Ghostbusters
is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film written by co-stars
Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis about three eccentric New York City parapsychologists-turned-ghost
capturers. The film was released in the United States on June 8,
1984 and like several films of the era, teamed Aykroyd and/or Ramis
with Bill Murray. It was produced and directed by Ivan Reitman and
stars Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver, Annie
Potts, and Ernie Hudson. It was followed by a sequel, Ghostbusters II
in 1989, and two animated television series, The Real Ghostbusters
(later renamed Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters) and Extreme Ghostbusters.
After losing their academic
positions at Columbia University, a trio of misfit
parapsychologists—Peter Venkman (Murray), Raymond Stantz
(Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Ramis) – establish a paranormal
exterminator service known as "Ghostbusters" at a retired
firehouse. While still facing dire straits after setting up the
company, their secretary Janine Melnitz (Potts) informs them that
they are summoned by the Sedgewick Hotel to investigate a haunting.
At the hotel, they capture their first ghost and deposit it in a
"containment unit" located in the basement of their office.
Paranormal activity soon increases in New York City, and the
Ghostbusters become celebrities containing it, while at the same time
becoming increasingly burdened by the hectic schedule. To satisfy
increased demand they hire a fourth member, Winston Zeddemore (Hudson).
The
Ghostbusters are hired by a woman named Dana Barrett (Weaver), whose
apartment at 55 Central Park West is haunted by a demonic spirit
called Zuul, a demigod worshipped as a servant to Gozer the Gozerian,
a Sumerian shape-changer. Venkman takes a particular interest in the
case, competing for Dana's affection with her neighbor Louis Tully
(Moranis). As they investigate, Dana is possessed by Zuul, which
declares itself "The Gatekeeper", and Louis by a similar
demon called Vinz Clortho, "The Keymaster". Both demons
speak of the coming of the destructive Gozer, and the Ghostbusters
plan to keep the two apart. Thereafter the Ghostbusters' office is
visited by Walter Peck (William Atherton) of the EPA, who arrests the
team for supposedly housing dangerous chemicals in their basement and
orders their ghost containment deactivated, unleashing hundreds of
ghosts onto New York City. Freed from the Ghostbusters' custody, Louis/Vinz
advances toward Dana/Zuul's apartment while the escaped ghosts
create havoc throughout the city and it's left to the Ghostbusters to
save the day!
The concept was inspired by
Aykroyd's own fascination with the paranormal and it was conceived as
a vehicle for himself and friend John Belushi. The original story, as
written by Aykroyd, was very different from what was eventually
filmed; in the initial version, a group of "Ghostsmashers"
traveled through time, space, and other dimensions combating huge
ghosts (of which the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man was one of many).
Also, the Ghostbusters wore S.W.A.T.-like outfits and used wands
instead of Proton Packs to fight the ghosts. Ghostbusters storyboards
show them
wearing riotsquad-type helmets with movable transparent visors. In
addition to a similar title, the movie shares the premise of
professional "exterminators" on a paranormal mission with
The Bowery Boys slapstick comedy Spook Busters (1946, directed by
William Beaudine).
Aykroyd pitched his story
to director/producer Ivan Reitman, who liked the basic idea but
immediately saw the budgetary impossibilities demanded by Aykroyd's
first draft. At Reitman's suggestion, the story was given a major
overhaul, eventually evolving into the final screenplay which Aykroyd
and Ramis hammered out over the course of three weeks in a Martha's
Vineyard bomb shelter in May–June 1982. Aykroyd and Ramis
initially wrote the script with roles written especially for Belushi,
Eddie Murphy, and John Candy; but Belushi died during the writing of
the screenplay, and neither Murphy nor Candy would commit to the
movie, so Aykroyd and Ramis made some changes and polished a basic, science-fiction-oriented
screenplay for their final draft.
In addition to Aykroyd's
high-concept basic premise, and Ramis' skill at grounding the
fantastic elements with a realistic setting, the film benefits from
Bill Murray's semi-improvisational performance as Peter Venkman, the
character initially intended for Belush. Louis Tully was originally
conceived as a conservative man in a business suit played by comedian
John Candy; but with Candy unable to commit to the role, it was taken
by Rick Moranis who portrayed Louis as a geek. Gozer was originally
going to appear in the form of Ivo Shandor as a slender, unremarkable
man in a suit played by Paul Reubens; but the role was played by
Yugoslav model Slavitza Jovan.
Harold
Ramis had no intention of acting in any role, as he planned only
helping Aykroyd write the screenplay; but the crew struggled to cast
the role of Egon Spengler, even after renowned actors such as Chevy
Chase, Michael Keaton, Christopher Walken, John Lithgow, Christopher
Lloyd, and Jeff Goldblum were considered. Feeling he knew the
character best, being its creator, Ramis accepted the role of Egon.
He credited this move in revitalizing his acting career, having
previously focused on off-screen work such as writing and directing.
Winston Zeddemore was
written with Eddie Murphy in mind, but Murphy had to decline the role
as he was filming Beverly Hills Cop at the same time. If Murphy had
been cast, Zeddemore would have been hired much earlier in the film,
and would have accompanied the trio on their hunt for Slimer at the
hotel and been slimed in place of Peter Venkman. When Ernie Hudson
took over, it was decided that he be brought in later to indicate how
the Ghostbusters were struggling
to keep up with the outbreak of ghosts.
For the test screening of
Ghostbusters, half of the ghost effects were missing, not yet having
been completed by the production team. The audience response was
still enthusiastic, and the ghost elements were completed for the
official theatrical release shortly thereafter.
A problem arose during
filming when it was discovered that a television show had been
produced in 1975 by Filmation for CBS called The Ghost Busters,
starring Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker. Columbia Pictures prepared
a list of alternative names just in case the rights could not be
secured, but during the filming of the crowd for the final battle,
the extras were all chanting "Ghostbusters", which inspired
the producers to insist that the studio buy the rights to the name.
The film score was composed
by Elmer Bernstein, and is notable for its use of ondes Martenot (a
staple of Bernstein's 1980s work) and also the Yamaha DX-7
synthesizer. Orchestrators contributing to the film were Peter
Bernstein, David Spear and Patrick Russ.
The
film's theme song, "Ghostbusters", written and performed
by Ray Parker Jr, sparked the catchphrases "Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!" and "I ain't afraid of no ghost." The
song was a huge hit, staying #1 for three weeks on Billboard's Hot
100 chart and #1 for two weeks on the Black Singles chart. The song
earned Parker an Academy Award nomination for "Best Original
Song". According to Bruce A. Austin (in 1989), this theme
"purportedly added $20 million to the box office take of the
film". In autumn 1984 Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker, Jr. for
plagiarism, claiming that Parker copied the melody from his 1983 song
"I Want a New Drug". Lewis had been approached to compose
the main theme song for the movie, but he declined due to his work on
the soundtrack for Back to the Future. The two musicians settled out
of court. It was reported in 2001 that Lewis allegedly breached an
agreement not to mention the original suit, doing so on VH1's Behind
the Music
The music video produced
for the song became a #1 MTV video. Featuring actress Cindy Harrell,
directed by Ivan Reitman, produced by Jeffrey Abelson, and
conceptualized by Keith Williams, the video integrated footage of the
film intercut with a humorous performance by Parker. The video also
featured cameo appearances by celebrities who joined in the
call-and-response chorus, including Chevy Chase, Irene Cara, John
Candy, Nickolas Ashford, Melissa Gilbert, Jeffrey Tambor, George
Wendt, Al Franken, Danny DeVito, Carly Simon, Peter Falk, and Teri
Garr. The video ends with footage of the four main Ghostbusters
actors in costume and character, dancing in Times Square behind
Parker, joining in the singing.
Untitled
Untitled
The original Ghostbusters movie trailer (1984). When Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) lose their university jobs, they decide to go freelance by starting a ghost removal service. As soon as they open their doors, their first order of business becomes saving the beautiful Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and nerdy Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), who have inadvertently opened the gates of hell, right in their own apartment building!
After
the success of the first film and the animated series, The Real
Ghostbusters, Columbia Pictures pressured the producers to make a
sequel. Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman were uncomfortable
with this, as the original film was intended to be conclusive and
they wished to work on other projects; but later agreed.
Ghostbusters II was
released in 1989 and was again directed by Ivan Reitman. The film was
a box office success despite mixed reviews and had what was, at the
time, the biggest three-day opening weekend gross in history.
After being sued by the
City of New York for property damage incurred during the battle
against Gozer five years earlier, the Ghostbusters are out of
business and have incurred a restraining order preventing them from
investigating the supernatural. Ray Stantz owns an occult bookstore
and co-operates with Winston Zeddemore as unpopular children's
entertainers; Egon Spengler works in a laboratory conducting
experiments into human emotion; Peter Venkman hosts a little-watched
pseudo-psychic television show named "World of the Psychic";
and Dana Barrett works at the Manhattan Museum of Art restoring
paintings and raising her infant son Oscar at a new apartment, having
broken from Peter under acrimonious circumstances. After an incident
in which Oscar's baby carriage is controlled by an unseen
supernatural force and drawn to a busy junction on First Avenue, Dana
turns to the Ghostbusters for help, prompting an awkward reunion of
herself and Peter. Meanwhile, Dr. Janosz Poha—Dana's boss at the
art gallery—is possessed by the spirit of Vigo the Carpathian, a
seventeenth-century tyrant trapped in a painting in the gallery. Vigo
orders Janosz to locate a child whose form Vigo can assume, thus
gaining physical form upon the approaching New Year.
The
Ghostbusters' investigation leads them to conclude that the
supernatural presence originates from under the city streets,
prompting them to illegally excavate First Avenue at the point where
the baby carriage stopped. Lowered underneath, Ray discovers a river
of pink slime filling an abandoned subway line. Attacked by the slime
after obtaining a sample, Ray accidentally causes a blackout, and the
Ghostbusters are arrested. At their trial they are defended poorly by
Louis Tully (who acts as their advocate in repaying them for having
saved him in the earlier film) and found guilty; but the judge's
emotional outbursts prompt the slime sample presented as evidence to
release the ghosts of two murdering brothers whom the judge had
previously sentenced to death. Thereafter the Ghostbusters imprison
the ghosts in exchange for the dismissal of all charges and the
rescinding of the restraining order; having done so, they recommence
their former business.
During the 1990s, Aykroyd
wrote a script for a potential third film in the series. The concept
reportedly would have the characters transported to an alternate
version of Manhattan called Manhellton and a modified version of this
plot would be seen later in Ghostbusters: The Video Game. At the
time, Aykroyd stated that the studio was interested, though the
principal actors were not.
Over the years, various
rumors have floated around about the film, including reports stating
that Murray was the only original Ghostbuster not interested as he
disliked sequels, and that Ramis wanted Ben Stiller to join the cast.
During a 2009 interview,
Ramis stated that the project stalled due to lack of interest and
motivation to do it. Both Ramis and Aykroyd have confirmed that the
script would call for a new group of younger Ghostbusters taking the
lead. Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd were in the planning stages and
the film was expected to be released in 2011.
Bill Murray appeared on
Late Show with David Letterman and talked about his return to
Ghostbusters III, stating "I'd do it only if my character was
killed off in the first reel." In an interview with Coming Soon,
Murray said: "You know, maybe I should just do it. Maybe it'd be
fun to do." At the Spike TV Scream Awards, Bill Murray appeared
to accept an award for Zombieland. He appeared in full Ghostbusters
gear, but gave no statements regarding the film.
Rick Moranis had not
officially stated whether he will or will not be a part of the sequel
as he has retired from acting. Sigourney Weaver said she expected to
return alongside all the other original cast.
Buzz on the internet says
the script of 'Ghostbusters 3' has been approved and the original
cast will return while casting is currently underway looking for
young Ghostbusters. In an interview, Director Ivan Reitman disclaimed
all Internet rumors as false.
A script for a potential
third film was under development by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee
Eisenberg, the writing team that worked with Ramis on the 2009 comedy
Year One; according to Ramis, the four main cast members from the
original film were potentially to have minor on-screen roles:
"The concept is that the old Ghostbusters would appear in the
film in some mentor capacity." Aykroyd said, "The script
must be perfect. We cannot release a film that is any less than that.
We have more work to do."
On February 24th, 2014,
Ramis died, causing Sony Pictures to re-evaluate the script that they
were writing for Ghostbusters III. Sony was planning on starting
production in New York early in 2015, but Reitman decided to pull out
of directing the film in light of Ramis's death. Reitman, however,
will help to find a new director. Phil Lord and Chris Miller were in
talks to direct the film, but decided to pass on the project. On May
30th, 2014, The Wrap reported that Ruben Fleischer is being
considered to direct the third film and Sigourney Weaver told Vanity
Fair that her character's son, Oscar, would be a Ghostbuster in the
film, but that version would never happen. Aykroyd told The Hollywood
Reporter that he wanted to do a Ghostbusters-style universe like what
Marvel did with their own universe.
On August 2nd, 2014, The
Hollywood Reporter revealed that the studio wanted Paul Feig to
direct the film and wants to make it an all female Ghostbusters team
and screenwriter Katie Dippold and director Paul Feig would be
writing the script.
Both Rebel Wilson and
Jennifer Lawrence revealed they were approached for a role in the
reboot, while Emma Stone, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer and Lizzy
Caplan expressed interested in appearing. Leaked emails from Sony
revealed Channing Tatum and Chris Pratt’s plan to team up for a
different Ghostbusters film, with Tatum comparing it to Batman
Begins. In January 2015, the main cast members for the all-female
lead film, were announced as McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and
Kate McKinnon. The global release dates for the reboot, titled
Ghostbusters, were across July 2016. In a February 2015 interview on
Ron Bennington's Unmasked radio show, Aykroyd stated that he would
still like to see his idea for a sequel made.
ECTO 1
The
Ectomobile, or Ecto–1 is a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor
limo-style endloader combination car (ambulance conversion) used in Ghostbusters.
In the original movie, this
vehicle was purchased by Ray Stantz for the relatively high price of
$4800 in a poor state of repair. In Stantz' own words, it needed
"suspension work and shocks, brakes, brake pads, lining,
steering box, transmission, rear end..., new rings, mufflers, a
little wiring...." It is assumed that Ray continues listing
needed repairs after this scene cuts away.
After the necessary
reconstruction, it was used to carry the team's ghost-capturing
equipment, as well as transporting the Ghostbusters through New York
City. It has a distinctive siren wail. Its features include a special
pull-out rack in the rear containing the staff's proton packs, which
facilitates a quick retrieval without the complication of having to
reach into the vehicle's rear. There are also various gadgets mounted
on the top, whose function is never revealed in the movies. A cartoon
episode featured the "proton cannon", presumably a more
powerful version of a proton pack, mounted on top for use against
extra large or even giant sized paranormal entities.
Earlier versions of scripts
written by Dan Aykroyd for the first Ghostbusters also included
mentions of the Ectomobile having the power of interdimensional
travel. The shooting script for the movie described the Ectomobile as
being black, with purple and white strobe lights that gave the
vehicle a "purple aura".
A miniature replica of the
vehicle was mass-produced as a children's toy. The toy version of
this vehicle has sold approx. 1,000,000+ units worldwide. Polar
Lights released a 1/24 scale model kit of the Ecto-1 in 2002. In
2010, Hot Wheels released a "Ghostbusters Ecto-1" as part
of the "2010 Hot Wheels Premiere" series. In 2010, the
Ecto-1 makes a brief appearance in the commercial for Sony's new
panoramic digital camera line.
Throughout other
Ghostbusters books, animated shows and video games, a number of other
Ectomobiles were featured such as a 1963 hearse, a VW Beetle, a
station wagon, a small open-topped two-seater autogyro (seen in the
cartoons and the comic based on them as well as a toy), a motorized
unicycle and even a tugboat.
Originally the filmmakers
planned to have the Ecto-1 be painted black. The color of the vehicle
was later changed to white when it was decided a black car would be
too difficult to see during night scenes. The Ectomobile was
originally going to be a much more high tech vehicle, with an almost
artificial intelligence. Three cars have played the vehicle in the
movies; the third 1959 Miller-Meteor was purchased after the second
died during shooting of Ghostbusters II. The black Miller-Meteor seen
at the beginning of the first movie was leased and used only for that
scene and never converted for filming, though it was later purchased
by the studio and completely converted to a full Ecto-1 for touring.
Ecto-1A was originally scripted as the Ecto-2, and one reference to
this remains in the movie. When Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman is
standing outside of his apartment and the car pulls up, the phrase Ecto-2
is visible on the license plate. Both original Ectomobiles are
currently sitting in a Sony pictures backlot having recently
undergone a full restoration after years of deterioration. Universal
Studios has used replica Ecto-1s in their theme park shows and sold
one at the Barrett-Jackson auto auction in Scottsdale Arizona on
January 22, 2010 for $80,000.
THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS
The
Real Ghostbusters was an American animated television series based
on the 1984 film Ghostbusters. The series ran from 1986 to 1991, and
was produced by Columbia Pictures Television, DiC Enterprises, and
Coca-Cola Telecommunications. "The Real" was added to the
title after a dispute with Filmation and its Ghost Busters
properties. The series continues the adventures of paranormal
investigators Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Ray Stantz,
Winston Zeddemore, their secretary Janine Melnitz and their mascot
ghost Slimer.
There also were two ongoing
Real Ghostbusters comics, one published monthly by Now Comics in USA
and the other published weekly (originally biweekly) by Marvel Comics
in the United Kingdom, and a popular toy line manufactured by Kenner
(the toyline lasted longer than the television series itself).
A short pilot episode was
produced, but never aired in full. The full four minute promo was
released on Time Life's DVD set in 2008. Scenes of the pilot can be
seen in TV promos that aired prior to the beginning of the series.
Among differences seen in the promo pilot, the Ghostbusters wore the
beige jumpsuits they had worn in the film instead of the color coded
jumpsuits they would wear in the finished series, and the character
design for Peter Venkman bore more of a resemblance to actor Bill
Murray than the character design seen in the finished series. When he
auditioned for the voice of Egon Spengler, Maurice LaMarche, noted
that while he was asked not to impersonate Harold Ramis, he did so
anyway and eventually got the part. LaMarche also noted that Bill
Murray complained that Lorenzo Music's voice of Peter Venkman sounded
more like Garfield (who was also voiced by Lorenzo Music at the time;
coincidentally, Murray voiced Garfield in the 2004 and 2006 Garfield
films). Ernie Hudson was the only actor from the films who auditioned
to play his character in the series; however, the role was given to
Arsenio Hall.
At the same time The Real
Ghostbusters was being created, Filmation was making a cartoon known
simply as "Ghostbusters", which was a revamp of Filmation's
1970s series The Ghost Busters. The character designs by Jim
McDermott were dramatically redesigned from the way the same
characters looked in the movie.
Although
the "Ghostbusters" concept was tinkered with, the
finalized show does feature many tie-ins from the films. The Stay
Puft Marshmallow Man made numerous appearances. During the third
season, Walter Peck, the Environmental Protection Agency antagonist
from the original film, reappeared. The uniforms and containment unit
were redesigned, and Slimer was changed from a bad ghost to a
resident, events which are explained in the episode "Citizen
Ghost" that flashbacks to what happened to the Ghostbusters
right after the movie's events. Gozer is also mentioned repeatedly
throughout the series, usually in comparison to a ghost they are
currently battling.
In the third season, some
of the character designs were modified. Ray's character design was
slimmed down to give the character a less overweight appearance and
Slimer was given a tail instead of the formerly rounded bottom. The
biggest change was to the character of Janine, whose hair was
completely changed from being short and spiky to long and straight.
Her overall design was softened, as was her personality. Her voice
was also softened with Kath Soucie taking over the voice role from
Laura Summer.
At
the start of the series' third season in 1988, the series was
retitled to Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters. The opening was
completely redone to center around Slimer. Eventually the episodes
were expanded from their original half-hour format to last an hour,
and the overall feel of the show was changed to be more youthful,
with episodes having a lighter tone to be less frightening. When
Ghostbusters II was released, the character of Louis Tully was
introduced to the show, with his voice provided by Rodger Bumpass,
and later episodes referenced events from the film.
With the departure of
writer J. Michael Straczynski, more changes were also made. Dave
Coulier took over the role of voicing Peter from Lorenzo Music and
Buster Jones replaced Arsenio Hall as the voice of Winston. The show
was canceled in 1991, with Straczynski returning to the series to
write a few of the episodes in the final season in 1990. The only
voice actors to remain for the entire series were Frank Welker and
Maurice LaMarche.
In 1997, a sequel cartoon
entitled Extreme Ghostbusters, was created by Columbia TriStar
Television and Adelaide Productions. It premiered on September 1,
1997 and ran for forty episodes until its conclusion on December
8, 1997. Set several years after the end of The Real Ghostbusters,
the series opened by saying the team has disbanded due to a lack of
supernatural activity. Only Egon remains in the firehouse, along with
Slimer, to care for the containment system and teaching classes at a
local university. When supernatural events begin occurring in New
York, Egon recruits four of his university students as a new team of
Ghostbusters, and Janine, also one of Egon's students, returns to
manage the office. The original Ghostbusters return for the
two-episode season finale to celebrate Egon's 40th birthday, leading
to them reluctantly working together with the younger generation to
solve one last case.
The
Ghostbusters are hired by a woman named Dana Barrett (Weaver), whose
apartment at 55 Central Park West is haunted by a demonic spirit
called Zuul, a demigod worshipped as a servant to Gozer the Gozerian,
a Sumerian shape-changer. Venkman takes a particular interest in the
case, competing for Dana's affection with her neighbor Louis Tully
(Moranis). As they investigate, Dana is possessed by Zuul, which
declares itself "The Gatekeeper", and Louis by a similar
demon called Vinz Clortho, "The Keymaster". Both demons
speak of the coming of the destructive Gozer, and the Ghostbusters
plan to keep the two apart. Thereafter the Ghostbusters' office is
visited by Walter Peck (William Atherton) of the EPA, who arrests the
team for supposedly housing dangerous chemicals in their basement and
orders their ghost containment deactivated, unleashing hundreds of
ghosts onto New York City. Freed from the Ghostbusters' custody, 
Louis/Vinz
advances toward Dana/Zuul's apartment while the escaped ghosts
create havoc throughout the city and it's left to the Ghostbusters to
save the day!
The
Ghostbusters' investigation leads them to conclude that the
supernatural presence originates from under the city streets,
prompting them to illegally excavate First Avenue at the point where
the baby carriage stopped. Lowered underneath, Ray discovers a river
of pink slime filling an abandoned subway line. Attacked by the slime
after obtaining a sample, Ray accidentally causes a blackout, and the
Ghostbusters are arrested. At their trial they are defended poorly by
Louis Tully (who acts as their advocate in repaying them for having
saved him in the earlier film) and found guilty; but the judge's
emotional outbursts prompt the slime sample presented as evidence to
release the ghosts of two murdering brothers whom the judge had
previously sentenced to death. Thereafter the Ghostbusters imprison
the ghosts in exchange for the dismissal of all charges and the
rescinding of the restraining order; having done so, they recommence
their former business.
The
Ectomobile, or Ecto–1 is a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor
limo-style endloader combination car (ambulance conversion) used in Ghostbusters.
December
8, 1997. Set several years after the end of The Real Ghostbusters,
the series opened by saying the team has disbanded due to a lack of
supernatural activity. Only Egon remains in the firehouse, along with
Slimer, to care for the containment system and teaching classes at a
local university. When supernatural events begin occurring in New
York, Egon recruits four of his university students as a new team of
Ghostbusters, and Janine, also one of Egon's students, returns to
manage the office. The original Ghostbusters return for the
two-episode season finale to celebrate Egon's 40th birthday, leading
to them reluctantly working together with the younger generation to
solve one last case.
