We’re heading into the Summer months, and more so than previous years, Ghostbusters is seeing a lot of screenings. And trust me you youngins, there’s nothing like seeing Ghostbusters in a theatre with a crowd.
However, Alamo Drafthouse aside, I’d rather not spam the RSS feed with individual posts of a single sentence about a screening – that’d just suck. And collected dates in one post tend to get lost as the post scrolls away. So, this year I’ve decided to try tracking screening dates on the sidebar. However, as in other years, this requires you, dear reader, to keep an eye on your area, and let us know if Ghostbusters is hitting a screen (indoors or out!) near you!
And here I thought I was done with top lists – only Shadowlocked put so much work into their list of top 50 80s films, writing up sizable descriptions as well as covering 50 films, instead of merely 25 or 10, AND named Ghostbusters as #1, I couldn’t let it pass;
1: Ghostbusters (1984)
Of all the truly memorable and brilliant films of the 1980s, there could only one that pipped them all to the post of being our number one. In possibly the film that the 1980s will be best remembered for, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis turned in probably the most memorable movie of their careers. Still fresh, funny and full of fond memories, Ghostbusters told the tale of three parapsychologists who went into business for themselves as spook catchers in New York city, cleaning up the town with nuclear-powered proton packs strapped to their backs. Featuring favourites such as Slimer, the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and Gozer the Gozerian, Ghostbusters was spook central and proved fertile ground for some the most original comedy of all time, while only proving to be a landmark for special effects. With hilarious performances delivered throughout by Aykroyd and Ramis, it’s easy to forget about the always overlooked Ernie Hudson and Rick Moranis, both brilliant characters in their own right. But, the real star of the show, as always, is Murray himself. Playing the lecherous and loveable Dr Peter Venkman, Murray delivered one-liner after one-liner, usually to save his own neck, but also to snare the object of his affection, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver). Murray made the movie, so it’s surprising that he seems to be the one holding out on Ghostbusters III. Nevertheless, the first instalment of the Ghostbusters franchise had everything: spooks and special effects, action and adventure, ghouls and gags galore – even the soundtrack still sounds good! If you’ve already seen it, you know what we’re talking about, and if not, why not? It’s our number one film of the 80s and one of our all-time favourites – the always enjoyable Ghostbusters. So, who ya gonna call?
Notable Quotable: ‘We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!’
Sony launched its new, company-wide ad campaign with a 30-second commercial for their Cyber-Shot camera last week. The ad features singer Taylor Swift, but reveals a quick-look at the restored Ecto-1, rolling through Sony’s massive, imaginary… warehouse. Or something. Forbes Magazine looked briefly at the ad and spoke a bit about the rest of the campaign, by LA agency 180 (owned by The Oxford Group) which will include more ads, in a similar vein, over the coming year. Which begs the question, was the Ecto-1 a throw away cameo, or is it hinting at ads to come? It’s not a crazy idea, when you consider that Forbes mentions Sony will be including the launch of its line of 3D TVs in the campaign… and we know for a fact Sony is currently working on converting their back catalog, and presumably Ghostbusters (as an “evergreen” property) to 3D. 3D TV’s need 3D movies to help sell them, and you need old movies as well as new, in order to attract as wide a market as possible. It’s not too far-fetched to have an ad with the old “it’s like you’re right in the movie!” chestnut, featuring the Ecto-1. But who would the star be? If I’m right, I’m voting for Ernie Hudson.
Thanks to the millions of people that emailed me about the ad!
Listeners of Magic 105.4FM in the UK, have been voting for their top 40 movie songs, and despite the support of announcers Stephen “The Office” Merchant and Jimi Mistry, Ray Parker Jr’s Ghostbusters didn’t reach the top spot – Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On took the top spot.
Other spots not held by the Ghostbusters theme (which, I will point out, everybody knows how to sing along with – can that be said of Titanic’s theme. No!) include number four (Dirty Dancing’s Time Of My Life), and number three (Armageddon’s I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing.) Whether Ghostbusters takes a consolation second place or not will have to wait until Monday, May 3rd – the top 40 will be counted down starting at 10AM. A TV countdown programme will air at 2PM that same day on Magic TV.
Of the Ray Parker Jr classic;
The presenters plumped for Ray Parker Jr’s theme to Ghostbusters as their favourite film song. “It evokes fond memories of childhood,” said Merchant.
It used to be the WestCoastBusters would undertake some charity event once or twice a year – now they’re joined by several groups that make it a point to get out in front of the public. Time for a rundown;
The New England GBs will be attending Free Comic Book Day this Saturday, May 1st, at Rubber Chicken Comics, in Bellingham, Massachusetts. Be sure to come out, support your local shop (even if they won’t have any GBs there) – to see what free books are available this year, go here.
The day before, the Arizona GBs will be attending the Phoenix Cannonball Spree, bringing their Ecto-AZ and Sony’s inflatable Stay-Puft with them. The AZGBs and their Ecto-AZ are featured in the event’s promo video (see pics from the day’s shoot here)!
At some point during the Phoenix Comicon (May 27th-30th) the AZGBs will be attending, again with the Ecto-AZ and Stay-Puft – well, they’ll likely be there for the entire event, raising money for charity, but specifically they are booked to perform Ghostbusters on Rock Band with Wil Wheaton – so stay tuned for more information on time and place for that one!
