GHOSTBUSTERS "cameo" in third film, Ackroyd says

If Magazine has posted a lengthy, two-part interview with Ghostbusters co-creator Dan Ackroyd in which he discusses the just-released game and the upcoming, long-delayed third film in the franchise. (Click the image at left to buy the game on Amazon.com.)

Ackroyd is a long way from his SNL salad days, but he still gives good soundbite ("At the time of the release of our films, the games out there were really simple, it was about breaking bricks or playing ping-pong. (...) I guarantee you that you’re not going to play with bricks or ping-pong balls when playing the Ghostbusters game.") and it really seems like all of this Ghostbusters stuff has him more inspired than he's been since 1980-something.

Ackroyd makes an interesting point, that the game, as exciting as it is, isn't a "nonsense killing frenzy" because for all the shots you fire from your proto-pack, you're not actually killing or even hurting anybody.

"Well, in all action video games of this type, you kill your opponents, but not in Ghostbusters. In this video game you send the creatures back to where they came from. So it’s not about being killed, but being sent back to the afterlife from which these creatures originated. So it’s not a skill about murdering and blowing away zombies or thugs -- it’s about skills used to capture, neutralize and send back these poor lost souls."

Unfortunately Ackroyd also implies that the original Ghostbusters would play a very small role in any upcoming movies.

"Well, for sure we need new recruits. We need a whole new team of Ghostbusters, because the generation of my Ghostbusters are all getting hip and knee replacements. Also, we don’t have the strength to handle the heavy equipment to catch the ghosts. We need fresh and new blood to fill up the uniforms. That’s the first element we need. And if we can train them with the ethics we had and a similar sense of humor, I think we can have good characters and a good story there. I think as far as bringing back the old cast it will be more like in the new Star Trek -- with cameo styles."

I think Ackroyd is seriously underestimating how much audiences would want to see the original Ghostbusters team back in action, no matter how old they are. People go to a Ghostbusters movie, they want to see Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddemore, however old and grey they've gotten. We don't want to watch a bunch of junior Ghostbusters run around for two hours, with Bill Murray occasionally showing up to offer sage advice about never crossing the streams.




Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

Technocrati tags: [Ghostbusters game]