Tim Burton’s paranormal comedy Beetlejuice is one of the most beloved cult classics in Hollywood history. Michael Keaton made an icon out of the title character with less than 20 minutes of screen time. Following the success of his feature Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Burton was sent a bunch of scripts, but since they were unoriginal and uninspired, none of them really grabbed him.
However, that all changed when he was sent the script for Beetlejuice. Burton ended up defining his zany gothic visual style when he directed the film. So, here are 10 fascinating behind-the-scenes facts from the making of Beetlejuice.
Sammy Davis, Jr. Was Tim Burton’s First Choice For The Title Role
When Tim Burton first signed on to helm Beetlejuice, his top choice for the title role was Sammy Davis, Jr., of whom he’d been a huge fan since childhood. Unfortunately, studio executives didn’t like the idea of Sammy Davis, Jr. playing Betelgeuse and vetoed that decision.
Before deciding on Michael Keaton, the producers considered Bill Murray, Jack Nicholson, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, and Dudley Moore. One studio executive was interested in Sam Kinison, but Kinison’s agent never even told him about the project.
Beetlejuice Was Originally A Full-On Horror Film
The screenplay for Beetlejuice was originally written as a straight horror film. It didn’t evolve into a comedy until Tim Burton became attached to direct and Michael Keaton signed on to star. Back when it was a horror film, Wes Craven was the studio’s first choice to direct. In the much darker original script, Betelgeuse wanted to sexually assault Lydia instead of marrying her.
When it was changed to a comedy, the studio wanted to call the movie House Ghosts. Burton jokingly suggested Scared Sheetless as a title and was mortified when executives actually considered using it.
Catherine O’Hara Met Her Husband On The Set
Catherine O’Hara met her future husband, production designer Bo Welch, on the set of Beetlejuice. Welch had avoided interacting with the actors, but Tim Burton encouraged him to ask out O’Hara towards the end of production. The filmmakers’ first choice for O’Hara’s role, Delia, was Kirstie Alley, but the producers of her show Cheers wouldn’t give her the time off.
Then, Anjelica Huston was signed on, but she got sick before the shoot and couldn’t make production. Before O’Hara was cast, the producers considered Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hamilton, Laura Dern, and Goldie Hawn for the role.
With A Slim VFX Budget, Tim Burton Doubled Down On Cheap B-Movie-Style Effects
Since Beetlejuice had a midsized budget, a lot of the visual effects had to be done in-camera. The space scenes and the sandworms were the only visual effects achieved in post-production.
The budget for the visual effects was a relatively slim $1 million. As a result of this, Tim Burton decided to double down on using tacky, cheap-looking B-movie-style effects as an intentional aesthetic.
Michael Keaton Improvised A Lot Of His Dialogue
Despite playing the title character, Michael Keaton only has 17 minutes of screen time in Beetlejuice. Keaton spent just two weeks shooting all of his scenes and has since called it the favorite role he’s ever played.
During production, Keaton improvised a lot of his dialogue. Some reports have the figure as high as 90% of his lines being ad-libbed. The actor gained enthusiasm for the character when he first arrived on the set in costume and the crew chanted, “Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice!”
Most Of The Cast Members Turned The Script Down When They First Read It
Geena Davis was the only cast member who was actually eager to sign up for Beetlejuice. All the other actors – including Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder, and Sylvia Sidney – turned down the script when they first read it.
Burton met with Keaton, flew out to see O’Hara, and personally called Sidney in order to convince them to take their roles in the film.
Tim Burton Allowed A Plot Hole As A Courtesy To The Actors
There’s a plot hole in Beetlejuice, in that all the other recently deceased people in the waiting room look how they did when they died. For example, one person can be seen to have died from a snake bite while camping. But despite the fact that the Maitlands died by drowning, they appear dry in the netherworld.
Tim Burton caught on to this plot hole, but he decided to allow it for the actors’ sake because they would’ve been uncomfortable if they had to be kept wet on dry land all the time.
Dick Cavett Solved One Of The Movie’s Special Effects Problems
For the scene in which the shrimp jump off the plates and attack the guests at the dinner party, Tim Burton tried using stage hands under the table, throwing the shrimp, but it wasn’t working.
It was actually Dick Cavett who came up with the solution to this problem. He suggested placing the shrimp down on their faces, shooting their fall, and then playing the film backwards in the edit. Burton did just that, and it worked a charm.
The Final Scene Was Added In Post-Production
The final scene of Beetlejuice is sort of an epilogue. The title character is struck in the afterlife’s waiting room, and tries to cut in line in front of a witch doctor. The witch doctor shrinks Betelgeuse’s head and he quips, “This might be a good look for me.”
This scene wasn’t in the original script for the film; it was added in post-production to give Beetlejuice a snappy tag to leave audiences laughing on their way out of the theater.
A Sequel Has Been In Development Hell For Decades
Ever since Beetlejuice became a box office success, the studio has been trying to get a sequel off the ground. Michael Keaton has always been eager to do the sequel – and has maintained that he’ll happily do it if it gets into production today – but Tim Burton didn’t have any interest in it.
He came up with the title Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian to throw the studio executives off their desire to make a sequel, but surprisingly, they liked the concept and the Beetlejuice sequel has been in development under that title for decades.