Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder at Opening Ceremony of the 81th Venice International Film Festival

Jenna Ortega Opens Up About The 'Beetlejuice' Outfit Match With Winona Ryder

Home / Entertainment / Jenna Ortega Opens Up About The 'Beetlejuice' Outfit Match With Winona Ryder

By Kelly Coffey-Behrens on August 30, 2024 at 1:00 PM EDT

At the Venice Film Festival, Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder, who star together in "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," had a completely spontaneous matching moment.

Dior ambassador Enrique Melendez has been celebrating the classic "Beetlejuice" film throughout the film's press tour, and Ortega continued this homage with a stunning Dior Haute Couture red tulle dress at the Palazzo del Cinema in Italy.

Jenna Ortega's red gown paid tribute to the iconic 1988 wedding scene from the original film, featuring Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz and Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice, which perfectly complemented Winona Ryder’s black Chanel skirt suit.

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Jenna Ortega And Winona Ryder Have A Matching Moment

Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder at Opening Ceremony of the 81th Venice International Film Festival
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The duo, along with the rest of the "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" cast, kicked off the 81st edition of the film festival by posing side-by-side on the red carpet.

"We didn't even talk about it," Ortega told People Magazine. "No, I don’t know if she noticed but it was funny because, we didn’t talk about it all, but we both were wearing tulle skirts so it's kind of fun that we were mentally intertwined and we didn’t realize it."

Ortega's gown showcased a bodice that draped in a heart shape down to her belly button. Delicate spaghetti straps held the design in place. The skirt was a puffy floor-length tulle tutu, which closely matched with Ryder's black tulle skirt.

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Ryder’s Chanel outfit also included a cropped blazer and vest with contrasting buttons, paired with a white button-up shirt. Both ladies wore their dark brown hair in elegant buns as their bands hung in their faces.

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Jenna Ortega Stands Up For Winona Ryder

Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder at Opening Ceremony of the 81th Venice International Film Festival
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During the "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 28, Ortega didn't hesitate to stand up for her friend and co-star after photographers repeatedly asked Ryder to remove her sunglasses for photos.

As Ryder hesitated to remove the shades, Ortega stepped in to reassure her, saying, “No, you don’t have to," telling Ryder to keep her sunglasses if she wanted to.

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Jenna Ortega Opens Up About Her 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' Character

Jenna Ortega at "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" UK Premiere In London
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Ahead of the film's premiere, the 21-year-old sat down with Vanity Fair to talk about her "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" character, Astrid, whom she described as “weird, but in a different way and not in the way you’d assume, I would say.”

“The relationship between Lydia and Astrid, my character, is very important,” she said of her character's relationship with Ryder's character. “And it’s also really strange because it’s a lot of catching up and putting the pieces together of what’s gone on in Lydia’s life since, which is nice, I think, for anybody who loves the character and is excited to see her again.”

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Why Bringing 'Beetlejuice' Back Is Important

Jenna Ortega at "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" UK Premiere In London
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Ortega added that while she "feels like studios nowadays want people in seats" and so they "do reboots or sequels or things like that to get people entwined," but bringing back "Beetlejuice" and "all of the stories is so good because people need to revisit weird, strange, off-putting stories again."

"We need to introduce the younger generation that’s always on the phone to new artistic and creative ideas," she continued. "The weirder you get with it, the more people you can get to see it, I think will probably do a lot for film in general.”

When Will 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' Hit Theaters?

Jenna Ortega at Red carpet opening ceremony 81st Venice Film Festiva in Venice Lido, Italy
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The "Beetlejuice" sequel reunites Michael Keaton with Tim Burton, as well as original cast members Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara. New additions to the cast include Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe.

The story centers on the tense relationship between Lydia Deetz, portrayed by Ryder, and her daughter, played by Ortega. "She was so warm and welcoming and kind and inviting right from the jump, and I couldn’t be more grateful,” Ortega told The New York Times of Ryder. “The way Winona and I got along was quite weird. It was like we were reading each other’s minds a little bit.”

“She just made me feel really, really beautiful and special,” Ortega added, before revealing just how important Ryder’s support really was. “And that was, again, during that time, it meant the world to me.”

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In a chat with Screen Rant, Ryder echoed the sentiments expressed by her co-star. “I don't think I've ever bonded with someone like I did with Jenna,” she told the outlet. “It was insane.”

"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" hits theaters nationwide on September 6.

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