Ghostbusters 3 News

We have learned quite a lot of things about Ghostbusters 3 in the last couple of months. Both the actors, producers, visual effects experts, and the director himself, Ivan Reitman, have given many hints about the movie.

Here is what we know so far:

- Most of the original cast may be back.
It seems that both Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, and even Rick Moranis will be reprising their old characters. Ernie Hudson may also appear, according to Aykroyd.
According to Weaver, their roles may be smaller than before, but they will still be on screen.

- It will be in 3D.
An anonymous source at Industrial Light and Magic told Market Saw Blog that it will be. After the success of ‘Avatar’, this is not surprising. We are pretty sure that this is true.

- Bill Murray will appear as a ghost.
Well, maybe. It could just be a funny quip from Murray. But he’s given us that same hint a couple of times now.

- Ivan Reitman will be directing.
Not very surprising, but it was still nice to have it confirmed by the man himself.

- The script is finished.
At least, that’s what people say. It should be in its fourth or fifth draft by now, and is/was being worked on by writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky.

- The writers started writing on their own.
According to Reitman, Sony gave writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky the job of writing the script without consulting anyone. Reitman called that approach a “very interesting thing”.

- Michael Cera really wants to be in it.
He keeps bugging Reitman to give him the part of Oscar, the son of the Sigourney Weaver character.

- Shooting will begin this summer.
This is according to Reitman and Ramis.

- It will be released in 2011.
Also according to Reitman and Ramis.

- It is not official yet.
Columbia Pictures/Sony has not confirmed that the movie is actually happening. But they will.

- Ramis and Aykroyd will executive produce it.
Reitman is both director and producer.

- Some plot elements have been leaked, and here they are: The movie will be about a new generation of ghostbusters being trained, learning to use all the technical equipment. They will be both male and female, and the old ‘busters will be their teachers and mentors. There’s a chance that all the new ghostbusters will be hot girls, but that seems far-fetched to us. The cadets will have a leader, probably female, who will likely be the focus of the plot. One of the cadets will be Oscar, Dana Barrett’s kid. And, as noted above, Bill Murray may appear as a ghost.

Not bad, huh? Things appear to be shaping up for what may possibly be the biggest picture of 2011. We can’t wait.

So it looks as if most of the original cast from the first two Ghostbusters movies will be back for the third instalment. Harold Ramis is the main writer, and it’s not a stretch to imagine that he’ll also reprise his role as Dr. Egon Spengler.  Dan Aykroyd looks like he’s set for a reappearance, as does Sigourney Weaver, presumably in their old characters of Dr. Raymond Stantz and Dana Barrett. Bill Murray looks like he’s in, but whether or not he’ll play Dr. Peter Venkman again is unknown. There’s even a rumour (started by Weaver) that he’ll appear as a ghost. Talk about coming full circle.

Rick Moranis may take a break from his retirement to play Louis Tully again, but there’s no word yet on Ernie Hudson.  He hasn’t been that active on the big screen, so I’m sure he has the time to participate. If not, he should darn well take the time. What could be more important than Ghostbusters 3?

So this was reported all over the web, and I think Cinematical got it best: (http://www.cinematical.com/2010/01/13/ivan-reitman-to-direct-ghostbusters-3/) .

MTV just asked Reitman a whole bunch of questions about the movie, and he actually gave them some answers. When asked about the script, Ivan confirmed that Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky have already turned in a completed draft for part 3 and that a new draft is currently being worked through, much to the delight of all involved. When asked about a potential start date, Ivan revealed that he hopes to start shooting it within the next year.
And it looks like Ghostbusters 3 will have a dream cast, with the old cast coming back for the encore: So it’s comforting to know that he is now returning over twenty years later for the new film. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Sigourney Weaver are all, barring some kind of cataclysmic, joy-hating turn of events, returning as well (I haven’t seen confirmation on Ernie Hudson). And if that’s not good enough news, even Rick Moranis is said to be willing to leave retirement to reprise his role as their accountant, Louis Tully! Is this spectacular news, or what?

Sure, it raises the expectations like crazy. But who cares right now – there’s a rumor that Bill Murray will appear as a ghost! Now, there’s an apparition for you (groan).