Ghostbusters 3 News

Bill Murray has finally read the script to Ghostbusters 3. He liked it so much that he reportedly shredded it and sent it back to Dan Aykroyd and Ivan Reitman, attaching the message: “No one wants to pay money to see fat, old men chasing ghosts!”
This is reported by multiple movie news websites.

This may be true, or it may not. It’s a good story, anyway.

What seems clear is that Murray doesn’t want to appear in Ghostbusters 3, which is fine with us – but he also has to sign off on it if it is to be made. He is one of the right-holders to the franchise, and without his approval, the movie can’t be made. So he’s got that going for him.

He’s wrong, though. Lots of people want to see old ghostbusters doing their thing. We certainly do.

Dan Aykroyd appeared on Dennis Miller’s radio show and talked a whole lot about Ghostbusters 3. It seems he is determined that filming start in 2012, whether or not Bill Murray is onboard. Said Aykroyd:

“Yes, we will be doing the movie and hopefully with Mr. Murray. That is our hope. What we have to remember is that Ghostbusters is bigger than any one component—although Billy was absolutely the lead and contributive to it in a massive way, as was the director and Harold [Ramis], myself, and Sigourney [Weaver]. The concept is much larger than any individual role and the promise of Ghostbusters 3 is that we get to hand the equipment and the franchise down to new blood.”

Ooh, sounds like Dan is taking a stand here, calling Bill “Mr. Murray” and everything. He went on to explain how the old ‘busters are now old and useless:
“My character, Ray, is now blind in one eye and can’t drive the Cadillac. He’s got a bad knee and can’t carry the packs. Egon is too large to get into the harness. We need young blood.”

Apparently, the new team will consist of three guys and a girl, and Aykroyd has his eyes on Criminal Minds’ Matthew Gray Gubler, for some reason.

So, what does this mean? Aykroyd is clearly pretty annoyed with Murray for taking so long to respond yes or no, and who can blame him? Billy has been almost demonstratively passive and disinterested all along.

But it sure seems as if there’s some determination to go ahead. A Ghostbusters 3 without Murray may well become reality, but whatever Aykroyd says, it will be missing a vital component. Let’s sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that.

It seems the making of Ghostbusters 3 has an enemy in one of the principal actors. According to website Bloody Disgusting (www.bloody-disgusting.com), National Enquirer columnist Mike Walker said the following on the Howard Stern show:

“Dan Aykroyd called ol’ pal and Ghostbusters co-star Bill Murry and snarled ’stop acting like a jerk’, Murray, despite agreeing to doing the film, has suddenly turned so cranky and mean [that] he refuses to answer phone calls.”

Furthermore: “Producers gave Bill script approval needed for his cooperation, but that cant even seem to get him on the phone to talk about the script. He’s even told ‘em that his character needs to be killed off in the opening minutes of the film.”

Well, we knew that last part about the killing off. But Aykroyd being unable to reach Murray is news. It sounds like Murray would really prefer to not be a part of Ghostbusters 3. But it won’t happen without him, so this is a big deal.

Seems like the movie is haunted by problems. A 2011 release is starting to look unlikely.