Discuss all things Ghostbusters here, unless they would be better suited in one of the few forums below.
#4982472
One detail I didn't catch until watching Ghostbusters again for years was in one montage scene there's a shot of Ray leading his team out with an enormous crowd following them as he holds onto a smoking ghost trap, in front of which is the Sedgewick Hotel with its distinctive doors, where Peter said the line, "No job is too small; no fee too great". I can't believe I missed such an important detail all these years!
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#4982619
Not sure where else to put this (mods please place accordingly if I am wrong):

Finally watched the Preview Cut yesterday and it obviously had a lot of temp sound effects etc.

Anyway the temp sound effect for the PKE meter is a slightly pitch altered Star Trek TOS Tricorder.
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#4983862
I'd never noticed the "Ghost Busters Pinch Punk Poltergeist" newspaper clipping until yesterday, when I spotted it during Peck's first appearance and again during Egon's investigation of Louis!
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#4983985
jonogunn wrote: June 18th, 2023, 6:25 am I'm not 100% sure but I just noticed that these people here might not be extras but pedestrian onlookers taking in the filming.

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You could very well be right. The stories go that due to their fame from SNL, crowds gathered wherever Dan and Bill went in NYC.

However, let me add one other possibility.

Between Aykroyd and Murray in the full frame from which your image is cropped you can see a statue off in the distance. Her name is Alma Mater and she's on the steps of the Low Memorial Library. You also see that statue from behind in the opening title animation.

When I visited the campus of Columbia in 2014, we were right near where those people in your screenshot are standing, filming the Alma Mater statue, when a voice said "Excuse me" and three tour groups all came down the steps of the Low Memorial Library.

So those folks could theoretically just be a 1984 tour group.

Here's the video where I mention the tours. Jump to the 1:38 mark.



But, in truth, it would be very irresponsible filmmaking to frame the shot with a tour group visible on camera. The moment they leave and you need to cut from one take to another, there'd be a continuity error when they disappear.

In fact now that I reflect on it, I've spent some time comparing multiple takes of various background extras in GB and GBII. Once you start watching them, you begin to see how orchestrated every movement is. They don't repeat exactly, but within a certain parameter, you see them go through their little bits of business.

For example, when the busters and Dana are investigating the street where Oscar's buggy had stopped, you can see a jogger waiting at the corner for the green 'walk' signal, a guy selling Christmas trees, skiers with their skis over their shoulders, etc. All hitting their marks at roughly the same moment each time, take after take, in repeated subtle variations on a theme.

So Ivan Reitman and company didn't just sculpt the foreground action of the main characters, but specific decisions were being made about the background extras, who had to also perform their actions somewhat consistently for every take.

[There's even an urban myth on the first film that the long-haired guy just wandered into the shot when the reporter was talking about the spectral locomotive. But one 1985 source specifies that both the reporter and the onlooker were actors hired for the shot.]

Arranging the extras in this way is a precaution for the eventual cutting-together of the movies from different takes and different angles. The more consistent the background action is, the easier it is to intercut without as many continuity errors.

Whoever those folks back there were, I'd bet Ivan Reitman or at the very least cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs definitely knew about them and wanted them in the shot.

Alex
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#4983990
robbritton wrote: June 18th, 2023, 7:15 am I'd never noticed the "Ghost Busters Pinch Punk Poltergeist" newspaper clipping until yesterday, when I spotted it during Peck's first appearance and again during Egon's investigation of Louis!
That one was easy to miss on VHS, and even on DVD, but I took my sons to some big-screen showings of the film when they were younger and spotted it. I got a chuckle out of what I assumed then was a phrase the set dresser came up with while fabricating the prop newspapers.

However, this wording can be traced all the way back to Aykroyd and Ramis, as I recently noticed it's apparently a remnant of an unused concept from the September 1983 draft of the script.

"77B EXT. THE MUD CLUB - DAY 77B

The Ghostbusters emerge from a New Wave club. Stantz is
holding a trap. A group of strangely dressed punks with
very unusual haircuts watches as they stow their gear in
the back of the ambulance. Three of the punks are dressed
in futuristic jumpsuits and Devo helmets that bear some
resemblance to the Ghostbusters' own uniforms. The punks
and the Ghostbusters stare at each other. Headline:

GHOSTBUSTERS PINCH PUNK POLTERGEIST"

Alex
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#4984005
Alex Newborn wrote: June 22nd, 2023, 6:12 am
robbritton wrote: June 18th, 2023, 7:15 am I'd never noticed the "Ghost Busters Pinch Punk Poltergeist" newspaper clipping until yesterday, when I spotted it during Peck's first appearance and again during Egon's investigation of Louis!
That one was easy to miss on VHS, and even on DVD, but I took my sons to some big-screen showings of the film when they were younger and spotted it. I got a chuckle out of what I assumed then was a phrase the set dresser came up with while fabricating the prop newspapers.

However, this wording can be traced all the way back to Aykroyd and Ramis, as I recently noticed it's apparently a remnant of an unused concept from the September 1983 draft of the script.

"77B EXT. THE MUD CLUB - DAY 77B

The Ghostbusters emerge from a New Wave club. Stantz is
holding a trap. A group of strangely dressed punks with
very unusual haircuts watches as they stow their gear in
the back of the ambulance. Three of the punks are dressed
in futuristic jumpsuits and Devo helmets that bear some
resemblance to the Ghostbusters' own uniforms. The punks
and the Ghostbusters stare at each other. Headline:

GHOSTBUSTERS PINCH PUNK POLTERGEIST"

Alex
Another thing totally new to me! Fascinating, thank you Alex!
Alex Newborn liked this
#4984007
robbritton wrote: Another thing totally new to me! Fascinating, thank you Alex!
Agreed, very cool. About where on the wall/time stamp did you see them, robbritton?

There's a similar connection among those clippings on the 2nd floor when Janine goes to make some coffee during Louis/Vinz's interview. When Egon takes Louis's wallet from Janine, left of Egon's right shoulder are several articles on the wall. Above the red clipping is one with the headline, "Spook Squashed at Racquet Club." In the August 5, 1983 draft, at the start of the montage on page 63, the Ghostbusters emerge from the New York Health and Racquet Club and Winston holds up a Trap. The headline is the same, "Spook Squashed at Racquet Club." Then in the September 30, 1983 draft, at the start of the montage on page 61, the Ghostbusters emerge from the New York Health and Racquet Club and this time Peter holds up a Trap. The headline is the same, "Spook Squashed at Racquet Club."

Those clippings and the ones in Peter's office... ain't no better reason to build a time machine just to go back in time to take hi-res photographs of all of them.
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#4984011
mrmichaelt wrote: June 23rd, 2023, 1:14 am
robbritton wrote: Another thing totally new to me! Fascinating, thank you Alex!
Agreed, very cool. About where on the wall/time stamp did you see them, robbritton?
First time is at 46:19 in Venkman's office, to the right of the vintage Hook and Ladder picture, and then throughout that scene. Later you can see it at various points upstairs (1:01:45 for example), but it is blurry here - you get a clear view at 1:02:09. These times are correct by the YouTube version.

Coincidentally grabbing these times is the first time I've seen the Racquet Club clipping myself!

Also spotted at 1:01:34, as Janine begins to make coffee, is a smaller clipping at the bottom of the wall that reads 'Ghost stoppers pinch punk poltergeist'. The set dressers clearly had a thing for those punk poltergeists!
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#4984012
robbritton wrote: June 23rd, 2023, 5:32 amFirst time is at 46:19 in Venkman's office, to the right of the vintage Hook and Ladder picture, and then throughout that scene. Later you can see it at various points upstairs (1:01:45 for example), but it is blurry here - you get a clear view at 1:02:09. These times are correct by the YouTube version.

Coincidentally grabbing these times is the first time I've seen the Racquet Club clipping myself!

Also spotted at 1:01:34, as Janine begins to make coffee, is a smaller clipping at the bottom of the wall that reads 'Ghost stoppers pinch punk poltergeist'. The set dressers clearly had a thing for those punk poltergeists!
Thanks, I got 'em. Ha ha, in any case, bless those set dressers.
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#4984188
I've seen this movie probably a thousand times since I saw it in the theater as a kid and I just recently noticed the maid at the hotel putting out a little fire with a spray bottle. It's a hilarious little detail, and I can't believe I missed it.
#4984211
Mason/G\Buster wrote: June 28th, 2023, 3:56 pm Winston is only paid $11,500 dollars a year.

I never bothered to clarify what he said before the cross-the-streams scene. :whatever:
$11,500 in 1984 is worth $33,661.79 today. Lower than the mean average for a male but a ok salary especially for a job not requiring any qualifications or experience (at the time). Winston has clearly done alright for himself since though.
By Evilchumlee
#4984337
dKiD Clue wrote: January 25th, 2011, 12:06 pm all the leg hose errors are funny , truly makes me believe they had no idea the uniforms would become so damn popular
A decade later reply but...

...they didn't think the movie would be so damn popular.

They clearly thought they were making a fun, kind of throwaway dumb movie. I don't think anyone involved thought anyone would be talking about it 40 years later.
#4984347
Evilchumlee wrote:...they didn't think the movie would be so damn popular.

They clearly thought they were making a fun, kind of throwaway dumb movie. I don't think anyone involved thought anyone would be talking about it 40 years later.

Certainly, there's no way they could've known just how massive Ghostbusters would become, but I think they had an inkling it would be fairly huge. Ivan talked about seeing them in their uniforms for the first time, and he had a feeling they were on to something big.
#4989974
Always found it interesting how on the approach to the Shandor building during the 'savin the day' sequence, Ecto's lights appear to be all turned off. I always thought it was a trick of the light or the camera angle but you can easily see the police car emergency lights in front of ecto illuminated.

Image

Another little error in that sequence is when ecto stops, Peter gets out then Winston gets out and goes towards the back of the car, the camera angle changes then Winston is again getting out of the car.
#4989985
This thread is so long. We should maybe have like a top 10 by votes :)

IMO the single best "how did I miss that" of GB1984 is something that was so obvious but took me like 30 years to notice. It's the subtlest gag but so effective.

It's when Louis is having his party and is talking to Dana in the corridor trying to invite her.

The moment the door shuts behind him you clearly hear someone locking the door after it shuts. It's genius.
User avatar
By Kingpin
#4989989
One time wrote: December 29th, 2023, 5:31 pm The moment the door shuts behind him you clearly hear someone locking the door after it shuts. It's genius.
I always interpretted it as the door locking automatically, rather than someone locking him out.
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#4990000
Kingpin wrote: December 29th, 2023, 6:58 pm
One time wrote: December 29th, 2023, 5:31 pm The moment the door shuts behind him you clearly hear someone locking the door after it shuts. It's genius.
I always interpretted it as the door locking automatically, rather than someone locking him out.
Same - it’s part of the running gag of the Keymaster being foiled by every lock and the Gatekeeper forever shutting doors in people’s faces. If someone else locks it, the gag doesn’t quite work as well.
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#4990009
Kingpin wrote: December 29th, 2023, 6:58 pm
One time wrote: December 29th, 2023, 5:31 pm The moment the door shuts behind him you clearly hear someone locking the door after it shuts. It's genius.
I always interpretted it as the door locking automatically, rather than someone locking him out.
Listen to it again. You clearly hear a double lock, i.e. it is being locked with a key.
User avatar
By Kingpin
#4990013
One time wrote: December 30th, 2023, 9:00 pm Listen to it again. You clearly hear a double lock, i.e. it is being locked with a key.
I've just watched the scene with headphones.
There's the sound of the door slamming as it shuts behind Louis, then there's the crinkle of Dana's paper bag when she starts saying "Well I... I...".
-I think that's what you're interpretting as the sound of someone locking the door behind Louis.
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#4990015
One time wrote: December 30th, 2023, 9:00 pm Listen to it again. You clearly hear a double lock, i.e. it is being locked with a key.
So then, who locked the door behind him the other two times he was locked out earlier in the film? Or does he just have a self-locking door?

Or are you suggesting Louis has a roommate we never saw? Wait...he said he used to have a roommate but "his mom moved to Florida". Was his mother there the whole time? Did she deliberately lock him out every time he went into the hallway to speak to Dana? :lol:

(I'm leaning towards a self-locking door personally, seeing as that's what the script seems to suggest).
#4990029
prodestrian wrote: December 31st, 2023, 5:10 am
One time wrote: December 30th, 2023, 9:00 pm Listen to it again. You clearly hear a double lock, i.e. it is being locked with a key.
So then, who locked the door behind him the other two times he was locked out earlier in the film? Or does he just have a self-locking door?

Or are you suggesting Louis has a roommate we never saw? Wait...he said he used to have a roommate but "his mom moved to Florida". Was his mother there the whole time? Did she deliberately lock him out every time he went into the hallway to speak to Dana? :lol:

(I'm leaning towards a self-locking door personally, seeing as that's what the script seems to suggest).
The way I hear it is that the door closes (which prevents it opening from the outside), but then right after there is the sound of someone locking it with a double cylinder lock. The locking sounds go on for about a second after the door closes.

You may experience and hear the scene otherwise.
#4990059
One time wrote: December 31st, 2023, 8:30 pm The way I hear it is that the door closes (which prevents it opening from the outside), but then right after there is the sound of someone locking it with a double cylinder lock. The locking sounds go on for about a second after the door closes.
You may experience and hear the scene otherwise.
We must be watching different editions of the film, all I hear is the clear crinkling of Dana's paper bag before and after the door shuts, including when she's inside her apartment and grabs a handful of (whatever food it is) as she walks across her room. Maybe the foley engineer who did the surround sound mix thought he'd add his own joke into your specific edition of the film? :lol:

Joking aside, I can hear the specific sound you're talking about, and in any other context I could plausibly believe that it's the sound of a lock. But after isolating the Blu-ray 7.1 channels and narrowing it to just that spot, it's definitely a crinkling paper bag.

It's identical to the crinkling sounds before/during/after the door closing:
Image

I'm 100% confident on this one. You're free to believe what you want though, just as long as "You can clearly hear someone locking the door behind Louis" doesn't make it's way onto a GB trivia list, because it's wrong.

Just like how people keep posting "Fun fact: The bookshelf which fell over during the library scene was an accident but the cast kept filming" (despite the fact that this is IN THE SCRIPT :lol: ).
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#4990061
prodestrian wrote: January 1st, 2024, 5:36 pm
One time wrote: December 31st, 2023, 8:30 pm The way I hear it is that the door closes (which prevents it opening from the outside), but then right after there is the sound of someone locking it with a double cylinder lock. The locking sounds go on for about a second after the door closes.
You may experience and hear the scene otherwise.
We must be watching different editions of the film, all I hear is the clear crinkling of Dana's paper bag before and after the door shuts, including when she's inside her apartment and grabs a handful of (whatever food it is) as she walks across her room. Maybe the foley engineer who did the surround sound mix thought he'd add his own joke into your specific edition of the film? :lol:

Joking aside, I can hear the specific sound you're talking about, and in any other context I could plausibly believe that it's the sound of a lock. But after isolating the Blu-ray 7.1 channels and narrowing it to just that spot, it's definitely a crinkling paper bag.

It's identical to the crinkling sounds before/during/after the door closing:
Image

I'm 100% confident on this one. You're free to believe what you want though, just as long as "You can clearly hear someone locking the door behind Louis" doesn't make it's way onto a GB trivia list, because it's wrong.

Just like how people keep posting "Fun fact: The bookshelf which fell over during the library scene was an accident but the cast kept filming" (despite the fact that this is IN THE SCRIPT :lol: ).
You are right! It was the paper all along. I knew there was a sound there but it was the crumpling of the paper. Thanks for putting that right.

A shame though, it would have made a good gag!
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#4990068
One time wrote: January 1st, 2024, 6:37 pm You are right! It was the paper all along. I knew there was a sound there but it was the crumpling of the paper. Thanks for putting that right.

A shame though, it would have made a good gag!
Haha honestly I'd never even noticed the crinkling sound before, at least once a month I find myself opening up the audio tracks to see what's in the background but never listened to that part of the film before.

As far as I know we still haven't solved the mystery of "what is Dana eating?" though. Is it potato chips? Freshly roasted cashew nuts? Maybe we'll never know :lol:
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#4990396
prodestrian wrote: January 1st, 2024, 5:36 pmYou're free to believe what you want though, just as long as "You can clearly hear someone locking the door behind Louis" doesn't make it's way onto a GB trivia list, because it's wrong.

Just like how people keep posting "Fun fact: The bookshelf which fell over during the library scene was an accident but the cast kept filming" (despite the fact that this is IN THE SCRIPT :lol: ).
I had to make sure this post wasn't something I'd written and forgotten about it. It's completely in my style. Glad to see someone else arrive at the conclusion that it was the foley on Dana's paper bag. (Which I always assumed was popcorn from a street vendor, though I have no idea why that option popped to mind as a kid.)

In particular, the falling bookcase urban myth is one of my long-standing Ghostbusters pet peeves. In fact, it's one of my personal favorite GB Pet Peeves videos I ever posted, five years ago.



Keep fighting the urban myths. Some days you'll feel like a pebble in a rushing torrent, but every once in a while you see a post like this and you'll feel like maybe you diverted the flow just slightly after all.

Alex
Last edited by Kingpin on January 12th, 2024, 12:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.Reason: Fixed youtube link
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#4993359
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Something I basically only ever noticed tonight (though id guess its been mentioned before), in the Stay Puft reveal scene is Bill Bryan only wearing the head of the costume and a random t shirt? I've never picked up on this before but somehow spotted it tonight.
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