NOTE: Aykroyd is on camera saying that “purportedly” two script writers are working on a GB3 script. Variety, which one would assume has excellent industry contacts, echos Aykroyd’s comments, but says that Columbia is refusing comment, and they give no hint of where they got their info, so while interesting, this is still considered unofficial.
To all of you that sent in the links, thanks – I can’t thank you all, as it would take me all day just to compile that list, but I appreciate it. Same goes to all of you that sent in the Aykroyd video clip. And those of you that posted it in random comments, please don’t do that.
Basically, over the weekend, Dan Aykroyd was ambushed by E! at one of his Patron appearances and asked about Ghostbusters 3. Always one to talk up the possibilities of a third installment, Dan dropped a few tantalizing tidbits, and expressed his interest in possibly working with some of today’s young comedy stars (most likely due to the recent, pie-in-the-sky rumours that various mixed and matched members of Judd Apatow’s stable would star.)
Anyhow, just when you thought that was our yearly tease by Dan, Variety magazine has reported that Columbia Pictures has commissioned a Ghostbusters 3 script from the writer/producers of the US version of The Office, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. Eisenberg and Stupnitsky currently have ties to Harold Ramis, having worked on a script for him.
This is exciting stuff, but is far from a sure thing. Variety reports that currently there is no solution to the gross percentages the principles are entitled to, something which has hampered such a deal in the past. Basically Sony limits gross percentages to 25%, whereas the percentages contracted to the Ghostbusters principles made prior to Sony acquiring Columbia, exceed that amount. Plus, hey, isn’t Dan on the outs with Columbia over Ghostbusters? Are they pals again, now that Columbia is taking baby-steps to get it rolling?
There’s a fine line between not getting a sequel and someone writing a script for a sequel, and someone sneezing at Sony could knock everything back into the not-getting-made catagory, but hey, this is the first REAL steps towards a sequel since it was announced, oh so many years ago, that Ramis and Aykroyd had created a first draft for a third movie.
That could be cool, but I’m not holding my breath…esp after all the video game b.s.
It may fall apart all over again, but at least the wheels are turning for now.
I am taking everything with a grain of salt. While trying not to scream yippie, I must say that this is very exciting, more so after seeing that last fan made trailer last week.
: )
Just gotta say, I like the way you’re handling the news and I agree. It’s just too bad some places are deciding to ignore the news, but I fully understand that and it’s their choice.
Hard to say but lets hope GB3 will be in works. I’m focasing on GB: The Game more than GB 3. Lets see how far GB3 will take and lets keep updates, this is going to be great.
See, nobody believed us when we posted this a month ago (http://www.pause.com/?s=ghostbusters) but now even Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that it’s in the works and at least “some” original cast & crew are involved.
I think that the best way to handle it is to make sure that this is a legit thing, and not another rumor left over from the beginning of August. After that, we should support this and show that there’s just as much interest in it as the game. With luck people who really care about the franchise will become attached to the project, and bring us something just as special to the theaters as the game is promising to bring.
Move forward cautiously, but by all means lets show support and move forward.
With Hollywood, you never know. I’m familiar with a comic book series that was optioned after “Men in Black” hit it big. There was a bidding war between Universal and Disney; Universal won, with the bigger bid, and there was a script in development. For years. Then it got dropped.
*You didn’t read the “Variety” report did you Lou:
“The studio has set “The Office” co-exec producers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky to write a script for a film designed to bring back together the original cast of Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson.”
*This is in the PLANNING STAGES, IF anything…No one’s attached, PERIOD. And what they’re trying to go for is the ORIGINAL ‘busters, and NOT a new team, though as E!’s interview with Dan stated that he’d “love” to work with the rumored “new guys” [Not sure if I agree with him, but whatever]…
*Now if you’re going by the older rumors, then that’s your fault…
*And you’re far from “vindicated” as it hasn’t even reached the coveted “pre-production phase”, IF it even gets that far…
*Cheers.
*Oh and believing a “report” [HR] that rehashes older confirmed RUMORS should SCREAM bogus to you anyways…
*Cheers.
two young writers, we dont need them, we need harold and dan writing the script like its always been!!!!!!!! unless dan and harold are working extensively with these writers i just dont think they would be able to catch the ghostbusters magic that dan can when he’s writing a script so gb3 will just turn out like most of the shovelware that hollywood churns out these days
There I disagree. I love Dan and Harold, but I think that like the video game a fresh voice that is given the final once over for tone and accurateness by the original guys will have a better result than it would otherwise. Sometimes you can be too close to a project to see the mistakes you are making until its too late ala Indiana Jones 4 ( not that it wasn’t a good film, and I certainly don’t want to start a debate over that here) Of course, and I don’t see this happening but worse case scenario the creators begin to believe the hype of this small but rabid community and believe they can do no wrong ala anything George Lucas and anything he has done with Star Wars in the last 10 years or so,
Again, I dont want to debate those films, but I will say this, fresh writers will feel like they have to live up to expectations, and will probably do quite well under the pressure.I have seen many people saying that they dont care about theis project unless its written by Dan and Harold, but I cant see that logic when looking back on all the wonderful stories that we have been given by many writers on both the cartoon series and the comic series.
Give em a shot, besides, did you read the summary of Dan’s last Draft of Ghostbusters 3? *Shudders* I love the man, but that script apparently made Blues Brother 2000 look like the the most well put together sequel EVER. lol
; )
p.s.
Apologies for the small novel here : )
I suppose that was the thing, in the past Harold was there to vet the scripts, bring them down to Earth and point out the errors… it’s different, to hear a new rumor where someone other than Dan has written the new script.
And to those of you feeling all smug and vindicated, and we all know who you are, this doesn’t proove you, or a single thing you said right. We’re still yet to see this rumor materialise into something more significant, and for all that bellyaching you did over the past several months not once did you mention a script being penned by the writers of “The Office”.
What about the video game? It’s strange that all a sudden, Sony wanted to make GB3 yet there barely done anything with the game after the Activision fiasco. Plus, the game was meant to measure the public’s interest in reviving the ghostbusters franchise.
I want the game first and then the third film.
I do admit I have mixed reactions about GB3. I think they’re just doing this to follow the ’80s comeback trend such as Die Hard, Rocky and Indiana Jones.
Plus, I don’t want Bill and Dan to “pass the torch” to the younger and probably less popular stars (Shia LaBouf and Justin Long help ruined Indy and Die Hard respectively).
Damn, what if Sony delays the game even longer just so they it could tie-in with GB3.
Hopefully my paranoid theory is false.
The writers of “The Office” (american version) are writing a GB script? That’s Brilliant!
Outstanding news!!!
[...]Columbia Pictures has commissioned a Ghostbusters 3 script from the writer/producers of the US version of The Office, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. [...]
I love The Office… If this comes true someday… I wanna Steve Carell in.
Let´s hold breath!!
TonyMontana, Shia didn’t ruin Indiana Jones and Justin didn’t ruin Die Hard. In fact, I found Die Hard 4.0 to be very enjoyable. Blame George Lucas for what Indy 4 became.
Plus so far from this newest rumor, there’s no indication whatsoever of the torch being passed onto a new crew.
I’m also not sure how it was assumed the game was meant to be a measure of the public’s interest in reviving the Ghostbusters franchise.
Rolo and Rob, I think you’re accepting this a little too quickly seeing as it still pretty much the rumor of the month… even if a film is on the horizon, this is about as early into production as it can get.
Im gonna have to go out on a limb here and just say “I’ll believe it when I see it”. Variety isn’t exactly the most reliable source of GB related info. They have spun a load of BS GB stories like this. Im very skeptical about this. Again, “I’ll believe it when I see it”.
dan Aykroyd said that GHostbusters 3 will be made in CGI because Billl won’t do a live action GB3 but agreed to voice his role toGB3 in CGI that was in 2007. This story might be a false story like in 2006 because Dan said that GB3 will be made in CGI and not a live-action movie. I don’t know whats going on because GB3 will be made in CGI and the release date is 2009 so this story might be a false story. CGI GB3 will be here in 2009 that’s what I’ve been told and it is because there was a Sneek peek at the Theater and it was in CGI because my friends nurse told him about it and she said 2009 the release date and yes GB3 was made in CGI. That’s not a lie it’s true facts. In 2009 GB3 will be here in CGi and it won’t be a live-action movie! I hope that I’m wrong but I might be right because GB3 will be here in 2009 in CGI.
BBC has a small blurb about it on their website, but out of respect to Castewar, i will send it to him to check out before i go posting links in here.
Hi Randy – I’m keeping an eye on most of them. For the most part, they’re building off either the Variety article or the Reuters article (that it seems Variety may have used.)
So, until an article comes along with new information specific to the two writers and the script, the story kind of begins and ends with this unofficial news.
patrick…where is the trailer on youtube?
I really don’t see why they won’t accept a draft from Ramis and Aykroyd. They’re a good writing team and they came up with the Ghostbusters universe to begin with. I think the office is just a touch too dry, and I wouldn’t want to see a Ghostbusters movie where people say something awkward every 3 minutes and everybody is quiet while they look at their feet.
I agree completely with Dave about the fresh writers.
I actually didn’t mind Justin Long in Die Hard. And Shia was okay, he was the least of Indy’s problems.
Personally, all of the “casting” names thrown around with today’s young (& youngish) comedy crowd, I can see and have no real problems with. I was was shuddering in fear back in the day when Farley and Sandler (even David Spade, ugh!) were mentioned all the time.
To me i would rather see someone like Kevin Smith or even Joss Whedon as either screen writers or either as directors for Ghostbusters 3.This new brand of writers who worked on The Office I really have my dought’s that they can capture the comedy and excitement that the original screenwriter’s came up with. but if they can then I might consider seeing the sequel,althougth who knows this might just be another wild spread rumour just to get our hopes up.or this could very well be the real deal.
Sniff. Sniff sniff. That smell, its familiar. its. . . the mid nineties.
Something is very different this time though. I’m surely not the only one that finds the idea of a Ghostbusters feature not penned by Aykroyd or Ramis “odd”, to put it lightly, but the idea that Aykroyd appears more than tolerant to the idea of someone else crafting another sequel to his baby– thats the mystery to me.
Off the wall prediction time. I predict Bill Murray will play the bad guy ala Shandor in the original drafts of Ghostbusters.
“worse case scenario the creators begin to believe the hype of this small but rabid community and believe they can do no wrong ala anything George Lucas has done with Star Wars in the last 10 years or so”
I doubt it with Ghostbusters. I think that Aykroyd et al now recognize the mistakes that they made with Ghostbusters II–which effectively put the franchise on ice for years–and will be extremely careful not to repeat them.
“Off the wall prediction time. I predict Bill Murray will play the bad guy ala Shandor in the original drafts of Ghostbusters.”
At one point, wasn’t Murray rumored to be willing to do GB3 but only if he could play a ghost–and Aykroyd wrote this idea into a script?
Doubt all you want Steven, but you apparently haven’t heard of “NAT” the teen ghostbuster with the abnormally large head to hold his extra large brain from Dan’s last GB3 draft. LOL : )
Mistakes were still made well after GB2 lol
But I hope that will not be the case if this comes to fruition.
On the radio it said that Ghostbusters 3 will star Bill Murray ,Dan Aykroyd,and harold Ramis and of cource Ernie Hudson will return and that’s wonderful but I was hoping that Harold and Dan would write the GB3 script because Dan wrote a Hellbent GB3 script and I’m hoping that the new writers will write a Hellbent Script.We don’t want GB3 to flop we want it to suceed nicely. GB3 should be alive-action movie and not a CGI movie and Bill has agreed to be in it that what Harold said in the Interview and that’s wonderful so we have to see if it’s true and not a bad rumor. The movie could be here next year or in 2010 and that will be wonderful to have GB3 be a Live-action movie and not a CGI movie. We have to see what goes on.
I’m also hoping that the new writers will have humor in the movie and a Hellbent script what Dan and Harold wrote because GB3 will be a Hellbent movie that’s what Dan said so lets hope that the writers will do that. I’m hoping that Annie,Rick and Sigourney Weaver will be in the new movie to because I guess now GB3 will be a live-action movie and not a CGI movie and that will be better yet. 20 years is a long long time and lets hope that GB3 will be an awesome movie but I wish that GB3 was written by Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd because they wrote GB 1 and 2 really great.
and where is that CGI trailer for gb3? it should be on youtube, right?
i’m thinking a word that start with an “L” and ends with a ” iar “
Ok, assuming this all goes good and Sony greenlights the script once it’s done(I am assuming they are working on it right now)and Dan, Harold, Bill & Ernie like it and sign on, when could we see GB3 actually get around to being made? Is it possible to get it ready for the 25th anniversary next year?(assuming it comes out LATE 2009, like around Christmas(now wouldn’t THAT be a sweet Christmas present to all us Ghostheads??)) Is it theoretically possible?
# Jon September 4, 2008 11:32 pm
two young writers, we dont need them, we need harold and dan writing the script like its always been!!!!!!!! unless dan and harold are working extensively with these writers i just dont think they would be able to catch the ghostbusters magic that dan can when he’s writing a script so gb3 will just turn out like most of the shovelware that hollywood churns out these days
I hate to break it to you, but GB2 was one of the biggest pieces of shovelware I have ever seen. A textbook example of how NOT to write a sequel – even if it had the more usable obscure one-liners.
I gotta agree with ArtMonkey Dave. I think some new writers would give a fresh take on the proceedings (with Dan and Harold doing consulting and spot-checking), and hopefully not making the same mistakes Dan and Harold made with GB2. I’m not saying that “The Office” writers are the best choice – and I’m not saying that they’re not, because I haven’t seen the show – though I just won DVDs of the 4th Season and “The 40 Year Old Virgin” so I can soon see for myself if I think the show is well-written or not. (Yes, I know I could watch it on NBC, and probably Hula.com and/or NBC.com, but I’m really not all that interested in seeking it out.)
# Doodle Vandal Chris September 5, 2008 8:35 am
Im gonna have to go out on a limb here and just say “I’ll believe it when I see it”. Variety isn’t exactly the most reliable source of GB related info. They have spun a load of BS GB stories like this. Im very skeptical about this. Again, “I’ll believe it when I see it”.
So totally agreed! Right now I’m treating this completely as a rumor. A rumor from a usually reliable source, but a rumor nonetheless.
# castewar September 5, 2008 12:10 pm
For the most part, they’re building off either the Variety article or the Reuters article (that it seems Variety may have used.)
Variety is dated 9/4, Reuters is dated 9/5, so I think the Variety article is the original source. Either way, they both say the same thing
# Patrick(ANOTHER Patrick) September 9, 2008 4:36 pm
Ok, assuming this all goes good and Sony greenlights the script once it’s done(I am assuming they are working on it right now)and Dan, Harold, Bill & Ernie like it and sign on, when could we see GB3 actually get around to being made? Is it possible to get it ready for the 25th anniversary next year?(assuming it comes out LATE 2009, like around Christmas(now wouldn’t THAT be a sweet Christmas present to all us Ghostheads??)) Is it theoretically possible?
It’s just BARELY theoretically possible. If I remember correctly, they did pre-production, filming, and post-production all in less than a year’s time on the first film. I think they started filming in October or November 1983, and of course, the film was in theaters by June 1984. I don’t know if they could move that fast these days, though computers could probably speed up post-production special effects a great deal – or maybe it could make it take longer, I don’t know.
So I think that it’s theoretically possible to have something in theaters by December 2009, if not a bit earlier, but HIGHLY unlikely.
On the Imdb it says that the new writers are using Dan Aykroyds script for the Hellbent GB3 movie and that’s wonderful because I’m glad that the new writers will be using Dans script for GB3. I’m hoping that GB3 will be here in 2009 but if not 2009 then 2010 for sure because the Imdb says that filming will begin in 2009 for a 2010 release but it might come eariler then that but if not then 2010 for sure and it will star the 4 GB’s traning a new team to help them out and that’s Wonderful because i’m glad that GB3 will be a live-action movie and not a CGI movie! Hang on tight GB fans because the movie is a Go and it’s coming because GB3 isn’t a Rumor anymore it’s happening because the Imdb says that and that’s Wonderful!
Don’t trust anything IMDB says, most of the stuff there is user-submitted so I’d take it suspiciously.
Why would the Imdb lie? The Imdb says that GB3 isn’t a rumor anymore GB3 is happening in 2010 and here’s the proof it is:www.Imdb.com/name/nm0000101/news#ni0561812 and the Info will make you very happy because it says that Sony is making another sequel to GB3 and filming will began in 2009 for a 2010 release and that’s Wonderful. I gave you the proof so now you will see that the Imdb is lying!
LMFAO, oh God I just knew if I checked this thread I’d find something from Patrick. I really expected a diatribe of “See, I was right all along!” bullshit. At least all I found was a bunch of optimistic hopes wrapped up in a tortilla of “wanting to believe in false data” to for the ultimate “rumor eqauls fact” burrito. You just never give up.
What ever Bryan your nothing but a trouble maker. Why would I lie about the Imdb? To get Attn NO! You have nothing nice to say just Bullshit stuff, i’m not a liar and you will feel like an ass once the movie comes in 2010 because on the Imdb it says that GB3 is a GO and it’s not a rumor anymore so if you don’t want to belive me then you have problems! I’m right all along and you were wrong so belive me or not you will feel very stupid once the movie comes in 2010 because the Imdb wouldn’t lie and neither would I.