Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice… is 30, 30, 30 years OLD!

NOT the character. Who knows how old he really is but, the movie came out 30 years ago, May 29, 1988. It’s truly a classic. Hell, I got a free movie poster at a sneak preview screening and it hung in my childhood room until I moved out. Directed by Tim Burton, this comedic haunted house movie, released by Warner Brothers, featured the likes of Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, Jeffery Jones and Catherine O’Hara as her folks, Charles and Delia. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis were Adam and Barbara Maitland, the unfortunate couple who become ghosts within the first 10 minutes of the movie. Then, there’s the superb Michael Keaton as the title character of Betelgeuse (pronounced "Beetlejuice”). While Keaton is only in like 17 minutes of the movie, even frame he’s in is box office gold. The late, great character actor, Glenn Shadix, a staple of Burton’s since this film, rounds out the cast as Delia’s “psychic” interior designer. The cantankerously amazing Syliva Sydney is also featured as Juno, The Maitland’s afterlife case worker.

The plot is simple and very well known since it’s become a cult/mainstream classic. After The Maitland’s untimely and premature death become ghosts trapped in their own home, they are forced to call on a bio-exorcist, “Betelgeuse” to get rid of the obnoxious New York family that moves in. Filled with wacky set pieces, brilliant production design and fantastically weird make-up FX, this dark comedy was once written as a much darker film with Betelgeuse being a winged demonic creature that turns into a short Middle Eastern man and The Maitland’s car crash being much more violent, just to name a few. Michael McDowell’s original script was toned down by soon-to-be “Batman” scripter, Warren Skaaren and made more audience friendly and making Betelgeuse more of a weird pervert and less murderous like he was in the previous version.

Some crazy trivia about the film for you if you don’t already know:

In another version of the script, the film was to have concluded with the Maitlands, Deetzes, and Otho conducting an exorcism ritual that destroys Betelgeuse, and the Maitlands transforming into miniature versions of themselves and moving into Adam's model of their home, which they refurbish to look like their house before the Deetzes moved in.

Tim Burton was eyeing Sammy Davis Jr. for the role of Betelgeuse but, Warner Brothers weren’t too keen on the idea and wanted someone more “marketable.” Some of the names being thrown around were: Dudley Moore, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robin Williams, Christopher Lloyd, Jim Carrey, Tim Curry, Jack Nicholson, Bill Murray and Sam Kinison (Producer Jon Peters thought of casting the controversial comedian, but Kinison's agent never told him about it.)

Tim Burton considered Arnold Schwarzenegger for the role of Betelgeuse. However, The Geffen Company felt that due to Schwarzenegger's reputation at the time as an action star, people wouldn't take it seriously. But Burton approached Schwarzenegger anyway. He turned it down, as he was busy shooting for the 1987 film, The Running Man.

Test screenings were met with such positive feedback that it prompted Burton to film the epilogue featuring Betelgeuse foolishly angering a witch doctor.

Warner Bros. disliked the title Beetlejuice and wanted to call the film “House Ghosts.” As a joke, Burton suggested the name “Scared Sheetless” and was horrified when the studio actually considered using it.

Michael McDowell's original script also featured a second Deetz child, nine-year-old Cathy, the only person able that can see the Maitlands and the subject of Betelgeuse's homicidal wrath in the film's climax, during which he mutilates her in the form of a rabid squirrel before revealing his true form.

One of Warren Skaaren’s ideas that was never used was to reveal how Betelgeuse died… a failed attempt to hang himself while drunk. Instead of snapping his neck, he slowly choked to death.

When Glenn Shadix died in September 2010, the last song performed at his memorial service was "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)," which was used in the dinner party scene.

Michael Keaton’s lines are mainly ad-libbed.

Catherine O'Hara met her future husband, Production Designer Bo Welch, while making this film.

Michael Keaton based his performance of Beetlejuice on Chop Top from the 1986 film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.

Alec Baldwin hates this movie because he hates his performance.

A CLASSIC film, Beetlejuice spawned video games, a hit Saturday morning cartoon series (if you haven’t seen it, it’s amaze balls!) theme park attractions in the form of staged shows at at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Japan and soon, we are getting a musical very soon that has been being worked on since 2016.

Let’s not forget the sequel which is Burton’s next movie after his remake/reboot/sequel (ugh, I hate saying all that together) of Dumbo for Disney. “Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian,” a film that has been being worked on since 1990 (after the huge success of Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989). We now have Keaton, Ryder and Burton on board for another Beetlejuice adventure. Though no plans have been made to start shooting, Warner Brothers claims it will be released in late 2019 or 2020. It’s Michael Keaton’s favorite movie he’s done… and Wynona Ryder feels very close to it as well so, we will see what we get in a few short years. I, for one, think it’s one of the best modern comedies ever made. I hope the sequel can live up to it.