Hello from Venice, Italy, where the 81st annual Venice Film Festival kicks off today. The opening night film is Tim Burton’s long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel, fittingly (and riskily) titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. While no doubt many people on the ground here are eager see the reunion of the original film’s stars, Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, it’s the young blood that really has people buzzing.
While buying a Coke Zero on the festival grounds this morning, the young Italian working the cash register said, “May I ask you something?” I said of course, preparing to respond that, why yes, I am your favorite Vanity Fair film critic. But, instead, she asked, “When will Jenna Ortega be here?” I told her it would be only a mere matter of hours and she and her co-worker gasped. “I must…” she trailed off, letting whatever she must do go unspoken. The new generation is truly ascendant.