“FRIDAY THE 13TH – The Final Chapter” returns to cinemas for its 40th anniversary

After working with Tim Burton on Wednesday at Netflix, Editor Jay Prychidny deserves the job of his life – And afterlife — Cut Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

“It’s so crazy because Tim Burton was an idol for me growing up and Beetlejuice was my favorite movie when it came out. I was about seven years old when it came out and I was obsessed with it. I just thought it was the coolest, most inventive, most amazing thing I had ever seen. It really blew me away,” he explains.

“I had just spoken to Tim Wednesday Season one, so I had cut all his episodes from that show. I heard that Beetlejuice was coming out soon, and I was really excited about it. The way Tim works, he doesn't usually talk about projects in advance. I didn't really have any information. I just hoped and prayed that they would want me to do it too. — and fortunately they did,” smiles Prychidny.

“We got along really well Wednesday. I think I was able to capture a lot of what he was trying to do in a lot of places, and I guess that's why he wanted me to be a part of it. Beetlejuice.“ He adds: “Working on the sequel was such a strange trip. Most of the time it felt like it wasn't real. It was so overwhelming.”

Prychidny, like everyone involved in the production, felt the pressure to deliver the long-awaited sequel. “It's a bit of a pressure on yourself, but everyone put pressure on themselves to really do justice to the original. The last thing anyone wants is for people to say you ruined their childhood or you should have just left the film alone. I was definitely worried about that.”

“I always think about the audience and what the fans will think. Of course you can't please everyone, but I just try to make the film that the fans want to see. — as much as possible. I'm a fan of the movie, so it gave me my own perspective on what these characters are like, what the movie is like, what the tone should be, what the pacing should be, what the style should be. I put a lot of that into it.”

Burton has decided not to watch the original again Beetlejuice before filming the sequel. “He wasn't interested in copying things too closely. I think he relied on his emotional memory of the original film and what that world is like from a more instinctive perspective. I kind of took my cues from him.”

During editing, Prychidny was tasked with bringing together the various characters and storylines. “One thing that became clear during editing was to structure the film as well as possible. — With so many characters, it is inevitable that you will immerse yourself in many different worlds — so one scene leads to the next. It's not just a cut to an unrelated scene; it's connected to the scene that came before. A lot of these transitions came about in the editing process.”

The changes in tone came easily to him. “A lot of my work has a very broad range of tones. I think that engages the audience much more. It's more surprising not to have just one way of telling the story. I think a lot about how to change the style just to keep it fresh, fun and unexpected.” Beetlejuice, the character, is just this manic, wild, anarchic kind of character, and I took some cues from that sometimes in terms of the feel of the editing..”

The biggest editing challenge was the finale, which features Richard Harris' “MacArthur Park,” reminiscent of the original film's famous “Day-O” scene. “This song is so crazy. It's about seven and a half minutes long and has all these weird changes in tone, rhythm and key, and things were recorded at different times and the quality changes. It's just a completely bizarre piece of music that defies editing,” he points out.

“Tim had a clear idea of ​​what part of the song would fit with what footage, and the song became this bizarre mashup. The music producer and I were racking our brains about how we could make this song work in a way that made musical sense. That was definitely one of the most stressful and difficult scenes in the film.”

Despite the difficulties, Prychidny managed to make it work. “When you look at it now, it seems pretty seamless. It makes sense why you go to this part of the song, then that part of the song, and that part of the song — but the process of getting there and making it seem natural and normal was a lot of stress and anxiety for all of us behind the scenes.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice had six previews in Los Angeles before the premiere.”It's so wild to see it with an audience. As the film became more polished, the audience participation increased.. The electrifying energy in the cinema and the laughter and the applause, it's so satisfying. That's why you do it: to entertain the audience.”

Despite the cuts, there are no deleted scenes.”“The film is the version that Tim wanted to make. Essentially, it's his director's cut,” notes the editor.

Prychidny had previously made a sequel with a passionate fan base, Scream VI. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice turned out to be a very different experience, as Burton’s approach is very different from the way Scream VI Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are working.

“They have very specific styles that are almost completely opposite. Matt and Tyler shoot a lot of footage. A lot of coverage, a lot of different angles and versions, and that gives you an incredible amount of freedom in editing. They shoot with the intention of having freedom in editing. It's really fun and creative.

“Tim doesn't shoot like that. He shoots a lot less footage, has a lot fewer options. You have creative freedom, but not in the same way. You can't completely change a scene. You have to make the scenes as polished and good as possible within those limitations.”

Prychidny’s resume includes many high-profile television appearances such as The Immortal, Orphan BlackAnd Snowpiercerbut he has no preference as to whether he would rather work in film or television. “I'm mainly looking for exciting projects that captivate the audience,” he says.

“In film, you can focus a little more. You have one thing on your plate instead of having to juggle multiple episodes. And it's great that you can have that communal experience while watching. That's a big advantage in filmmaking, but in terms of the creative aspect of editing, it's similar for me. You're always looking for a way to make something as engaging and emotionally accessible as possible for the audience.”

Prychidny will be returning for the second season of Wednesdaywhose premiere is expected to take place next year. “It was really fun to work on it because there are a lot of new actors — Steve Buscemi, Joanna Lumley, Billie Piper, Christopher Lloyd — who bring so much creative energy.

“The same applies to Beetlejuice“The returning actors from season one and the new actors all bring so much excitement to the project. Because season one was such a success, there's this pressure now to build on that. I think that inspires people and pushes them to do their best. In many ways, I think season two is an improvement over season one.”

Until then, Prychidny encourages fans to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on the big screen. “I know it's a sequel, so it's not original in that respect, but in the film market it feels like a really unique work. Even though it's too wild and crazy, it's a really personal film in a lot of ways. It's really a work of Tim's imagination, his emotions, his view of things.

“I think it's so cool that such a personal film is being released on such a large scale and bears this unique artist's stamp. That's pure Tim. — with all its imperfections and glories and all that. I think it's just a really fun, fresh, unusual film, different from a lot of other sequels that are out there.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is now showing in cinemas nationwide.