A sculpture which, in Tim Burton’s film beetle juice (1988), comes to life and attacks its creator, fictional artist Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara), is on the move again. The sculpture, an abstract shape reminiscent of a windblown tree or a nine-fingered hand standing atop a cubic plinth, was stolen from all of Beetle Juice 2 in Vermont.
According to a statement by Vermont State Police, film workers reported the 150-pound sculpture missing on July 17, believing it to have been taken from the East Corinth City Cemetery between the evening of July 13 and that morning. In a tweet, the cheeky police declared“We tried to say the name of this stolen statue three times, but it didn’t come back!” (In the beetle juice film and other franchise properties, the titular character, a supernatural underworld trickster, is summoned when someone says his name three times in a row.)
The sculpture in question features prominently in the original film, almost falling over O’Hara’s carving persona in an early scene and, later, coming to life and using its branches to hold her down. The beloved comedic actor reprises his role as Delia Deetz in the sequel, which Burton directs and whose producers include an actor who’s a budding sculptor in real life—brad pitt—and mega-collector David Gefen. Michael Keaton returns in the title role.
In addition to the abstract sculpture, another prop was stolen from the film set. According to Vermont State Police, in the early morning hours of July 14, a driver pulled an old GMC pickup truck up to a large lamppost on the set with a pumpkin-shaped adornment. The lamp post was removed from its base, placed in the bed of the truck under a tarpaulin and carried away “at high speed”.
East Corinth was also used for exterior scenes in the original beetle juice, although the film is set in the fictional Winter River, Connecticut. Earlier this month, the city and film set were avoided the worst catastrophic flooding that devastated many areas of Vermont, including several arts organizations In the region.
Beetle Juice 2 is currently slated for release on September 6, 2024, although this may be delayed as filming is currently suspended in Vermont due to the ongoing Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strike, the audiovisual club reported.
