The 81st Venice Film Festival has been set to open with the world premiere of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Justin Theroux, and Monica Bellucci, with Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe, reported Deadline.
The Warner Bros. sequel will be screened out of competition on August 28 at the Sala Grande. This will be a return to the lavish red carpet with which Venice has been known, following last year's Lido event, which had fewer stars than normal due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Warner Bros begins the worldwide rollout of Beetlejuice 2 on September 4.
Venice chief Alberto Barbera shared, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice marks the long-awaited return of one of the most iconic characters of Tim Burton's cinema, but also the happy confirmation of the extraordinary visionary talent and the masterly realization of one of the most fascinating auteurs of his time. The Venice Biennale is honoured and proud to host the world premiere of a work that features a surprising swing of creative imagination and driving hallucinatory rhythm."
"I'm very excited by this. It means a lot to me to have the world premiere of this film at the Venice Film Festival, added Burton
Burton previously won a Career Achievement Golden Lion in 2007 and has shown two films at Venice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. Keaton has lately been on the Lido alongside future Best Picture Oscar winners Spotlight and Birdman.
In the sequel to Burton's iconic 1988 supernatural comedy Beetlejuice, three generations of the Deetz family return to Winter River after an unforeseen tragedy.
Lydia (Ryder), still plagued by Beetlejuice (Keaton), has her life turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid (Ortega), discovers the curious model of the town in the attic and accidentally opens the door to the Afterlife.
With problems developing in both worlds, it's only a matter of time before someone mentions Beetlejuice's name three times, causing the mischievous demon to return and unleash his own brand of mayhem.
This year's Venice runs from August 28-September 7 with French star Isabelle Huppert acting as jury president. Due for Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement are Australian filmmaker Peter Weir and American actress Sigourney Weaver, reported Deadline.
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