Advice for Ghostbusters 3: An open letter to Dan Aykroyd .

Dan,

Ok, first lets get the fanboy stuff out of the way. I have been a huge fan of yours since I was a kid. The Bass-O-Matic sketch on SNL is still one of my fondest memories, and the best example of how far someone should go for a laugh. I love your movies, and I always get a little excited whenever you make a cameo appearance in other people’s films.

And as it should go without saying, I am a huge fan of Ghostbusters. That movie was amazing. Everything just came together perfectly. {I say this not knowing the trials of putting the movie together. This is purely me commenting on the finished product. }

The casting, the dialog, the music, every second of that movie is flawless. I have watched that movies 100’s of times and it has never gotten old. {Although on a recent rewatching I did have to stop and wonder why Peter Venkman brought a knockout drug on a date.}

I also enjoyed Ghostbusters Two. Thats not to say I think this one was perfect like the other. But I think that’s more studio interference than anything else. And the video game released by Atari was amazing. And for the longest time I thought that was the closest we would ever get to Ghostbusters Three. And honestly I was happy with that.

Two movies, a great cartoon series, amazing comic books, and a fantastic game. A fanboy can’t complain. {Thats not true. Fanboys complain, a lot, and often.} And as the years went on, the possibility of a third movie seems to become more and more dream and less reality. So we had to be happy with what we had.

But now I hear that not only will we get a third ghostbusters movie, but it will be a reboot. And this I feel is a mistake. And before you say it, no I don’t mind the female centric cast. I think its important that women get stronger roles in movies than what hollywood has traditionally given them.

What worries me is the completely unnecessary discarding of everything that came witht he original movies. When you and Harold wrote Ghostbusters, you guys did a great job in building a universe. We as fans know how that world clicks. To us, it is a living breathing thing. This means it can be allowed to age. And while the original Ghostbusters may be wanting to hang up their pack and retire, that doesn’t mean that’s the end of the story for that world.

I’m going to list out my humble suggestions on keeping the franchise alive.

Number One. Stick to your original idea.

When you first came up with Ghostbusters, you pictured it as a large army of paranormal investigations and elimination teams. There would be Ghostbusters in every state.

Now admittedly I wouldn’t go that far. The new cast needs to be unique in what they do. This will make them stand out more in their universe and up the hero points a bit. But that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have been the first group to purchase the franchise rights to the Ghostbusters.

They buy the rights, the equipment, and move into the firehouse. Think about the fun you could have with a group of people learning to use all that stuff without an Egon or Ray there to help them along. Maybe toss in a cameo of Ray doing a [So you want to be a Ghostbuster?] Company vidoe for new trainees. {If you can put in on old VHS tapes and maybe use some CGI to make you look more like yourself from the 80’s that would be perfect.}

Number Two. Bring Back Winston Zeddemore.

Winston was our everyman in both movies. But he was never truly allowed to grow that much as a character. He served as the audience’s perspective. The normal guy who needs everything explained to him. Now in this new movie, he himself would be the expert.

Have Winston be the one to give the new Ghostbusters the keys to the firehouse. Have him appear both regretfull and relieved to be moving on. Then give the new cast a couple of scenes to try it on their own. Once finding out that its harder than it looks, have them show up on Winston’s doorstep covered in slime and begging for help.

Not only does this give Winston his spot in the sun, it also gives us an ambassador from the old to welcome in the new. Winston can also drop little hints about the whereabouts of the other Ghostbusters. Little fan service goes a long way.

Number Three. Make an appearance.

No doubt the new Ghostbusters will need to research on what ever spook,demon,and or god is threatening New York. That is a prime excuse to bring in Ray’s bookstore. But I’m not saying let Ray figure it out for them. The new crew will need to have an occult genius of their own.

Instead have Ray want to get involved, bust constantly being pushed to the side. You know it would drive him nuts to be sidelined while some big spooky spook is throwing down.

I’m not saying to make him useless. he would be the one pointing out all the right books, he would be the one making accurate guesses at the classification of the ghosts, but he would also be kind of a like a dad watching his son work on a car for the first time. The son doesn’t want help, but the dad would still be hovering around and pointing things out.

And the last, Number Four: Things To Avoid.

Spending too much time in the past: Fan service is great but if you spend too much time on what came before, we begin to not care about what’s happening now.

Making one of the woman Goth: Yes, Goth people love to sound spooky, and yes they love the occult. They are also overdone in movies like this.

Over sexulizing the new female cast: This one goes without saying, but I felt the need to say it anyway. They need to be strong, and funny. Nothing wrong with being a little sexy but not to the point to where thats all they are.

No giant things walking around: Two movies of something huge walking down New York is enough.

Dont change the logo: I get it. The studio wanted a new logo to sell T Shirts and Mugs and stuff. But it takes us out of the film when we have to sit and figure out why the No Ghost logo is holding up two fingers. Is it V for victory? Is it a peace sign? Nope just a new logo for T-shirts.

Ok, thats pretty much is. Again these are all just suggestions from a fan. Please take no offense by them. I just love the franchise and would hate to see it all get tossed aside and restarted when it honestly doesn’t need to be.

With the last two movies, cartoons,comics, and everything else, you created a strong foundation. {Even the breakfast cereal. That was a foundation of a yummy breakfast.} Instead of slashing and burning what has already been build up, why not build on it?

Thank you,

Tim Clemons