Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters (1984)

Timing: 1:47 (107 min)

7.494/10
9648

7.963/10
214452

7.8/10
485000

All about film

Video 48

Photo 339

Actors and characters

Release date

1984-06-08

Country

United States

Production

Columbia Pictures, Delphi Films, Black Rhino Productions

Genre

Comedy, Fantasy

Budget

$30 000 000

Revenue

$282 242 989

Website

http://www.ghostbusters.com/

Director

Ivan Reitman

Actors

Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Ernie Hudson, Slavitza Jovan, David Margulies
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Ivan Reitman, Michael C. Gross, Joe Medjuck, Bernie Brillstein

Operator

László Kovács

Composer

Elmer Bernstein

Artist

Audition

Karen Rea

Editing

Sheldon Kahn, David E. Blewitt
All team (56)

• The filmmakers were unable to postpone the release date, and a "rough" version of the film with unfinished special effects and some plot inaccuracies was released in the US in the summer of 1984. Fortunately, audiences overlooked these flaws and brought the filmmakers decent box office receipts.
• The role of Peter Venkman was written for John Belushi.
• The role of Winston was developed with Eddie Murphy in mind.
• To build anticipation for the film, director Ivan Reitman embarked on a rather interesting venture. A commercial was launched where the traditional '555' prefix for movie phone numbers was replaced with a standard '1-800' number. 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 film, written by Ray Parker Jr., topped the Billboard charts for three weeks.
• 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.
• Steve Guttenberg could have played Peter Venkman, but he chose to work on "Police Academy" (1984) instead of "Ghostbusters".
• The script was originally titled "Ghost Smashers".
• 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 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.
• The film's sets utilized an existing set from the film "Rich and Famous." Gozer's temple was built separately and was one of the most complex sets to film at the time.
• 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.