The 81st Venice Film Festival starts with Hollywood flair, debuting "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" on Wednesday. The red carpet will feature stars like Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara and Monica Bellucci.
The film is a sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 horror-comedy, which brings the Deetz family back to the family’s country home after the death of Charles. Ryder’s sullen Lydia is now mother to her own "surly” teenage daughter, Astrid, played by Ortega, the star of Netflix’s popular series "Wednesday.” And as Lydia did a few decades ago, Astrid stumbles upon that old model city in the attic and unleashes Keaton’s mischievous ghoul.
A Warner Bros. release, "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” is premiering out of competition before opening in theatres worldwide next week. The evening will kick off a busy 10 days on the Lido, the barrier island across the Venetian lagoon where the festival has been headquartered since 1932.
The festival will bring George Clooney and Brad Pitt back later in the week, with the out-of-competition premiere of "Wolfs” and close out with Kevin Costner’s "Horizon: An American Saga-Chapter 2” on Sept. 7 before the awards are announced.
