Everyone’s favourite alien-bashing action heroine Sigourney Weaver has spoken out about two forthcoming blockbuster sequels she’s attached to. Depending on how cynical you’re feeling, the news that she’ll be returning to the verdant CGI jungles of Pandora for the two Avatar sequels should come as no surprise, despite the fact that her character Dr. Grace Augustine (I’d say spoiler alert here, but seriously, who hasn’t seen Avatar?!) died in the first film.

“Don’t worry, I will be back. Jim [Cameron] says no one ever dies in science fiction. He’s told me the stories for the next two movies and I have to say that they’re absolutely wonderful and there’s a real treat in store. Now we just have to make them.”

The sequels will reportedly be shot back-to-back beginning next year, with the first targeting a December 2014 release and the next film following a year later.

Somewhat less encouraging is what Weaver had to say about the highly anticipated Ghostbusters 3, in which it is hoped she will reprise her roll as Dana Barrett.

“I have yet to read the script. I’ve had a couple of calls and I know they’re rewriting and all I said was that I hope my son, Oscar, has grown up to be a Ghostbuster and Ivan Reitman said yes. Beyond that, I have no idea. I hope it comes together, but we already did two wonderful films and, if we have to let this one go, that’s fine.”

The main stumbling block for Ghostbusters 3 appears to be whether Bill Murray will be involved in the project. The actor has previously said that he does have a copy of the script but has yet to read it, while Dan Aykroyd recently announced that it’s looking likely the film will go before cameras in spring 2012 with or without Murray.

(via Coming Soon)

Who you gonna call?

Maybe Bill Murray, maybe not.

Bloody Disgusting report that Dan Aykroyd, the man so awesome he’s had a band named in his honour (Dananananaykroyd), has said that Ghostbusters III will be going into production in early 2012, with or without Bill Murray.

His hope is of course that Murray will be joining him for the project, which is expected to see Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, and hopefully Murray re-teaming with director Ivan Reitman for the first Ghostbusters film since 1989.

A third film has been a possibility for more than a decade, and it seems that Murray’s dislike for sequels has meant that his cooperation with the project has stalled a number of times over the years. As such, Aykroyd seems to be sending out a pretty clear message now that whether Murray’s on board or not, the film is going to be going ahead as of spring 2012.

“Yes, we will be doing the movie and hopefully with Mr. Murray. That is our hope. We have an excellent script. What we have to remember is that ‘Ghostbusters’ is bigger than any one component, although Billy was absolutely the lead and contributive to it in a massive way, as was the director and Harold [Ramis], myself and Sigourney [Weaver]. The concept is much larger than any individual role and the promise of ‘Ghostbusters 3′ is that we get to hand the equipment and the franchise down to new blood.”

That final sentence seems to suggest to me that we could have a Ghostbusters IV in store for us a few years later, but it’s of course a bit too early to speculate about that with the third film yet to even begin production. Firm plot details are yet to surface, but Aykroyd has given away a bit about his character and the original cast handing down their roles to a younger generation:

“My character, Ray, is now blind in one eye and can’t drive the Cadillac… He’s got a bad knee and can’t carry the packs… Egon is too large to get into the harness. We need young blood and that’s the promise. We’re gonna hand it to a new generation.”

And he’s already got his eye on one young actor for the film:

“I like this guy Matthew Gray Gubler from the ‘Criminal Minds’ show… But there’s going to be a casting. We’re going to see everyone that wants to do it. We’re going to need… three guys and a young woman.”

Gubler is best known for playing Dr. Spencer Reid in TV’s Criminal Minds, as well as playing one of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s friends in (500) Days of Summer. As Aykroyd says, it’s just his personal opinion, and there are still going to be auditions held for all the young actors and actresses that want a shot at taking on the franchise. With production planned for early next year, we’ll hopefully be hearing some firm casting news in the coming months, so watch this space.

Is this a tell-take sign that Ghostbusters 3 is finally gearing up for production?

A fan of our site, Adam Christopher, has unearthed a blog called Toys & Gadgets which is running an image grab (see below) from what looks like an official Sony press release from the Licensing International Expo currently running in Las Vegas, which states that Ghosterbusters 3 will be arriving in 2013!

Wow! Wonder if Bill Murray has finally given in after months of uncertainty and signed on. We’ll keep you posted if we hear any further developments, but it’s probably safe to say that if this is indeed true, Sony will be in the process of making some kind of announcement very soon. Fingers crossed!

“Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!” is one of those iconic movie quotes which has fully earned its place in pop culture history over the last 25 years. Frequently voted high in the ranks as one of the greatest comedies ever made, it was released in 1984 and spawned a sequel five years later in ’89 in the form of Ghostbusters II.

This Ghostbusting franchise is still alive and kicking with rumours of the long awaited third installment due to go into production in May 2011!

Along with The Goonies, Back to the Future and other classics from the 1980s, the fan-base for Ghostbusters is loud and proud and while we wait very patiently for concrete production details to trickle through regarding shooting for next year’s highly anticipated Ghostbusters 3 movie, Film-maker and Producer Anthony Bueno and Co-Producer Claire Bueno of Bueno Productions have created a phenomenal feature-length documentary retrospective which looks set to satisfy even Slimer’s insatiable appetite!

Along with Graphics Designer Anthony Zart and Sam Cicchirilo of Burbank store Hollywood Expendables, ‘Cleanin’ Up The Town: Remembering Ghostbusters’ has been dubbed the definitive documentary of the Ghostbusters films and is sure to please fans and film-makers alike with inside scoops, unique stories from cast and crew and reflections of the creative process which brought these beloved films to life.

Check out the fantastic trailer for ‘Cleanin’ Up The Town: Remembering Ghostbusters’. Be sure to “Stay Puft” for more information as we continue to follow the progress of the rumoured sequel as well as the development of this very special documentary which you will not want to miss.

And remember, when someone asks you if you’re a god, you say “YES”!

You can join the Facebook group dedicated to the documentary here.

Okay, so this isn’t really film news, but I have a lot of love for both of these guys. Aykroyd has Ghostbusters, Trading Places, Blues Brothers, Grosse Pointe Blank and Dragnet on his CV, with Jim Belushi offering up Red Heat, The Man With One Red Shoe and K-9 (okay, not quite as impressive a resumé, but hey).

They have shared credits before, with Belushi appearing in Trading Places, but now Aykroyd is going to guest on Belushi’s current CBS TV series, The Defenders. In the show, Belushi and Jerry O’Connell play fast-talking Vegas Attorneys and Aykroyd will guest for a couple of episodes as a judge who tangles with Belushi’s Nick Morelli.

Although Belushi has been mostly working in TV for while now, he does have film work coming up, with Dorothy of Oz and The Secret Lives of Dorks both now in post-production and of course Aykroyd is trying to get Ghostbusters 3 going. We’ll let you know how these various productions develop as we hear more.

Source: Hollywood Reporter.

Okay, so this is the very slenderest of sources, but Production Weekly’s Twitter feed is reporting sources from Sony Pictures that Ghostbusters 3 is due to go into production in May of next year.

The ups and downs of a new Ghostbusters film have been well documented, including Bill Murray’s concerns about the screenwriters who are involved and Dan Aykroyd’s efforts to allay those concerns, as he works on the script.

Now, if this report is to be believed, the sequel may be on the move. We’ll keep you posted.

Dan Aykroyd was recently interviewed by Vanity Fair while on a promotional tour across Canada and the USA for Crystal Head Vodka. They chatted about vodka, Yogi Bear, Justin Timberlake (who voices BooBoo alongside Aykroyd’s Yogi in the upcoming film) and Ghostbusters 3.

Bill Murray had some fairly negative comments to make about a developing script for Ghostbusters 3 when he was interviewed last month by GQ and especially the involvement of the screenwriters from Year One:-

It’s all a bunch of crock. It’s a crock. There was a story—and I gotta be careful here, I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. When I hurt someone’s feelings, I really want to hurt them. [laughs]Harold Ramis said, Oh, I’ve got these guys, they write on The Office, and they’re really funny. They’re going to write the next Ghostbusters. And they had just written this movie that he had directed. Year One. Well, I never went to see Year One, but people who did, including other Ghostbusters, said it was one of the worst things they had ever seen in their lives. So that dream just vaporized. That was gone. But it’s the studio that really wants this thing. It’s a franchise. It’s a franchise, and they made a whole lot of money on Ghostbusters.

Aykroyd wanted to allay any concerns about the quality of any third Ghostbusters instalment and defended the work of Stupnitsky and Eisenberg on both Year One and the initial drafts of Ghostbusters 3:-

He was talking about the writers from Year One, and I think he was reacting to the box-office success and the general public view of the film, which in my view was a very serviceable comedy, and in the end I think they’ll make their money back. I think he was concerned that the writing on Ghostbusters 3 by these guys would not be up to standard, but I can tell you firsthand, I’m working on the script now and those two—Stupnitsky and Eisenberg, [writer-producers of The Office]—wrote Bill the comic role of a lifetime, and the new Ghostbusters and the old are all well represented in it…we have a strong first draft that Harold [Ramis] and I will take back, and I’m very excited about working on it.

So there you have it folks. The script has been drafted, it is being worked on by Aykroyd and Harold Ramis and Bill Murray isn’t sure how he feels about it. Surely there is room in the world for another Ghostbusters film? I mean, who else you gonna call?

After a seemingly endless game of tease which has been played out between film websites for months, Bill Murray finally clears up rumours regarding the long-awaited Ghostbusters 3. Speaking in an interview for this month’s GQ, Murray (whose portrait here was created by celebrated comic book artist Daniel Clowes) has the following to say:

“It’s all a bunch of crock. It’s a crock. There was a story—and I gotta be careful here, I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. When I hurt someone’s feelings, I really want to hurt them. [laughs] Harold Ramis said, Oh, I’ve got these guys, they write on The Office, and they’re really funny. They’re going to write the next Ghostbusters. And they had just written this movie that he had directed.”

Year One was the movie in question, and I think we can all safely assume that if Ramis attempts to resurrect the franchise yet again, he won’t be tapping those guys to write it.

This news is a shame for those fans who are desperate to see some ghosts being busted again, but as this year in particular has proved, it’s a tricky endeavour to try and capture the same magic which existed in those cherished classics from the 80’s.

Who you gonna call?

UK newspaper, the Mail on Sunday has managed to find out some more details about Bill Murray’s character in the Ivan Reitman Directed Ghostbusters 3. (Slight spoiler ahead) The good news is that he’s confirmed that he’ll be in the movie and he goes on to say that he told the producers the only way he’s be in a third movie was if his character appeared as ghost which backs up what Sigourney Weaver said when she was in the UK for Avatar promotion.

“I’ll come back in Ghostbusters III only if I get to be a ghost. 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.”

who you gonna call?

Great news to end the day here at HeyUGuys central that Ivan Reitman has confirmed in a brief interview given with MTV that he will indeed be directing the third instalment of Ghostbusters. He managed to shy away from commenting on Sigourney Weaver’s comments at the Avatar junket where she claimed that *spoiler alert* Bill Murray’s character may be a ghost in this new movie *spoiler end* but did go on to confirm that he will be directing the next movie which is pleasant news to our ears.He also said that he’d like to start shooting next year (2011).

MTV: Reitman said that the script from “Year One” writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky is in and that a second draft is currently in the works. He also confirmed that he will indeed be returning to direct the coming sequel, as had been previously speculated.

“They have delivered a draft,” Reitman said of the script’s progress. “We are working our way through another draft… good work is being done and all of us have our fingers crossed.”

Reitman was all business again when the talk turned back to the schedule. “I hope to start shooting in this next year,” he said, giving weight to Ramis’ recent comments about a planned 2011 release.

Head over to MTV for more info where they have a video clip of the interview too.

Ghostbusters 3

This news comes from the CEO of all things Ghostbusters, Egon himself, and while every interview Harold Ramis gives until Ghostbusters 3 hits our screens will be rife with questions about the long awaited sequel, you can bet that lips will be tightened as the script is finalised, and shooting begins.

HeebMagazine spent a while with Mr Ramis and covered his entire career as a director and star, it is a great read (complimented with some fantastic pictures of the man) and the inevitable Ghostbusters 3 question comes up.

Here’s what he had to say:

Something’s going to happen. Dan [Aykroyd] did write a spec GB3 screenplay a few years ago, but no one was motivated to pursue it. Now, 25 years after the original, there seems to be some willingness to proceed and apparently a substantial public appetite for a sequel. We’ll introduce some new young Ghostbusters, and all the old guys will be in it, too. Think Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future … GB3 is progressing with plans to shoot next summer and release in 2011

I love the Doc Brown analogy, and whether or not the Bill Murray as a ghost rumours turn out to be true, the fact that the original team are taking this through is good news. All I, and I’m sure all Ghostbusters fans, want is a good film. Ghostbusters 2 wasn’t my favourite film of all time, but it proved that the characters and world created was solid enough to set new stories against.

Twenty five years is a good amount of time to wait, and like Back to the Future, this anniversary should be met with a celebration of the original films and, for Ghostbusters at least, a revisiting of our old friends seems like the perfect present.

Don’t read on if you don’t want to know anything about Ghostbusters 3!

Channel 4 News interviewed Sigourney Weaver yesterday during the press junkets for Avatar and during the interview, Weaver may have inadvertently (or perhaps intentionally?) released some information about the 3rd installment in the Ghostbusters franchise.

She told Channel 4 News: “I’m afraid to say it [Ghostbusters 3] is happening, I hope people are excited about that. I don’t know if I’m going to be in it, I have had a couple of calls asking ‘would you read the script’.

“I know that my little son Oscar – who was kidnapped from me – I think he has grown up to be a ghostbuster.

“I might be in it; I see nothing wrong with being in it, although I don’t think I will have a big part. I think Bill Murray has a little more to do with it – he’s a ghost.”

These are quite a big spoiler and I guess more will come out as time passes. It’s not due out for another year or two so I guess a lot can change in that time. You can watch the interview segment below or visit the Channel 4 website here.

.

Thanks to AICN for the heads up.

While other Paranormal Activity is chilling spines this Halloween month, news is reaching us of one of our most cherished franchises, one whose long awaited sequel is rattling into pre-production.

Bloody Disgusting tells us that Ivan Reitman will be returning to Ghostbusters 3, behind the camera, though we are not told in what capacity. This is great news, as while the original team of Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Ackroyd and Ernie Hudson are all confirmed to return for the next film, having Reitman behind the camera will complete this reunion and should bring Reitman back to his glory days of Stripes, the original Ghostbusters films and, um, Junior.

What we also know (according to /Film) is that a script has been delivered from the writers of the subtle as a blowtorch to the face prehistoric comedy Year One, Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg. I hope Ackroyd and Ramis will have considerable input, I’d hate to see this one disappoint.

Read here for more info. We’ll be watching.