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Beetlejuice (1988)It's funny how some films work out. In a parallel universe, Beetlejuice could have starred Sammy Davis Jr and been called House Ghosts. However, the eventual Tim Burton classic became a star vehicle for Michael Keaton, launched Winona Ryder onto an unsuspecting world and made the tousle-haired director a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. The 1988 horror comedy concerns a bland young couple (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who die in a freak accident and have to suffer a pretentious family who move into their dream house while they are doomed to spend an eternity in the afterlife. Unlike your classic cherubs and pearly gates vision of heaven, Burton's view of the afterlife is more like a garish dole office/airport waiting room. Tim was attracted to the project after spending a few years wondering what to do next. His hilarious Pee Wee's Big Adventure had mixed reviews and he was being offered all manner of formulaic flicks. Then media mogul David Geffen (one of the brains behind behind Dreamworks) suggested he take a look at this spooky tale and the director was hooked from page one. "It had no real story, it didn't make any sense, it was just a stream of consciousness," he remarked in one interview. The flick was written by Michael McDowell and polished up by Warren Skaaren. However, much of the genius behind the dialogue comes from Keaton as the eponymous bio-exorcist. Burton and his leading man spent many days developing the character from scratch, with Keaton trying different teeth and voices to get the feel of the 'Ghost with the most.' It was not all plain sailing however. Burton grew tired of the studio questioning every little detail about his movie. "I remember having script meetings that lasted for like 24 hours over the course of two days, and by the end of it we were questioning every element of the script, which for me, is not necessarily that productive." The studio had run all manner of marketing tests with the title Beetlejuice and it scored very low compared to House Ghosts which made a lot of people sit up and take notice. Tim was naturally incensed by such tampering with his baby. "As a joke I said why don't we call it Scared Sheetless? and they actually considered it until I said I'd jump out of the window." The movie - title intact - was made for a measly $13million, with a mere $1million given over to special effects. On a movie of this size which is so effects driven, it's amazing that Burton managed to make the flick come alive. However, there's a wonderful cheesiness to the visual gags that make the whole thing work far better than the multi million dollar effects shot on that year's other big movie, Willow. The horror comedy eventually grossed (no pun intended) more than $73million and picked up an Oscar for the make-up crew. As with most hit movies, it spawned a cartoon series, influenced the look of many an advert around the time and at one point, there looked like being a sequel - Beetlejuice in Love. Alas, that was put on a backburner. Burton soon had his hands full directing the first two Batman movies, Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks! and one of this year's best films, Sleepy Hollow. So what about next year? Any chance of another helping of spooky shenanigans? Afraid not. Tim is now hard at work on The Visitor, a big budget remake of Planet of the Apes with Mark Wahlberg and Fight Club's Helena Bonham Carter.
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