Ghostbusters turns 30

[iamthedoctor]

 

Busting has officially been making people feel good for 30 years. That’s right, as of this week, Ghostbusters reaches three whole decades of age. That’s 30 years of not being afraid of no ghosts, 30 years of inappropriate "crossing the streams" jokes at men’s urinals and 30 years of knowing exactly who we’re gonna call.

To celebrate, let us act as the Keymaster to your Gatekeeper of film trivia and unleash 30 giant Twinkie-sized facts about Ghostbusters into your neighbourhood...

1. Originally, Ghostbusters was to have just three main characters - to be played by Dan Akroyd, John Belushi and Eddie Murphy. They fought ghosts in SWAT-like uniforms using wands rather than guns. It was going to feature a world in which Ghostbusting was already established and there were many such services and stations all over the world.

2. Hardly any of the dialogue was performed as scripted, with everyone ad-libbing throughout. In particular, Bill Murray improvised almost all of his lines.

3. Christopher Walken, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd and Jeff Goldblum were all considered to play Dr. Egon Spengler.

4. Winston was originally written to play a guard at the Ghostbusters HQ. Somewhere along the way, he got a promotion!

5. Dan Aykroyd came up with the idea for this film thanks to his family history. Many of his older relatives were fascinated by ghosts and his grandfather even once tried to make a radio that contacted the spirit world.

6. John Candy was due to play Louis Tully but he quit when his ideas were being rejected. Director Ivan Reitman later revealed that Candy's wanted the character to have a German accent and own two schnauzer dogs. When this refused, Candy quit and Rick Moranis stepped in at the last minute.

7. Did you think the Librarian ghost at the start of the film is scary? Well, it was nearly so much worse! A much terrifying version was originally going to be used but was rejected. However, it was reused one year for Fright Night.

Pah. BORING.

8. During the film’s original run in cinemas, the Ghostbusters advert from the movie was played on TV, with the number changed to a real 1-800 number. Callers were treated to the sound of Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd apologising for not answering the phone because they were "out catching ghosts". The number received 1000 calls every hour, 24 hours a day for 6 weeks.

9. The montage sequence that plays in the middle of the film contains several shots that were shot on the first day. It shows the Ghostbusters running and driving around New York, but they didn't actually have any permits to film and had to try to do it all sneakily, without getting caught.

10. He might seem like a random choice for a villain, but Stay-Puft does appear earlier in the film in a neat bit of foreshadowing. When the eggs pop and fry themselves in Dana's kitchen, they are actually sitting next to a pack of "Stay-Puft" marshmallows. You can even see the sailor himself on the packaging.

11. Ray Parker Jr.'s main idea for the Ghostbusters theme came to him at 4:30am when, after 2 days of trying to write the song, he saw an advert for a drain company that reminded him of a scene from the film. This prompted him to write: "Who You Gonna Call?"

12. Dan Aykroyd's original title for the film was "Ghost Smashers", which sounds... awesome?

13. Director Ivan Reitman has said that William Atherton (Walter Peck) complained to him that the movie ruined his life. His character was so reviled that people would start arguments with him for reason.

14. Sigourney Weaver was so determined to get the part (and shed her action/horror image from Alien) that, for her audition, she acted out turning into a demonic dog for the director, who liked her enthusiastic portrayal so much, he cast her immediately.

15. The Slimer ghost model was nicknamed "Onionhead" by crew on set because it smelled so bad.

Stream if you want to go faster

16. When the Ghostbusters quiz Alice the librarian about the opening incident and ask if anyone in her family had had a history of mental illness, she replies she had an uncle who thought he was St. Jerome. It's probably no coincidence that Jerome is the patron saint of librarians.

17. The scene in which Louis Tully mingles at his own party introducing everyone to each other was almost entirely improvised by Moranis.

18. Originally, the Stay-Puft marshmallow man was going to rise out of the water next to The Statue Of Liberty so that the audience got a sense of his size, but the scene was deemed too difficult to shoot.

19. Celebrities cameoing in the music video for "Ghostbusters" include Chevy Chase; John Candy; Melissa Gilbert; Jeffrey Tambor; George Wendt; Al Franken; Danny DeVito; Carly Simon and Peter Falk. The Ghostbusters themselves also danced in costume down Times Square for the video.

20. The Stay-Puft marshmallow goo that falls to the ground was actually shaving cream. Actor William Atherton (Walter Peck) had over 50 gallons dumped on him, which almost knocked him to the ground.

21. The scene in which Sigourney Weaver floats in mid-air and turns around was filmed practically rather than with visual effects. Weaver is placed in a body cast and attached to a hidden pole.

22. Michael Keaton turned down the roles of BOTH Peter Venkman and Egon Spengler.

23. Not content with staying behind the camera, direct Ivan Reitman also provided the demonic "lovely singing voice" for Zuul.

24. On the set, Dan Aykroyd referred to Slimer as "the ghost of John Belushi", who was set to play Peter Venkman before his tragic death.

25. Legendary porn star Ron Jeremy, appears as an extra in the crowd scene towards the end of the film. Incidentally, he went on to star in a porn parody of the film, entitled This Ain't Ghostbusters XXX.

26. When it came to shooting the ending, no one knew how to get the Ghostbusters to save the day. Eventually, the idea of crossing streams was decided upon and then a scene in which this was discussed was added earlier in the film.

27. Because Ray Parker Jr. was struggling to complete the title song by his given deadline, he got his girlfriend and her friends to record the shouted "Ghostbusters" part of the song.

28. In the original script, Gozer took on the form of Ivo Shandor (the ghost building's architect), who was basically going to be a man in a business suit. Ooh scary!

29. Everyone knows that the power packs on the Ghostbusters' backs are called "proton packs", but this is never mentioned in the first film. The term is coined in the sequel when Egon says "before we go any further I think we should get our proton packs".

30. Due to budget restraints, there was only ever one Ecto 1 car made. It eventually broke down, never to resurface, halfway through filming Ghostbusters II.

 

[BrokenDreams23]

[UndertakerWLF]

This is such a milestone for me, back in the summer of 84 this was my first movie ever I had ever seen at the cinema, Its one of those movies that are timeless and if truth be told the effects still hold to this day and age! I got to see it again at the cinema 2 years ago at halloween and it still brought back the emotions I had watching it when I was 6.

 

I know the movie is getting a re-run again on the 29th August in the States, I really hope it will get show here again in the UK. There are 2 movies I never miss re-runs of at the cinema..

 

 

 

Ghostbusters

Star Wars

 

Looking forward to that double pack Blu Ray of GB1 and GB2!

Edited June 8, 2014 by UndertakerWLF

[iamthedoctor]

This is such a milestone for me, back in the summer of 84 this was my first movie ever I had ever seen at the cinema, Its one of those movies that are timeless and if truth be told the effects still hold to this day and age! I got to see it again at the cinema 2 years ago at halloween and it still brought back the emotions I had watching it when I was 6.

 

I know the movie is getting a re-run again on the 29th August in the States, I really hope it will get show here again in the UK. There are 2 movies I never miss re-runs of at the cinema..

 

 

 

Ghostbusters

Star Wars

 

Looking forward to that double pack Blu Ray of GB1 and GB2!

 

I bought the blu ray release a few weeks ago as I wanted the documentary & it goes nicely alongside the Filmation Ghostbusters & that super expensive 200 quid boxset america got with special packaging complete Real Ghostbusters!