Celebrity Measurements

I t’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when a sequel to a highly popular and profitable movie wasn’t a done deal. Each film was renegotiated before it was made. It was rare for actors to sign multi-film contracts. If you want to work on a Marvel movie, you might be asked to sign nine-movie contracts. By why didn’t Ghostbusters 3, or rather Ghostbusters: Hellbent, never get made?

While Ghostbusters II wasn’t a critical darling, it did make its budget back ten times over. There had to be another film in the works. S ome of the cast and creative team were ready to give it another go, but some holdouts stalled a third Ghostbusters film for decades. Some of them had to literally die before a new film could be released. What prevented this film from being made sooner? Let’s find out here on What Happened To This Unmade Film.

A s Dan Aykroyd was doing the press rounds for Ghostbusters II, he was constantly asked if we would end up seeing another Ghostbusters film. He would say that the possibilities are endless, but others on the team did not agree. Originally Bill Murray only agreed to do the original film if Sony would agree to let him do an adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s novel The Razor’s Edge.

I n order to get him to agree to do Ghostbusters II, the studio brought the cast together to discuss it. He told People Magazine that he was outfoxed. He had a great time reconnecting with the cast. The studio then pitched him some ideas he liked and thought would work. When he arrived to shoot the movie, he found that whatever had captured his imagination was not in the script. He couldn’t stop them from shooting because they had already started. Will he return for part three?

That was a major sticking point for quite some time. He had no interest in playing Peter Venkman again. Money was never a major factor in his decision to work on the next project. Aykroyd had to change his ideas. He offered Murray a walk-on five minute role. The offer was declined. The next movie will have to go forward without Peter Venkman.

D an Aykroyd and his writting partner Tom Davis would set out to figure out what the next adventure for the Ghostbusters would be. Aykroyd had an idea he thought was a good one. One of the concerns was that the original cast were getting older, and some of them didn’t want to return. He thought this would be a good place to start, as it could be incorporated into the script. What if the heroes had retired, but were called back to save the planet? It was a good idea, but it needed more. While Aykroyd was thinking about this, he did some acting jobs. On one set he got to work with a comedian that really reenergized him on the idea of a new

Ghostbusters. His mind was spinning after working with Chris Farley on Tommy boy. If the original team retired, perhaps there was a franchised-out new team. Aykroyd then wrote a character just for his new co-star. This led to Aykroyd writing a character just for his new co-star.I n

Ghostbusters: Hellbent we find that the original team has all but retired from the busting game. The original Ghostbusters are still employed by the company, but the grunt work has been taken over by other teams. The original crew is now responsible for the business and research. We meet a new Ghostbusters team, including Lovell, Moira and Carla. Dr. Nat Colby is also introduced. Teams from all over the city are working hard to contain the ghosts that have been reported. Ray and Egon work on a theory stating that the spirit world exists right next to our world. It would be possible to phase between worlds by using different frequencies. The guys receive a call saying that the Chief Administrator of Vatican Investigative Group, is dying. They find out that he is hoping to be able contact them from the afterlife. After some back-and-forth, the priest tries passing over but is pulled to the afterlife by some savage spirits.

Ray & Egon decide to push their theory to the next level and take it to the spirit world. The original Ghostbusters team reunites without Peter Venkman. Depending on which version of the script you read, he either went to Indonesia to claim the largest gold deposit in world or he died while doing research at Ghostbusters HQ. The Ghostbusters team, along with a few new recruits, are able to enter the spirit world. They find it is not very different from our own. They are in Manhellton, a hellish version Manhatten. They quickly discover that the increase in ghostly activity has occurred because hell is running out of space. The spirits keep trying to enter the town only to find themselves back in the world. The crew is trying to find out what’s going on and they are looking for someone who can lead them to the right person. After a series of scenarios, they finally meet Luke Sifer. He seems to be the man in charge of Hell. In the script, he is described like a Donald Trump.

T The group must find a solution to help some of the spirits leave Manhellton, while not getting stuck in the spirit realm themselves. They can work with characters who are still in Manhattan and try to fix things for both sides. Why did the movie fail to progress? Sony should have no problem approving another Ghosbusters film after the previous two were so successful. Harold Ramis said in an interview that they wanted actors like Chris Farley, Chris Rock and Ben Stiller to play new characters. These comedians were rising stars in the late 90s and would have made a great addition for the original cast. There were a number of events that led to the cancellation of this movie.

F First and foremost, Chris Farley’s death put the project on hold. Aykroyd wanted him to be in it after working with him on Tommy Boy. He was a rising comedy star when he first pushed for the idea, but had now become a certified box-office star. The studio felt that the film’s profitability had been impacted by his death. Aykroyd’s company was unable to continue because the character Frank was written with him in view.

Another blow to the film’s appeal was the fact that Bill Murray, SigourneyWeaver, and Rick Moranis declined to return. Bill Murray’s character Peter Venkman, played by Murray, was the most popular. If the special effects were great, then audiences would love it. Bill Murray can give a quick zinger on the ghost and you’ve got great special effects. Murray’s absence would have left Weaver with little to do, so she decided not to return. Moranis said that he was a bit bored with acting and had stepped back to raise his children.

The film industry changed dramatically after a small horror flick was released. It changed the way studios approached filmmaking.

The Blair Witch Project

was made on a shoestring and brought in a windfall to the studio who released it. The film’s purported budget was only $60,000. The film would gross over $250 million. This was more than

Ghostbuster 2

was made in theaters. CBR reports that Sony began to question why they would spend more than $100 million on a film when they could make smaller budget films and earn a large amount of money back. There are reports that Sony asked the creators if they could make the film on a much smaller budget. They were told that it was not possible. With all these factors happening at the same time, Ghostbusters: Hellbent was dropped. W ithin the next 5 or 6 years, Sony would decide to once again try to put together another Ghostbusters

film. They would hire new writers to try to keep some of the elements from Hellbent, but add other elements that would make it stand out. One idea was to have Oscar, Dana’s son from part 2, join the younger Ghostbusters. After many failed attempts and Bill Murray’s denials, Sony decided to reboot the franchise in 2016 with all new characters. The film would start a world where Ghosbusters had never existed before. This movie failed to connect with audiences, and was not the jumpstart that the franchise needed to reinvent themselves. J Ason Reitman was then brought on to create a follow-up to the original films, which would become Ghosbusters Afterlife

. This film would also introduce, unofficially, a new Ghostbuster Team. Egon’s granddaughters would discover that he was trying to prevent a new apocalypse before he died. The old team would step in to help the family of their friend. It had a bit of everything from the previous drafts while adding plenty of new elements to make it a great return for the fans of the original.E ven though Hellbent

didn’t make it onto the screen, parts of the idea for the film were used in other

Ghostbuster media. According to ScreenRant the videogame will take some of the ideas from the story and rework them into a playable experience. The original crew (including Bill Murray!) The original crew (even Bill Murray!) returned to voice their character as they train a brand new recruit. The game pays homage to the original films, while also setting up an entirely new story in which the team travels to the spirit realm. It’s not a hellish Manhattan, but a mystical world of monsters and spirits. While W while

Ghostbusters Hellbent did not make it past the script stage of development, it helped influence the future franchise in various ways. Since then, there have been many movies, games, comics, and other media that incorporate the same elements. It may not have started a new Ghostbusters revolution, it did help nudge it forward into what we have today. Another sequel is on the way from the cast and creators of Ghostbusters: Afterlife

and there has been talk of expanding the franchise even more. If you are ever confronted with a ghost, specter, or spook then you only need to ask “Who will you call?”

Entertainment - Media News Watch originally published at Entertainment - Media News Watch