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.

So it seems Bill Murray is still not confirmed for Ghostbusters 3. According to several news outlets, Ivan Reitman said that Murray has been given what we assume is the final script of the movie, but that there’s no word from him on whether he is going to be in it.

At the same time, Reitman said it was “absolutely possible” that Ashton Kutcher(!) could play a part in the ghostbusting sequel. Before we faint in horror at the thought of him with a proton pack on, let’s keep in mind that Reitman was standing right next to Kutcher when he was asked if there was a place in the movie for him – what else was he supposed to say?
Even so, shudders are in order – the door seems to be open to a Murray-less Ghostbusters 3 featuring Ashton Kutcher.
Surely things can only get better from here on. Right?

Right?

Sinister forces are haunting the world of Ghostbusters 3.
Several news outlets are reporting that Ivan Reitman might get ousted from his own franchise. It seems studio Columbia/Sony are eager to get a younger director to make Ghostbusters 3, and are looking for a way to get Reitman off the project. Normally, that would not pose much of a problem for any studio executive, but in this case, it’s a major headache.

The reason is that Reitman’s original contract gives him the right to pull the plug on the entire project. He, along with Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis essentially have veto power over the Ghostbusters franchise, and any one of them can terminate the project. The odds of Reitman using that power if he gets squeezed out are probably pretty high.

The studio is not keen on having such a potential major moneymaker as Ghostbusters 3 sunk by a squabble like this, but it looks like a stalemate. It’s not likely that Reitman will willingly walk away from what could be the most lucrative project of his career.

It might seem as if Ghostbusters 3 is in jeopardy, but there’s no cause for alarm. If we had to guess, we’d say it gets made on schedule, with Reitman as director. It can’t be made without his blessing. And we think he’s earned another go.