We're saddened to report the death of Frank Price, the former chairman of Columbia Pictures from 1978-1983, who passed away in his sleep last Monday.
As chairman of Columbia Pictures at the time that Ivan Reitman was pitching
Ghostbusters to the studio, he played a vital but often-unsung role in the film's legacy by not only giving the film the green light to go into production, he also championed the project when the then-owner of Columbia, The Coca-Cola Company, remained unenthusiastic about the project out of the belief it wouldn't make it's $25,000,000 budget back.
It seemed as close to a sure bet to not lose money as I could get.
-Frank Price, The Movies That Made Us: Ghostbusters -
Netflix
Even when Price parted ways with Columbia in 1983, he was still an ally to the
Ghostbusters production. When he became chairman of the MCA Motion Picture Group, which oversaw production and distribution of Universal Studios' products (including Filmation), he was in the position to grant permission to Columbia to use the name "Ghostbusters", when negotiations between Columbia and Filmation had reached an impasse.
It was serendipitous that I happened to go there, and I was able to say, 'make the deal, give them the title'.
-Frank Price, The Movies That Made Us: Ghostbusters -
Netflix
The wisdom in town was that I had made a terrible mistake. When the film came on, the reaction was horrible. A studio executive came up and put his arm around me and said, 'Don't worry: we all make mistakes.' I was nauseous... when the movie came out, it just exploded.
Frank Price, The Making of Ghostbusters: How Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and "The Murricane" Built "The Perfect Comedy" -
Vanity Fair
Ultimately, Price's faith was rewarded, and
Ghostbusters would eventually earn $295,500,000 worldwide at the box office.
In addition to
Ghostbusters, Price also approved a number of other notable films during his career, including
Kramer vs. Kramer,
Gandi and
The Karate Kid, and helped pave the way for
Back to the Future,
The Breakfast Club, and
Fletch.
