‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Slays at Venice Premiere
Venice audiences and critics are calling Burton's long-in-the-making sequel a return to form for the macabre-loving director.
Tim Burton couldn’t have wished for a better return from the dead.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the 36-years-in-the-waiting sequel to Burton’s 1988 cult horror-comedy hit, was greeted with a warm standing ovation at this year’s Venice Film Festival from the crowd upon its world premiere on Wednesday night.
As the audience applauded for a nearly four-minute standing ovation, the cast joined together in the balcony for bows as Burton clutched his girlfriend, Monica Bellucci. He then led the team to exit the theater together. Dafoe and Theroux went to the stairs first, followed by Ryder and Ortega who sat next to one another. As Warner Bros. chiefs Pam Abdy and Michael DeLuca exited behind the cast, they accepted congratulations and Abdy was overheard telling festival director Alberto Balbero “thank you for having us.”
