Surprise!  Those still crossing their fingers for the very long in-development Ghostbusters 3 were granted a glimmer of hope when we recently learned that the sequel could start filming next summer, but that hope has now swiftly been dashed out.  Due to some financial uneasiness, Sony Pictures Entertainment is currently reassessing all of their projects in the pipeline.  Per THR, any decision on Ghostbusters 3 has been postponed until the end of March, which means that the hoped-for Summer 2013 start date is no longer a possibility.  Should Sony ultimately decide to move forward with the sequel, filming likely wouldn’t be able to get underway until next fall at the earliest.

The most recent draft of the script was written by Etan Cohen, and Ghostbusters I and II director Ivan Reitman had been set to return.  I’m not sure we really need another Ghostbusters movie (especially now that Bill Murray is out), and I remain skeptical as to whether Ghostbusters 3 will actually come to fruition.

Ivan Reitman‘s Ghostbusters 3 has been in development hell for years, but we’re always hearing that it’s right around the corner.  That may now be the case since we learned in August that the production had given up the ghost of getting Bill Murray to return (even if his character would have been a ghost).  In July, Etan Cohen (Men in Black III) was tapped to re-write the script.  The pieces seem to be falling into place, and now Deadline is reporting that Reitman is planning to shoot the sequel next summer.

If Ghostbusters 3 is going to happen, this is probably when.  We don’t know if the sequel will still function as a reboot where a new, younger team of Ghostbusters are brought in to carry the franchise.  That would probably be the preferred direction for Sony, but perhaps it’s best to focus on one film at a time considering how long it’s taken for the third movie to get in front of cameras.

Dan Aykroyd has somehow become the Mark Millar of his own franchise.  While Mark Millar is an outsider who pretends like he knows the daily goings-on behind the adaptations of his comic books, Aykroyd is actually a producer of the Ghostbuters movies.  However, he exposes the key flaw in trying to give people specific status reports: the facts change on a daily basis.  Just because it’s sunny today, doesn’t mean it’s going to be sunny a year from now.  If everything Aykroyd said about Ghostbusters 3 was accurate, filming would have taken place this past spring.  But the most frequently asked question for Aykroyd hasn’t even been, “When do you start filming?”  It’s been, “Is Bill Murray coming back?”

The chances of Murray returning have always leaned towards no with the star highly reluctant to reprise his role as Dr. Peter Venkman.  There was a time when he seemed slightly up on the idea of the character returning as a ghost, but that’s about it.  Now it looks like Aykroyd is finally willing to move on without Murray.  Hit the jump for more.

At this point, if Dan Aykroyd has anything to say about Ghostbusters III, I tend to take it with a grain of salt.  Last week, Aykroyd said that the movie had replaced Bad Teacher scribes, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, with “a new writing staff.” Here’s the grain of truth: Ghostbusters III does have a new writer, but not a staff.  According to Variety, Sony has brought in Men in Black 3 screenwriter Etan Cohen to rewrite the script.  Cohen received sole writing credit on MIB 3, which has grossed more than $600 million worldwide, even though his script wasn’t completely finished when filming began, and it was passed off to other writers (namely Jeff Nathanson and then David Koepp) during production.

With a project the size of Ghostbusters III, I don’t expect Cohen to be the last writer who gets his hands on the script.  In addition to this new gig, he’s also attached to make his directing debut on Boy Scouts vs. Zombies.  Hit the jump for more on Ghostbusters III

Dan Aykroyd continues to be the most vocal supporter of the struggling Ghostbusters 3 project.  Last summer, Aykroyd rekindled our hopes that the film would shoot in the spring of 2012 with or without Bill Murray’s involvement (which clearly never happened).  Then, Aykroyd floated the possibility of recasting Peter Venkman and admitted to needing more time to work on the screenplay by Bad Teacher scribes, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. He more recently confirmed that Murray would have nothing to do with the project.  Now it seems as if the writing duo of Eisenberg and Stupnitsky are out as well, as Aykroyd recently commented that a new team was in place.  While I admire the man’s tenacity in bringing a suitable project to the screen, I’m beginning to wonder whether or not we should just leave well enough alone.  More from Aykroyd after the jump. 

Dan Aykroyd has been looking to bring Ghostbusters 3 to life for over a decade, and real studio interest has picked up in the last few years. He’s got a script from The Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (which apparently Aykroyd is still working on) that would see the original cast handing their proton packs over to some fresh-faced spirit chasers that can really appeal to the kids, with their Twitter and their Justin Bieber. Alas, his good friend Bill Murray (who, I’m told, is also an actor of some repute) is dead-set on playing party-pooper. Today, in an interview with the Telegraph, Aykroyd briefly discussed the film and Murray’s assured absence.  Said Aykroyd:

“At this point it’s in suspended animation. The studio, the director Ivan Reitman and [co-star] Harold Ramis feel there must be a way to do it, but Bill Murray will not do the movie. He doesn’t want to be involved.”

Hit the jump for more.

Ghostbusters 3 has been lingering in development hell for quite some time now, and it appears it’s time for another nothing update from Dan Aykroyd. He previously stated that production would begin this spring, but then we heard that Sony wasn’t exactly keen on moving forward without Bill Murray’s involvement. A script was initially commissioned by Bad Teacher scribes Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, but now it appears that Aykroyd is still working on the screenplay:

“The script must be perfect. We cannot release a film that is any less than that. We have more work to do.”

Rather than give firm timetables, it appears Aykroyd understands that they’ve got quite a while to go before they can think about production. Hit the jump for more from Akyroyd, including the suggestion that Murray could be replaced, the possible return of Rick Moranis, and what Aykroyd had to say about Murray supposedly shredding the script.

I still can’t get over how much I liked Bad Teacher and how hard and consistently I laughed throughout.  It’s not one of my favorite movies of the year, but it was certainly the best surprise thus far.  That’s why I’m delighted to hear that screenwriters Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg and director Jake Kasdan are re-teaming for an untitled comedy at Sony.  Here’s the logline according to Deadline: “After a Supercuts manager advises his best friend to break off his engagement, he unexpectedly falls in love with the jilted fiancee, testing both his new romance and his friendship.”  I imagine the worst part isn’t the risk of losing your girlfriend or your best friend.  It’s the realization of working at Supercuts.

There’s no word on a sequel to Bad Teacher even though the film grossed $215 million worldwide off a $30 million budget.  If a sequel doesn’t happen, I would be completely okay with that. In a related story, Eisneberg and Stupnitsky worked on the screenplay for Ghostbusters III and Deadline has a discouraging update on the long-in-development sequel.

Sony Pictures is bringing Ghostbusters back to the big screen for a limited engagement this October.  The studio has announced that the classic comedy will play in approximately 500 theaters nationwide (plus select theaters in Canada and various international markets) for one showtime on October 13th, 20th, and 27th in 2K digital with 5.1 surround sound .  If someone asks you, “Are you going to see Ghostbusters on the big screen?” you say, “Yes!”  Details will be posted parkcirus.com and fans can follow Ghostbusters on Facebook and Twitter to be the first to know the details on the release.

I can only assume this is Sony’s way of gauging interest in a third Ghostbusters before finally giving the greenlight and shooting, as Dan Aykroyd recently claimed, in spring 2012.  It will be interesting to see how many people feel good from bustin’.  Hit the jump for the full press release.

At this weekend’s press day for Abduction, Collider was able to speak with Sigourney Weaver, who plays Dr. Geri Bennett in the film. Bennett is a 30-year CIA operative and therapist to Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner), a teenager who realizes that his entire life is a lie after a team of trained killers tracks him down, leaving him with no one to trust.

But, since that film doesn’t open until September 23^rd, we’ll hold what she had to say about it until closer to the release date. In the meantime, we did get a chance to have her update the status of the Avatar sequels, which she will return for, and Ghostbusters 3, which hinges on Bill Murray’s involvement. Weaver did say that, although she hasn’t read a Ghostbusters script, she did ask Ivan Reitman to have her character’s son grow up to be a Ghostbuster and he agreed. Check out what she had to say after the jump.

Dan Aykroyd loves to keep hope alive that there will be a Ghostbusters 3 someday even though I’ve never met anyone who was hoping for a new Ghostbusters movie.  Today, Aykroyd appeared on Dennis Miller’s radio show [via ComingSoon] and strongly hinted that the movie is happening in spring 2012 no matter what.  Seriously this time:

“Yes, we will be doing the movie and hopefully with Mr. Murray,” he says, “That is our hope. We have an excellent script. What we have to remember is that ‘Ghostbusters’ is bigger than any one component, although Billy was absolutely the lead and contributive to it in a massive way, as was the director and Harold [Ramis], myself and Sigourney [Weaver]. The concept is much larger than any individual role and the promise of ‘Ghostbusters 3′ is that we get to hand the equipment and the franchise down to new blood.”

Hit the jump for more on what Aykroyd had to say about the new film and a fun reminder of how many times we’ve heard this before.

If you believe that a third Ghostbusters movie is an inherently good thing, then get ready to cross your streams in excitement over the latest rumor.  Production Weekly is reporting that Sony Pictures is planning to put Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters 3 into production in May 2011.  Has some roadblock been cleared?  Is Bill Murray finally happy with the script?  Sure, Murray dressed up in Ghostbusting attire at the Scream Awards, but Murray is unpredictable.  He’s the kind of gent who will corner you in a dark alley so you’ll have a story that no one will believe.

Hit the jump for a recap of we know (or at least think we know) about Ghostbusters 3.

In the comedy You Again, actress Sigourney Weaver plays Ramona, the highly successful, career-driven aunt of Joanna (Odette Yustman), who has flown in from Europe to attend her niece’s wedding festivities. When she arrives at the home of Joanna’s soon-to-be in-laws, Ramona quickly realizes that she and Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis), the mother of the groom, attended the same high school 30 years ago. And, while Joanna is the high school arch nemesis of Marni (Kristen Bell), the groom’s sister, Ramona and Gail share a rivalry from their own high school years.

During a press conference at the film’s press day, Sigourney Weaver talked about working with Jamie Lee Curtis, rehearsing for the dance sequence in the film, and how the things that happen in high school really do affect you later on in your life. She also gave an update on her upcoming projects Abduction, Vamps, The Cold Light of Day, Avatar 2 and Ghostbusters 3. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

While film franchises like G.I. Joe and Transformers find a majority of their charm in providing audiences with a healthy dose of nostalgia, neither of those films really has that effect on me.  It’s by no fault of their own, I simply spent a majority of my days as a child walking around the house with a proton pack on my back ridding my house of paranormal activity (a daunting task for any six-year-old, but a labor of love no doubt).  As such, any and all news regarding Ghostbusters 3 is exciting to me.

If you would prefer to not get your hopes up on the long-awaited film, I suggest moving along.  However, if you would like to indulge in an important plot update, hit the jump.

This post of early looks at film logos is dedicated to the upcoming slate of Sony.  The notable debuts include:

• Men in Black III (3D), which will bring back Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones back to the alien franchise, with Josh Brolin set to co-star as a young Agent K
• The Zookeeper, the Kevin James talking-animal comedy which features Sylvester Stallone, Adam Sandler, Jon Favreau, Judd Apatow, and Cher among others as the voices of the zoo critters
• The Smurfs, an adaptation of the comic strip/animated series which features Hank Azaria and Neil Patrick Harris among the live-action cast, while Anton Yelchin, Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry, Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen, George Lopez, and Paul Reubens will voice the Smurfs
• Spider-Man in 3D.  I think the logo speaks for itself. It’s clear they don’t know what it’ll be called yet, but it’s definitely going 3D.

One thing to note is the inclusion of the Ghostbusters logo.  It’s not a new image to the franchise, but the fact that Sony is putting it out there suggests they’re committing to making Ghostbusters 3 a reality.  It makes sense financially, but public appearances by Bill Murray have made it seem like less of a certainty.