Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Short description
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire continues the story of the Spengler family, who leave Oklahoma behind and return to New York City, settling into the same firehouse that the original Ghostbusters once used as their headquarters. There they join forces with the surviving members of the original team, who have set up a secret research laboratory to push ghost-catching in new directions. Their work is disrupted when an ancient artifact is uncovered and releases a hostile power, leaving both generations of Ghostbusters to defend their home and prevent a catastrophic new ice age.
The film is directed by Gil Kenan, his fifth feature after Monster House, City of Ember, Poltergeist and A Boy Called Christmas, and was written by Kenan with Jason Reitman. Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon and Finn Wolfhard reprise their roles as the Spengler family and Gary Grooberson, while Dan Aykroyd returns as Ray Stantz and Kumail Nanjiani joins the cast as Nadeem. The production involved 57 credited cast members and 88 credited crew, and was mounted on a budget of about 100 million dollars. It went on to earn roughly 202 million dollars worldwide, a modest return against its cost.
Audience response has been mixed to favourable: the film holds a rating of 6.1 out of 10 on IMDb from around 105,000 votes, and 6.4 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 2,300 votes. By comparison, critics were less enthusiastic, giving it 5.2 out of 10 across 304 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The garbage ghost, Buggy, was created using practical effects (meaning physical techniques to create visual illusions; these involve the use of actual props, makeup, models, miniatures, pyrotechnics, animatronics, and other material methods).
- Director and screenwriter Gil Kenan confirmed that Ivan Reitman (who passed away in February 2022, three months before Sony officially announced work on this sequel) was aware of the intention to make this film while he was alive. Kenan and Jason Reitman (screenwriter) shared their plans for this film with the director of the original films in the franchise, and he approved them and even shared some thoughts regarding the script.
- The film was originally scheduled for release in the US on December 20, 2023, but due to a labor dispute between the actors' union SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in 2023, the release date was postponed to March 29, 2024.
- Rick Moranis retired from acting in 1997 and has now refused to return to the role of Louis Tully, which he played in the films of the franchise.
- A significant portion of the film was shot in the pavilions of British film studios. British actor James Acaster was cast in the role of Lars, as hiring local actors was among the requirements for filmmakers applying for preferential tax status.
- The film features 1,400 visual effects. Jeffrey Baumann was responsible for the special effects. Working on the film gave him the rare opportunity to return to the early days of special effects in cinema, while applying the latest advances in science and technology to make the corresponding shots believable. Old-fashioned special effects were used in the film, for example, in scenes with the appearance and disappearance of smoke, a remote-controlled vacuum cleaner, and a tricycle. Baumann particularly enjoyed working with puppeteers and special effects artists.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
