AJ at GBFans spotted these call sheets for Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2 filming for sale via an online prop dealer. Callsheets, at least during production, are everywhere. Everybody has a copy. They are typically discarded after the day’s shooting. However, some survive, and while unique pieces of film history, I’m not sure if they’re $300 unique. Mind you, the whole point of this post is that a cursory glance at the sheets on the website reveal a wealth of information.
For example;
Ghostbusters
- Slavitza “Gozer” Jovan is listed as “Slavitza Yhuelo”
- The temple rooftop scenes were shot in the days leading up to Christmas 1983. One of the call sheets is dated Dec. 16th, and referenced as the 35th day of shooting.
- The scenes are on Stage 16, which is odd, as it’s recently being referenced as being Stage 15.
- The set was closed to visitors (not surprising, for the massive finale)
- Five uncredited (by either the film or imdb) stunt persons are listed, Terry Hardin, Ron Harrison, Tim Lawrence, Mark Wilson, and Beth Nufer, who stunted for Slavitza.
- Five sad, partially named stand-ins are listed; Cherise, Clay, Dan, Mark, Michael.
- The advanced schedule (subject to change, presumably) put the ballroom scene at the Biltmore on December 20-22. Try and wrap your head around the actors defeating Gozer on a Friday, and by the following Tuesday, they’re shooting their first bust.
- The schedule is approved, by signature, by… well, it’s hard to tell. “J V Schiag…?” No name it the credits helps clarify the name. Quick, someone in the industry tell me who signs off on callsheets.
- Another sheet is dated as December 8th, 1983, the 29th day of shooting. The scene is on the rooftop, and includes shots using Louis and Sigourney, suggestion their rooftop transformtion scenes were around this time (or their altar scene) – Slavitza is listed as well, but as “off-camera”. Since her stunt double isn’t included in the day, but the four Ghostbusters stunt doubles are, it strongly suggests this was the day they shot the “Choose and Perish” shots as well as the “Are you a god” scenes.
But the big revelation is on the Ghostbusters 2 callsheets, which include directions and a map to the LA Firehall 23, which doubled as the interior of Hook and Ladder 8 in New York. This isn’t a secret – it’s been known for awhile that this is the interior location for the firehall, and the callsheet map confirms it;
“Int. Firehouse Location / Int. Brownstone”
There’s the kicker. While we only just recently figured out where the exterior of the Birthday Party Brownstone is, it was always assumed the interiors were shot on stage – or at least that was my thinking. However, given the map, I went and had a look at my photo of the LA firehouse and the birthday party scene in the film.
You can see a correlation between the top floor bay window on the firehall, and the window seen during the birthday party. So there you have it. Another LA location (well, same location, new scene though.)
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hmmm… i thought the brownstone int/LA23 captains quarters shoot location was common fan knowledge. i THINK it was mentioned in the GB2 cinefex article, but i could be wrong about that. the LA firehouse was also used for the hallway of dana’s apartment building in the “janosz/glowing eyes” scene.
call sheets rule. i have one from GB1… 11/30/83, 23rd day of shooting… int. iibrary shots and a scene labeled as part of the montage with the guys in dirty jumpsuits. 7:30 am call for murray, aykroyd and ramis…. OUCH!
posts like this are awesome. keep up the good fight!
That is great info all around!!! But the birthday location is particularly awesome! Great work!
Thank you, Mr. Holmes. Excellent deduction.
one quick note… mark, dan and clay were the stand-ins for murray, aykroyd and ramis.
The birthday party scene was filmed on the 3rd floor in the Captain’s Quarters.
It was one of the nicest places in the Firehouse.
http://www.gbproject.com/firehouse/images/Picture%20316.jpg
http://www.gbproject.com/firehouse/images/Picture%20317.jpg
I believe recently the ceiling broke through and started flooding the upstrairs with water. Ruining some of the third floor.
1st AD, 2nd AD, and the Production Manager/Line Producer typically have approvals on callsheets. Although on big productions, 1st and 2nd Unit usually have separate callsheets also, so check the 2nd Unit credits too.
PS (this is what the alphabet would look like without Q and R): I have a couple great photos of the captain’s living room (birthday party scene location) at the 23 somewhere. But am on the road, ten bucks Kingpin knows it by heart and can post a link for me.
The interior shots were revealed a while ago on GBN and GBHQ as being inside the Firehouse, back when a couple people took a photo tour of it and posted it.
I just figured something out: What if that “Happy Birthday” sign in the firehouse in GB:TVG was actually a callback to this scene at the GBII birthday party? Maybe someone at TR knew of this joke before we did!
Then again, it could have been just for the 25th anniversary like we all thought, but meh.
Oh, I thought it was gonna be He-Man
Anyone have the address to that place? Where else are there GB film locations In So Cal? The Hotel… what else? Sorry to sound dumb. Thanks
the LA firehouse was also used for the hallway of dana’s apartment building in the “janosz/glowing eyes” scene
I’ve wondered where that one came from, because I can’t actually reconcile that hallway with any other existing bit of LA23 I’ve seen… I’m inclined to believe it was part of the same set as Dana’s apartment.
Troy, Got plenty of screenshots of it, but no photos of the Captain’s Quarters in its heyday.
Rob: LA23 is at 225 East 5th Street, The Biltmore is at 506 South Grand Avenue, Downtown LA.
Bing! Captain’s Quarters:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Mkschroeder/Firehouse23Tour#5435617093701221922
Typically, the production manager or unit production manager signs off on call sheets.
Here you go guys (link offsite, sorry Chris) – check out the Captain’s Quarters and caretaker Daniel showing off the faux curtains the production used (that he still has hanging) –
http://www.ghostbustershq.com/engine23/Page1.html
ben… you have me questioning myself now. i could have sworn it was in the cinefex article, but i can’t find any mention of it.
Robert, search Shot On Site here on the site. Besides the firehall and the Biltmore, they also used the Social Sciences basement of the LAPL (there was a fire years back, so it bears little to no resemblance today) and they used a downtown LA street to double as 1st ave in New York – there’s a big article on that shoot here on PC.
Thanks for the photos guys – they go even further in helping match the scene in the film with the location. The wood trim on the walls in particular are easy to match up.
It sounds a lot like the guys that got to take the tour noticed the similarities previously, something I wasn’t aware of – does anyone know of any record of this? I still haven’t checked my magazines. If not, then these callsheets are a good primary record. And if we can find some mention of it before, these are good corroboration.
Ok, guys, this is gonna make you all laugh at how NON-observant I am.
I knew about, and read, those call sheets a while back and even used them in a comment I made here on 8/29/2009 about how the date on one of the GB2 sheets confirms my theory on the alternate scenes and that Ivan probably couldn’t get HIS cut of the movie done in time for the theatrical release, but got it done for home video – which is why there are scenes we remember seeing in the theater that aren’t on any home video release.
Even though I noticed the names of all alternate scene actors (Cheech Marin, Ben Stein, etc.) appearing in scenes filmed in April 1989, I didn’t notice the very telling “Int. Brownstone” notation on the directions page.
I’ve seen the luxurious captain’s quarters of the firehouse as the location of the three-way in the adult film Flashpoint (censored caps are on my site on the firehouse page), and seen the fireplace, but never correlated it with the birthday party scene. I think this might have to do with them covering it up so well in the party scene that it just never stood out to me.
Anyway, I’m right in the middle of a complete revamp of my Filming Locations page, complete with LOTS of new locations that I’m going to document as part of my own Shot On Site series. (Thanks, Chris, for use of the title – although I grossly underestimated how long it would take me to actually start using it!) I have a few doozies that may surprise some of you, including a famous deleted scene location, and a location that I knew about but couldn’t find in the film – until now! I’m also going to put up an “unidentified locations” page with shots of every single location in the film that isn’t already identified, and isn’t known to be (or believed to be) a set. That should help out anyone who wants to do some scouting.
PS: I agree that the prices they’re asking for those call sheets are ridiculous. For $300, I want call sheets for the ENTIRE duration of the film’s production. Too bad they’re not offering photocopies for $5.00 total. I don’t need the originals, copies will do just nicely.
- Five uncredited (by either the film or imdb) stunt persons are listed, Terry Hardin, Ron Harrison, Tim Lawrence, Mark Wilson, and Beth Nufer, who stunted for Slavitza.
By the way, none of the stunt people were credited in the film. That mistake was corrected for the second film.
Chris – if it makes you feel better, I had no idea that the apartment location existed inside Ol’ 23 until Daniel walked me upstairs and it was literally right there in front of me. (Though I find it funny that he’s kept some of the set decorations up as permanent fixtures).
To my knowledge, it wasn’t published anywhere (I know Ozzy had mentioned Cinefex, which I’m pretty certain it wasn’t in).
As for the name “Slavitza Yhuelo” appearing on the call sheets… Either that’s Slavitza’s real name (Slavitza Jovan Yhuelo?) and she changed it before the movie credits were written up, or whomever wrote up the call sheets got her confused with another actress. IMDB lists a Slavitza Yhuelo, but with a sole credit to her name: she acted in El Norte (1983), with no character name given.
Chris, if you ever get the chance to interview her again, try to remember to ask her this and about her name.
On the pink GB2 call sheet (the one on the right) it appears to mention an “Ext. Street” scene with Spengler and Hardemeyer to be filmed on the main Warner lot on “Midwest Street”. In the Atmosphere/Settings area of the call sheet, it would seem this street scene involved policemen and firemen. The Prop/Set Dressing area mentions “New Years Eve Party”, so I’m thinking maybe some of the exterior museum footage (like the Hardemeyer shot during the end credits). But all of the “Hardemeyer outside of the museum” footage was deleted, replaced by the conference room firing scene (which is also on the call sheet). And wouldn’t they have filmed museum exteriors outside of the museum?
What makes this more perplexing for me is that the Warner lot’s “Midwest Street” is a “little all-American town” set, but I don’t recall there being any scenes in the movie that (1) look like they would be filmed on such a set, and (2) take place between just Spengler and Hardemeyer.
Anybody have any guesses about this?
[...] LA was the interior shooting location for the Ghostbusters firehall. More recently you might recall some posts about it’s use as interior locations for Ghostbusters 2, most notably the birthday party. Well, recently the SoCal and Denver Ghostbusters arranged a tour [...]