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Wide Screen‘Ghostbusters 3′ delayed yet again
Who you gonna call? ...Nobody. At least, not for now.
After the recent and quite frankly disappointing news that Sony would be pushing ahead with "Ghostbusters 3" without star Bill Murray, there's some hope on the horizon for people who don't want to see a sequel go forward sans the deadpan Dr. Peter Venkman.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, production on "Ghostbusters 3" has been postponed indefinitely because of Sony's recent financial troubles. Writer/star Dan Aykroyd and filmmaker Ivan Reitman — who directed the first two "Ghostbusters" movies — had planned to finally begin shooting the long-in-"development hell" film this summer, but the difficulties of Sony Pictures' parent company have thrown everything into disarray. THR cites multiple sources in saying that the studio must wait until March 31 (the end of the fiscal year) before they can make a decision on "Ghostbusters 3" and a number of other high-profile projects.
For those who don't remember them, the Ghostbusters were a team of bungling Manhattan parapsychologists who make a business out of catching ghosts, ghouls, and other supernatural beings. Starring "Saturday Night Live" vets Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, as well as "SCTV" regulars Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis, the spooky 1984 comedy was a box office smash that spawned a toy line, a cartoon, and a 1989 sequel. Aykroyd has been trying to get a third film off the ground since the early 1990s, but the script was never up to Murray's standards. At one point, Murray even said he would only return if his character Venkman was a ghost.
Aykroyd's script reportedly featured a new generation of Ghostbusters being put through their paces by the original team, but that script has gone through numerous revisions over the years. More recently, "Year Zero" screenwriters Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg took a crack at the sequel before "Men in Black 3" scripter Etan Cohen was hired to give it a go over the summer. Apparently Murray didn't like Cohen's screenplay either, because just a few weeks ago it was announced that the "Ghostbuster 3" would go into production without him. Fed up with the actor's dillydallying, Aykroyd and Reitman gave Murray the boot, much to the disappointment of fans.
See also: Take the 'Ghostbusters' tour of New York City
Murray's comedic performances made the first two "Ghostbusters" movies the hits they were. Aykroyd, Ramis, and Ernie Hudson were all great as 'busters Ray Stanz, Egon Spengler and Winston Zedmore, respectively, but all the characters were at their funniest when they had Murray's Venkman to play off of. Aykroyd has always maintained that he wants the third "Ghostbusters" film to live up to the legacy and quality of the first two, but decision to go ahead without Murray makes the sequel look like nothing but a shameful cash grab.
There's still some faint hope that Murray might come around. The indefinite production delay means that "Ghostbusters 3" will not shoot next summer or maybe even next year at all. Perhaps the delay will give Aykroyd, Reitman, and Cohen time to rework the script to Murray's satisfaction and convince him to be a part of the film. Ghost or otherwise, it just wouldn't be "Ghostbusters" without Peter Venkman. It'll make the fans happy and it'll also make a lot of financial sense. Are you listening, Sony?
Post-Halloween bonus: Apparently the New York City firehall used in the first two "Ghostbusters" movies has a Halloween tradition sure to thrill 'busters fans. To get in the spooky spirit, the firefighters of New York City's Hook and Ladder No. 8 hang the sign used in "Ghostbusters 2" outside of the hall every Halloween.
