Ghostbusters
Short description
Three parapsychologists lose their university research funding and, with few options left, go into business for themselves as ghost removers in New York City. Their equipment is built by their own hands and their headquarters is an old firehouse, and at first the public treats them with scepticism. As supernatural disturbances multiply across the city, the team's theoretical knowledge of the paranormal is put to the test, and one of their first clients, a woman living in an apartment building in the West Central Park area, brings them into contact with a threat connected to something far older.
Ivan Reitman directed the film from a screenplay by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, and it was released in June 1984. It was the third of the fifteen films Reitman directed in chronological order, following Stripes in 1981 and preceding Legal Eagles in 1986. Bill Murray plays Dr. Peter Venkman, with Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond Stantz and Ramis as Dr. Egon Spengler. Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis and Ernie Hudson also appear. The film runs 105 minutes and was produced by Columbia Pictures with Delphi Films and Black Rhino Productions.
Made for a budget of 30 million USD, the film took about 297 million USD at the worldwide box office. It holds a rating of 7.8 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 485,000 votes, 7.5 out of 10 on TMDB from over 10,000 votes, and a critics' rating of 8.2 out of 10 from 83 reviews, so critics rated it more favourably than either audience body did.
What's left behind the scenes
- The role of Peter Venkman was written for John Belushi.
- The role of Winston was developed with Eddie Murphy in mind.
- Originally, the Ectomobile was supposed to be completely black. But after it was decided that a large portion of the filming would take place at night, the car was repainted white.
- The script was originally titled "Ghost Smashers".
- The demonic voice of Dana/Zuul belongs to Ivan Reitman.
- In the original version of the script, Harold Ramis's story took place in the future, on different planets. But Ivan Reitman said that such a film would cost $300 million (and that was in 1984), so the script had to be rewritten.
- The ghost known as "Slimer" was originally called "Lukogolov" (literally 'Onionhead') due to his bad breath.
- The building where Dana lives actually exists, but instead of 22 floors, it only has 20 (address: 55 Central Park West, New York).
- Gozer was originally intended to appear as a man in a business suit and was to be played by Paul Reubens, but he turned down the role. Similarly, punk rocker Ann Carlisle also refused the role of Zuul.
- Christopher Walken, John Lithgow, Jeff Goldblum, and Christopher Lloyd were all considered for the role of Egon.
- Michael Keaton was also offered the role of Peter Venkman, and after he turned it down, he was offered the role of Egon. Keaton refused that role as well. Chevy Chase was another contender. He turned it down, later explaining that he was given a rough draft of the script which was dark and frightening.
- The role of Louis (played by Rick Moranis) was intended for John Candy, but he declined after his ideas about the character were rejected by Ivan Reitman.
- Harold Ramis didn't want to act in the film, only to help Ackroyd with the script. But the role suited Ramis so well that he decided to play it, although he had previously focused mainly on screenwriting and directing.
- According to the script, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was initially supposed to appear against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty to demonstrate the size difference, but this scene was deemed too difficult to film and had to be removed from the script.
- The filmmakers were unable to postpone the release date, and in the summer of 1984, a ‘raw’ version of the film with unfinished special effects and some plot inaccuracies was released in the United States. Fortunately, audiences ignored these flaws and brought the filmmakers decent box office receipts.
- To generate interest in the film, director Ivan Reitman embarked on a rather interesting venture. An advertisement was launched in which the traditional “555” prefix for movie phone numbers was replaced with a regular “1-800”. Curious viewers who called this number could hear a specially recorded message performed by Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. For six weeks, around 1000 calls were received on this number every hour.
- The title song from the movie, written by Ray Parker Jr., topped the Billboard charts for three weeks.
- Steve Guttenberg could have played Peter Venkman, but he chose to work on "Police Academy" (1984) instead of "Ghostbusters".
- In fact, in 1982, Ivan Reitman planned to film "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (with Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd), but instead made "Ghostbusters".
- The film's sets used an existing set from "Rich and Famous." Gozer's temple was built separately and was one of the most complex sets to film at the time.
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