Ghostbusters, INC aka Ghostbusters 3 - What Could Have Been
Good morning everyone! Welcome back to the Savin The Day blog! Today I am going to take you on a special look at what could have been one of the greatest things to ever have happened to the Ghostbusters franchise, Ghostbusters 3.
Now before I get fully started, I want to say this. Back in 2014, a draft of a script leaked online and it caused an uproar within the fandom. There were people claiming that it was a real and legit script, while others claimed it to be fake. Gene Stupnitsky even went as far to say, on Twitter, that it wasn't a legit script either. Now I personally don't know the legitimacy of said script, nor do I care to know. I will provide a copy of the script for those that would wish to read it, but this blog post is about looking at the concept of the original idea of Ghostbusters 3, so away we go!
So first off, the idea of Ghostbusters 3 dates back to 1989, every fan and kid wanted it to happen and so did Dan and Harold but the idea wasn't seriously entertained until well into the 1990s. The first draft of the proposed script was titled "Ghostbusters: Hellbent" and the short and dirty of the script was that the Ghostbusters were transported to hell and fought the devil himself. Dan had stated countless times that the studio was very interested in the script and producing it but the principal actors were not. It featured a new, younger group of Ghostbusters, while Ray, Egon, and Winston (who is referred to as Dr. Zeddemore) struggle to keep the business going after Peter leaves to be with Dana. Unfortunately, the project completely stalled for 8 years and in 1998, rumors of another draft and film started to swirl again but this time, there seemed to be concrete evidence in the way of Dan's filmography on the DVD of "Blues Brothers 2000" listing "Ghostbusters 3" with an IN PRODUCTION credit listed. This was sadly the last we would hear or see of the proposed third film.
So, with this last glimmer of hope gone and past, we all gave up hope of a third installment of our beloved franchise or so we thought.
In 2008, GameInformer broke news of a brand new "Ghostbusters" video game being produced that included all of the cast and the script was even being written by Dan and Harold. We all suddenly had hope once again, that maybe, just maybe the game would garner enough interest that the cast would rethink a third film especially since they managed to convince Bill to work on the game.
Well, 2009 came and the game was absolutely amazing, one of the greatest stories and immersive experiences for the franchise.... but unfortunately the hype didn't build high enough and there was no third film, yet again.
Then, in 2010 came another glimpse of hope and we waited on baited breath. On January 13, 2010, Reitman confirmed that he would be directing the film. In March, Murray appeared on Late Show with David Letterman and talked about his potential return to Ghostbusters III, stating "I'd do it only if my character was killed off in the first reel." In an interview with Coming Soon the next month, Murray said: "You know, maybe I should just do it. Maybe it'd be fun to do." In May 2010, Aykroyd said a release was set for Christmas 2012. In the October issue of Vanity Fair, Aykroyd gave an update on the status of the Ghostbusters III script, written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, writer-producers of The Office: "I’m working on the script now and those two—Stupnitsky and Eisenberg, wrote Bill the comic role of a lifetime, and the new Ghostbusters and the old are all well represented in it...we have a strong first draft that Harold and I will take back, and I’m very excited about working on it." Shortly after that interview, at the Spike TV Scream Awards, Murray appeared on the show to accept an award for Zombieland. He arrived on stage in full Ghostbusters gear, giving no statements regarding the film except, "I'm sorry; I don't mean anything by this, it's just all that was left that was clean."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters_(franchise)#Ghostbusters_3
Then in 2011, Dan was quoted in saying that the film was moving forward and production would start in 2012 with or without Bill's involvement and that we should remember that "Ghostbusters" was bigger than any one component. He also revealed minor details for Ramis' Egon Spengler and his own Ray Stantz characters' current statuses. "My character, Ray, is now blind in one eye and can't drive the Cadillac," he says, "He's got a bad knee and can't carry the packs... Egon is too large to get into the harness. We need young blood and that's the promise. We're gonna hand it to a new generation.... But there's going to be a casting. We're going to see everyone that wants to do it. We're going to need... three guys and a young woman." Then in December of that year, it was reported that Bill had received the script but shredded it and mailed it back with a note say "Noone wants to pay to see fat, old men chasing ghosts." Dan claimed that this wasn't true and that he was looking to recast the role of Peter Venkman but that he did want Rick Moranis to return for the role of Louis Tully.
Then, as if fate happened, in February of 2012, Dan was quoted saying that he was unsure if the third film would happen now and that it was considered to be in "suspended animation". The year of 2012 was again a year of constant ups and down on news of the third film. In April, Bill did talk about his involvement being a possiblity and in June he said that making a very good sequel was hard and that he has always been dragging his feet. Then in July, Dan said that the film was still in production and that there would be a new script written by a new team and that it had to be absolutely perfect because he didn't want to exploit the franchise.
Later in 2012, Dan came out and said that Bill no longer had any involvement with the production of the movie saying, "It's sad but we're passing it on to a new generation. Ghostbusters III can be a successful movie without Bill. My preference would be to have him involved but at this point he doesn't seem to be coming and we have to move on. It's time to make the third one." By September of that year however, Reitman had other ideas and was stated saying that a remake of the original film was very possible.
In May of 2013, Dan did an interview with Larry King where he gave away plot details of the third film, saying "We’re going to have to cast. We need four new ghostbusters. We need four new Columbia students. It’s based upon new research that’s being done in particle physics by the young men and women at Columbia University. Basically there’s research being done that...I can say that the world or our dimension that we live in, our four planes of existence, length, height, width, and time, become threatened by some of the research that is being done. And Ghostbusters, new Ghostbusters have to come and solve the problem.” Aykroyd said. When asked about Murray's status with the film, Aykroyd responded "He’s a good friend, I love him, but he just doesn’t want to reprise the role. However, there will be a hole for him. If Billy wants to walk in the door and be in the movie, we will find a place." Source
Then in June of 2013, Rick Moranis broke his silence and did an unprecedented interview about any involvement that he may have with the film, “I haven’t talked to Dan Aykroyd about it. Somebody he’s associated with called me and I said, ‘I wouldn’t not do it, but it’s got to be good.’ You know, I’m not interested in doing anything I’ve already done, and I thought the second one was a disappointment. But I guess I’m interested in where that guy is now. I sort of see him as being Bernie Madoff’s cellmate in jail. Both of them being so orderly that they race to get up and make their beds.” Source. But in October of 2013, Dan gave yet another interview on the status of the film, he confirmed that the script was being rewritten and that they would be bringing in a younger generation of Ghostbusters along with the original Ghostbusters (excluding Bill Murray) for the third film. He went on to say that they would not be writing off Bill's character or recasting him and that the door was always open should he reconsider.
Death of Harold Ramis
Things finally seemed to be on track for "Ghostbusters 3" and things looked great, or so we thought. But on February 24, 2014 everything changed. It was made known to the world that Harold Ramis had passed away and now that future of the third film was left questioned because how can you do a new film without one of the driving forces behind the scenes and a pivotal character? Though Sony Pictures insisted that Harold's involvement within the film was only a minimal cameo. Now the script would need to be reworked yet again and Ivan Reitman was to meet with execs at Sony to figure out how and where to go with the direction of the film with Harold's passing. On March 18, 2014, it was confirmed that Reitman would not be directing the new film but that he would remain on as a producer since Sony wanted to begin shooting in 2015. For the remainder of the year, potential directors came and went, would review the project and then pass on it. Sigourney Weaver even said that if the film would have taken place, that the character of Oscar would have been a Ghostbuster.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters_(franchise)#Ghostbusters_3
Then in 2011, Dan was quoted in saying that the film was moving forward and production would start in 2012 with or without Bill's involvement and that we should remember that "Ghostbusters" was bigger than any one component. He also revealed minor details for Ramis' Egon Spengler and his own Ray Stantz characters' current statuses. "My character, Ray, is now blind in one eye and can't drive the Cadillac," he says, "He's got a bad knee and can't carry the packs... Egon is too large to get into the harness. We need young blood and that's the promise. We're gonna hand it to a new generation.... But there's going to be a casting. We're going to see everyone that wants to do it. We're going to need... three guys and a young woman." Then in December of that year, it was reported that Bill had received the script but shredded it and mailed it back with a note say "Noone wants to pay to see fat, old men chasing ghosts." Dan claimed that this wasn't true and that he was looking to recast the role of Peter Venkman but that he did want Rick Moranis to return for the role of Louis Tully.
Then, as if fate happened, in February of 2012, Dan was quoted saying that he was unsure if the third film would happen now and that it was considered to be in "suspended animation". The year of 2012 was again a year of constant ups and down on news of the third film. In April, Bill did talk about his involvement being a possiblity and in June he said that making a very good sequel was hard and that he has always been dragging his feet. Then in July, Dan said that the film was still in production and that there would be a new script written by a new team and that it had to be absolutely perfect because he didn't want to exploit the franchise.
Later in 2012, Dan came out and said that Bill no longer had any involvement with the production of the movie saying, "It's sad but we're passing it on to a new generation. Ghostbusters III can be a successful movie without Bill. My preference would be to have him involved but at this point he doesn't seem to be coming and we have to move on. It's time to make the third one." By September of that year however, Reitman had other ideas and was stated saying that a remake of the original film was very possible.
In May of 2013, Dan did an interview with Larry King where he gave away plot details of the third film, saying "We’re going to have to cast. We need four new ghostbusters. We need four new Columbia students. It’s based upon new research that’s being done in particle physics by the young men and women at Columbia University. Basically there’s research being done that...I can say that the world or our dimension that we live in, our four planes of existence, length, height, width, and time, become threatened by some of the research that is being done. And Ghostbusters, new Ghostbusters have to come and solve the problem.” Aykroyd said. When asked about Murray's status with the film, Aykroyd responded "He’s a good friend, I love him, but he just doesn’t want to reprise the role. However, there will be a hole for him. If Billy wants to walk in the door and be in the movie, we will find a place." Source
Then in June of 2013, Rick Moranis broke his silence and did an unprecedented interview about any involvement that he may have with the film, “I haven’t talked to Dan Aykroyd about it. Somebody he’s associated with called me and I said, ‘I wouldn’t not do it, but it’s got to be good.’ You know, I’m not interested in doing anything I’ve already done, and I thought the second one was a disappointment. But I guess I’m interested in where that guy is now. I sort of see him as being Bernie Madoff’s cellmate in jail. Both of them being so orderly that they race to get up and make their beds.” Source. But in October of 2013, Dan gave yet another interview on the status of the film, he confirmed that the script was being rewritten and that they would be bringing in a younger generation of Ghostbusters along with the original Ghostbusters (excluding Bill Murray) for the third film. He went on to say that they would not be writing off Bill's character or recasting him and that the door was always open should he reconsider.
Death of Harold Ramis
Things finally seemed to be on track for "Ghostbusters 3" and things looked great, or so we thought. But on February 24, 2014 everything changed. It was made known to the world that Harold Ramis had passed away and now that future of the third film was left questioned because how can you do a new film without one of the driving forces behind the scenes and a pivotal character? Though Sony Pictures insisted that Harold's involvement within the film was only a minimal cameo. Now the script would need to be reworked yet again and Ivan Reitman was to meet with execs at Sony to figure out how and where to go with the direction of the film with Harold's passing. On March 18, 2014, it was confirmed that Reitman would not be directing the new film but that he would remain on as a producer since Sony wanted to begin shooting in 2015. For the remainder of the year, potential directors came and went, would review the project and then pass on it. Sigourney Weaver even said that if the film would have taken place, that the character of Oscar would have been a Ghostbuster.
Decision to reboot the series.
A year had passed and news for the new film had come to an end and Sony instead announced they would be rebooting the franchise with an all female cast (which caused an entire controversy within the fandom and I will not get into that) and with this news, the final nail was put into the "Ghostbusters 3" coffin.
In a 2016 interview with the director of the reboot film, Paul Feig, he said that Ivan Reitman had approached him to make a sequel to "Ghostbusters 2" which would have been "a movie that would have seen the original 'busters handing the keys of Ecto-1 over to a new team" but Feig disliked the idea. He then went on to say that he was later contacted by Amy Pascal and that he had already turned down doing the third film countless times so they both agreed that the best course of action was to proceed with a reboot of the franchise.
For 26 years, the future of a third film hung in the balance and when it was all said and done, things drug on to the point where one of the original cast members passed away and sealed the films fate.
We did finally get another film with the title of "Ghostbusters", but it's up to you to decide whether it is a worthy successor or not.
Thank you guys for taking the time to read and as always, head over to our main Facebook page and give us a like. We also have a Facebook group where fans can interact and discuss all topics of Ghostbusters.
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