Bill Murray was on "The Late Show" last night, looking like a renegade from a crazy-person commune. He wore a glittery purple shirt, snowshoes and an ice-road-trucker hat, with his injured leg held aloft in a sling.
Deadpan hilarity ensued. But the talk turned (midly) serious when David Letterman asked him about the long-rumored "Ghostbusters" sequel. “It’s a nightmare,” said Murray. “This is my nightmare…. I told them if they killed me off in the first reel, I’d do it. So now they’ve figured out a way to kill me off.” He sounded pretty dismissive of the film, even when Dave said the sequel would be a huge hit: “It’s just crazy talk.”
Ivan Reitman recently announced that he’d be returning to direct the threequel sometime this year, though when he made the announcement, there was still no script or full deal in place (see Nicole Sperling’s full report here).
The "Ghostbusters" video game moved over a million units, so the concept is clearly still bankable, but if the franchise’s stars already look this bored, is there hope for the movie?
For some terrible reason, when I was growing up my family had the VHS copy of "Ghostbusters 2" but not the first "Ghostbusters," so I developed the unfortunate ability to quote long stretches of dialogue of 2 from memory (“Only a Carpathian would come back to life now and choose New York!”) So I’m probably a bit more disposed to liking the sequel than most people. Certainly, Murray looks like he wants to forget the experience. Letterman: “There was a "Ghostbusters2," wasn’t there?” Murray: “Technically, yes.”
Even so, I’m not crazy excited about the notion of another long-in-the-tooth ’80s franchise getting a way-too-late sequel (Ahem. I said, ahem!). And Reitman’s recent track record isn’t very inspiring; is his son Jason available for a consult? Then again, the whole concept still feels pretty solid, and even if Murray only sticks around long enough for a contractually-obligated death scene (see also: Charlton Heston, Jamie Lee Curtis), it’d be fun to see him back in a goofy comedic role again.