Dan Aykroyd sat down for an interview with The Guardian, and besides talking about his favorite topics, he talked a bit more about GB3 as he sees it, which expands on his earlier revelation about having a female leader for the next generation of busters. He also speaks more about the new “cadets” who are “boys and girls” learning how to use “neuron splitter and the inter-planet interceptor” equipment.
It’s at times like these that I’d like to remind people that Ghostbusters starts in Dan’s brain, and then is adjusted and altered along the way, so try not to project your fears into this and spend the next 24 months railing on and on about how it will suck. It’s just a handful of off-hand comments.
I agree with your logic on not getting too worked up about it. But I must admit, it’s a bit “scary” or… better put… unnerving to hear some ideas like this. It just doesn’t sound like the GB’s we know… I *almost* (and I say that carefully) would rather have them just recast the original characters and do it over than pull an “Extreme Ghostbusters” reboot… which was just one awful cartoon show. It WASN’T Ghostbusters… but since the recasting of the same characters worked for the new Star Trek movie (and I honestly didn’t think it would) and it’s worked for Batman and even James Bond… maybe, just maybe, in the right hands of someone who really likes this franchise a recasting would work better than trying to introduce a female leader and wacky gadgets? I know I could be preaching to the choir, but the charm of the first GB film is its grounding in realism. Everything about it felt like it could really happen (which is what makes Stay Puft such a stinkin’ brilliant random moment). Anyone else agree or have some thoughts on this? I don’t want to get into an argument, the first GB is my all-time favorite movie and I grew up on the movies and RGB cartoon show, so I’m a teensy bit sensitive to the thought of even a recast, but I’m just worried a third film will be… a Blues Brothers 2000 or Dumb & Dumberer or Son of the Mask. haha (Those are extremes, but I think you know what I mean)
I agree, and if it does go down the road that takes it away from everything the first film was then I’ll give it a miss.
Recasting does work if it is done right al la Star Trek. I’d rather see a remake than some outworldy wacky rubbish!
I was sort of ok about the Extreme Ghostbusters cartoon once I gave it a chance. If they do go that direction I think it makes it easy for the faithful fans to separate them if necessary. With an Extreme GB style continuation if people like it then no worries but if it’s awful we can still say ‘but look how cool the originals are!’. It’s only really a problem of the new films story contradicts anything that’s gone before.
I’d suggest this group of individuals might make a decent new Ghostbusting team -
Ben Stiller
Paul Rudd
Moss Deff
Jorge Garcia (Hurley from “LOST”)
Allyssa Millano
I think that’d be a well rounded team, with all diff comedy styles hit…
By the way – reading the whole interview seems to suggest that the “boys and girls”‘ll be from the Steve Carell and Seth Rogen generation, which’ll be much better than a load of stupid kids…
I’d rather not seen dimensional travel.
Sounds good to me! It makes sense that new recruits would just be the best and brightest, and I could easily see Eliza Duku as a next gen GB leader.
New equipment also makes sense, since after all these years, Egon would have HAD to fiddle arounbd making more additional equipment as new problems were encountered.
Oh Danny Boy… Hopefully the writers of the new script listen to his ideas, smile, and then ignore most of them. A female leader? No offense to the ladies, but I really don’t want ghostbusters to turn into a powder puff “girl-power” franchise.
I’ve got nothing against dimensional travel since it is an aspect of the paranormal. People often forget Janine’s line in the first movie during her interview with Winston when she gave that long list asking if he believes in the stuff she’s saying. Everything she noted-off is fair game to be shown in a GB movie.
I don’t think Dan’s ideas of inter-plant interceptors and such like that are too far away from the GB mythos as some might like to place them. Many a time in RGB, Egon and Ray were working on inventions that would open portals to the Ghost World or the like and worked on inventions that were not typical Ghostbusting equipment.
One of the reasons why GB became what it did in the 80’s was because Dan’s original ideas where to grandiose in scale and would’ve cost a crap ton of money back then. So it was scaled back to still be a great story with great characters that was easier to budget out. Now, I think Dan sees these huge budgeted Sci-Fi movies and thinks “well hey, the tech is there now, and it cheaper, to be able to do some of the original stuff I wanted to do, so why not try to incorporate it?” It could work on some levels, if he works with Ramis like he has done for the two movies and game to kinda bring it down to reality.
Yes, Dan’s past impulses have been put in check by other writers contributing to the script, but my current concern is, without Ramis and Reitman directly involved this time, will Eisenberg and Stupnitsky have enough clout to pull on the reigns when Dan starts recommending ridiculous tangents?
And just to re-emphasize… Eliza Dushku is gorgeous, but the worst choice ever in the history of shittiness (to the power of three) to represent a franchise that’s success has been founded by contributors with strong comedic roots. The only worse choice would be someone like Alyssa Milano… like anyone would suggest that, hey? That’s crazy talk!
Oh yeah, and EGB always reminded me of Poochy the dog.
“Can we add more piercings to the Eduardo character and more mascara to the girl? Because that’s what speaks to today’s youth. To the extreeeeeme!”
They should cast actors that look like the RGB in live action!
I wasn’t a big fan of EGB, but in fairness, they were allowed to go that route given the name of show.
Another thing I’d like to say is that, its easy for us to get up in arms over Eliza in the running as a female GB because we only see the characters she plays. She’s typecast in roles as either an ice-queen or a pretty girl who thinks she’s better than you. For all we know, she may have a broader acting range and talents that we don’t get to see. Just look at Brian Austin Green; he was typecast for years because of his role in Beverly Hills 90210, but the stuff he pulled out if his hat for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was gold. Dan Aykroyd is not a fool and I think its a good idea that he’s thinking out of the box.
There’s a long list of actors who weren’t given a chance by fans of a genre who ended up surprising them in the end with stellar work. Let’s see what happens in GB3 first before making a final judgment.
If done well I would be cool with a gal Ghostbuster. As for the Extreme Ghostbusters? Sure it did not even come close to the brilliance pre Coulier’s Venkman of the Real Ghostbusters and Ok the X-Treme multi-cultural Super-pals was more than obnoxious. However if you can look beyond those two flaws generally the stories were creepier, the monsters less goofy, and characters did develop (however little). Personally, I thought Extreme was a fine cartoon. Heck, The DVD set would have been perfect had they switched out those vomit inducing Slimer cartoons for Extreme GB!
So the leader will be female. Previously Aykroyd said that it will be “an individual that you’ll all love when you hear who it is, but I’m not going to tell you now.”
Who ever said they should remake the first one, should be shunned from their fandom. That would be like Remaking the Godfather, with all new actors, new writers, and new director. sounds great, huh?
and the new Star Trek is a PREQUEL, not a remake.
I dont know how i feel about these ideas. Dan’s really spontaneous when it comes to ideas, he’s like a little kid in a toy store, ‘i want this! and i want this! oo! and i want this!”
I love the man dearly, and think he’s a creative genius. But he lets his creative juices run a little too over the mill. I mean without Harold’s input, we’d have “The Adventures of the GhostSmashers In Space”.
well, it’s not like it would pleas EVERYBODY…or even 75% of the population, with all these people out there having their own pre-conceived notions and idiosyncrocies and whatever…
What Dan talks about now is no different than his original ideas for the first film.
“and the new Star Trek is a PREQUEL, not a remake”
Heh, it’s not even really a prequel if you think about it. To avoid spoilers for those who haven’t seen it, I’ll just leave it at that.
I wouldn’t mind a female leader, but it is dependent on getting the right woman. I’ve seen people other places suggest Anna Faris and a choice like that is something I feel would be terrible. That’s just because I’m too used to her playing dumb blondes though.
I am fine with everything except the inter-dimensional travel thing. Thats just not Ghostbusters. I think doing that would just take away from the film and give reason why a third movie should never be made. I say if they do make this third one, which God knows I hope they do, new recruits (Fine! As long as its just 4 or 5 not a whole army of GBs, I mean honestly they could barely afford being in business with just the 4 of them), Female leader (Fine! I’m all about women with power), Inter-dimensional travel( NO! Not gonna work scrap the project!)
I think the key is to enter in subtle changes between the movies to slowly progress it to the crazy things that don’t feel like GB. I think Extreme GB isn’t that bad in that it didn’t fall too far away from the original concept. New weapons were not introduced, only different designs for the previous. Now we have Slime Tethers and miniature suns and black matter bombs or some such in the upcoming game. Not even EGB messed with the tech that much. I think maybe Dan still would like to see his original “Ghostbusters in space and time” idea and may be trying to gradually build up to that in some sort of “400 years after 1984 Ghostbusters” plot. Hey, just a thought. I’d love to see that, by the way, but it would be a possible future scenario. What makes Ghostbusters great and work so well is that it is set in a realistic world almost exactly like our own. Obviously there is too great of a jump between the original movie and Dan’s original futuristic idea, and for many fans this is like placing a fish from cold water into hot water. So, don’t worry. Ramis and maybe some of the others helped tone down Dan’s ideas back down to reality, so they’ll do it again. Besides, GB can’t stay the same forever. If Sony keeps putting out more stories, movies, or games like the one this June, the GB franchise has got to grow in tech, staff, and plot sometime or it’ll only be running on fumes.
Any Ghostbusters movie which follows a new team will be completely missing the entire reason why most people loved ghostbusters in the first place!
Sure, we all loved the proton pack, the ghosts, the theme tune etc but more importantly it was those characters.
PETER VENKMAN
RAY STANTZ
EGON SPENGLER
WINSTON ZEDDMORE
It was THESE characters! They were so well differentiated from one another yet all instantly likeable in their own way. The group dymanic worked perfectly.
If something isn’t broken there is no need to fix it… or change it.
So I say, let’s just have one more Ghostbusters movie starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson!