Scorsese, Sarsgaard, Ghostbusters: Weekly Round Up – So, there’s a whole bunch of new Ghostbusters stuff for you all to check out. We got plot details and photos and everything but a trailer.
Does anyone else find it a little strange how the Ghostbuster franchise seems to be treated like it’s a massive, sprawling epic of the likes of Star Wars or Marvel? I don’t know whether this comes from the studios attempting to market it as such, or whether this comes from the fans over-hyping of the property, but either way, it strikes me as a little odd.
Look, I love Ghostbusters as much as the next guy. Both the original movies were big hits in my house growing up, I watched them so much I had to buy second copies because I wore out the tapes. But they were never these fantasy epics that people seem to want them to be. When the remake came out, I didn’t care much that they were remaking it (at least, not anymore than it bothers me when they remake anything without a modicum on creativity in approach), and I certainly didn’t quite get the vicious, nasty outrage that came from the – shock! Horror! – all female cast.
What I did care about was that the movie was shit. But that’s another story.
Anyway, when the announcement came from Sony that a new Ghostbusters was in the works, and would come in the form of a sequel, not a remake, I’ll admit I did feel a little be of excitement. Not because I love Ghostbusters so much that I’m going to rage about it on the internet (this little rant excluded, obviously… yes, I’m hypocrite. Deal with it), but rather because of it suggested I might just get to see the old gang back together again one last time. At least, what’s left of them… I’ll be right back; I’m just going to go have a cry.
See, that’s sort of what made Ghostbuster good. The original trio (sorry Ernie Hudson) of Venkman, Ray and Egon, as portrayed by Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis respectively, is precisely why the movies worked. It’s why the all-female remake didn’t work. Not because they were women, but because they weren’t those specific men.
Ghostbusters was never about busting ghosts so much as it was the chemistry from the original cast. And, well, the more I hear and see of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, as the new movie is called, the more I can’t help but feel an uncomfortable sense of, I dunno… Deja-vu.
I’ll hold off on my full thoughts until I’ve A) seen the trailer, which drops on Monday, and B) seen the film, but there seems to be far more emphasis on the new cast and this “passing of the torch” concept than there does on the people I actually want to see Ghostbusters for. This isn’t Star Wars, the universe isn’t a massive, sprawling space with lots of interesting stories to tell. It works because of the people who made them, and that’s what I want to see.
Anyway, this week we also got a poster and some general info on the premise. Watch this space, I guess? The trailer is reportedly out on Monday.
Maybe we should get to something a little more promising and a little less cynical (I’m sorry I’m always so negative, it’s not my fault. I just hate everything). This week acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who’s most recent movie, The Irishman, dropped on Netflix at the end of November to critical acclaim – you should watch it, it’s outstanding, a shame on Hollywood for refusing to fund a Scorsese film – is about to start filming on his next project, Killers of the Flower Moon.
And, as if the Scorsese involvement alone wasn’t enough to pique your interest, Killers of the Flower Moon will star not only regular Scorsese collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio, but will also star… ahem, regular Scorsese collaborator Robert De Niro.
Yeah, this might be my favorite movie of all time and it isn’t even out yet. It’s based on a non-fiction book of the same name about a series of murders in Oklahoma in the 1920s and was one of the first major cases taken on by the FBI. DiCaprio will reportedly play one the Agents on the case, while De Niro will be playing a local cattle rancher who is suspected of committing the murders.
If the thought of Leonardo DiCaprio interrogating Robert De Niro as envisioned by Martin Scorsese doesn’t have you salivating at the mouth then… well, we can’t be friends.
While we’re on the subject of cool casts, Matt Reeves’ The Batman also has an interesting new addition. I know I went at Warners and DC a bit last week, but having calmed down somewhat now, I can begin to look at things a little clearer. I still have doubts about this one, because of, y’know, all the absolute shit they’ve poured out over the years, but that cast is impressive.
This week Peter Sarsgaard was announced as joining the pretty incredible line-up. Who he is playing remains a mystery, although there is speculation that he could be taking on the role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Sarsgaard is joining Robert Pattinson, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Dano, Zoe Kravitz, Colin Farrell and John Tuturro.
I was going to wrap it up there, but I suppose we have to talk about our dark overlords over at Disney, don’t we? Fine…
So, it appears the House of Mouse are moving forward with a couple of reboot sequel thingys, the first of which comes to us courtesy of the Disney/Fox merger. Obviously that deal led to Disney becoming the owners of, well, like, basically all of your favorite films ever. One such franchise they now have their claws into is The Planet of the Apes, which recently wrapped an excellent prequel trilogy with War of the Planet of the Apes.
Disney, it seems, are keen to jump back into the ring on this one, as this week we got news they are planning their own movie within the franchise. It will be directed by Wes Ball, who is the man behind the Maze Runner films apparantly. Whether this film will continue the thread left by War (God, I hope not. That trilogy was damn near perfect) or find some new story tell, or even just reboot the original (because it worked so well for Tim Burton, right…?) I don’t know. But one thing is for sure… expect lots of Caesar shaped cuddly toys coming your way soon.
The other proposed return of the classic franchise (well, maybe franchise is too generous a word) Disney also announced this week is a sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. The original film, and it’s two sequels, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, starred Rick Moranis and, much like Ghostbusters, the first two were regular viewing in my house.
It’s unlikely Moranis will return for the film, which is apparently going to be called simply Shrunk (because Disney hate me) and will feature Josh Gad as Moranis’ grown-up child. Seriously, everything about this makes me want to dunk my head into a vat of acid or something. Josh Gad? Really. Urgh. Eurgh. Ahhhhhh!
Anyway, they hired Joe Johnson to direct, which at least something. Johnston directed the original, which was also, oddly enough, his debut feature. But when Joe Johnston is the best sounding thing about your movie… things aren’t looking great
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