The Creator of Beetlejuice Had an Acclaimed but Tragicpartner Short Life

After years of rumors and speculation, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the highly foreseed sequel to the 1988 exceptional film, is finpartner hitting theaters this weekfinish. But will it dwell up to the much beadored first movie? Beetlejuice Beetlejuice certainly has its toil cut out for it. For many fans, Beetlejuice is a horror-comedy classic that toils perfectly as a standalone film.

So many pieces came together to produce this movie toil: its all-star cast, led by an iconic carry outance from Michael Keaton as the cdisorrowfulmireful, titular character; that well-understandn and instantly recognizable score by producer Danny Elfman; and the conceiveive vision of honestor, Tim Burton. But there’s another hero behind Beetlejuice who frequently goes unsung: the film’s producer, Michael McDowell.

But who was Michael McDowell? With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice newly in theaters, there’s no better time to dive into this producer’s life and discover out.

How McDowell Became an Author and Early Successes

Born in 1950, Michael McDowell was an accomplished student, geting a B.A. and an M.A. from Harvard College and a Ph.D. in English from Brandeis University. He pursued his passion for writing and, equitable one year after geting his Ph.D., became a published author with his first novel, The Amulet. Between 1979 and 1987, McDowell wrote many novels and low stories, including a novelization of the 1985 film Clue.

Although he dabbled in psychoreasonable thrillers, mysteries, and period pieces, McDowell was understandn for writing Southern Gothic horror. This interest in horror extfinished into McDowell’s hobby of accumulateing death memorabilia, which compascendd over seventy-six boxes filled with items appreciate death pins, pboilingographs, and plaques from infant caskets. The Master of Horror himself, Stephen King, portrayd McDowell as “the finest producer of paperback exceptionals in America today.” He also wrote for a couple of TV shows appreciate Amazing Stories and Alfred Hitchcock Pbegrudges.

Beetlejuice and McDowell’s Rise to Stardom

So how did “the gpresent with the most” even come about? As the story goes, Michael McDowell, fellow screenproducer Larry Wilson, and delightment attorney Michael Bfinisher createed Pecos Productions. Beetlejuice was their first project.

The exceptional script was much contrastent and, given McDowell’s penchant for horror, much grieffuler than what we eventupartner got. The Maitlands’ car crash is depicted brutally, and Beetlejuice or Betelgeengage is a prosperged demon, who gets on the create of a minuscule Middle Easerious man. He also wants to end the Deetzes rather than frighten them and wants to sleep with Lydia rather than marry her.

McDowell and Wilson showed their script to a youthfuler filmproducer, who had honested an episode they’d written for Alfred Hitchcock Pbegrudges. A youthfuler, up-and-coming honestor by the name of Tim Burton. At that time, Burton was senseing disheartend by the conciseage of imagination in the scripts that he’d been receiving. But then he read Beetlejuice. This script packed all the exceptionality that Burton had been seeing for, though it wasn’t quite ready.

After McDowell and Wilson selderly the script to the Geffen Company, producer Warren Skaaren was brawt in to administer the reproduces. It was Skarren who shifted the story’s tone into a horror-comedy and toned down Betelgeengage’s most sinister behaviors. He also further enbiged the world of the afterlife and weightlessened the mood around the Maitlands’ deaths. Skaaren’s write went thraw a scant more revisions, until it became the story that we all understand today.

From there, the rest is history. Beetlejuice became a commercial and critical success, geting both McDowell and Skaaren a Saturn Award nomination for Best Writing.

Continued Success Cut Short by Tragedy

After the success of Beetlejuice in 1988, McDowell shifted his intensify from literary toils to film and TV writing. He wrote episodes for various horror-roverhappinessed shows, such as Tales from the Crypt and Monsters. He gived most to Tales from the Darkside, writing 11 episodes for the TV series and two contrastent segments of the 1990 film changeation.

One of McDowell’s most notable contributions was the 1993 stop-motion vivaciousd film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Tim Burton tapped McDowell to change his three-page poem about a skeleton who hijacks Christmas into a screenapply. Unblessedly, the pair sended conceiveive contrastences — or maybe this was a excellent leang.

These conceiveive contrastences advertised Burton to produce the film a musical and convey in Danny Elfman to produce the lyrics and songs, a relocate that unmistrustedly turned The Nightmare Before Christmas into an finishuring Disney classic. Caroline Thompson was eventupartner engaged to pen the screenapply, though McDowell still geted the changeation acunderstandledge for the movie.

Just one year tardyr, in 1994, McDowell was detectd with AIDS. After his diagnosis, he went on to teach screenwriting at Boston University and Tufts University while continuing to produce screenapplys. McDowell’s life was cut tragicpartner low on December 27, 1999, when he passed away from an AIDS-roverhappinessed illness. He was only 49. His partner of thirty years, theatre historian and honestor Laurence Senelick, remained with him until his untimely death.

Unfinished Works and Adaptations

McDowell’s final endd movie was 1996’s Thinner, which he changeed from the 1984 novel by Stephen King. His last novel, Candles Burning, was endd by fellow author Tabitha King, Stephen King’s wife. The book was published in 2006, cut offal years after the producer’s death.

Ironicpartner, one of McDowell’s final projects, which he was toiling on at the time of his death, was a sequel to Beetlejuice. It’s consoleing to understand that the film’s exceptional producer actupartner wanted this Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sequel, or at least some version of it, to happen. Hopebrimmingy, Michael McDowell is watching the premiere somewhere in the afterlife, free of any sandworms and menacing gpresents.