‘Ghostbusters 3′ gets a new writing team

The long-in-development "Ghostbusters 3" appears to be getting a new lease on life. When series star Bill "Venkman" Murray put the kibosh on the film over what he believed was a sub par script, it appeared that the project was dead. But Murray's dissatisfaction hasn't deterred Dan Aykroyd (a.k.a. Ray Stanz) from soldiering on with "Ghostbusters 3."

The writer and co-star of the first two "Ghostbusters" movies has been the driving force behind the potential third film, and at a recent autograph session the Canadian-born actor revealed that the movie is still very much alive and in the hands of a new writing team.

"We've got a new writing staff working on it now. It's got to be perfect," Aykroyd told New York's WIVB while promoting his Crystal Head brand of vodka. "There's no point in doing it unless it's perfect."

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"Year Zero" scribes Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg were responsible for the previous script, so it's a safe bet that a new writing team means that the pair are no longer involved. While Aykroyd didn't actually name his "new writing staff," chances are they're at least a semi-known quantity in Hollywood.

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Aykroyd's statements seemed to echo recent comments made by Murray on the Late Show with David Letterman. "You know, you just gotta have a really good script. It's hard," the "Moonrise Kingdom" star told Letterman. "Even the second 'Ghostbusters' wasn't as much fun for me as the first one. It's hard to make a sequel. It's gotta be really funny, and that first one was just so darn funny."

See also: Why is everybody so excited about 'Ghostbusters 3'?

Though obviously not enthusiastic as Aykroyd, Murray seemed hopeful about the project. "I think… We'll try again. I always drag my feet on it."

Original "Ghostbusters" and "Ghostbusters 2" director Ivan Reitman is interested in directing the third film in the series. But he, like actor-turned-director Harold Ramis (who played Egon in the film), just wants the script to be as good as it can possibly be. The last thing anyone involved seems to want to do is exploit the franchise, which is an amazingly refreshing approach in this age of quick-buck sequel cash-ins.

Now, will someone please get Ernie "Winston" Hudson to weigh in on all of this?