Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. Beetlejuice, Beetle Juice, Beetle Gerald. Wait, it turns out saying it three times isn't all that bad though, guys.
Relax, Okay, here's why Beetlejuice Beetle Juice, a sequel to the nineteen eighty eight spooky comedy hit movie, brought in one hundred and eleven million dollars in ticket sales in its domestic opening over last weekend. Our team reported this on Monday. It drew in younger filmmakers or film goers, I should say, as well as those nostalgic about the original picture.
Thirty six years ago. Amazing, the Warner Brothers Discovery film exceeded the company's expectations. It had forecast ninety million in box office receipts going into the weekend. So delighted to have with us Al Goff. He's Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice screenwriter. He's joining us from Los Angeles. Also with us here in studio is our own Mark Lydorf. He reviewed the movie. So we just want to kind of have a round table. First of all, Al, thank you, thank you, thank you
so much for joining us nineteen eighty eight. I had to think back kind of where I was the first Beetlejuice movie thirty six years? Why did it take so long? Or why are we now getting a sequel after thirty six years?
Well, I can't answer why it took so long. But about three years ago, Tim approached us on the set of season one of Wittemburg and Tim Burton and Sorry and asked us to write the sequel. He had been thinking about it for a long time. He'd been having conversations with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, and he said, it's the movie that he's asked most about, and people have been begging for a sequel for years, and I
think he was ready to do it. We met with him, We kind of went through all of his ideas what he wanted in the movie, and we went off and wrote an outline and pitched it to him. He really liked it. We wrote the script. I mean, Miles Miller, my writing partner, and I've been partners for thirty years, and this is probably the smoothest and fastest movie we've ever had. From from you know, from would you guys
write the script? Two three years later, here we are the movies out in the theater, so you know, it's been an incredible thrilling experience for us.
Now, you and Miles, this is Mark Lydorf, who I had the pleasure of seeing the movie in Mexico City. I wanted to see this movie so bad I asked them if I could review it on vacation. And I'll tell you, the kids in this industry's greening were all in their twenties, and I know you and I are about the same age, I think, But so I thought assumed you'd be writing it for my generation kids who loved it in the eighties, and the folks in Mexico just ate it up, and they were all a lot
younger than me. So congratulation. You and mister Miller are no strangers to success. Of course, you also created Wednesday, which I think I read is the most viewed Netflix series in English. Is that correct?
It's the that is correct. That's kind of increat it by the way, it is incredible. We can't believe it ourselves.
But that also was a Tim Burton project. And my first question for you would be, what what is it like writing for an o tour like that? Someone with such a specific aesthetic and kind of quirky sensibility. Is it harder or is it easier?
Well, the two things. What's interesting is we had written the first episode of the pilot episode of Wednesday, and we sent it to Tim and because he was our first choice to direct it, which by the way, is like is like shooting a satellite into space and hoping, you know, you get an answer, right. So, and because
you know he'd never done TV, we didn't know. But you know, you know, my first jobs were all in sales, and if you don't ask the answers, no, So we sent it to Tim, and literally four days later we got a text from his agent saying Tim read the script, he loved it. He wants to FaceTime with you guys. And so again it's one of those like dream scenarios for us, and we FaceTime with Tim. He said he
he loved the script. He'd always he'd circled the Adams family, you know, several times in his career, but never had found a way in. And he he loved it. He Wednesday was his favorite character in the Adams family. He said he would have dated Or in high school and then, which by the way, felt very on brands, and so
that's that's really how it how it started. But I think when you when you look at Tim's movies, what's what's really incredible is the majority of them are family dramas with his unique perspective on the world which is so incredibly unique and specific but somehow is incredibly universal, and that is something I think he is singular as a filmmaker in that respect. So so I think I
think for us it was you know, Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice to us is really the most joyful movie you'll see this year about death and grief.
Well, can I just say from someone you guys all know, our audience knows. I'm from a large family, one of seven kids. I mean, every family has its love, its quirkiness, its stresses. You know, Tim, you're from you know you've got a bunch of siblings too, three siblings, Like we can relate to this, right, you can relate to this.
I'm curious about what Tim Burton's role is, as you guys are the screenwriters. Where does he get involved and where do you kind of where do you where are you involved?
Now we have about a minute and then we'll come back and do some more conversation.
Sure, well the quick answer with this one, because it's so personal. He gave us his ideas. We came back, we broke the story, we wrote the script, and then we spend a year, you know, going through drafts. And I think what Tim does is it's like a tuning for it. He could read something. There might be a section of a script where he's like, something isn't feeling right here, you know, I think let's focus on this area. He'd have some ideas. So it was incredibly collaborative that
way with him. So and I think because we've gone through and done Wednesday with him, we could we could speak Burton a little more fluently. So it helped a lot.
Burtan ees coming to a language learning app near you. Hey, al So, Mike, Michael Keaton, I'm just curious what that phone call was like? Was he in from the get go? Did he said yep, sure, yes? Know what like what happened?
It's Tim was talking to Michael. So when we wrote the script, we were like, we really have an audience of two. It's Tim and Michael. So I think once we had the script and we've gone through a couple of rounds with Tim and he had a draft he felt really good about. He sent it to Michael and so you guys.
Wrote it before even Michael was on board.
Yes, yes, Tim, Like I said, Tim had been having conversations with him, but he hadn't read the script and he could have said no. And you know he he was, you know, very complimentary of the script and you know, really liked it, and you know, we got a lovely email from him. So we were like, you know, there's three emotions in show business, depression, surprise, and relief, and we were relieved. So yeah, we were relieved.
Well, speaking of Michael Keaton, I wondered watching the film. You know, he seems to be improvising a lot. I suspect he's not, and I just wonder if there is room with an actor like that, a character like that, if there is room for improvisation, and how you write around that.
The answer is there is room for improvisation. We wrote it in because the character he created with Tim in the first movie, which by the way, we went back and read the Beetlejuice shooting script and that character in terms of there's a Beetlejuice in it. Obviously, but that voice was really something that Michael and Tim and you know, created on set, the whole look and the thing. So the good news is it was he's such a classic
specific character. Is we were able to write to that voice, and we always treated Beetlejuice as an agent of chaos, which is what he is in the movie. So, and the thing that we were all cognizant of, Michael probably the most, was you don't want him into much of the movie. A little Beetlejuice can go a long way. You don't want it to, you know, so, and I think because of that, when he's on screen, he's that much more impactful.
Right, Well, he's not. Actually he's not actually the main character of the film, of either film. He's sort of the hardest working supporting character. I would say, Yeah, I'm wondering if there are specific jokes. Not to spoil anything too much, but are there specific visual gags or jokes that you wish could have made it to the final edit? You know, like things things that you wrote into the script that sadly got lost. Goofy goofy stuff.
You know, it's funny. I'm I'm sure there aren't. I can't remember any at the moment.
Because well, there's a lot, there's a lot, Yeah, I.
Mean, you know, and and what and what you know, we're really sort of thrilled with how the movie, you know, how the movie turned out, and and you know, we we haven't you know, destroyed people's childhood memories. That was always a big fear.
That's a good thing. Hey, what I wonder because how much of this must have felt like this grand reunion, right of bringing back so many people who had obviously worked on the original, Like what what it was like on the set?
Well, we weren't on the set because unfortunately it was during the writers strike, so we couldn't go so with which, by the way, sucked.
That's a bummer.
Yeah, that's that sucks. But I think it was you know, certainly for for Michael and Wenona and Catherine and Tim, I think it was it was like a family reunion. And you know, having spoken to all of them obviously after you know, the shooting and during this whole process leading up to it, I mean, they you know, could not be nicer, could not be more thrilled. They're genuine genuine love and affection for each other is really you
know evident. And I think for Tim from what all accounts we heard is he he loved just being on set and making the movie. So and again I think the directors, especially with Tim, but in that sort of director's DNA and his love of what he's doing is and his passion for it, I think it gets on the film somehow, not that there's film anymore.
But you know what I mean, speaking of Winona writer, my big question about the movie is Lydia d eats and the few knots I've heard on the movie is for people who you know, like me, love the original and thought, oh no, she's a disaster. She's not that confident, stylish, fabulous, fearless kid that she was. And me personally, I loved that. She's a basket case. I'm not ruining anything too much. She's a basket case. She starts the movie popping pills. Her life is a mess. I'd like you to speak
about that. Why was it important for you to have Lydia be so hobbled?
Well, you know, part of it is we looked at her, it's like and you're right, like she's this and it's the Winona we all remember from our from our youth. And but but I think it's it's you know, it's thirty six years and we're like, how would a person who sees ghosts every day, how would they be thirty six years on? Like, that's got to drive you crazy and it makes you so when we meet her, you know, she isn't in a great place. She's obviously, you know,
monetizing her her ability. She's a she's in a terrible codependent relationship which everyone around her can see. And you know she's kind of lost that spark, you know that that we saw and then I and then she has this not great relationship with her daughter, and then I think through the course of the movie you start to see her regain that confidence and find herself again. So I think I think for us it was like, yeah,
let's light hasn't been great. It's it's been hard for her, And I think for us it was just interesting.
Real quick ten seconds, is there going to be a beetlejuice?
Three beetle?
You can't say his name three times? So you know what happened? That is all in the hands of Tim Burton. So I know I can't speak to that.
Well, let's hope listen, this was so much fun. Congratulations and have a great weekend. So appreciate it. Al GoF screenwriter A Beetlejuice Beetle Juice, and of course our own Mark ld Or Bloomberg Business Week Film reviewer. So appreciate it. Thank you so much,