VENICE, Italy (AP) — The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival is kicking off in Hollywood fashion with the world premiere of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Wednesday. Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara and Monica Bellucci are among the cast expected to grace the red carpet.
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 like 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.
Major films vying for the Golden Lion include Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie à Deux,” with Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix; Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas film “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie; the erotic thriller “Babygirl” starring Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson from filmmaker Halina Reijn; Luca Guadagnino’s William S. Burroughs’ adaptation “Queer,” with Daniel Craig; and Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language film, “The Room Next Door,” starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.