripts and potential writers (including ‘Heathers’ Daniel Waters, who instead went to work on ‘Batman Returns’ for Burton and Kevin Smith, who turned down the idea in favor of the similarly doomed ‘Superman Lives’), before ending its limbo status in apparent failure around 1997.
Yet after years of official silence, Warner Bros. decided to try again, hiring Seth Grahame-Smith to write a script that would set the story in contemporary times with Ryder and Burton back. But even that didn’t turn into anything, despite Mike Vukadinovich re-writing the script.
The current version boasts a script from ‘Wednesday’ creators and Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.
‘Beetlejuice 2’ should be in theaters on September 6th, 2024.
Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse in 1988’s ‘Beetlejuice.’
Tim Burton’s 1988 cult hit ‘Beetlejuice’ not only saw him work for the first time with Michael Keaton (who would go on to star as Burton’s Batman for twomovies about the Caped Crusader, and then crop up in the director’s 2019 Disney live-action effort ‘Dumbo’), but also cemented him as a director whose kooky, oddball style could succeed at the box office.
It was popular enough to generate a big fan following, a wealth of merchandise and even a Broadway musical adaptation. But even with its enduring popularity, a sequel has been a long time coming.
That all changes now that ‘Beetlejuice 2’ is finally ready to kick off shooting, with Burton back calling the shots in the UK today. Cast-wise, Keaton and Winona Ryder (who played disaffected teen Lydia Deetz) are back, with ‘Scream VI’s Jenna Ortega (who starred for Burton in the recent Netflix hit ‘Addams Family’ spin-off ‘Wednesday’) playing Ryder’s daughter.
Now we know that Justin Theroux is also aboard in an unknown role.
So, how did we get here?
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The story of the Beetlejuice sequel
1988’s ‘Beetlejuice’ saw the spirits of a deceased couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) harassed by an unbearable family (Jeffrey Jones as Charles Deetz, Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz and Ryder as Charles’ daughter, along with various assistants and hangers-on) that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit (Keaton’s Betelgeuse, which is how his name is spelled) to drive them out.
But when Betelgeuse’s malicious chaos becomes too much, the ghostly couple team up with Lydia to try and stop him. Famously, he’s summoned by saying his name three times.
Burton enjoyed making ‘Beetlejuice’ enough that in 1990 hired Jonathan Gems to write a sequel called ‘Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian’, which would have seen the Deetz’ head to the island nation to open a resort, only to build on the burial ground of an ancient Hawaiian Kahuna. The spirit comes back from the afterlife to cause trouble, and Betelgeuse’s services are once more reluctantly required.
Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse in 1988’s ‘Beetlejuice.’
The idea languished in development for nearly a decade, going through different scripts and potential writers (including ‘Heathers’ Daniel Waters, who instead went to work on ‘Batman Returns’ for Burton and Kevin Smith, who turned down the idea in favor of the similarly doomed ‘Superman Lives’), before ending its limbo status in apparent failure around 1997.
Yet after years of official silence, Warner Bros. decided to try again, hiring Seth Grahame-Smith to write a script that would set the story in contemporary times with Ryder and Burton back. But even that didn’t turn into anything, despite Mike Vukadinovich re-writing the script.
