In the latest episode of Rewind of the Living Dead, we’re going to charge our proton packs and roast some Stay Puft marshmallows as we look back at the 1984 classic “Ghostbusters”…
Fascinated by the paranormal, Dan Aykroyd originally came up with a concept for a movie after reading a story about quantum physics and parapsychology that gave him the idea about trapping ghosts.
He was also interested in creating a modern comedic ghost film following in the footsteps of icons such as Abbott and Costello as well as Bob Hope. He wrote the script with plans to star alongside his friend John Belushi and he pitched the idea as “three men who chase ghosts” and basically compared it to pest control for the undead.
Of course, Akyroyd’s original script also took place in the future and director Ivan Reitman estimated that it would take $300 million to film his version of the movie.
That’s when Harold Ramis joined the project and helped rework Aykroyd’s script with a setting in present day New York.
Sadly, Belushi’s death forced Aykroyd to look elsewhere for his co-star and that’s when he pitched the idea to fellow SNL alum Bill Murray, who agreed to do the film so long as the studio would allow him to remake the movie “The Razor’s Edge.”
Ramis then decided to star in the film as well after they struggled to find an actor who could portray one particularly brainy character in the script. Principle photography on the film started in October 1983 with the story set around a group of scientists who start a company together in the business of catching ghosts…
In the latest episode of Rewind of the Living Dead, we’re going to charge our proton packs and roast some Stay Puft marshmallows as we look back at the 1984 classic “Ghostbusters”…
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