Somebody in Sin City must’ve whispered his name three times because Beetlejuice manifested on the Colosseum stage at Caesars Palace Tuesday afternoon.
During Warner Bros. Pictures’ CinemaCon presentation, Tim Burton and the stars of his upcoming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice turned up to rousing applause from the capacity crowd gathered for the annual National Association of Theater Owners convention. Burton walked out first and said getting his Beetlejuice family together again was like “a big weird family reunion.”
As such, he was quickly joined by the film’s Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Willem Dafoe, Justin Theroux and Monica Bellucci. (Upon walking on stage, Keaton joked, “I wasn’t alerted to the dress code” as everyone on his film was dressed in Black.) Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega could not attend due to production schedules on their current projects.
Burton said he started thinking about the film basically since the last one was released and he has revisited the idea over the years, pondering how people’s lives change. “I got interested in what happened to the Deetz family,” said Burton, who also introduced a new trailer after saying that he couldn’t show much as he has to head back to London tomorrow to finish the film.
Keaton continued the thought and said that he and Burton have kicked around the notion of a sequel many times over the years. “Finally it got right,” Keaton said, adding that it was a combination of timing and the script. “Frankly, I just followed his lead.” Then Keaton admitted that he’s seen the film twice already: “I have to tell you this though, it’s really fucking good.”
Though Ortega was absent, she received some shine from the stage as Burton said he was impressed that she went straight from Disney movies straight into horror movies (like Scream). Keaton said the young star also never had to be reminded of the tone or how to navigate the Beetlejuice world, “she just got it.”
The showing comes nearly three weeks after Warners debuted the first trailer for the film, a sequel to the 1988 original that starred Keaton opposite Winona Ryder, O’Hara, Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis. The clip has now been viewed north of 16 million times.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice stars Jenna Ortega opposite Keaton, back as the grotesque ghost, with Winona Ryder returning as Lydia Deetz, who is now a mother to Ortega’s character. Catherine O’Hara also returns, and Willem Dafoe, Justin Theroux and Monica Bellucci round out the cast. The screenplay was written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar from a story by the pair with Seth Grahame-Smith.
The story picks up as the Deetz family has returned home to Winter River following an unexpected family tragedy. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, played by Ortega, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic, accidentally opening the portal to the afterlife. With trouble now in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone summons Beetlejuice, who returns to unleash his distinct brand of mayhem.
The film’s producers are Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper and Burton with Sara Desmond, Katterli Frauenfelder, Gough, Millar, Brad Pitt, Larry Wilson, Laurence Senelick, Pete Chiappetta, Andrew Lary, Anthony Tittanegro, Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg serving as executive producers.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice arrives Sept. 6, after a very long road to the screen. Burton has long talked about tackling another installment, and it finally came together early last year with Ortega on board. The film further brings Ortega into Burton’s world, as she is the star of Wednesday, the blockbuster series for Netflix that he directed on and produced.
“It’s been quite an insane experience. I’ve been lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with an iconic director who just so happens to be one of the sweetest directors I’ve worked with, and also the most detail-oriented,” Ortega previously told The Hollywood Reporter of her collaborations with Burton.
Beetlejuice also inspired the ensembles of Warner Bros. executives Jeff Goldstein and Andrew Cripps, who opened the studio’s presentation on Tuesday by stepping out on stage in black-and-white striped suits, black ties and electrified white wigs. (Last year, the pair donned suits in Barbie pink). “Good afterlife,” Goldstein said, with Cripps interjecting, “You mean, good afternoon.” Goldstein then asked the capacity crowd to decide who wore it better by a showing of applause. For the record: Goldstein won to which Cripps quipped, “They’re just shocked you have hair.” A burn so good there’s no doubt Beetlejuice would approve.
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