“Dan Aykroyd says ‘Ghostbusters 3’ may start filming in winter”
We posted on this possibility last August. And now it appears closer to happening per Geoff Boucher’s “Hero’s Complex” column for the LA Times:
I just visited with Dan Aykroyd over at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip for an interview for an upcoming feature in the Los Angeles Times (you’ll be able to find it here on the Hero Complex as well). We talked about a wide range of topics, but I didn’t want to wait on this update about the third “Ghostbusters” film, which is moving forward after so many years.
Aykroyd said Sigourney Weaver is on board now, as are the original squad of ectoplasmic specialists — Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson. Murray’s presence was the pivot point in making a third film happen. He holds a one-fifth controlling interest in the property rights and has been seen as the most reluctant to return to the paranormal comedy. Aykroyd said that is true but that it’s more nuanced than the public portrayal of the situation.
And like Indiana Jones IV, it looks like the movie will serve as a passing of the proverbial torch:
Aykroyd says he believes the movie will move forward but that he has also learned that “at any second everything could blow up.” The details of story are still in play, but Aykroyd said he’s hoping for a five-member “new generation” team with several female members. “I’d like it to be a passing-of-the-torch movie. Let’s revisit the old characters briefly and happily and have them there as family but let’s pass it on to a new generation.”
Who does Aykroyd think would be good in the jumpsuits? Aykroyd mentioned two names, Alyssa Milano (who is a voice in the upcoming “Ghostbusters” video game) and Eliza Dushku. “I think they’re amazing,” he said. “And I’m excited about the whole idea of getting this done.”
Safe to say that Milano and Dushku represent a significant bump in good looks compared to the old Ghostbusters team.
The screenwriters of the most recent draft of Ghostbusters III are Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupintsky, co-executive producers and writers on the NBC comedy “The Office.” But I learned something interesting about them from the most recent issue of “Creative Screenwriting”:
“In 2000, [Harold] Ramis needed some rewriting done on a film he was about to direct, Bedazzled. He separately enlisted the help of two young men he met at different points in his life: Stupnitsky was a former intern at Ramis’ office in Chicago; Eisenberg was a former Martha’s Vineyard employee who hit it off with Ramis and his family. Ramis kept in touch with both and figured they could help him punch up the script. The pair hit it off and have been writing partners ever since, culminating in their “Office” breakthrough.”
Ramis puts together a former intern and some guy he met at Martha’s Vineyard and — voila! Instant comedy karma! Who knows. Maybe Ramis is in touch with the supernatural realm!