“I think what Tim [Burton] does is he’s always trying to simplify. That’s the essence of a classic filmmaker. People think he’s wild and crazy and does all these things. His movies are brilliantly composed frames and he’s always looking for simplicity. All of his big movies, they’re really family dramas dressed up in whatever genre he’s in. That’s really what they are. And I think people think he’s always strange and weird and likes dark things, but no! It’s a classic story with good drama. And then he brings his sensibility to it,” says about the biggest lesson Al Gough has learned working with director Tim Burton on both the TV show Wednesday and the new film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

In this episode, I speak with writing team Al Gough and Miles Millar about creating the hit Netflix show Wednesday, how they cultivated a relationship with director Tim Burton and how that led to the sequel to Beetlejuice after more than 15 sequel scripts have surfaced over the last 36 years.

Miles Millar (left) Al Gough (right) at the 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' premiere.

Gough and Miles talk about crafting a mother/daughter love story for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and delving into grief, something that all families face at some point or another. The writers also share their insight into adding new characters in the mix and creating the strange yet rewarding musical numbers for the movie that includes one totally bonkers song.  

Miles Millar also shares this career advice about staying in your lane when it comes to genre: 

“If you write a spec or a script that sells, and it’s a romantic comedy, then you should really stay in the romantic comedy world and arena for a while. We always jumped around which I think hurt us initially. We did an action movie, we did a comedy, we did this, we did that. We did a fantasy. So, pick a lane. I think successful writers usually pick a lane and get known to do one thing – which can be constricting and suffocating, but I think it’s something that’s important in terms of a career.”

To hear more, listen to the podcast.