By Rob Bricken in
Movies
Monday, Feb. 8 2010 @ 10:29AM
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Remember when Sigorney Weaver said in some Avatar interview that Bill Murray was going to be a ghost? Well... now Bill Murray is saying he's going to be a ghost, too. From an interview with The Mail as summed up by Empire:
"I'll come back in Ghostbusters 3 only if I get to be a ghost," Murray told The Mail On Sunday in an exclusive interview. "I said to them, 'I'll do it if you kill me off in the first reel.' So now they are going to have me as a ghost in the film."Fuck. Is there anyone who wants Bill Murray to be a ghost in a Ghostbusters film other than Bill Murray? I want him to bust some goddamn ghosts, dammit. Does this mean that there'll definitely be a new young team for the elder Ghostbusters to train? I have no idea.
Now, there is a not minuscule chance that this might be untrue, despite the seeming confirmations from both Weaver and Murray. First of all, the Murray interview was done back in last October, although The Mail has for whatever reason decided to finally publish it last weekend. That's 3-4 months where things could have changed. Also, we've all heard about the millions of GB3 scripts; maybe he and Weaver were referring to an older one. And last but not least, this is Bill Murray. He could be yanking our chains. I certainly hope so, but it certainly feels like I'm in denial over this. My question for you guys -- can Ghostbusters 3 be that enjoyable if Venkman is a ghost for most of it?
Tags: Ghostbusters
40 comments
Comments
Deacon Blues said:
I could believe that one of them was just messing with us, but both of them saying it? It's definitely true in some version of the script.
Honestly, I don't think it's a bad idea.
RubyRoses said:
I can think of at least one situation where him being a ghost could work.
Kind of like, think it was "Death Takes a Holiday" last season of Supernatural, the Boys had too leave their bodies to to get to Alastair [? was it him..], anyway, if he dies to get access to some other ghost/demon/what-have-you could work.
toryoom replied to RubyRoses:
I agree. There are scenarios where him being a ghost could work, and even perhaps setup some funny moments. It could easily be one of those storylines where his "death" is only partial and temporary, allowing him access to the 'other side' to help out the rest of his team in some way ...no new trainees, or whatever, even need to enter the picture for plenty of workable plotlines to feature such a gimmick.
...Of course, it could also be a disaster just as easily, but that, like everything else, is a matter of the skill [not to mention level of respect, imagination, and talent] present in those producing the movie.
I don't think wigging out at this stage, even with such reports, is totally warranted. ...Yet.
Lithroe said:
I have to agree with Deacon Blues, this is Bill Murray. He could take the idea of him as a ghost and make it the funniest thing about the movie. I only hope that his ghost isn't a caricature of Venkman, as the Scoleri Brothers were in Ghostbusters 2.
rickicker said:
considering venkman's character in the two movies, i'd say some bathroom jokes and "whoops! sorry for peeping on ya!" situations are inevitable. which, though campy, would be fine so long as they CONFIRMED. THE GODDAMN. MOVIE already!!!
Eponymous said:
They're yanking our chains. Both of them. And anyone else who chimes in on it.
Remember, ghosts are evil, bad, and totally unwanted in the Ghostbusters world. Even slimer, as "cute" as people made him out to be, had only one destination: into the trap.
Murray as a ghost makes all sorts of non-sense. First, what, is he going to be LIKEABLE? That breaks all sorts of rules about the universe our loveable heroes inhabit. Then, even if he was, boom, zap, he's in the trap and gone. I mean, they can take down Gozer AND a 100-foot marshmallow man? Doesn't really make for very much excitement.
I'm sure they've all gotten together and come up with some stories to feed the fans while the real script is under lock & key somewhere.
toryoom replied to Eponymous:
They seem to have lessened this notion in the sequel. Yes, the bus scene with Slimer and Rick Moranis was mostly just for a one-off gag. Yes, that one-off gag was probably induced, in part, by the cartoon. But I don't think these movies take themselves seriously enough to classify such notions as ghosts being chiefly evil as "canon," as the willingness to pull away from that for a gag in that scene well attests. I imagine, therefore, Murray as a ghost (though probably just Murray yanking everyone's chain, as you said) is totally impossible.
toryoom replied to toryoom:
* Correction: ISN'T totally impossible.
Also, the mayor's comment about 'spending an hour in my room last night talking to Fiorella LaGuardia' indicates that ghosts are not necessarily all aggressive and evil in the Ghostbusters world. ...They just focused on the evil ones more because they were the ones causing enough ruckus to call for busting in the first place!
DoctorSmashy replied to Eponymous:
I agree with this. They're probably just screwing with us because they know how we'll react. Making us think GB3 will be crappy is just so we get more excited when we find out it isn't crappy - and even if it is a little crappy, we'll be too busy being happy that it isn't REALLY crappy to care that it's a little crappy.
ZeroCorpse replied to Eponymous:
Just wanted to point out that the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man *IS* Gozer. When they zapped Gozer, it just dematerialized momentarily, awaiting their choice of the form of The Destructor, i.e., Gozer's form for destroying the world. When the Marshmallow Man showed up, that was still Gozer.
THE PR0F35550R said:
I HATE THIS!!!
Henry said:
Could be good. Could be hilarious. I'll take Bill Murray's nose for comedy over Rob Bricken's every time.
JOE said:
I'm sorry but I think the ship has sailed on a Ghostbusters sequel.
Not that I think they won't make one anyway, but I don't want to see the team as old as they are now, and I sure as hell don't want to see the "hip young comedians" of today as the new Ghostbusters.
Nik said:
If well written this could work out fine with Ghost Pete hanging around and harassing the other guys. But it all heavily depends on the dialogue and interactions with the characters. That whats most important here.
Either way, I really wish GB3 would not happen. Just keep making video games please. Please?
B.C. Cakes said:
Nope.
Sean said:
I always approached Ghostbusters this way...the monstrous, destructive ghosts were the ones who lost their sense of self when they died. If you notice the two movies, there are only a handful of ghosts who come back in a humanoid form, and they do what they did while alive (the cabbie in GB, the jogger in GB2, Scoleri Bros. to an extent in that they try to harm others). So I think it's a matter of ego, and who has more of an ego than Peter fucking Venkman? The cabbie is a NYC cabbie; they all think they know everything, if you talk to one while you ride their cabs. The jogger could be a matter of vanity, which requires a strong ego to begin with.
Juancho said:
If there's anyone that could pull this off, it's Bill Murray. As long as he shows up throughout the entire film, I am perfectly okay with this. Granted, I'd rather him stay amongst the living, but this isn't the worst thing that could happen. The worst thing that could happen is no Bill Murray at all.
Geek Salad said:
Seriously? This really should be the older guys training a new generation of Ghostbusters! Imagine the amount of ensuing hilarity if Venkman and Co. were training Seth Rogan, Paul Rudd, Anna Farris, and Michael Cera (as Oscar, the baby from GB2)
License to print money, I tells ya!
ZeroCorpse replied to Geek Salad:
If Michael Cera is in this, I will seriously consider eating my own spleen in rage. He's the sure-fire way to ruin any comedy made from now until the end of time.
-
However, Akroyd has shown an interest in putting Alyssa Milano in a Ghostbusters movie (she was in the game). I'm not sure how I feel about that...
Deacon Blues replied to Geek Salad:
Yeah, let's put Cera in it and make Ghostbusters 3: 90 Minutes of a Generic Teenager Acting Awkward Around a Hot Girl Who Clearly Wants to Screw Him.
Can we fit that on the poster?
Phil said:
I thought his un-hyped cameo in Zombieland was great, why go and fuck up a franchise by spilling the beans on something like this so soon? And BTW wasn't the new Ghostbuster video game technically the 3rd movie?
jeffers replied to Phil:
I seem to recall hearing that it was based on a proposed script for the third film, which, if anything, just confirms that there are multiple scripts floating around so Murray and Weaver were probably talking about one possible script that has probably been canned.
Also, this is from a British newspaper, you can't trust anything we say!
Writer's Block said:
Well... It could work, I guess, or they could very well be messing with our minds. For now, I'll show faith in the writing, and if he does end up a ghost, that there's a few ways they can make it work.
Same way the new generation idea could work, in some way or another. It's just that some of us, myself included, would probably prefer it be another.
I will say this. From the quote above, it sounded a lot like a joke more than him actually spoiling the movie.
davelog said:
If Murray is gonna be a ghost, they're gonna HAVE to do a throwaway scene with him spooking some shlub and then saying 'No one will ever believe you.'
Poe Ghostal said:
If he was "killed" in the first reel, but the rest of the movie was devoted to the 'Busters finding a way to bring him back to the world of the living--perhaps involving some sort of descent into the underworld/hell, an idea which has been bouncing around in regard to Ghostbusters forever--it might work.
hugh huffer said:
Wow! Breaking news report! This is timely and relevant!
HE HAS BEEN SAYING THIS SHIT IN INTERVIEWS FOR SIX YEARS AT LEAST.
And you guys seriously care/are losing your shit?
Nicnac said:
lol
Ghostbusters: The Hottie Tween Edition™
Aaron Riveteran said:
As long as he's in the film and not fucking it up by preventing it from being made, he can be a damn ghost
Kevin said:
Killing Venkman = SUCK
Sympathy4Dr.Doom said:
i totally buy this and here are my reasons why
in zombieland he was wearing a wig and make-up for no damn good reason
in get smart he was in a tree...just his face in a tree
the man has to be ashamed of being bald and old or something close to it ,if he is a ghost he still gets to be in the movie but obscurred by the special effects
are my reasons lame..yes
but i totally buy this...and i don't care i just want this movie made
Kench said:
They've been talking about Venkman as a ghost for years. I think it could work. He wouldn't be a bad ghost, most likely more like Slimer from the cartoon.
Snoodle said:
They could have had a blackout period on news relating to the matter (seems to happen rather often over there.) I, personally, still don't know how to feel about this plot twist...
Dr. Rocketscience said:
Murray has always had something of an inscrutable public persona. He seems to take his work very seriously, and either doesn't mind seeming like an odd duck, or really is an odd duck.
Meanwhile - and understand that I'm a huge fan of Ghostbusters and really don't want to piss on anyone's parade - in the history of unnecessary sequels, the idea of a GB3 takes the cake. Seriously people, did we learn nothing from GB2?
Kevin replied to Dr. Rocketscience:
Ghostbusters 2 didn't recapture the magic of the first one, but it was still pretty damned entertaining. Not sure what everybody's problem is.
Xenos said:
Count me in with the SFW crowd. I don't want just a retread of the first movie, which I think the second suffered from a bit too much. Having Murray become a ghost might be something to liven up and keep the movie fresh. This is Bill Murray. If he wants to do something crazy like that, I think it could just turn out good. Plus now more than ever I could see it working effects wise. Though I almost hope for traditional effects and not just CGI monsters, CGI could capture Murray's personal performance better than just a suit like the original Slimer. Still hope some of the ghosts are models and suits, but for a main character and to capture Murray, you do need to use CGI.
Of course the bigger question is whether we get a CGI Egon, Ramis loses weight, or is Egon just gonna be heavier than Ray. The idea of a non-skinny Egon scares me more than ghost Venkman.
randy peenpoon said:
Sounds too much like "The Frighteners"
Reese said:
I'm probably in a minority, but I wouldn't miss Venkman if he was gone completely. I was never into that cocky, smug asshole thing he did all the time. He was always my least favorite.
Matty Worth said:
Assuming everything is true (and that's a big assumption), what's to say that just because Venkman is a ghost he still won't be ghostbusting? Ghost-on-ghost busting action? I'd pay to see that.
Sara said:
I'm not heart broken over the notion. He might be better suited as a ghost. He can help scare up some business. Personally I'm busy hoping that they'll have come to their senses and put Egon & Janine together.
Hopefully this will be a successful sequel and we can all get over GB2. Goodness knows I like to pretend it never happened.
