The most famous ghost just took a bow of more than 4 minutes in the Sala Grande as Tim Burton Beetlejuice Beetlejuice had its world premiere at the opening of the Venice Film Festival this evening.
After the film ended, the audience applauded enthusiastically for 4 minutes and 35 seconds, to the rhythm of the closing music. Unlike the ovations at Cannes, there were no speeches from the actors or creators, which sometimes adds to the total of the audience’s ovations.
Burton was joined tonight by Michael Keaton, who reprised his supernatural role 36 years after the original supernatural comedy was released and became a classic. Also in attendance were stars Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe.
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Earlier in the day, after the film’s rave screening, Burton told reporters that he “could never place” the original film “into something other than personal to me. So after all these years, being able to work with Michael, Winona and Catherine made it even more personal and special, with Jenna, Monica, Justin and Willem, new people who got into the spirit of the film. So it was a very personal project for me.”
“To say it’s unique is an understatement,” Keaton said of the film.
Of a possible third installment, Burton said, “Let’s do the math. It took 35 years to make this one. Another one, I’d be over 100. It might be possible with medical science. But I don’t think so.” To this, Keaton joked that Beetlejuice was dead and therefore didn’t age.
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Beetlejuice 2 The story begins as three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River after an unexpected tragedy. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s (Ryder) life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid (Ortega), discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time before someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his own brand of chaos.
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The Warner Bros. title is screening out of competition at Venice and will begin its international rollout on September 4, followed by North America on September 6.
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