What To Expect: Ghostbusters 3

20th July 2013

By The Young Liar.

Ghostbusters is a franchise that is very dear to me. When I was young, it was hard to understand how a film could be a comedy and horror at the same time. There was even some impressive sci-fi to it as well. It had everything a kid like me could enjoy. Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd were both well known to me as even early on I would watch reruns of Saturday Night Live. Harold Ramis was a bit of a nobody to me, though he seemed perfect for Egon. In fact, I was under the impression that he was pretty much exactly like Egon in real life. As some years passed and I became more of a movie geek, I discovered his other films. Egon became a favorite character and I became a fan of Harold Ramis.

Between the Ghostbusters 1 & 2, the second is my favorite. That may surprise a lot of people as the second film wasn’t as popular, but in my opinion there was nothing wrong with it (except for the fact that Vigo scared the hell out of me) and it gets too much of a bad rep. It was a proper continuation of a film and had some pretty good scenes. I was afraid of the bathtub for weeks after seeing the scene in the film where Sigourney Weaver’s character tries to wash her child.

There was also a quite successful and popular series, The Real Ghostbusters, which had a few incarnations. There were a few forgettable video games in the eighties and nineties, but everyone remembers the recent Ghostbusters: The Video Game. It brought back the almost the entire cast, and was actually pretty good for a game based on a movie. It acted as a third film, until of course a third film was actually going to be made.

Ghostbusters 3 has been happening, not happening, happening, not happening, and happening so many times that some people don’t even believe it’ll ever be made. Aykroyd and Ramis have both been working on the film, and the script is being written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg. In the last couple months, there has been very little news about the development of the project. Apparently, the script is done, and the only hold up is possibly one of the most important things needed for the film.

That isn’t to say he is against being in the film. Bill Murray is known for being difficult to reach. He is known for being hard to reach when it comes to movie proposals, and takes his time with scripts. He has said that he’d like to be a ghost in the film, which doesn’t sound like an idea I’m fond of. I do think that the writers won’t let that come to be, as it might just bother a good portion of the fans. At the same time, Murray really seems uncomfortable with the idea of doing another film. We’ll have to wait and see.

Shooting will also take place somewhere other than New York. It’d be sad not to see the familiar firehouse and the Ectomobile cruising the streets of New York City. It is understandable for the G.B. team to relocate as either they’ve made enough money to relocate to a better headquarters. There is also the possibility that, as told in the game (which could possibly be retconned by the third film) the Ghostbusters have started a franchise. That’s right, Ghostbusters Worldwide. They’re both interesting ideas, but I’m hoping that New York will play a part in some way.

Sigourney Weaver is expected to return as her character Dana Barrett and Ivan Reitman will return to direct. Sadly, Rick Moranis will not be coming back. Moranis retired years ago, and while Louis Tully is a loved character that will be missed, I’m sure the story can do well without him. Ernie Hudson has said he has not been approached, but I’m guessing it’s because the film wasn’t a sure thing yet. In my opinion, if he is left out of the film, it’ll be a quite upsetting thing. His character has always been pushed to the background, having been left out of some of the posters of the films even though his character has been there at the defeat of each villain. Even worse, Ernie Hudson auditioned to voice his own character on the show but was passed on. I’d like to see Hudson get some more screen time and be essential to the team. Here’s hoping.

What other possibilities are there for the new movie? A new ghostbusting team is a big one. In the abandoned Ghostbusters Go To Hell, the team was going to be comprised of younger actors. It’s more understandable now as many years have passed, but I want to see Ghostbusters 3 for The Ghostbusters. If the new team shares the same amount of screen time with the old team, I’ll be satisfied, but if they’re the main focus it will be disappointing unless they get some good actors for the roles. Various names have been flying around but I won’t say any as there hasn’t been any concrete news on the subject.

So, to finish, here’s what I think Ghostbusters 3 needs to be a film that makes fans happy.

Bill Murray stays alive, or at the very least if he dies, gets brought back to life. I also don’t want his role to be just a glorified cameo and hope he spends as much time on screen as the rest of the Ghostbusters.

New York. There has to be some sort of connection to New York. You can’t have all that paranormal stuff happen in that city and then just move onto the next. The film doesn’t have to be totally based there though.

Classic humor. Ghostbusters had a type of comedy that felt different. It was funny guys being scared. While the writers have both worked on the hilarious U.S. version of The Office, they also worked on Year One. Doesn’t sound good huh?

The old equipment. Sure it’ll be nice to see ghostbusting equipment made with modern technology, but the old Ecto, the proton pack, and all the other gadgets and gear shouldn’t be pushed aside just for the sake of getting with the times.

One Heck of a good villain. Vigo didn’t impress many, but he was still the main baddie. I’m hoping there will be a main villain in the third film. I don’t want there to be a town with monsters running amok unless there is an evil being behind the whole thing.

The Ghostbusters song. Doubt they’ll leave that out. And maybe another montage with a ghostbustin’ themed song. It’s fun imagining which artist they could get for a song like that. I doubt they’ll have the Bobby Brown song in the film, but maybe it playing on a radio in the background or something like that would be fun.

So, to all the Ghostbuster fans out there, let’s hope the movie at least gets made. It doesn’t seem like a Hollywood sequel cash in, which is why I want it to be good. After Live Free or Die Hard, Terminator Salvation, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (I’m shuddering with you) I want a film that is made for the fans, not a quick buck.

And yeah, Money makes us feel good, but it also makes Hollywood make crappy sequels.

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