‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ production design team on taking the sets to new heights ‘without breaking the mold’
Before teaming up for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” production designer Mark Scruton and set decorator David Morison were both “huge fans” of Tim Burton‘s original 1988 film. “I had it on a VHS. I think I classically recorded if off the TV when it was on, and just sort of watched it until the tape faded and became a bit fuzzy,” recalls Scruton.
“Yeah, same for me,” Morison chimes in. “I was hugely excited to be invited to do this. I remember seeing the original back in the ’80s at the cinema. I was a big fan as well. And yeah, you know, very happy to be involved, very flattered.” Watch our exclusive video interview with the production design team above.
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“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” takes place more than three decades after the first movie, with Michael Keaton‘s titular demon character once again antagonizing the Deetz family: Delia (played by Catherine O’Hara), Lydia (played by Winona Ryder), and Astrid (played by Jenna Ortega). The production designer and the set decorator had the challenges of recreating the infamous Deetz house and attic, plus expanding the Afterlife scenes into new and exciting locations.
Speaking about the Afterlife sets, Scruton notes, “Obviously, the rules have kind of been laid down. The first film was pretty good in setting some distinctive looks that we wanted to follow through. There was no way we wanted to change what had made the original film interesting or memorable, or the design aesthetic of that, and I was very keen to follow that through and make sure it was as true to the original as I could, but obviously we had to try and take it further.”
He continues on, “It was a fine line. We spent a lot of time sort of trying to find the essence of what made those original sets so memorable and so interesting, and then taking them and expanding on it, and making it bigger, and trying to give each set something new without breaking the mold.”
The epic conclusion of the new movie takes place inside of a church, which Morison confirms was created from scratch and not an actual place of worship. “It was a build,” he explains. “Mark designed a very beautiful minimalist church, and we found some pews and found some candelabras and candlesticks.” He adds, “And there was a lovely modernist altar. You know, there’s lots of churches closing down in this country, so finding secondhand church furniture is not that difficult.”
Morison divulges that it took about “50 days to shoot the film,” and that they were working on “a set a day a lot of the time.” He concludes, “We all survived it, and we’re all smiling and talking to each other still, and we all had a great time.”
Also in our video interview, the production design experts talk about working with actors like Keaton and O’Hara, what fans may not know about Burton’s directing style, and what their proudest moments were working on “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” The film is still in select theaters and is streaming on digital video-on-demand sites like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Fandango At Home.
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