It’s starting to feel like the ’80s all over again as major studios set their sights on such franchises as Voltron, Poltergeist and Ghostbusters. Daily Variety reports that Columbia Pictures has tapped Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, co-exec producers of the hit NBC comedy The Office, to pen a new installment in the Ghostbusters saga. The Emmy-nominated writers also have a spec script, Bad Teacher, set up at the studio.
While most studios are hot to remake hit films with younger casts that appeal to teen audiences, Columbia is reportedly planning to bring back original ghoul catchers Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson. The studio hasn’t made any official announcement of the project, but the rumors that have been circulating around the web seem to panning out. Eisenberg and Stupnitsky recently wrote a comedy titled Year One, which Ramis directed.
Until Men in Black and Spider-Man came along Ghostbusters was Columbia’s highest-grossing film ever. Written by Ramis and Aykroyd, the film spawned a sequel, which the duo also penned. A third film was in the works several years ago but derailed when the stars demanded big chunks of the film’s gross.
The first Ghostbusters film was noted for its visual effects work, which involved puppetry, rubber suits and stop-motion animation by William Randall Cook, who went on to win Oscars for his CG creatures in the Lord of the Rings films. Fans can expect an emphasis on computer-generated effects as the Ghostbusters return to rid the 21st Century of menacing spirits.
It was announced last year that Sony Pictures and Vivendi Games had teamed up to develop a Ghostbusters game that will feature the voices and likenesses of all four stars of the popular films from the 1980s. Annie Potts, Brian Doyle Murray and William Atherton are also set to reprise their supporting in the films for the game, which will reportedly take place in the early ’90s, picking up where 1989’s Ghostbusters II left off. Aykroyd and Ramis are reportedly writing the story and taking an active role in the development process. At last reporting, the game was expected to be released under Vivendi’s Sierra label this fall.
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