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Ghostbusters 3 may never get made, not without a writer.
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The iconic comedy and box office smash hit Ghostbusters is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary. It was directed by Ivan Reitman and starred Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd and the late Harold Ramis. It grossed more than $238 million in the US in 1984 at a time when less than $100 million in gross receipts was still considered a blockbuster.
The movie had a successful sequel in 1989 and talk of a third installment has popped up every few years ever since then. But hopes of fans for another Ghostbusters were dimmed when Harold Ramis died in February.
It was recently rumored, however, that Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer would direct a third film.
And it would be fitting if Max Landis, the son of iconic comedy director John Landis who made movies like Animal House and directed Dan Akroyd in Blues Brothers, were to be involved in the project.
But Landis responded to the rumors that he would write its script by saying on Twitter: “Hey guys, it pains me to say this, but you know I pride myself on being straight up person. Zero truth to the Ghostbusters report.”
While he may not be directing the film, he certainly has ideas for the script. He posted the following on Twitter:
“Haha a bunch of people asking what my Ghostbusters 3 pitch would’ve been. I never had a full one, just a skeleton I’ve goofed around with…My Ghostbusters 3 began in the 1920s with Ivo Shandor murdering a gluttonous associate to protect his cult after he has a moral objection…Shandor tells the overweight man that nothing can stop the coming of Gozer; first, the gate will open in 1984, then again twenty years later…The fat man, who now has all the details of Shandor’s plans, threatens to go to the police, and Shandor poisons him. It’s scary, but…As Shandor escapes, we see that we’re in the Sedgewick Hotel, and that the guy we just saw die…Is Slimer. Cue theme. Show title.
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“My full movie concerns several new teams (focusing on one), grown from the Ghostbusters Franchise which is now global (and going bankrupt)… Ghostbusters have become a parody of themselves, there are barely twelve ghosts caught a year. People have forgotten what happened in NYC…Egon passed away, Venkman lives on an island, Winston retired rich. Only Ray Stantz is left in charge, and he’s a terrible business man.
“In an effort to bring back business, an obsessed team whose station has been shut down attempts to summon a minor ghost. Mistake. Gozer…It’s up to our hero team to stop the bad team, reunite the fractured franchises, and save our dimension from a very pissed off demigod…It’s all very meta (creatively bankrupt Ghostbusters, no one wants the new team, the bad team are slick Michael Bay-versions of the GBs)…...But you keep the action, comedy, and emotion sincere. Witty, bluecollar guys who are the last people you’d want saving the world…And I think the teams would be by modern-comedy clique; a Parks/Rec team, a Rogen/Franco team, a Kroll/Key/Peele team…I don’t know. I’ve thought a lot about Ghostbusters 3. But I’m kind of close on the Akroyd/Ramis side of things so it always felt weird.”
Max Landis sold his first script at the age of 18. It was a collaboration with his father John for an episode of the Masters of Horror Series called Deer Woman. He now has twelve television and movie writing credits under his belt and has made five acting appearances. His feature film directorial debut, Me Him Her, is due out in 2015.
