Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is arriving in just a few weeks. As excitement ramps up for Tim Burton’s sequel to his cult classic—which has only gained in popularity since its release nearly 40 years ago—io9 got a chance to talk to some of its stars, including the returning Catherine O’Hara (who plays Delia Deetz) and newcomer Jenna Ortega (who plays Astrid, the daughter of Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz). From this chat, it’s apparent there’s one big reason behind the film’s spooky magic: and his name is Tim Burton.
“He is the best, [most] fun-loving, kind, collaborative, creative, wildly inventive, original director anywhere,” O’Hara told io9. She also said that while she was initially apprehensive, wondering how a follow-up to Beetlejuice could ever work, Burton set her mind at ease. “The more I heard from Tim about what he wanted to do, I was like, ‘Okay, it’s going to be good.’”
Ortega, who worked with Burton on Netflix hit Wednesday before being cast as Astrid, agreed. “I don’t know why, but in my career so far, I’ve had the habit of joining things like franchises, reboots, or things like that,” she said; in addition to playing the title character in the Addams Family spin-off, she also starred in two Scream films. “So it’s always that pressure of not wanting to be the disrupter because you’re new to the world. Fans have an expectation and then you’ve got to come in and act like you were always going to be a part of it, or something like that. So it’s just like a weird place to be. But it was nice because I was surrounded by so many people who are so brilliant at what they do, that I think it took some of the pressure off of me because, well, look at themyou know. But I wanted to make sure that I did it right and was respectful of what came before me and what was happening now.”
Asked about the amount of improv that went into Beetlejuice BeetlejuiceOrtega said there was a certain amount of spontaneity in its making. “[Burton] kind of does it too; when you work with him, there’s not even a shot list. He just kind of figures out what he wants to do on the day depending on the scene. Maybe the light’s coming through a certain way. He has certain things that, like, he’ll draw a sketch and he knows he wants to see that image. He knows he wants that angle,” she clarified. “But when it comes to coverage and things like that, he just kind of feels it out. And he trusts and knows what he’s got, and what he hasn’t got yet. He has a spontaneous quality about him as well. Every day on Wednesdayit’s like, ‘Okay. Well, I don’t know. We kind of did that the other day. Should we do something [different today]?’”
O’Hara had a similar take. “I feel like in [Beetlejuice Beetlejuice] he knew what he wanted it to look like. He knew what he wanted to have happen in every scene. But he was always open to what felt right for you, in your character. He’d say, ‘We could do this, but you don’t have to, but I’m thinking…’ And you go, ‘Yeah, that makes sense! But what if I…?’ ‘Oh that makes sense!’ And we’d go with that. It was just so open and confident. Such confident collaboration. It’s the best way to work.”
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice—which also stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, and Justin Theroux—opens September 6.
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