Discuss all things Ghostbusters here, unless they would be better suited in one of the few forums below.
#4974307
RichardLess wrote:The book says Judd Apatow signed on to produce GB3 in 2009 and then never mentions it again. Where did that come from? Was it a misprint?
In early 2008, there was a rumor Apatow was a producer. I think this stemmed from his past collaboration(s) with Lee Eisenberg and Greg Stupnitsky like on Year One. And supposedly there was a Production Weekly listing that had Apatow as a producer. By spring 2009, even the head of Sony was debunking Apatow's involvement. It was general concluded the production listing was faked.
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#4974308
mrmichaelt wrote: November 7th, 2022, 11:22 pm
RichardLess wrote:The book says Judd Apatow signed on to produce GB3 in 2009 and then never mentions it again. Where did that come from? Was it a misprint?
In early 2008, there was a rumor Apatow was a producer. I think this stemmed from his past collaboration(s) with Lee Eisenberg and Greg Stupnitsky like on Year One. And supposedly there was a Production Weekly listing that had Apatow as a producer. By spring 2009, even the head of Sony was debunking Apatow's involvement. It was general concluded the production listing was faked.
Did I miss the part where the book mentions those details? I just remember it saying “In 2009 Apatow has signed on as Producer” or something to that effect and then never mentioned why Judd left the production or what the deal is. If I missed that bit then that’s my bad.
#4974309
RichardLess wrote: November 8th, 2022, 12:09 am Did I miss the part where the book mentions those details? I just remember it saying “In 2009 Apatow has signed on as Producer” or something to that effect and then never mentioned why Judd left the production or what the deal is. If I missed that bit then that’s my bad.
Nope, the book does not mention those details. It indeed only mentioned that one line. The truth, so far, is Apatow was never involved on Ghostbusters III and that was a mistake in the book unless Greene has a new source to refute the head of Sony and neglected to include it in the book.
#4974324
mrmichaelt wrote: November 8th, 2022, 12:50 am
RichardLess wrote: November 8th, 2022, 12:09 am Did I miss the part where the book mentions those details? I just remember it saying “In 2009 Apatow has signed on as Producer” or something to that effect and then never mentioned why Judd left the production or what the deal is. If I missed that bit then that’s my bad.
Nope, the book does not mention those details. It indeed only mentioned that one line. The truth, so far, is Apatow was never involved on Ghostbusters III and that was a mistake in the book unless Greene has a new source to refute the head of Sony and neglected to include it in the book.
So what did you think of the book overall? What grade or number out of 10 would you give it?

I really would’ve liked more contemporary interviews to go along with the book. Dennis Murren? Richard Edlund? The book says so little about them.

I have to say some of the GB3 stuff sounded awful. Battling a giant baby? It was also interesting reading a couple people that worked on GB16 shitting on the finished film. You don’t see that everyday.
#4974325
RichardLess wrote: November 8th, 2022, 8:49 pm So what did you think of the book overall? What grade or number out of 10 would you give it?
Ah well, since I admin at the GB Wiki, I don't know how objective I can be when it comes to these GB history books. I'm mixed on it. I'd give it a 6 or 7. There wasn't anything mindblowing but Greene mined a lot of new tidbits along the way and gives a bit more structure to some things like the history of GBIII.

However, it got a bit imbalanced with the portrayal of Bill and Ivan like revealing/implying Bill blew off the TVG crew in South Carolina to stalk his soon-to-be ex-wife or anecdotes about Ivan being a jerk on the set. But that stuff I don't really care about, the making of the movies do. All that backstory padded the book between the big chapters but I guess he or the publisher felt there had to be context for the uninitiated.

Annoyed but not shocked the book glazed over the cartoons or the comics. They tend to get the short shrift in these kind of books. Was perplexed why there wasn't anything new about Answer The Call or Afterlife. ATC drifted into a commentary spiel on the zeitgeist in 2016. Was hoping for a lot of discussion about early drafts of ATC.

I'm intrigued about Chevy Chase. When Enriquez says he was brought in, he was asked to board a scene of "in which a ghost seduces Chase." That was June 1983. Were they considering Chase for Ray or Peter? Either way that's kinda shocking. I thought Dan always had himself as Ray and Bill was pretty much set as Peter OR did they consider Chevy as a back up? But that was classy of Donna Dixon to turn down the offer for Dana. Intriguing Michael McKean auditioned for Louis between Candy and Moranis. Or Carlisle denies she turned down Gozer. Or WOW! The bums Dan and Bill played were briefly recast with an actor who later become one of the cops and ROBERT ENGLUND!

It was intriguing to learn Bill brought in Elaine May to consult on the GBII script. Would have loved to learn more about that. Or man, they wanted Dustin Hoffman for the character that became Janosz. Or Bill's fight in the courtroom set? Geez. Was bummed but it made sense Elmer Bernstein passed on GB2 because he didn't want to be typecasted.

Was neat to learn some of the EGB were named after people or how they got approval to use the GB song down to the wire.

TVG, some interesting bits like they wanted to use Janosz or they considered Louis as the 5th GB. Thought of writing Peter off as being in LA starting up a new franchise and they even were going to use Vince Vaughn as a stand-in to voice Peter.

I'm curious how involved Ghost Corps/Sony was involved with the making of this book. It didn't seem like they were.
RichardLess wrote: November 8th, 2022, 8:49 pm I really would’ve liked more contemporary interviews to go along with the book. Dennis Murren? Richard Edlund? The book says so little about them.
Yeah, that was a surprise there wasn't much new from Boss or ILM. But the Bueno docs fill that gap and I presume Too Hot To Handle will have a lot of new content from ILM crew interviews.
RichardLess wrote: November 8th, 2022, 8:49 pm I have to say some of the GB3 stuff sounded awful. Battling a giant baby?
Yeah, the baby I agree with Sony balking at. lol. It was cool learning more about the various GBIII stories like the part of Ray and Egon's mentor, the ways they were considering on benching Peter from the story, how Peter was killed off, more about the new GBs and who they were considering to cast. But it still feels like there are a ton of drafts that are still unrevealed to us.
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#4974329
mrmichaelt wrote: November 8th, 2022, 9:36 pm
RichardLess wrote: November 8th, 2022, 8:49 pm So what did you think of the book overall? What grade or number out of 10 would you give it?
Ah well, since I admin at the GB Wiki, I don't know how objective I can be when it comes to these GB history books. I'm mixed on it. I'd give it a 6 or 7. There wasn't anything mindblowing but Greene mined a lot of new tidbits along the way and gives a bit more structure to some things like the history of GBIII.

However, it got a bit imbalanced with the portrayal of Bill and Ivan like revealing/implying Bill blew off the TVG crew in South Carolina to stalk his soon-to-be ex-wife or anecdotes about Ivan being a jerk on the set. But that stuff I don't really care about, the making of the movies do. All that backstory padded the book between the big chapters but I guess he or the publisher felt there had to be context for the uninitiated.

Annoyed but not shocked the book glazed over the cartoons or the comics. They tend to get the short shrift in these kind of books. Was perplexed why there wasn't anything new about Answer The Call or Afterlife. ATC drifted into a commentary spiel on the zeitgeist in 2016. Was hoping for a lot of discussion about early drafts of ATC.

I'm intrigued about Chevy Chase. When Enriquez says he was brought in, he was asked to board a scene of "in which a ghost seduces Chase." That was June 1983. Were they considering Chase for Ray or Peter? Either way that's kinda shocking. I thought Dan always had himself as Ray and Bill was pretty much set as Peter OR did they consider Chevy as a back up? But that was classy of Donna Dixon to turn down the offer for Dana. Intriguing Michael McKean auditioned for Louis between Candy and Moranis. Or Carlisle denies she turned down Gozer. Or WOW! The bums Dan and Bill played were briefly recast with an actor who later become one of the cops and ROBERT ENGLUND!

It was intriguing to learn Bill brought in Elaine May to consult on the GBII script. Would have loved to learn more about that. Or man, they wanted Dustin Hoffman for the character that became Janosz. Or Bill's fight in the courtroom set? Geez. Was bummed but it made sense Elmer Bernstein passed on GB2 because he didn't want to be typecasted.

Was neat to learn some of the EGB were named after people or how they got approval to use the GB song down to the wire.

TVG, some interesting bits like they wanted to use Janosz or they considered Louis as the 5th GB. Thought of writing Peter off as being in LA starting up a new franchise and they even were going to use Vince Vaughn as a stand-in to voice Peter.

I'm curious how involved Ghost Corps/Sony was involved with the making of this book. It didn't seem like they were.
RichardLess wrote: November 8th, 2022, 8:49 pm I really would’ve liked more contemporary interviews to go along with the book. Dennis Murren? Richard Edlund? The book says so little about them.
Yeah, that was a surprise there wasn't much new from Boss or ILM. But the Bueno docs fill that gap and I presume Too Hot To Handle will have a lot of new content from ILM crew interviews.
RichardLess wrote: November 8th, 2022, 8:49 pm I have to say some of the GB3 stuff sounded awful. Battling a giant baby?
Yeah, the baby I agree with Sony balking at. lol. It was cool learning more about the various GBIII stories like the part of Ray and Egon's mentor, the ways they were considering on benching Peter from the story, how Peter was killed off, more about the new GBs and who they were considering to cast. But it still feels like there are a ton of drafts that are still unrevealed to us.
Yeah I wonder where that footage is of the guy who played Freddy Kreuger playing the bum. Or Gilbert Gottfried playing the dude who causes spontaneous combustion in the GB2 script. Oddly enough I could never imagined the right actor in the role of the business man but I gotta say, Gilbert is kinda perfect casting. That voice of his? Lol. I was always under the impression that scene never filmed.

Yeah the Elaine May thing is wild. Also interesting to note is, this isnt given as the reason but I’ve always wondered why on GB2’s writing credit Harold’s name came first. The book mentions he wrote on his own for a stretch while Dan was filming a movie. I think that might be why. That stuff isn’t arbitrary so I’ve always wondered, did Harold’s agent fight for that or did Harold himself? The first movie has Dan’s name first and Harold name underneath(and rightly so since Dan wrote the first draft and originated the idea). This time on GB2 the names are side by side & like I mention Harold’s name is first even tho we know Dan wrote the first draft this time too. Something changed somewhere tho because on an early trailer for GB2 Dan’s name comes first. Those little things always interest me, ya know?

Another interesting tidbit was that the first audience to see a GB in a test screening boo’d. I had never heard that before. I had heard that the premiere was a disaster tho. But I remember reading that the first test screening was this big hit. Turns out they boo’d at the incomplete FX.

Yeah some of the drama and gossip stuff is weird. Like…why dedicate ink to Debra Winger’s filming experience with Ivan Reitman on Legal Eagles? So odd. What is that doing in a Ghostbusters book? It has no forbearance on anything.

Yeah the book kinda changes gears when it hits the GB16 stuff. The suggestion that Sony intentionally sabotaged the press screening kinda came out of nowhere. Like…why in gods name would they do that?

I do want to see that Mounty Movie with Dan & Bill that is brought up over and over. What was is called? I just remember “North” was in the title. Dan plays a Canadian Mountie, Bill plays an Alaskan state trooper & a third actor was to play the other part. Was it John Candy?

Also…don’t you want to know why Dan Aykroyd got John Carpenter fired from a movie? That seems so unlike him. I wonder if that’s what really happened or if he was used as a scape goat.
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#4974331
RichardLess wrote: Or Gilbert Gottfried playing the dude who causes spontaneous combustion in the GB2 script. Oddly enough I could never imagined the right actor in the role of the business man but I gotta say, Gilbert is kinda perfect casting. That voice of his? Lol. I was always under the impression that scene never filmed.
Yeah. I was looking at the wording on that passage. I don't think it confirms it was filmed. It says the sequence was cut. According to Kurt Fuller, Gilbert was cast. Idk if it was filmed but then again, we just got an alternate World of the Psychic scene in the recent collection Blu-ray. It's possible.

RichardLess wrote: Yeah the Elaine May thing is wild. Also interesting to note is, this isnt given as the reason but I’ve always wondered why on GB2’s writing credit Harold’s name came first. The book mentions he wrote on his own for a stretch while Dan was filming a movie. I think that might be why. That stuff isn’t arbitrary so I’ve always wondered, did Harold’s agent fight for that or did Harold himself? The first movie has Dan’s name first and Harold name underneath(and rightly so since Dan wrote the first draft and originated the idea). This time on GB2 the names are side by side & like I mention Harold’s name is first even tho we know Dan wrote the first draft this time too. Something changed somewhere tho because on an early trailer for GB2 Dan’s name comes first. Those little things always interest me, ya know?
Totally. I like to think Dan wanted to give first billing to Harold because he thought Harold did more work but Harold was too humble and insisted first billing go to Dan.
RichardLess wrote:Another interesting tidbit was that the first audience to see a GB in a test screening boo’d. I had never heard that before. I had heard that the premiere was a disaster tho. But I remember reading that the first test screening was this big hit. Turns out they boo’d at the incomplete FX.
That was surprising. I guess it was the Library ghost scene they booed if they were cheering by the time Dana looks at her fridge.
RichardLess wrote:Yeah some of the drama and gossip stuff is weird. Like…why dedicate ink to Debra Winger’s filming experience with Ivan Reitman on Legal Eagles? So odd. What is that doing in a Ghostbusters book? It has no forbearance on anything.
Agreed.
RichardLess wrote:Yeah the book kinda changes gears when it hits the GB16 stuff. The suggestion that Sony intentionally sabotaged the press screening kinda came out of nowhere. Like…why in gods name would they do that?
On page 222? Ha ha, yeah, when I read that I thought maybe whoever was in charge of that press screening must have went on to work on Wizard World's GB Day event.
RichardLess wrote:I do want to see that Mounty Movie with Dan & Bill that is brought up over and over. What was is called? I just remember “North” was in the title. Dan plays a Canadian Mountie, Bill plays an Alaskan state trooper & a third actor was to play the other part. Was it John Candy?
I didn't catch the title but I believe Candy was to play a prisoner that was on the run. That would have been a really fun movie.
RichardLess wrote: Also…don’t you want to know why Dan Aykroyd got John Carpenter fired from a movie? That seems so unlike him. I wonder if that’s what really happened or if he was used as a scape goat.
I was under the impression it was because Dan wanted to change the ending into a car chase and Carpenter refused.
#4974342
Hey folks, it's me, James Greene, Jr. I'm really appreciating all the feedback! Okay, maybe I'm reading some of this stuff through webbed fingers, but honesty is the best policy. Thank you!

Just thought I could clear up a few things. Sony and Ghost Corps weren't involved with the book at all. They had an interest in getting involved early on, but they made it clear that in order to obtain their license I'd have to give them editorial control. Meaning they would have final say about what went in the book. My publisher and I agreed that was too big of a gamble.

I tried getting an interview with practically every person mentioned in the book. I often sent multiple requests. This includes not just the major players but also Gilbert Gottfried, Robert Englund, and Judd Apatow (speaking of which, I will correct the Apatow error in future editions, thank you for catching it). As is often the case in this line of work, sometimes people agreed to speak with me and then they changed their mind. Once or twice this change of heart was revealed during the interview.

I wanted to tell not just the story of Ghostbusters but the stories of the creatives at the heart of it so maybe you could get a better idea of who they are / were as people. You know, what you've done informs what you do. That's why I went a little long on "Columbus of Sex," "Legal Eagles," etc. This book was also about placing the franchise in a cultural context, so I felt I couldn't avoid really getting into the political or politicized events that surrounded "Answer The Call" and "Afterlife." Those two movies were touched by social issues in a way the original two weren't. And of course, all news / writing is biased.

Only you can judge how successful I was with any of this (and I know that you are, LOL). I can tell you I've never worked harder on anything in my life and I'm glad it's finally out there being read. So again, thank you!

P.S. I've written three books and coming up with a title is always the hardest part!
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#4974344
jg2 wrote: November 9th, 2022, 11:29 am Hey folks, it's me, James Greene, Jr. I'm really appreciating all the feedback! Okay, maybe I'm reading some of this stuff through webbed fingers, but honesty is the best policy. Thank you!

Just thought I could clear up a few things. Sony and Ghost Corps weren't involved with the book at all. They had an interest in getting involved early on, but they made it clear that in order to obtain their license I'd have to give them editorial control. Meaning they would have final say about what went in the book. My publisher and I agreed that was too big of a gamble.

I tried getting an interview with practically every person mentioned in the book. I often sent multiple requests. This includes not just the major players but also Gilbert Gottfried, Robert Englund, and Judd Apatow (speaking of which, I will correct the Apatow error in future editions, thank you for catching it). As is often the case in this line of work, sometimes people agreed to speak with me and then they changed their mind. Once or twice this change of heart was revealed during the interview.

I wanted to tell not just the story of Ghostbusters but the stories of the creatives at the heart of it so maybe you could get a better idea of who they are / were as people. You know, what you've done informs what you do. That's why I went a little long on "Columbus of Sex," "Legal Eagles," etc. This book was also about placing the franchise in a cultural context, so I felt I couldn't avoid really getting into the political or politicized events that surrounded "Answer The Call" and "Afterlife." Those two movies were touched by social issues in a way the original two weren't. And of course, all news / writing is biased.

Only you can judge how successful I was with any of this (and I know that you are, LOL). I can tell you I've never worked harder on anything in my life and I'm glad it's finally out there being read. So again, thank you!

P.S. I've written three books and coming up with a title is always the hardest part!
Hey man. We(me especially) can be harsh but at the end of the day? You put yourself out there and added something to the world. That takes guts and my few gripes notwithstanding you acquitted yourself well. You can tell you come to this as fan & for a lot of authors that make these books, it’s a job and a paycheque. For you it seemed a passion.

Thanks for writing the book & adding some new pieces to the puzzle that is The Making of Ghostbusters.
#4974346
RichardLess wrote: November 9th, 2022, 12:10 pm
jg2 wrote: November 9th, 2022, 11:29 am Hey folks, it's me, James Greene, Jr. I'm really appreciating all the feedback! Okay, maybe I'm reading some of this stuff through webbed fingers, but honesty is the best policy. Thank you!

Just thought I could clear up a few things. Sony and Ghost Corps weren't involved with the book at all. They had an interest in getting involved early on, but they made it clear that in order to obtain their license I'd have to give them editorial control. Meaning they would have final say about what went in the book. My publisher and I agreed that was too big of a gamble.

I tried getting an interview with practically every person mentioned in the book. I often sent multiple requests. This includes not just the major players but also Gilbert Gottfried, Robert Englund, and Judd Apatow (speaking of which, I will correct the Apatow error in future editions, thank you for catching it). As is often the case in this line of work, sometimes people agreed to speak with me and then they changed their mind. Once or twice this change of heart was revealed during the interview.

I wanted to tell not just the story of Ghostbusters but the stories of the creatives at the heart of it so maybe you could get a better idea of who they are / were as people. You know, what you've done informs what you do. That's why I went a little long on "Columbus of Sex," "Legal Eagles," etc. This book was also about placing the franchise in a cultural context, so I felt I couldn't avoid really getting into the political or politicized events that surrounded "Answer The Call" and "Afterlife." Those two movies were touched by social issues in a way the original two weren't. And of course, all news / writing is biased.

Only you can judge how successful I was with any of this (and I know that you are, LOL). I can tell you I've never worked harder on anything in my life and I'm glad it's finally out there being read. So again, thank you!

P.S. I've written three books and coming up with a title is always the hardest part!
Hey man. We(me especially) can be harsh but at the end of the day? You put yourself out there and added something to the world. That takes guts and my few gripes notwithstanding you acquitted yourself well. You can tell you come to this as fan & for a lot of authors that make these books, it’s a job and a paycheque. For you it seemed a passion.

Thanks for writing the book & adding some new pieces to the puzzle that is The Making of Ghostbusters.
Thanks, Richardless. Really appreciate those words.
#4974349
Hi from Italy! 😁
Just started to read it and so far I liked it; just like the two movies, you discover some new little details every time you watch them.

One thing I'd like to ask about GB3: how many scripts did you see? And how many you DIDN'T see? Would you consider doing a book about the failed making of Ghostbusters 3? I saw one about the final movie of Laurel and Hardy, why not one about the unproduced third chapter of Ghostbusters!

Would you like to make, here on this post, just for us, a recap of all the GB3 plots?
#4974353
Davideverona wrote: November 9th, 2022, 2:05 pm Hi from Italy! 😁
Just started to read it and so far I liked it; just like the two movies, you discover some new little details every time you watch them.

One thing I'd like to ask about GB3: how many scripts did you see? And how many you DIDN'T see? Would you consider doing a book about the failed making of Ghostbusters 3? I saw one about the final movie of Laurel and Hardy, why not one about the unproduced third chapter of Ghostbusters!

Would you like to make, here on this post, just for us, a recap of all the GB3 plots?
I tracked down a few different full drafts of "Hellbent" and some story treatments related to it. Got the video game script. Couldn't get a hold of the Stupnitsky / Eisenberg script or the Etan Cohen script. The plots are all detailed in the book and I'm not sure you could spin the whole thing into a separate book unless you can get a 12 hour interview with Dan Aykroyd!
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#4974354
jg2 wrote: November 9th, 2022, 3:05 pm
Davideverona wrote: November 9th, 2022, 2:05 pm Hi from Italy! 😁
Just started to read it and so far I liked it; just like the two movies, you discover some new little details every time you watch them.

One thing I'd like to ask about GB3: how many scripts did you see? And how many you DIDN'T see? Would you consider doing a book about the failed making of Ghostbusters 3? I saw one about the final movie of Laurel and Hardy, why not one about the unproduced third chapter of Ghostbusters!

Would you like to make, here on this post, just for us, a recap of all the GB3 plots?
I tracked down a few different full drafts of "Hellbent" and some story treatments related to it. Got the video game script. Couldn't get a hold of the Stupnitsky / Eisenberg script or the Etan Cohen script. The plots are all detailed in the book and I'm not sure you could spin the whole thing into a separate book unless you can get a 12 hour interview with Dan Aykroyd!
.... Wich is possible if you order a really frightening amount of Crystal Head Vodka 😁

Thanks for the answer!
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#4974355
jg2 wrote: November 9th, 2022, 11:29 am Hey folks, it's me, James Greene, Jr. I'm really appreciating all the feedback! Okay, maybe I'm reading some of this stuff through webbed fingers, but honesty is the best policy. Thank you!
Image

As an amateur writer, it's always interesting to get a look into the thought processes involved in writing a book. Thanks for letting us get that glimpse.
:D
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#4974449
ccv66 wrote: November 14th, 2022, 11:00 pm I believe he had his first kid in 1989 after GB2. He was Pushing 40. Priorities probably changed


I liked coneheads
Coneheads is pretty funny. He was also great in Gross Point Blank.

Also let us not forget his pivotal scene in Casper(which is hilarious considering the Casper people sued over the first movie and the GB Logo).

I always thought Dan deserved the second career wind that Bill Murray got and I think that’s a shame he didn’t happen for him, tho I don’t think he went after it either. Dan has a real screen presence to him. That voice? There’s just something about him I dig. I always wanted to hear Coen Bros or Quentin Tarantino dialogue come out of his mouth but…he just never went there.

As a Canadian I grew up with these little “Canadian Heritage” commercials that promoted all the cool shit Canadians did like famous inventions & deeds(those of you fellow Canadians will remember quotes like “Burnt toast! I smell burnt toast Doctor!” Or “Come on Vince, Come on!”) anyways in the mid ‘90s Aykroyd starred in one about the fascinating but ill fated Avro Arrow fighter jet project and then starred in the movie version for the CBC. It’s a good little movie & probably one of his better performances. I think it was a passion project for him given that A) it was a CBC movie and no way could they meet his fee & B) he’s a proud Canadian a real gear head.
#4974450
Davideverona wrote: November 14th, 2022, 8:46 am I'm to the point where they are starting production on Ghostbusters 2.

I'm a little sad for Dan Aykroyd; by 1989 the best of his cinematic career was already behind him.
Ahem:
Image
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#4974455
It is kinda weird that Aykroyd's dramatic career sort of begins and ends with his Oscar nomination for "Driving Miss Daisy." I guess he always felt his bread was buttered elsewhere. He seems a little risk averse. Check out this quote from a 2010 AP interview: "I will walk out the door for the paycheck I deserve and working with the superstars. Otherwise, I won’t work as an actor. I’m sorry. I don’t have to, and why shouldn’t I get what is commensurate with what my market will bear today? It’s not the salary I used to get, and I don’t care if I play a supporting part. Fine. I’m reasonable…But I’m not going to work for nothing, and I’m not going to work for people who are unknown. I can’t do it."

For the record, I think his best work after 1989 is in "Tommy Boy." "Savor the flavor, kid, because it won't happen again!"
#4974514
jg2 wrote: November 15th, 2022, 8:57 am It is kinda weird that Aykroyd's dramatic career sort of begins and ends with his Oscar nomination for "Driving Miss Daisy." I guess he always felt his bread was buttered elsewhere. He seems a little risk averse. Check out this quote from a 2010 AP interview: "I will walk out the door for the paycheck I deserve and working with the superstars. Otherwise, I won’t work as an actor. I’m sorry. I don’t have to, and why shouldn’t I get what is commensurate with what my market will bear today? It’s not the salary I used to get, and I don’t care if I play a supporting part. Fine. I’m reasonable…But I’m not going to work for nothing, and I’m not going to work for people who are unknown. I can’t do it."

For the record, I think his best work after 1989 is in "Tommy Boy." "Savor the flavor, kid, because it won't happen again!"

Do you still have access to the GB3 Hellbent scripts?

Because it sure would be terrible if, oh I don’t know, they somehow got onto the internet. Anonymously. I mean…imagine if somehow someone created a Reddit account & leaked those scripts? Using google docs or some other cloud based server. I can’t imagine it. Who would do such a thing?

Or can you imagine if someone were to bribe you to share those scripts? Say…$150? What kind of person would do such a thing? We live in a decent society darn it! And if you were willing to offer said scripts for said $ I’m sure you wouldn’t message anyone showing an interest in buying them. I mean come on people! We are ghostbusters fans. We don’t go for such shenanigans here.

*cough* *cough*. Excuse me. I’m suffering from a terrible cough. It also causes me to wink wink with my eye. It’s very annoying.

So how bout those Mets, huh? Oh. Baseball seasons over? What i meant to say is…So how about them…Nets?, huh? Terrible team this year. Just awful.

Did I mention I LOVED your book? Just ignore everything I said about the title, your writing ability(I still screw up my “there” “their” and “theyre”. Who am I to judge?), and every other criticism I had. Heh. I did say it was the best Ghostbusters “making of” book ever made. Yep. I said that.

…I’ll show myself out now.
#4974529
RichardLess wrote: November 17th, 2022, 11:22 am
jg2 wrote: November 15th, 2022, 8:57 am It is kinda weird that Aykroyd's dramatic career sort of begins and ends with his Oscar nomination for "Driving Miss Daisy." I guess he always felt his bread was buttered elsewhere. He seems a little risk averse. Check out this quote from a 2010 AP interview: "I will walk out the door for the paycheck I deserve and working with the superstars. Otherwise, I won’t work as an actor. I’m sorry. I don’t have to, and why shouldn’t I get what is commensurate with what my market will bear today? It’s not the salary I used to get, and I don’t care if I play a supporting part. Fine. I’m reasonable…But I’m not going to work for nothing, and I’m not going to work for people who are unknown. I can’t do it."

For the record, I think his best work after 1989 is in "Tommy Boy." "Savor the flavor, kid, because it won't happen again!"

Do you still have access to the GB3 Hellbent scripts?

Because it sure would be terrible if, oh I don’t know, they somehow got onto the internet. Anonymously. I mean…imagine if somehow someone created a Reddit account & leaked those scripts? Using google docs or some other cloud based server. I can’t imagine it. Who would do such a thing?

Or can you imagine if someone were to bribe you to share those scripts? Say…$150? What kind of person would do such a thing? We live in a decent society darn it! And if you were willing to offer said scripts for said $ I’m sure you wouldn’t message anyone showing an interest in buying them. I mean come on people! We are ghostbusters fans. We don’t go for such shenanigans here.

*cough* *cough*. Excuse me. I’m suffering from a terrible cough. It also causes me to wink wink with my eye. It’s very annoying.

So how bout those Mets, huh? Oh. Baseball seasons over? What i meant to say is…So how about them…Nets?, huh? Terrible team this year. Just awful.

Did I mention I LOVED your book? Just ignore everything I said about the title, your writing ability(I still screw up my “there” “their” and “theyre”. Who am I to judge?), and every other criticism I had. Heh. I did say it was the best Ghostbusters “making of” book ever made. Yep. I said that.

…I’ll show myself out now.
I still have the "Hellbent" scripts and as much as I'd love to betray my sources by leaking them I actually do not want to do that!
#4974531
jg2 wrote: November 17th, 2022, 10:49 pm
RichardLess wrote: November 17th, 2022, 11:22 am


Do you still have access to the GB3 Hellbent scripts?

Because it sure would be terrible if, oh I don’t know, they somehow got onto the internet. Anonymously. I mean…imagine if somehow someone created a Reddit account & leaked those scripts? Using google docs or some other cloud based server. I can’t imagine it. Who would do such a thing?

Or can you imagine if someone were to bribe you to share those scripts? Say…$150? What kind of person would do such a thing? We live in a decent society darn it! And if you were willing to offer said scripts for said $ I’m sure you wouldn’t message anyone showing an interest in buying them. I mean come on people! We are ghostbusters fans. We don’t go for such shenanigans here.

*cough* *cough*. Excuse me. I’m suffering from a terrible cough. It also causes me to wink wink with my eye. It’s very annoying.

So how bout those Mets, huh? Oh. Baseball seasons over? What i meant to say is…So how about them…Nets?, huh? Terrible team this year. Just awful.

Did I mention I LOVED your book? Just ignore everything I said about the title, your writing ability(I still screw up my “there” “their” and “theyre”. Who am I to judge?), and every other criticism I had. Heh. I did say it was the best Ghostbusters “making of” book ever made. Yep. I said that.

…I’ll show myself out now.
I still have the "Hellbent" scripts and as much as I'd love to betray my sources by leaking them I actually do not want to do that!
Haven't they ever considered doing something else with those GB3 scripts (Hellbent and Alive Again)? Comic book miniseries, animated series...
#4974532
Davideverona wrote:Haven't they ever considered doing something else with those GB3 scripts (Hellbent and Alive Again)? Comic book miniseries, animated series...
As Greene noted in the book, there was a brief revision of the script around 2006 to turn Hellbent into a CG animated movie but nothing came of it. Then came The Video Game. But in the early 2010s, Tristan Jones "tried pitching it, several times" but it "got pretty much ignored at every turn." Tom Waltz then added, "We've discussed it a bit with Sony in the past but unforeseen circumstances (not the least of which was Mr. Ramis' tragic death) sidelined the idea as newer priorities within the brand (both at Sony and IDW) took center stage." Though I suppose in very loose terms, Hellbent could have inspired the Ghostbusters brief jaunt in Hell in Ghostbusters International #11 in 2016.
#4974538
jg2 wrote: November 17th, 2022, 10:49 pm
RichardLess wrote: November 17th, 2022, 11:22 am


Do you still have access to the GB3 Hellbent scripts?

Because it sure would be terrible if, oh I don’t know, they somehow got onto the internet. Anonymously. I mean…imagine if somehow someone created a Reddit account & leaked those scripts? Using google docs or some other cloud based server. I can’t imagine it. Who would do such a thing?

Or can you imagine if someone were to bribe you to share those scripts? Say…$150? What kind of person would do such a thing? We live in a decent society darn it! And if you were willing to offer said scripts for said $ I’m sure you wouldn’t message anyone showing an interest in buying them. I mean come on people! We are ghostbusters fans. We don’t go for such shenanigans here.

*cough* *cough*. Excuse me. I’m suffering from a terrible cough. It also causes me to wink wink with my eye. It’s very annoying.

So how bout those Mets, huh? Oh. Baseball seasons over? What i meant to say is…So how about them…Nets?, huh? Terrible team this year. Just awful.

Did I mention I LOVED your book? Just ignore everything I said about the title, your writing ability(I still screw up my “there” “their” and “theyre”. Who am I to judge?), and every other criticism I had. Heh. I did say it was the best Ghostbusters “making of” book ever made. Yep. I said that.

…I’ll show myself out now.
I still have the "Hellbent" scripts and as much as I'd love to betray my sources by leaking them I actually do not want to do that!
Exactly what I wanted to hear! See ….it was all a, um, test. You passed. Congratulations. A lesser man would’ve succumbed to such blatantly pathetic appeals. But not you.

Let that be a lesson to all you here reading this now. Never betray your sources! Not even for bribes! Not even for 150 dollar bribes. Or 300 dollar bribes. Heck I’m sure someone, definitely not me, but someone, would even go as high as a 500 dollar bribe. But we must stay strong & never waiver. Sure we all want to read the GB3 Hellbent script and would push our own grandmothers down a flight of stairs to do so but we’ve got to draw the line somewhere. (Which reminds me, I know you won’t read this but let me just say, again, sorry Grandma. I’m sure your hip, leg & arm will heal just fine)



On a serious note. Was one the scripts you read the version that’s partly been seen online? Where Egon & Ray seem to be doing some sort of experiment with a tiny glowing ball. I wanna say a “gluon” or some such thing?

Also years ago IGN did a script review of GB3, a dude named “Stax”. Some of it sounds familiar. Do you know if that was one of the versions you read?

There’s still so much we don’t know about that movie. Did Dan & Harold ever sit down together & bang out a draft credited to both of them? We know Harold was involved here and there, but was his name ever on a draft with Dan’s?

It makes you wonder. We have this idea in our heads, at least I do, of how these guys all got along and collaborated but I wonder if it was more business like than I’d like to imagine. Like…why would Dan write a Ghostbusters script with anyone other than Harold? Harold seemed willing. It’s just…these two, along with Ivan, created some great magic together. I think no one understood what makes Ghostbusters work as well as those 3 guys TOGETHER. Neither could do it without the others. But then Dan writes these drafts with Tom Davis, and Harold seemingly pitches in here and there. But we’ve yet a see a GB3 draft of Hellbent pop up with his name on it. Like I said, we just imagine these guys as good friends and close collaborators. I’m just not sure how close to reality that was. I know Harold said he wasn’t 100% invested in it and that they were writing it on spec(which means no one was getting paid). I guess my ideal imagined scenario is Dan calls up Harold and, being buddies and a great writing duo, they both get together and write Ghostbusters 3. They do it for the passion of it. Because they are friends. But maybe they were just work related friends, ya know? Nothing wrong with that it’s just…I duno. Not how I imagined it,
#4974544
RichardLess wrote: November 7th, 2022, 3:23 pm I saw your name among the “acknowledgments” and even tho I’m very very mixed on the book(I had too high expectations on the some things. And some of it is probably because, again, I have a vision for a GB book and it looks like something the great J.W Rinzler would make, and everytime a GB book comes out, part of me feels disappointment that Sony just doesn’t give it a shit enough to give it shot), I’m glad this fandom has a fan like you out there. You’ve done more behind the scenes with these sorts of endeavours than probably anybody. Add in names like Paul Rudoff & Alex Newborn(with his 1989 YouTube videos of everytime Ghostbusters 2 was mentioned! What a fan! I love it!). So a huge thank you. Without fans like you we wouldn’t get books like these or documentaries like Cleaning Up the Town Parts 1 and 2.
Thanks for the kind words, man! I’m just a curious fan like you.

Agreed on Alex, he's one of my absolute favorite fans! “The Summer of 89” Youtube series was a huge gift and I loved his segments on the Ghostheads doc. If I could sneak onto the GB: Firehouse set and leave any sort of set dressing behind, I would have a framed photo of Alex and his sons on Janine's desk.
RichardLess wrote: November 7th, 2022, 10:54 pm My favourite bit in the whole book tho? Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis personally calling the wife of the maker of the game to tell her they wouldn’t let Activision fire him after the games originally maker was bought. Over and over again the book just confirms that Harold & Dan are exactly the type of people we think they are.
Agreed! That was a very cool gesture from the guys. Outside of a few articles, I never really dug into the history of the game much. What a roller coaster! I was a little freaked out to be nostalgic about 2008.
mrmichaelt wrote: November 8th, 2022, 9:36 pm I'm intrigued about Chevy Chase. When Enriquez says he was brought in, he was asked to board a scene of "in which a ghost seduces Chase." That was June 1983. Were they considering Chase for Ray or Peter?
This has bugged me for a while, as well. Michael Gross was working with the concept artists early on. My guess is that he just had a slip of the tongue in a meeting with Enriquez. Thom’s notes from the meeting are printed in the Visual History book. An interesting bit, Enriquez was the only artist in the production office. All others worked remotely.
mrmichaelt wrote: November 8th, 2022, 9:36 pm It was intriguing to learn Bill brought in Elaine May to consult on the GBII script. Would have loved to learn more about that. Or man, they wanted Dustin Hoffman for the character that became Janosz. Or Bill's fight in the courtroom set? Geez.
To be a fly on the wall of the Elaine May meeting!

Dustin Hoffman would’ve been great as Justin. I’ve wondered if Ivan offered Vigo to Schwarzenegger, considering they had just released Twins. Arnold may have been shooting Total Recall by that point. Imagine GB2, filmed by Kovacs, scored by Bernstein, with Hoffman and Arnold. Wild!

The fight on the courtroom set is interesting. In the grand scheme of Hollywood’s seedy underbelly, it’s a relatively quaint story, I guess. Par for course—it’s no lie Bill hated the proton packs! Bummer they weren’t rolling camera. Imagine a shot of Venkman flipping the equipment table before battling the Scoleris!
RichardLess wrote: November 18th, 2022, 9:08 am Or Gilbert Gottfried playing the dude who causes spontaneous combustion in the GB2 script. Oddly enough I could never imagined the right actor in the role of the business man but I gotta say, Gilbert is kinda perfect casting. That voice of his? Lol. I was always under the impression that scene never filmed.
It wasn’t filmed, but the role was cast prior to the scene being nixed. Gottfried would’ve been PERFECT. I’m guessing this scene was a release schedule casualty, as it think it really would’ve really helped the story. Imagine Gilbert hanging with the GBs in the firehouse lab? Did Gilbert ever mention the GB2 thing in media?

I’ve recently discovered Gottfried’s podcast. DUDE WAS A GENIUS!!!!!! Caesar Romero and the orange slices?
RichardLess wrote: November 18th, 2022, 9:08 am On a serious note. Was one the scripts you read the version that’s partly been seen online? Where Egon & Ray seem to be doing some sort of experiment with a tiny glowing ball. I wanna say a “gluon” or some such thing?

Also years ago IGN did a script review of GB3, a dude named “Stax”. Some of it sounds familiar. Do you know if that was one of the versions you read?
Going back to the Stax and Proton Charging reviews/pages, they all cover the March ’99 first draft.

James Greene’s research unearthed the 1997 treatment details, which was all new (AWESOME) information.
RichardLess wrote: November 18th, 2022, 9:08 am Hellbent…I know Harold said he wasn’t 100% invested in it and that they were writing it on spec(which means no one was getting paid). I guess my ideal imagined scenario is Dan calls up Harold and, being buddies and a great writing duo, they both get together and write Ghostbusters 3. They do it for the passion of it. Because they are friends. But maybe they were just work related friends, ya know? Nothing wrong with that it’s just…I duno. Not how I imagined it,
I'd say more like really, really good work-related friends that went through a crazy, life/cultural-changing project together.

I think you kind of answered your own question there. That process was happening! They got together, apparently had a lot of conversations about it. Even though it was on spec, Harold still worked with Dan trying to develop it, offering his ideas, the tintype hell idea, considering directing etc. It just never happened progressed any further. If there wasn't a friendliness and respect there, I don't think they would've collaborated at all on it.

Another interesting bit here, Ramis was also developing Bedazzled in the late-90s. The devil-centric comedy with Elizabeth Hurley and Brendan Fraser. Were the projects being so closely related in subject play a part in Hellbent never moving forward as a Ramis-directed movie? I guess we’ll never know.
mrmichaelt liked this
#4974548
I'm not too good with the quote feature on here but I will add that yes, I have the full copy of the "Hellbent" draft IGN and PC posted about back in the day. Also, I've listened to nearly every episode of Gilbert Gottfried's podcast and I never heard him mention "Ghostbusters II" (and he was never shy about discussing roles he lost). However, when Richard Donner was his guest, they talked about Gilbert auditioning for the taxi cab driver in "Scrooged." I believe he asked Donner why he didn't get it and Donner said one of his family members was dating David Johansen.
#4974551
jg2 wrote: November 18th, 2022, 6:13 pmI'm not too good with the quote feature on here but I will add that yes, I have the full copy of the "Hellbent" draft IGN and PC posted about back in the day. Also, I've listened to nearly every episode of Gilbert Gottfried's podcast and I never heard him mention "Ghostbusters II" (and he was never shy about discussing roles he lost). However, when Richard Donner was his guest, they talked about Gilbert auditioning for the taxi cab driver in "Scrooged." I believe he asked Donner why he didn't get it and Donner said one of his family members was dating David Johansen.
It's one of those things that rekindles the spark when you think you know everything there is to know. Then on a podcast, Kurt Fuller drops a new bombshell that Gottfried was in the GB2 cast ever so briefly. The possibilities of what else we don't know it is very exciting!

d_osborn wrote:I’ve wondered if Ivan offered Vigo to Schwarzenegger, considering they had just released Twins. Arnold may have been shooting Total Recall by that point. Imagine GB2, filmed by Kovacs, scored by Bernstein, with Hoffman and Arnold. Wild!
Holy moly, on a parallel Earth out there in the multiverse there's a GB2 where Vigo by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hell, I can now see a Jack Hardemeyer played by Danny DeVito.

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