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‘Ghostbusters’ Movie Trailer Released Today

By Nancy Bailey
Published on: 05:01 PST, Mar 3, 2016

The Ghostbusters trailer is here: And it’s getting mixed reviews.

The Ghostbusters theme song starts off as just a familiar hint of keyboard pings as the scene opens up on a contemporary New York City. We see the “no ghosts” logo, the city streets, the wall of books in a library, and we are instantly transported back to 1984, preparing to be slimed.

“Hmmmm new ghostbusters…. Personally think they should have let sleeping ghost lye and left a good era alone…” one fan tweeted.

His sentiments were echoed throughout Twitter and on YouTube when the trailer was released.

But, we are assured, this version of Ghostbusters is a reboot, not a sequel.

As an article in Gizmodo explained, director Paul Feig debuted the trailer for an enthusiastic audience on Wednesday.

“I’d be bummed if I didn’t see the Ecto-1 and all that stuff. So we wanted to make sure we give those nods—but make them our own, and give them their own original origin story. When you see the movie, there will be a lot of things you’re happy to see, but they’re coming at you at a slightly different way.”

The first marked change, of course, is that the 2016 Ghostbusters are all women: Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, the ever-formidable Melissa McCarthy, and the outrageously hilarious, soon-to-be-a-household-name Leslie Jones.

But Feig said that having an all-female cast wasn’t really by design. Variety describes how he and Dippold had written the script with no specific actors in mind.

“Then it was about two months of me going ‘Okay, who are the perfect people for this?’ I was like, I’ve just got to get four very distinct personalities for this, and I know so many funny people, and especially funny women.”

Feig explained how the ensemble compliments each other.

“Kristin is this kind of vulnerable comedian, Melissa is a headstrong comedian, then you’ve got Kate who’s just the weirdo-nut, and Leslie is just a powerhouse that comes at you.”

One iconic ghost will be making an appearance: Slimer.

Reitman explained that John Belushi was originally cast in the film as Venkman, the role eventually taken by Bill Murray. When Belushi died, Reitman and his co-writers thought up a “Belushi ghost” that would eat a lot. Thus, enter Slimer, a pudgy apparition with a voracious appetite.

Fans of the first film will be looking beyond this nod to Belushi, as there are sure to be more treats in store. After all, “Reboot” notwithstanding, how can it be Ghostbusters without Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Sigourney Weaver? Nevertheless, any film wielding the cultural impact of Ghostbusters is going to be a hard act to follow. This goes even beyond the notable absence of the understated genius in Harold Ramis.

Feig stressed that, like in the first film, science is an important part of the story. He didn’t want the new characters to be just “handed the technology.” They had to work to develop their own.

“It was really important to us to make them scientists. That’s what I love about the first one, the idea that Ivan, Dan [Aykroyd] and Harold [Ramis] had—people fighting the paranormal with science—just really resonated with us.”

Feig thinks that much more could be done with the Ghostbusters franchise.

“This comes from such a pure place. This thing that [Reitman, Aykroyd and Ramis] created, this idea is such a great idea. It’s such an amazing franchise that had two amazing movies, but it could just keep going. There’s so many things you can do with it. It just seemed terrible to leave it in a box.”

Feig offers hope for fans who are anticipating some nostalgic moments.

“I don’t want to give stuff away because we do it in a fun way. You know the iconography. You know the things that you love the most. Let’s just say most of them show up, in one way or another, but again in a way that will hopefully be surprising so you’re not expecting it.”

Will the new crew be able to pull it off? If the reception to the trailer is any indication, moviegoers ain’t afraid to speak out.

[Image via Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File]

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ghostbusters bill murray Dan Aykroyd Kristen Wiig Melissa McCarthy
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