Ghostbusters 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

Ghostbusters: 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

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When Dan Aykroyd first wrote the script for Ghostbusters, it was a lot different (and darker) than the beloved ’80s Ivan Reitman cult comedy movie.

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Ghostbusters 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters is hailed as one of the greatest comedies ever made, but it took a long journey to get from page to screen. Dan Aykroyd wrote the initial script inspired by his own fascination with the paranormal, which runs in the family (Aykroyd’s father wrote A History of Ghosts, his mother claimed to have witnessed ghosts, his grandfather tried to communicate with the dead, and his great-grandfather was a noted spiritualist).

The Ghostbusters that audiences know and love today — a grounded supernatural romp about a bunch of guys getting in over their heads in a spooky line of work — is nothing like the one Aykroyd dreamed up when he first put pen to paper.

10 The Tone Was Initially “Darker And Scarier”

Ghostbusters 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

For more than three decades, Ghostbusters has regularly appeared on lists of the greatest comedies ever made. Audiences fondly remember Bill Murray’s ad-libs, sight gags like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, and the generally lighthearted tone created by director Ivan Reitman.

But Dan Aykroyd’s original script was a lot closer to a straightforward horror movie than the subversive paranormal comedy it ended up becoming. He told Esquire, “[The original script] was a lot darker. And scarier.”

9 John Belushi’s Potential Role Had To Be Reworked After He Passed Away

Ghostbusters 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

Originally, Dan Aykroyd wrote Ghostbusters with three lead roles. He wrote one role for himself, one for Eddie Murphy, and one for the late, great John Belushi.

Aykroyd recalls that he was even writing a line for Belushi’s character when he got the call that his fellow comedy icon and Blues Brothers partner had passed away: “I was writing a line for John, and [producer/talent agent] Bernie Brillstein called and said they just found him… We loved each other as brothers.”

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8 It Was Originally Set In Outer Space In The Future

Ghostbusters 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

The original Ghostbusters script was set in outer space in the future. It concerned a sort of civil war between several competing groups of Ghostbusters. When director Ivan Reitman got a hold of the script, he loved the concept but didn’t love the unrelatable (and very expensive) way that Aykroyd executed it. Reitman told Aykroyd, “It’s good, but it’s very hard to make what you’ve written so far.”

The director explained, “The movie I’d be interested in doing should be set today in New York. I think these guys should be people who are dabbling in parapsychology, probably at a university. They get into trouble, they get kicked out, and then they go into business for themselves. And it turns out it’s a good business.”

7 The Visual Effects Had To Be Scaled Back

Ghostbusters 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

The producers of Ghostbusters were only interested in making the movie if it could be made for $25 million, and Aykroyd’s intergalactic original script was estimated to cost $200 million using visual effects technology that didn’t exist yet.

So, director Ivan Reitman stepped in to scale back the effects a little. The original script was a big comic book-y adventure, but Reitman grounded it as a going-into-business narrative.

6 Ghostbusters Were A Part Of Everyday Life

Ghostbusters 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

In the final version of the movie, Peter, Ray, and Egon are the world’s first Ghostbusters, but in the original script, Ghostbusters were already a part of everyday life, like exterminators.

Aykroyd explained, “They were like vacuum cleaners, or elevator repairmen, or firemen. The idea was to have them blend into the urban landscape. Calling a Ghostbuster was just like getting rats removed.”

5 Harold Ramis Contributed To Later Drafts

Ghostbusters 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

When Ivan Reitman became attached to Ghostbusters on the condition that the script would be scaled back and it would take place entirely on Earth, he suggested bringing in Harold Ramis as a co-writer to help ground the story.

Reitman and Aykroyd went into Ramis’ office, where he flicked through the script and listened to their intentions for the project. After 20 minutes, he told them, “I’m in.” Not only did Ramis become Aykroyd’s co-writer, but he also joined the cast as the third Ghostbuster.

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4 A Lot Of Wild Scenes Had To Be Cut

Ghostbusters 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

Dan Aykroyd has described himself as a kitchen-sink writer who throws as many ideas and concepts as he can come up with into the first draft, then relies on a collaborator like Harold Ramis to bring it back down to reality before the final draft.

As a result of this process, a lot of wild scenes had to be cut from the Ghostbusters script, including a psychiatric hospital haunted by celebrity ghosts and an illegal ghost storage facility being run out of a New Jersey gas station.

3 It Went Under A Bunch Of Different Titles

Ghostbusters 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

Everybody involved in Ghostbusters’ production loved the title from the beginning, but Universal owned the rights to the name because it had produced a kids’ TV show in the ‘70s called The Ghost Busters. So, filming began without an official title, and names like Ghostsmashers, Ghoststoppers, and Ghostbreakers were considered.

At a certain point in production, when hundreds of extras playing Ghostbusters fans were chanting the team’s name in every scene, the producers had no choice but to meet Universal’s demands to keep the title. As luck would have it, a Columbia executive who worked on Ghostbusters early in its development became the head of Universal and was able to clear their use of the title (for $500,000).

2 Zeddemore’s Role Was Reduced

Ghostbusters 10 Ways The Original Script Was Changed

The role of Winston Zeddemore was originally written with Eddie Murphy in mind, but Murphy had to turn down the role due to scheduling conflicts with Beverly Hills Cop, which ended up launching him to superstardom.

After Murphy turned down the project and the casting team began looking at relative unknowns to play Zeddemore, the role was drastically reduced. Ernie Hudson was ultimately cast.

1 The Ghostbusters Originally Had A Boss

According to The Complete SFX Guide to Ghostbusters, Dan Aykroyd initially gave the Ghostbusters a boss that they would have to answer to. Instead of taking on their own cases, they would go wherever their boss told them to.

When Harold Ramis came aboard as a co-writer, he felt that the characters should be in charge “of their own destiny,” which fit in with Ivan Reitman’s vision of a grounded going-into-business story.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/ghostbusters-differences-movie-dan-aykroyd-original-script/

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