‘Ghostbusters 3′ Writer & Producer Discuss the Bill Murray Factor

As each month passes, the hopeful spring start date for Ghostbusters 3 becomes increasingly unlikely.

While Sony Pictures, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd and Ivan Reitman have already signed-off on the much revised Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky screenplay, there still remains one final hurdle to overcome… the Bill Murray factor.

Last week, Lee Eisenberg and Ghostbusters 3 producer Joe Medjuck separately discussed the stalled production of the highly-anticipated return of everyone’s favorite parapsychologists. Despite being on opposite sides of the country, both discussions quickly turned to Bill Murray and his reluctancy to sign-off on the Ghostbusters‘ final installment -- or even read the script.

Eisenberg, visiting his alma mater Connecticut College to kick off a series of lectures, talked about the lengthy waiting period they’re in because of Murray:

“Right now, we have a script we haven’t worked on probably in a couple of months, and we’re waiting for Bill Murray to read it. People seem excited about it, and the studio seems high on it. … We’re very proud of it. We worked really hard on it, and I think it’d be a really fun movie.”

Additionally, Eisenberg noted how involved Reitman, Aykroyd and Ramis have been during the writing process, noting that Ramis will now receive a story credit on the film because of it:

“We’ve been working really closely with Ivan Reitman for a couple years on it. Dan Aykroyd has been really involved. Harold Ramis has been very involved -- we’re sharing a story credit on it with him. Then we reworked the script. I mean, that script went through a lot of rewrites, and it kept getting, we think at least, tighter and funnier. It took a little bit to really understand the tone of a movie like Ghostbusters. It’s really scary when you’re writing characters you grew up on. … The last thing you want to do is disappoint.”

On the other side of the country, Ghostbusters 1, 2 & 3 producer (and longtime producing partner of Ivan Reitman) Joe Medjuck attended the Ghostbusters screening at the Arclight Cinema. Following the film’s presentation, Medjuck, along with other members of the Ghostbusters special effects team (including William Atherton), fielded questions from the audience.

Obviously, the first thing that came up was Ghostbusters 3. While Medjuck related similar information regarding Bill Murray, he provided a more in-depth look at the process – or lack there of – that Murray is known for and how Murray didn’t even read the script for the original Ghostbusters until the first day of filming.

“Sony says they’d like to make it, everyone thinks it’s a good script. Bill has heard it’s a good script, but he hasn’t read it. Bill’s like that – he just says he’s busy.

Harold tells a very funny story about the several months it took to get Bill to read the script for Groundhog Day. Every week or so, [Bill] would go up to Harold and say, “You know, I read 10 pages… they’re really good. Is it going to stay this good?”

He hasn’t even read 10 pages [of Ghostbusters 3] yet, to the best of our knowledge.

[Regarding the original Ghostbusters] Bill just committed to it… he just said yes. He went to India to make The Razor’s Edge. I don’t think he even read the script [for Ghostbusters] until he arrived back, [and] the day he came back, we shot with him.”

You can watch the entire Ghostbusters Q&A from the Arclight Cinema below:

Perhaps it’s the fact that Eisenberg and Stupnitsky are behind this screenplay and not Aykroyd, Ramis and Reitman that’s causing much of Murray’s hesitation. The fact that Eisenberg and Stupnitsky’s Year One bombed in theaters certainly can’t help matters.

Whether it be hell or high water, someone needs to find a way to get Murray to at least read the script. As it’s been stated many times before, Murray is one of the five rights holders to Ghostbusters and there can be no movie unless Murray signs-off on it -- even if he doesn’t want to appear in it. Maybe some nice messages on his famed 1-800 number will help sway the comedic genius… or begging. Whatever works.

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Ghostbusters 3 is slated to begin production this spring.

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Source: The Day, Arclight Cinema [via: Proton Charging]

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Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse Discuss Life After ‘Lost’

Almost a year ago fans began watching the final season of Lost.

As the story of Jack, Sawyer, Hurley, Kate and the rest of the island’s infamous inhabitants came to an end, executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse not only had to come to grips with moving on from one of the most popular series in recent television history, but they also had to deal with the mixed response from fans to the Lost series finale.

For Lindelof, he is now focused on developing feature films – specifically Star Trek 2. But that doesn’t mean he’s finally come to terms with Lost being over and the numerous complaints from fans about how they ended the series.

“Even the people who absolutely hated how we ended it still have the need to tell me this in a variety of creative ways eight months after the fact. I used to lose sleep over this, but I’m actually starting to embrace the fact that while their assessment of my talent (or lack thereof) sometimes hurts, it’s nice to know that at least they cared enough about the show to reach out and tell me so. Repeatedly. OK, I’m still losing a little sleep over it.”

Fortunately, those sleepless nights have allowed Lindelof to catch up on the many television series that he’s missed while working on Lost – not to mention taking in a Harry Potter film and apologizing to Lost fans about the series finale. Here are Lindelof’s viewing suggestions:

“I’d advise starting with Battlestar Galactica, moving on to Breaking Bad and ending with The Wire. I’m convinced the best way to watch a series is to just binge.”

Considering Lost was known for its long, drawn out storylines and lengthy delays between seasons, it’s interesting that Lindelof suggests that “binging” is the best way to watch a television series. Perhaps all of this time has given the famed producer a new perspective on things.

As for Cuse, he recently published the experiences of his past year in The New York Times. While much of it revolves around Cuse trying to come to grips with Lost being over and trying to figure out what he’ll do next or if he’ll ever work in Hollywood again, he did provide an interesting anecdote about a fan interaction in Switzerland.

“Last summer I went hiking with my teenage daughter in the Swiss Alps… As I was drinking some water and taking in the awesome panorama, I noticed a hiker approaching… I thought he was going to warn us of some danger. Instead he walked up to me and in German-accented English asked, ‘Are you Carlton Cuse, from ‘Lost’?’ Startled, I answered, ‘Yes.’ Then he said, ‘Why did you not explain the polar bear?’ … Even here in this remote spot I could not escape the last six years of my life.”

We now know that Cuse has begun working on a Civil War project for ABC, Point of Honor. The genre transition was inspired by a visit Cuse paid to the Lincoln Memorial… plus the fact that there are no polar bears in the Civil War.

Even though Cuse’s introspective experiences rarely delve into any regrets he had with the series finale, it does provide a look into the mind of the man that captured our attention for six long years. Instead of focusing on the angry fans, he was more concerned with the prospect of going from an 80-hour work week on Lost to doing absolutely nothing.

Whether or not fans have finally come to terms with the finale that Lost presented to viewers around the world still remains to be seen. For Lindelof and Cuse, it appears that they’ve finally moved on – or are at least trying to do so.

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Source: TV Guide, The New York Times

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