Movies
Dan Aykroyd Shreds ‘Ghostbusters 3’ Rumors
Here we go again.
Empire recently hosted a webchat with Dan Aykroyd who once again talked about Ghostbusters 3, and the rumored drama circling the long-gestured Columbia Pictures project.
The site reports that Aykroyd hinted that Bill Murray may not return as Peter Venkman, and that the character could be played by a different actor, a la Jack Ryan. As for the internet rumor that Murray recently shredded a Ghostbusters 3 script and sent it back with a note that said, “No-one wants to pay money to see fat, old men chasing ghosts”, Aykroyd denied it with vigour. “Bill Murray is not capable of such behavior. This is simply something that would not be in his nature. We have a deep, private personal relationship that transcends business. We communicate frequently and his position on the involvement in Ghostbusters 3 has been made clear and I respect that. But Bill has too much positive estimation of my writing skills to shred the work.”
As for the delay, he explains, “The script must be perfect. We cannot release a film that is any less than that. We have more work to do.”
Confirming earlier reports, Aykroyd also drops this juicy nugget about a returning character – the reclusive Rick Moranis as Louis Tully: “ If we can get the script to Ghostbusters 3 right, then it would definitely have Moranis as a major component. None of us would want to do the movie without having him as a participant.”
If the film ever gets off the ground it will follow a ragtag group of paranormal researchers who reopen their notorious ghost removal service, and a new generation of Ghostbusters is brought on board to be green slimed and trained to contain the mischievous spirits. We previously reported that the new ‘Busters will be lead by Dana and Peter’s lovechild, Oscar.
Movies
‘Desperation’ – Sam Raimi and ‘Final Destination Bloodlines’ Directors Teaming for Stephen King Movie
Stephen King’s 1996 novel Desperation is headed back to the screen, with Jeff Sneider breaking the news on The InSneider that Sam Raimi, Stephen King, and Final Destination Bloodlines directors Adam B. Stein and Zach Lipovsky are coming together for the film.
Sam Raimi will produce the upcoming Desperation movie, while Stein and Lipovsky are on board to direct. Searchlight Pictures is the studio attached to the feature film project.
Published in 1996, Stephen King’s novel Desperation was previously turned into a made-for-TV movie starring Ron Perlman, Tom Skerritt and Steven Weber back in 2006.
Wikipedia reminds, “Desperation is a story about several people who, while traveling along the desolated Highway 50 in Nevada, get abducted by Collie Entragian, the deputy of the fictional mining town of Desperation. Entragian uses various pretexts for the abductions, from an arrest for drug possession to ‘rescuing’ a family from a nonexistent gunman. It becomes clear to the captives that Entragian has been possessed by an evil being named Tak, who has control over the surrounding desert wildlife and must change hosts to keep itself alive.
“They begin to fight for their freedom, sanity and lives before realizing that if they are ever to escape Desperation, they must trap Tak in the place from which he came.”
Desperation was published at the same time as Stephen King’s own “mirror novel” titled The Regulators, which shares characters but takes place in an alternate universe.
The union of Sam Raimi and Stephen King is an exciting one for fans of both Raimi and King, and there’s a nice bit of full circle history there too. As you may recall, it was Stephen King’s review of The Evil Dead that Raimi credits for saving and legitimizing his indie debut feature.
And the rest is history! Stay tuned for more on this developing story.
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