Ghostbusters 3

The long-rumored third film in the Ghostbusters franchise is currently in development at Sony Pictures. It is being written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, who are co-executive producers and writers on the US version of "The Office", with input from Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman. The plot, as stated by Aykroyd in several interviews, involves the original Ghostbusters team training a group of younger Ghostbusters. Aykroyd has suggested the trainees will include both men and women, and that the primary trainee is someone special (although he declined to reveal who it was). Aykroyd has also mentioned new Ghostbusting equipment, including a psychotron (a misnomer?), accelerators, and a device that allows the user to flip from dimension to dimension called the neuron splitter. Ghostbusters 3 is NOT currently in production. Nothing has been finalized, and everything is internet rumors.History of UpdatesA constant source of on-again, off-again rumors, Ghostbusters 3 has been in "development hell" since at least 1997, when Ramis and Aykroyd were working on a concept now known as "Hellbent". The same premise of mixing the original cast with trainees taking over was in place even in "Hellbent", and it was rumored to have been written with Chris Farley in mind. Later, Ben Stiller was suggested as a replacement, and Will Smith, Chris Rock, and Conan O'Brien were also rumored, among others. The question of whether Bill Murray was willing to return was also pertinent, as he had made his disappointing experience on Ghostbusters II fairly well known, and long-standing rifts between Murray and Ramis remained unaddressed. Eventually, word was that Murray had agreed to appear, but only if his character died and came back as a ghost. The film ultimately came close enough to development to appear as a finished credit in Dan Aykroyd's filmography on a handful of Universal DVDs, including 1941, the original "Collector's Edition" Blues Brothers DVD and Blues Brothers 2000. In 1999, Aykroyd revealed that the screenplay (which was described by IGN as being "too technical", with a new team of Ghostbusters that were not clearly delineated and lacking in conflict or personality) was budgeted by Columbia at around $150 million, which at the time represented a prohibitively expensive investment for the studio. Aykroyd asked to shop the script to other studios, but Sony refused to license the franchise rights to another company, and the project was considered dead. In 2005, while promoting The Ice Harvest, Harold Ramis explained more about the "Hellbent" screenplay to In Focus, describing how the characters would have ended up in an alternate version of New York that exists simultaneously with the real world. "But it’s like a film shutter — it’s the darkness between the 24 frames. So we blink alternately with this other reality, which is Hell. So all the Ghostbusters would need to do (to go to Hell) is take themselves “out of phase” one beat. And we create a device to do it, and it’s in a warehouse in Brooklyn. And when we step out of the chamber, it looks just like New York — but it’s Hell. Everything’s gridlocked — no cars are moving, no vehicles are moving, and all the drivers are swearing at each other in different foreign languages. It’s all the worst things about modern urban life, just magnified. And Heaven was across the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey. The Ghostbusters had to make this journey from Lower Manhattan to the George Washington Bridge." Ramis also reiterated their interest in using Stiller and Farley. It seems as if two versions may have existed: one in which the group is mourning Venkman's death and another with the character's regular level of participation. In 2008, during an interview with Mike McGuire on CISN Country 103.9 FM in Edmonton, Alberta, Dan Aykroyd announced that Sony was developing Ghostbusters III: Hellbent as an all-CGI movie. "I can do all the things I wanted to do for much, much less money," he stated. Later, on a Canadian morning show he discussed the same plot that Ramis mentioned, while indicating Murray's full involvement. "We go to the hell side of Manhattan, downtown, Foley Square. It's all where the cops are--they are all blue minotaurs. Central Park is this huge peat mine with green demons there, surrounded by black onyx thousand-foot high apartment buildings with classic red devils, very wealthy. We go and visit a Donald Trump-like character who is Mr. Sifler. Luke Sifler. Lu-cifer. So we meet the devil in it". Shortly afterward, Sierra announced Ghostbusters: The Video Game, which reunited all four main actors in a plot revised by Aykroyd and Ramis (only Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis opted out). It's unclear whether or not Aykroyd was referring to the video game when talking about the supposed CGI movie, or if Sony had also attempted to create an animated sequel, but Aykroyd has mentioned in interviews that the plot isn't directly based on "Hellbent" but instead contains much of the same material. Aykroyd has gone on record saying that the game "is essentially the third movie". Meanwhile, conflicting reports of an actual third movie began to emerge. Ernie Hudson told Moviehole.net that Ghostbusters III was still very much a possibility, and that he hoped that the new video game would generate renewed interest in a third Ghostbusters film. During Juno's Oscar push, Jason Reitman was asked whether he would be interested in directing Ghostbusters 3, but he replied that he had little interest in directing the franchise as it was his father's creation. Premiere Magazine interviewed Sigourney Weaver and asked if a new film was in the works, but she replied, “Well, I just saw Ivan Reitman at this dinner, this lunch for his son, and there’s no way.” As the game progressed, however, things started looking up. Sony quietly assigned Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, the writers of Harold Ramis' Year One, to develop a third picture. While promoting City of Ember at Fantastic Fest in late 2008, Bill Murray said that "the wounds from Ghostbusters II have healed", citing the fresh perspective of Eisenberg and Stupnitsky was a good idea, that recording voice-over for the game had sparked good memories, and that he held Ghostbusters in high regard ("the first 45 minutes of Ghostbusters, or 40 minutes, are about as funny as a movie gets"). Sigourney Weaver also suggested that her character's son Oscar would make sense as a new Ghostbuster, although her character seemed unnecessary. Finally, in March 2009, Sony announced that they were actively developing Ghostbusters 3 as a theatrical sequel. Aykroyd has indicated that the writers have seen the game, and are making sure the script for the third movie will incorporate any plot developments. He has also said that he hopes the first Ghostbusters game is a success, as he has ideas for more.New DevelopmentsHarold Ramis confirmed a script was in the works to MTV, and said that it's not likely that Reitman will direct the movie, although he will be involved. He also said that he wasn't planning on directing it either. In another short piece by Entertainment Weekly that included quotes from Ramis, it was suggested that Rick Moranis would also be returning, but Ramis does not actually mention Moranis' name. Several websites extrapolated from the Entertainment Weekly piece, and now there is a "rumor" that Moranis would be back, but in a 2005 interview with Proton Charging, Moranis claimed he had no interest in making another Ghostbusters movie, as he disliked the experience of making the second film, and as of 2010, he has been semi-retired for several years. As Moranis also did not reprise his role for the video game, it is unlikely that he will return for the film, if and when it gets made. Since the release of the video game, progress has been slow, but as of October 2010, a "first draft" has been submitted to Sony for approval. According to a Sony representative at a fan convention in Italy (reported on by Proton Charging), Sony has approved the first draft of Eisenberg and Stupnitsky's screenplay. Website FilmDrunk adds, via an unidentified studio contact, that Aykroyd, Ramis, Reitman have also approved the draft, and it is reportedly on its way to Bill Murray for final approval. If the draft is approved, there are tentative plans to start shooting by the end of 2010 or early 2011 for a 2012 release date. Murray has been skeptical about the film in the press, noting in a GQ interview that he did not like what he saw of the pair's film Year One, and stating that he wasn't particularly interested in furthering Sony's franchising opportunities by showing up just to pass the torch, but he also noted that fan devotion for the franchise had worn away at him, saying, "I thought, oh, Christ, maybe I should just do this thing." Shortly after the Proton Charging and FilmDrunk reports, Murray appeared at the 2010 Scream Awards in full Ghostbusters gear, which may be a sign that Murray is warming up to the idea.