Tim Burton‘s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” will open the 81st Venice Film Festival. The film will be screened out of competition on Wednesday, August 28. Warner Bros. will release “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” in theaters September 6.
Back in March, a trailer was unveiled for Burton’s sequel. We’ll see how this one goes considering Burton hasn’t made a great movie in … over 15 years? The last Burton that cracked one of my ten best lists, or came close to it, was 2007’s “Sweeney Todd.” 2014’s “Big Eyes” was also not bad. Otherwise, Burton has been stuck in a rut as a hired hand for Disney (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” “Dumbo”).
Earlier in the year, Burton confirmed that he used a lot of stop-motion animation to bring the classic “Beetlejuice” effects back to the big screen for the sequel. "It needed a back-to-basics, handmade quality," he said. "It reenergized why I love making movies."
Burton, who had, what he calls, a “soul destroying” experience making films for Disney, including his live action “Dumbo” reboot, says he felt rejuvenated making this “Beetlejuice” sequel.
We all want the old Burton back, and, despite the lackluster second half of his career, he still has an impressive filmography that includes two Bonafide masterpieces, “Edward Scissorhands” and “Ed Wood.” A comeback is always more than welcome.
Back in March, “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” test-screened, twice, in California and the reactions coming out of it seemed pretty good. I hadn’t heard or read anything glowing, but the folks I spoke to seemed to enjoy it. Then there was this scathing pan of the film that I received a few weeks after that.
“Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci. We should also take note that a few actors from the original, Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, are not part of the sequel, nor do they have any cameos.
While James L. Brooks teased last year that "we'll soon be seeing" Jack Nicholson, 89, act again, and that he was "reading scripts," that idea has now been shut down by his close friend Michael Douglas, 82.