Tim Barton has said he felt "a bit lost" as a director before returning to his roots with a star-studded new sequel to his 1988 cult horror film "Beetlejuice".
"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," which opened the Venice Film Festival, includes original cast members such as Michael Keaton, who reprises his role as the main ghost, Katherine O'Hara and Winona Ryder as Lydia, who is now the mother of a brooding teenager played by Jenna Ortega.
"Over the past few years, I've become a bit disillusioned with the film industry. I've kind of lost myself. I realized that the only way to be successful is to enjoy what I'm doing. I just enjoyed this film... I didn't want to do a big continuation because of the money. I wanted to do this for very personal reasons," said Barton, reports the Guardian.
The film reunites audiences with the Ditz family. Lydia, now the host of a kitsch ghost-hunting show, returns to a haunted house in Winter River with her stepmother Delia (O'Hara) and her scowling daughter Astrid, who opens a portal to the afterlife.
Ryder, who was 15 when she first played Lydia, said returning to the world of "Beetlejuice" was "one of the most special experiences of my life."
"My love and trust in Tim runs very deep, and there was a sense of playfulness and willingness to try new things. You feel safe in the craziness, but also completely free," the actress added.
Ryder also told Keaton that one of her favorite moments was "looking into your eyes again."
When asked how he approached the evolution of his character after more than three decades, Keaton joked, "As smooth and sensitive as Beetlejuice was in the first movie, I think he's even more so now. All his general caring nature, sense of social norms and political correctness is there".
Barton said he had been thinking about a sequel for a long time, but filming "Wednesday," the Netflix spinoff about the Addams family, "reenergized" him.
"And meeting Jena Ortega was very important for me. Working with her and thinking about Lidia as a character and what happened to her 35 years later, made me think about my life, about what happens with children and relationships." , the director admitted.
Ortega said she had to be careful not to mimic Winona's past work, but also to keep the aspects that make the characters similar.
The film is not in competition at the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival, which opened with high expectations on Wednesday. Hollywood names like George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga will walk the red carpet over the next 11 days.
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