Beetlejuice: "Trick or Treat"--David Press

PAGE ONE.

1.1: Let’s open on a wide shot of the house in Connecticut where LYDIA, BARBARA, ADAM, and the DEETZES lived from the movie.

We can see THREE TRICK OR TREATERS walk up the steps to the house on the hill that’s pretty creepy generally speaking.

TREATERS:                           Trick or treat!

1.2: LYDIA is at the door in her goth witch costume, with a pumpkin in one hand, leaning down to the little folks.

LYDIA:                                  Here you go—make sure you get the black and white striped tootsie rolls! They’re especially good.

1.3: On the little hands snatching up at the candy. Focus on the aforementioned black and white tootsie rolls because on there is a little BEETLEJUICE logo. Let’s make it his face. He’s smiling. In fact, the logo is talking.

BEETLEJUICE:                      Yeah, choose me, choose me!

KIDS [Off]:                            Thanks!

1.4: The kids walk off down the hill. One of them is inserting a Beetlejuice tootsie roll into his face hole.

BEETLEJUICE:                      Yes, yes!

--END--

Beetlejuice - An Unexpected Caller - Perry Kent

Panel 1

Interior, old house. A small girl, no older than six, finds a piece of paper on the ground of an old attic. The attic is very dusty but relatively empty.

1. GIRL: What's this? A puzzle?

Panel 2

The paper is visible and it has a picture of a beatle, a plus sign, and a glass of juice.

2. GIRL: Beetle...juice? Beetlejuice.

3. GIRL: What's "beetlejuice"?

Panel 3

Beetlejuice, the character, steps into the room from a puff of green smoke. His hands are splayed wide as though he were stepping out onto stage. The little girl looks at him in surprise.

4. BEETLEJUICE: I'm back, baby!

Panel 4

Beetlejuice looks down at the little girl in surprise, like it wasn't who he was expecting.

5. BEETLEJUICE: Hey. You're not... who I was expecting.

6. GIRL: Sorry...?

Panel 5

Beetlejuice pats his jacket like he is looking for something.

7. BEETLEJUICE: No biggie.

8. BEETLEJUICE: Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a smoke, would ya?

- END - 

Beetlejuice – Trap, Sweet Trap – MK Stangeland Jr.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: The GHOSTBUSTERS stand around a steaming GHOST TRAP that was just previously used to capture BEETLEJUICE.

BEETLEJUICE: (From TRAP) Hey, it’s surprisingly roomy in here.

Panel 2: RAY picks the TRAP as the others look on.

BEETLEJUICE (1): (From TRAP, downplayed) This could actually make a nice vacation home.

BEETLEJUICE (2): (From TRAP, downplayed) Some nice curtains, the right accent rug…

ZEDDEMORE: That doesn’t sound right.

VENKMAN: Ray? Egon? Either of care to explain?

Panel 3: EGON tries scanning the trap as RAY holds it.

BEETLEJUICE: (From TRAP, downplayed) Maybe even some nice flowers in the corner…

RAY (1): It’s incredible!

EGON (1): This is clearly a phenomenon unlike anything we’ve seen before.

RAY (2): We could be looking at a brand new class of ghost!

EGON (2): We should probably get this back to the lab ASAP so I can study it closer in a controlled environment.

Panel 4: VENKMAN, with a mischievous look on his face.

VENKMAN: Hey, I just thought of something else we could do with him.

Panel 5: GHOSTBUSTERS office, where the trap containing BEETLEJUICE has been hooked up to the phone and computer systems through some form of over-technical setup. VENKMAN is talking to JANINE, who looks less than thrilled by the setup.

BEETLEJUICE: (From TRAP, downplayed) Ghostbusters, whatta you want?

VENKMAN: Hey, you’re always talking about how you want more help.

(END PAGE)

Beetlejuice - Recipe - Grant McLaughlin

1 - On a beetle skittering along some plates and cutlery in a hotel kitchen.  The place looks a little tired and worn - as you might expect somewhere in the Beetlejuice universe to be.

HOTELIER (off-panel): There.

2 - The beetle has skittered beyond the plates and cutlery, but a jar (being held by the off-panel hotelier) is coming down and capturing it within.

HOTELIER: That's the last of the infestation.

3 - On the hotelier as he closes the top of the jar, the beetle skittering about within, trying fruitlessly to find an escape.  The hotelier is reminiscent of the mayor from The Nightmare Before Christmas - whether that's because he also has two faces or just because he's short and squat is up to you (he def does not have that hat though).  The hotelier looks down at his handiwork, a frown crossing his face.

HOTELIER: I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but must we make them into a liqueur?

VOICE (off-panel): No...

4 - Close on the hotelier's hand as he passes the jar off to the unseen figure from panel 3.

VOICE (off-panel): Not a liqueur.

5 - Reveal Lydia standing in the kitchen, now holding the jar.  She is older, now an adult, although her aesthetic has not changed dramatically from her younger days.  She has grown into a beautiful, if tired, woman.  Before her on a counter is a demonic-looking juicer.  All around her, whether on the counter, the shelves, the table, or pretty much wherever you can find a surface, are more jars filled with beetles of all varieties.  Lydia has a forlorn expression on her face.

LYDIA: A juice.

Beetlejuice - Clowns - P. A. Nolte

1/ Beetlejuice grumpily trudges along next to Lydia, hands in his pockets, as they walk a suburban sidewalk surrounded by the comings and goings of sugar-addled children in costumes of all shapes and sizes.  Neither of them are technically in costume. Their usual dress is enough.

B: Aren't you a little--

L: Don't say it.  You know what happens.

2/ Beetlejuice rolls his eyes.

B: Yeah, yeah...

3/ Suddenly, his face lights up.  He's got an idea.

B: Say!  You know what would make a really good prank?  If some of these awful, little clowns--

4/ Lydia winces.  Even out of the Neitherworld-- Especially out of the Neitherworld-- Beetlejuice's turns of phrase cause trouble. She's bracing for impact.

5/ One by one, the children around them erupt in brief flashes of green flame.  Where once stood Batmans, Elsas, and Ninja Turtles are unnerving clowns.  Lydia stares daggers at her friend.

Lydia: BEETLEJUICE!

Beetlejuice: Um...

6/ Beetlejuice watches her storm off.  The streets are full of these gruesome bozos carrying the same sacks of candy they did as children.

Beetlejuice: Lyds?  Babe?  I don't think this was me...

Why Beetlejuice?

For years, Halloween has come and gone with nary a blip on TB’s radar.  Things start to get a little spookier in tone, sure, but not necessarily subject.  This year, we’re shaking things up.

As a self-proclaimed bio-exorcist, THAT GUY is kind of a dud. The movie ends with the Maitlands and Deetzes living together in a kind of grotesque harmony after all.  But there’s a lot more to him than getting rid of the living.  Some might say too much more… And they’re probably right.

It turns out, toning down his… ahem… proclivities and cranking his trickster figure underpinnings up to 11 as they did for the animated series, doesn’t seem to change much.  Even sanitized, THAT GUY is still very much himself.  A weird little nuisance who revels in the not-quite-right with a penchant for worms and spiders and the stereotypically macabre.  Just with slightly softer edges.

So, this week, in celebration of Halloween, we’re turning to inspiration from The Ghost With The Most.  The one.  The only.

Beetlejuice...

Beetlejuice...

Beet--