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Tag: Harold Ramis

  • Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, More Star in All-Female ‘Ghostbusters’

    Kristen Wiig will join will fellow actresses Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones in comprising the all-female cast of the upcoming remake of Ghostbusters. Sony Pictures is set to release the film in July of 2016.

    Director Paul Feig announced his stars by posting their photos on Twitter on Tuesday. The new film will update the original Ghostbusters from 1984, as well as the sequel from 1989.

    Kristen Wiig is, of course, a Saturday Night Live alumni, and both Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones are part of the current SNL cast. Wiig and McCarthy starred together in the hilarious blockbuster hit Bridesmaids–also directed by Paul Feig.

    The reboot of Ghostbusters has long been in the works, with the initial plan of having the original cast–Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, and Bill Murray. Aykroyd, Ramis, and Hudson had agreed to reprise their characters, but Bill Murray proved elusive, eventually saying he loved the idea of an all-female cast instead. Harold Ramis passed away last year.

    Ghostbusters has certainly capitalized on some of the funniest women in comedy by casting Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. The broad expanse of personalities alone suggests that while humor will prevail, these won’t be cookie cutter roles.

    Filming is expected to begin on Ghostbusters this coming summer in New York City. So if there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who are you going to call?

    You can start with Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones.

    Will you be counting the months until July 2016?

  • Bill Murray Talks All-Female ‘Ghostbusters’ Cast

    Bill Murray starred in Ghostbusters thirty years ago, and he doesn’t want to star in any future Ghostbusters productions. However, that hasn’t stopped the funny man and actor from discussing the possibility of a remake with an all-female cast. And what an amazing cast that would be.

    “I’m fine with it; I’d go to that movie,” he said during an interview with The Toronto Star at the Toronto International Film Festival, where his drama/comedy with Melissa McCarthy, St. Vincent, premiered. “They’d probably have better outfits, too.”

    Bill Murray even shared the names that immediately came to mind when he imagined that Ghostbusters all-female cast.

    “Melissa (McCarthy) would be a spectacular Ghostbuster,” Murray said, mentioning his latest co-star first. “And Kristen Wiig is so funny. God, she’s funny!”

    Word spread quickly, it seems, throughout those present at the Toronto International Film Festival.

    That’s not all, however.

    “I like this (Mad Men’s) Linda Cardellini a lot. And Emma Stone is funny. There are some funny girls out there,” he added.

    Kristen Wiig even replied.

    Do you suppose Sony will heed Bill Murray’s suggestions and produce a new Ghostbusters with his all-female list of characters? It would likely have a box office draw, but probably nothing compared to the original.

    Ghostbusters was a supernatural comedy film, first released in 1984. It was written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, and in addition to Bill Murray, starred Dan Akyroyd, and Harold Ramis. The film was originally scripted to include parts for John Belushi and John Candy. John Belushi’s death and Candy not opting in forced some re-writing. A huge box office success, Ghostbusters was nominated for two Oscars, but didn’t win.

    Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy will appear in theaters next month in St. Vincent, where Murray plays the role of a retired, drunken war veteran–who also likes to gamble. McCarthy’s character–his new neighbor–recruits him to watch over her 12-year-old son. Murray’s character’s ideas of after-school entertainment are vastly different from those of McCarthy’s.

    While fans might be a bit disappointed to learn Bill Murray won’t appear on the big screen in a new Ghostbusters, they will no doubt enjoy seeing him alongside Melissa McCarthy. St. Vincent opens in U.S. theaters on October 10th, and looks to be perfect vintage Murray–almost akin to his What About Bob? persona.

  • Ghostbusters 3 Is Currently In The Works

    Ghostbusters 3 Is Currently In The Works

    In an article published in the Toronto Life, director Ivan Reitman revealed that the film Ghost Busters 3 is currently in the works.

    Reitman directed the first two Ghostbusters films with actors Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, but explained that he would only be producing the third.

    “The studio is in, and we have writers working on it as we speak,” Reitman said when he was asked about the much anticipated sequel. “We’re ­hoping to film at the beginning of next year. Dan Aykroyd and I meet about once a month to talk about it.”

    After Ramis’ untimely death, and Murray publicly saying that he would not reprise his role, fans are wondering if the third installment of the series would meet expectations.

    “He’s [Murray] publicly said no, but Bill and I have done six movies together, and he never says yes until literally just before the shoot,” Reitman said of Murray. “Two TIFFs ago, we had a late dinner at Sotto Sotto, and we ate and talked until 4:30 in the morning. I told him, ‘I don’t care if you do ­Ghostbusters—I mean, I’d love it if you did—but why aren’t you doing leading parts for big studio films?’ He said he didn’t want that responsibility. He wanted to be a character actor.”

    Aykroyd, the film’s creator, announced in July 2014 that production on the film would start in 2015. “It looks like we’ll be in pre-production in the spring now, from what I’m hearing,” he said at the time.

  • Harold Ramis Remembered In Making Of GB3

    Harold Ramis Remembered In Making Of GB3

    Legendary film director and actor Harold Ramis helped bring the world the 1980’s classic Ghostbusters as well as the well-known Groundhog Day. Though the talented performer was recognized for his contributions during the 2014 Oscars, Ramis continues to inspire. The President of the United States even took the time to remember the works created by the talented one-of-a-kind Hollywood icon. Barack Obama released the following statement eulogizing Ramis.

    “When we watched his movies – from Animal House and Caddyshack to Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day – we didn’t just laugh until it hurt. We questioned authority. We identified with the outsider. We rooted for the underdog. And through it all, we never lost our faith in happy endings. Our thoughts and prayers are with Harold’s wife, Erica, his children and grandchildren, and all those who loved him, who quote his work with abandon, and who hope that he received total consciousness,” the statement read.

    With news swirling about the potential Ghostbusters 3, many linked to the project have continued to offer lingering praise for Ramis. According to Ernie Hudson, who is more popularly known as the fourth Ghostbuster, the script for the upcoming project is something to encourage excitement. “Script is really good and we’ve got a lot of interest from a lot of directors to do it. We’re just literally starting the search right now. We got a lot of incoming calls so we’re gonna go through it and see. The fans have been waiting very, very patiently,” Hudson said.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons And Courtesy of Justin Hoch

  • ‘Ghostbusters 3’ to Film in 2015 with Different Director

    News broke Wednesday that Ivan Reitman dropped out of directing Ghostbusters 3 in the wake of the recent death of original Ghostbuster Harold Remis, but filming of the Sony-produced sequel is still scheduled for early 2015.

    Reitman will instead help Amy Pacal of Sony Pictures Entertainment find a replacement director, saying that he was pleased with Etan Cohen’s script. Reitman agreed to work on the film as a producer, but expressed he is not up for helming the project after the loss of Remis last month.

    “Harold got sick about three years ago, and we kept hoping he would get better. I kept pushing forward on the Etan Cohen and we now have a draft that is very good, that the studio is very excited about,” Reitman said.

    “When I came back from Harold’s funeral, it was really moving and it made me think about a lot of things. I just finally met with Amy and Doug Belgrad when I got back. I said I’d been thinking about it for weeks, that I’d rather just produce this Ghostbusters. I told them I thought I could help but let’s find a really good director and make it with him. So that’s what we’ve agreed will happen. I didn’t want all kinds of speculation about what happened with me, that is the real story,” continued Reitman.

    Ramis died at the age of 69 in his home in Chicago on Feb. 24 from complications related to auto-immune inflammatory vasculitis, which he had battled for four years.

    Ramis’ Ghostbusters 1 and 2 co-writer and co-star Dan Aykroyd previously said that the third film in the franchise sees the original Ghostbusters team recruit a gang of younger scientists, in order to restart the poltergeist-catching business and keep it going for the future.

    Reitman noted that Aykroyd is on board with the project, but it is not clear whether or not Bill Murray has agreed to appear in the third installment in Ghostbusters 3.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Ghostbusters 3: Reitman Leaves, New Director Needed

    It was tragic enough losing former Ghostbuster Harold Ramis last month to complications from an infection, but now Ivan Reitman has announced that he will no longer be directing Ghostbusters 3. Understandably, he just doesn’t feel up to it (though he will stay on as producer).

    “When I came back from Harold’s funeral, it was really moving and it made me think about a lot of things,” Reitman told Deadline.

    So where does that leave the next film, which Reitman promises is still happening?

    We do know that the recent script is written by Etan Cohan – and, interestingly enough, one that doesn’t need the cast of the first two original films. That works out since Bill Murray, a staple to Ghostbusters fame, never really wanted to do another one in the first place.

    “The first [script] was done by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and me, Harold and Dan [Aykroyd] helped them on it,” Reitman said. “It was a really good script, but then it became clear that Bill really didn’t want to do another Ghostbusters and that it was literally impossible to find him to speak to for the year or two we tried to get it going. When Bill finally…well, he never actually said no, but he never said yes, so there was no way to make that film.”

    Reitman added, “I kept pushing forward on the Etan Cohen [script] and we now have a draft that is very good, that the studio is very excited about…It’s a version of Ghostbusters that has the originals in a very minor role.”

    Along with Murray, Ernie Hudson is also not interested in the new film. That leaves Dan Aykroyd, who has always been enthusiastic about another. But pairing him with newer, younger actors taking on the famous pop-culture roles? That’s up to Sony to make that work. But this isn’t their first rodeo.

    In the past, Sony has been known for revamping old franchises such as James Bond, and Spider-Man.

    Meanwhile, Reitman is helping Sony “find a really good director.”

    “I’m not going to say how many Ghostbusters there will be in the new cast, but we are determined to retain the spirit of the original film, and I am pleased that all of this seems to have happened organically,” Reitman said.

    Once the director and cast are lined up, shooting for Ghostbusters 3 will begin in early 2015.


    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Bill Murray Gives A Shoutout To Harold Ramis At Oscars

    Bill Murray was one of the many celebrities who had the honor of presenting at the 86th annual Academy Awards, on March 2.

    While presenting the award for Best Cinematography, along with actress Amy Adams, Murray took the opportunity to pay tribute to his late friend Harold Ramis. After announcing the nominees, Murray cleverly included Ramis by saying: “Oh, we forgot one. Harold Ramis for Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day.” All of the films mentioned by Murray were written, directed, acted in by Ramis. Murray’s statement generated laughter, cheers, and applause from every member of the audience.

    Murray also talked to reporters on the red carpet about Ramis. “I imagine Harold Ramis will be remembered tonight,” a reporter said to Murray. “I know he will be. He’s missed …he’s missed,” Murray replied. “And there are a lot of people here that find it hard to believe. He was a big potato in the stew that is show business.”

    Murray and Ramis, who died on February 24 after losing his fight against autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, were long-time friends, who often collaborated on many films, including the ones mentioned above. However, after a disagreement that occurred while filming Groundhog Day, Murray and Ramis had a bitter feud, and did not speak for years. Ramis explained to The New Yorker , in 2004, that the loss of his friendship left “a huge hole in my life.” However, he explained that he would always remain a supporter of Murray’s work.

    Even though the pair had not been on speaking terms, Murray still issued a statement, following Ramis’ death, to TIME magazine. “Harold Ramis and I together did the National Lampoon Show off Broadway, Meatballs, Stripes, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day,” Murray said. “He earned his keep on this planet. God bless him.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Bill Murray Honors Harold Ramis At The 2014 Oscar Awards

    Last night’s Oscar ceremony definitely had its share of touching moments, and Bill Murray was responsible for one of them. In a rare Oscar appearance, the comedian paid tribute to his late friend Harold Ramis while presenting the award for Best Cinematography with actress Amy Adams.

    After announcing the names of the nominees, the Lost in Translation star cleverly added Harold Ramis at very end for his work in Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, and Groundhog Day. The poignant tribute was greeted by the audience with warm applause. Emmanuel Lubezki won the prize for his work in Gravity, his first Oscar after having been nominated six times.

    Murray and Ramis had been friends way before their famous film collaborations. They were both members of the Chicago improv comedy troupe Second City and were recruited by fellow comedian John Belushi to join the comedy radio show, The National Lampoon Radio Hour.

    After being head writer of the sketch-comedy TV series SCTV for three years, Ramis brought his writing talents to the set of the comedy film, National Lampoon’s Animal House. Ramis’ film partnership with Murray started with the comedy film Meatballs, which Ramis co-wrote and Murray starred in. In the film Caddyshack, Ramis directed Murray and other famous comedic actors like Chevy Chase, Ted Knight, and Rodney Dangerfield. But the biggest hit of the Murray-Ramis partnership is arguably Ghostbusters, which Ramis co-wrote with Saturday Night Live alum Dan Aykroyd. Murray played Dr. Peter Venkman and Ramis played Dr. Egon Spengler.

    Murray and Ramis had a long feud after making Groundhog Day together, and did not speak to each other for decades. Murray, who was going through marriage problems at the time of filming, displayed erratic behavior that eventually put a strain on their relationship. In a 2004 interview with Time magazine, Ramis said that their falling out left a “huge hole” in his life.

    Murray released a statement to Time magazine one day after Ramis passed away, saying that “he earned his keep on this planet”.

    Image via Twitter

  • Harold Ramis: Inside His Battle With Bill Murray

    Harold Ramis had a hand in creating some of the most beloved and quotable films of a generation. When news of his death began to spread on Monday, millions mourned the loss of such a creative genius, and every social media outlet was flooded with memes, artwork, and quotes in remembrance of Ramis. But over the years, as much as we came to feel like we all knew him through his work, there was a lot that many didn’t know, and that includes the difficult battle he had with fellow Ghostbuster Bill Murray.

    During the filming of “Groundhog Day”–one of the duo’s most revered films–Ramis and Murray disagreed heavily on what the tone of the story should be, and it caused a great deal of friction between the friends. While Murray wanted the tale to lean towards the philosophical, Ramis wanted to hold on to his comedic roots and keep things light. The result, Ramis said in an interview, was a disaster behind the scenes.

    “At times, Bill was just really irrationally mean and unavailable; he was constantly late on set,” Ramis told The New Yorker in 2004. “What I’d want to say to him is just what we tell our children: ‘You don’t have to throw tantrums to get what you want. Just say what you want.’”

    At that time, the two hadn’t spoken in eleven years. In the interview, it clearly pained Ramis to talk about the gulf that separated them, but there was one thing standing in the way of a reconciliation.

    “It’s a huge hole in my life, but there are so many pride issues about reaching out. Bill would give you his kidney if you needed it, but he wouldn’t necessarily return your phone calls,” Ramis said.

    But no matter what happened between the friends, Ramis remained a passionate supporter of Murray’s work and said he was grateful for the projects they’d had the chance to work on together.

    “Bill was a strong man…You’d do a movie with Bill, a big comedy in those early days, just knowing he could save the day no matter how bad the script was, that we’d find something through improvisation,” Ramis said. “That was our alliance, kind of, our big bond. I could help him be the best funny Bill Murray he could be, and I think he appreciated that then. And I don’t know where that went, but it’s there on film. So whatever happens between us in the future, at least we have those expressions.”

  • Harold Ramis, Comedy Legend, Passes Away at 69

    Harold Ramis, who spent over 30 years as a writer, actor and director, passed away early Monday morning due to complications from a rare autoimmune disease called Inflammatory Vasculitis. He was 69 years old.

    Mr. Ramis started his career in the 1960s as a joke editor for Playboy magazine. He cut his teeth in Chicago’s Second City Improv group where he made a realization about his career. “The moment I knew I wouldn’t be any huge comedy star was when I got on stage with John Belushi for the first time. When I saw how far he was willing to go to get a laugh or to make a point on stage, the language he would use, how physical he was, throwing himself literally off the stage, taking big falls, strangling other actors, I thought: I’m never going to be this big. How could I ever get enough attention on a stage with guys like this?” He added, “I stopped being the zany. I let John be the zany. I learned that my thing was lobbing in great lines here and there, which would score big and keep me there on the stage.”

    He served as the first head writer for the sketch comedy television program SCTV for two years. And then he seemed to find comedy gold in almost every Hollywood screenplay he penned.

    Ramis is considered one of the most successful comedy writers ever. He wrote (and often co-starred and directed) hit after hit for the Hollywood big screen. Some of his biggest films include: Animal House, Stripes, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Back to School, Meatballs, Groundhog Day and Analyze This. In recent years, Ramis once again made a return to television, directing four episodes of the hit NBC comedy The Office.

    A Harold Ramis comedy was almost always over the top. They were often funny in a wild, inane, frat guy sort of way. He worked with many great comedic talents such as Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, and Billy Crystal to name just a few. Old pal and Ghostbusters co-star Dan Aykroyd spoke of his passing. “Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of my brilliant, gifted, funny friend, co-writer-performer and teacher Harold Ramis. May he now get the answers he was always seeking.”

    Ramis has been suffering with Vasculitis since 2010. The autoimmune disease inflames blood vessels in the body and can result in pain and swelling. Ramis suffered an infection in May 2010 that sparked the disease. He is survived by his wife, Erica Mann Ramis, and three children.

    Image via Wikimedia

  • Harold Ramis, Ghostbuster, Dead at 69

    Harold Ramis, Ghostbuster, Dead at 69

    American actor, director, and writer Harold Ramis died at 12:53 a.m. this morning from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis.

    Since 2010, the Chicago native had struggled with health issues, starting with an infection that led to complications related to the disease that took his life this morning. According to the Chicago Tribune, Ramis had to relearn to walk, but then suffered a relapse in late 2011.

    Ramis began writing parodic plays in college at Washing University in St. Louis and after returning to Chicago, began studying and performing with “Second City,” Chicago’s renounced comedy improvisational troupe.

    After leaving “Second City” (and being replaced by John Belushi), Ramis returned in 1972 and began working with Belushi and Bill Murray on the radio program The National Lampoon Radio Hour, which ran from November 1973 to December 1974. Later he was the head writer of Second City Television (SCTV), as well as a performer.

    From there he continued to write, direct, and co-star and comedies such as National Lampoon’s Animal House, Stripes, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, As Good As It Gets, Analyze This, and Groundhog Day, which is considered his masterpiece.

    Ramis moved his family from Los Angeles back to Chicago in in 1996.

    “There’s a pride in what I do that other people share because I’m local, which in L.A. is meaningless; no one’s local,” Ramis said in 1999. “It’s a good thing. I feel like I represent the city in a certain way.”

    Ramis was, and will continue to be, the comic inspiration for many actors and filmmakers.

    Judd Apatow, of The 40-Year Old Virgin fame, said, “When I was 15, I interviewed Harold for my high school radio station, and he was the person that I wanted to be when I was growing up. His work is the reason why so many of us got into comedy. We grew up on ‘Second City TV’ and ‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘Vacation,’ ‘Animal House,’ ‘Stripes,’ ‘Meatballs’; he literally made every single one of our favorite movies.”

    “He just did it for me,” said Laurel Ward, vice president of development for Ramis’ production company. “He loved teaching people. He loved helping people. He loved seeing people succeed.”

    Ramis is survived by his wife, Erica Mann Ramis, and three children, the oldest, Violet, from his first wife, Anne. Bill Murray is the godfather of Violet Ramis.


    Image via Wikimedia Commons