American director Tim Burton said Wednesday in Venice, where his new film “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” opens the Mostra, that he had been “disappointed” in recent years by the film industry and had even become “a little lost”.
“I’ve been a little disappointed in the film industry in recent years,” he said at a press conference ahead of the out-of-competition evening screening of the sequel to “Beetlejuice.”
Thirty-six years after the macabre comedy that became a cult classic, the film reunites the big names from the original cast, including Michael Keaton in the title role, and Winona Ryder, the teenager who communicates with ghosts as an adult, with newcomers, including her partner Monica Bellucci.
Also in the cast is Jenna Ortega, 21, star of the series “Wednesday,” which Burton produced and whose success re-motivated him.
“I said to myself, if I’m going to do something again, I want it to come from the heart. (…) I feel like I had lost myself a little bit. And so making this film gave me energy again, it was a return to the things I love to do, the way I love to do them, with the people I love.”
The most gothic of Hollywood directors, author of films that have become classics, from “Edward Scissorhands” to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, saw his career take off after the first “Beetlejuice”.
“The funny thing about that movie is, as much as I love it, I never understood why it was so successful,” said the 66-year-old director, who doesn’t seem set to make a third “Beetlejuice.”
“It took me 35 years to do this one. Mathematically, that would take us to over 100 years. With medicine, it could be done, but I don’t think so!” he smiled.
The film also marks the return to a leading role, at age 72, of Michael Keaton, who once again dons the striped costume of evil bio-exorcist Beetlejuice.
In this new film, the character has not aged, he is still dead, “just a little more moldy,” joked the actor.
