BEETLEJUICE (Feb 3, 1987) Second draft script by Warren Skaaren, Michael McDowell

(Original vintage screenplay for the 1988 film) Burbank, CA: Warner Brothers, 1987. Second Draft Script for the 1988 film, with blue revision leaves.

Thanks to the carelessness of a cute little dog, newlyweds Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are killed in a freak auto accident. Upon arriving in the outer offices of Heaven, the couple finds that, thanks to a century’s worth of bureaucratic red tape, they’re on a long celestial waiting list. Before they can earn their wings, Davis and Baldwin must occupy their old house as ghosts for the next fifty years. Alas, the house is now owned by insufferable yuppies Catherine O’Hara and Jeffrey Jones. Horrified at the prospect of sharing space with these obnoxious interlopers, Davis and Baldwin do their best to scare O’Hara and Jones away, but their house-haunting skills are pathetic at best. In desperation, the ghostly couple engage the services of a veteran scaremeister: a yellow-haired, snaggle-toothed, profane, flatulent “gonzo” spirit named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton).

Green studio wrappers, with no titles, but copy No. 577 noted in black holograph marker at the top right corner of the front wrapper. Title page present, dated 2-3-87, noted as Second Draft Screenplay, with credits for screenwriters Warren Skaaren and Michael McDowell. 137 leaves, photographically reproduced, with blue revision pages throughout, dated 2-3-87.

Collation: [title] (blue), [1], 2, 3-6 (blue, 2-3-87), 7-8, 9-12 (blue, 2-3-87), 13-15, 16-17 (blue, 2-3-87), 18-20, 21 (blue, 2-3-87), 22-25, 26-27 (blue, 2-3-87), 28, 29-33 (blue, 2-3-87), 34-38, 39-42 (blue, 2-3-87), 43-44 (blue, 2-3-87, combined), 45-46, 47-50 (blue, 2-3-87), 51-52, 53 (blue, 2-3-87), 54, 55 (blue, 2-3-87), 56-57, 58 (blue, 2-3-87), 59, 60 (blue, 2-3-87), 61-62, 63 (blue, 2-3-87), 64, 65 (blue, 2-3-87), 66-71, 72 (blue, 2-3-87), 73, 74-75 (blue, 2-3-87), 76, 77 (blue, 2-3-87), 78, 79 (blue, 2-3-87), 80, 81-82 (blue, 2-3-87), 83, 84 (blue, 2-3-87), 85-94, 95-96 (blue, 2-3-87), 97-100, 101 (blue, 2-3-87), 102-115, 116-118 (blue, 2-3-87), 119, 120 (blue, 2-3-87), 121, 122-132 (blue, 2-3-87), 133-137.

Pages NEAR FINE, wrapper NEAR FINE, bound with three gold brads.