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.

Director Jay Roach wants every generation of Saturday Night Live represented in the upcoming political comedy Dog Fight.  Will Ferrell has the 90s covered as the co-star, playing opposite Zach Galifianakis as rival politicians running for a congressional seat in a small North Carolina district.  Jason Sudeikis is on board from the current cast.  Moviehole reports that first generation SNL player Dan Aykroyd has signed on for a role in Dog Fight.  Next stop: Joe Piscopo!

John Lithgow, Dylan McDermott, Brian Cox, Josh Lawson, Gary Grubbs, and P.J Byrne also star.  Dog Fight is currently shooting in New Orleans for an August 10, 2012 release.  Aykroyd and Ferrell recently teamed up for a presidential Funny or Die short.  To get a sense of their chemistry, check it out after the jump.

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.

This should please fans of the franchise perhaps more so than Dan Aykroyd’s insistence that the third installment will shoot Spring 2012 with or without Bill Murray. The official Ghostbusters Facebook page [via AICN] has announced that director Ivan Reitman’s 1984 classic will receive a theatrical rerelease this October. As of now, there are few other details to be found regarding the rerelease (i.e. number of theaters, whether its film or DVD projection, etc.), only that the film will return to theaters next month.

Most likely, this is an attempt to gauge audience interest in a franchise that hasn’t seen a film installment in more than two decades. Regardless of the motive, as a fan who has never had the opportunity to watch the original on the silver screen, I can only hope that Ghostbusters will receive wide distribution that finally affords me that opportunity. Moreover, even skeptics of rereleases have to at least take solace in the fact that at least it isn’t Top Gun in 3D. We’ll be sure to share the details of this rerelease as soon as more emerge. In the meantime, I’m going to try and track down some “Ecto-Cooler” Hi-C.

Dan Aykroyd and Judy Belushi (John’s ex-wife) have long owned the TV rights to The Blues Brothers.  Thirty-three years after the characters first debuted on Saturday Night Live, they are finally planning to do something with those rights.  Variety reports Belushi, Anne Beatts, Wayne Catania, and Kieron Lafferty have scripted a pilot that centers on Elwood’s search for his father after he and Jake are released from jail.  Two new actors will play Elwood and Jake, but Aykroyd will lend his voice to the parole officer.  As Beatts puts it, “We’re not trying to replicate Dan and John but Jake and Elwood.”  If the pilot goes to series, each episode will include a musical number, which led Beatts to this inane pitch:

“It would be Route 66 meets Glee, and it all goes to hell in a handbasket.”

Given the episodic nature of the movie and the sketches (naturally), I could see The Blues Brothers working as a series.  Not if it looks anything like the candy-coated Glee, though.  The Blues Brothers should be covered in dirt and soul.  It will be a bitch to recast such iconic roles—we’ll check back in when they do, and reevaluate.  Watch a lengthy trailer for the 1980 movie 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.

Let’s call it: Nation Lampoon’s Animal House and The Blues Brothers are the most influential comedies of their era, and two of the most influential comedies of all time. It’s doubtful anyone who makes comedies these days doesn’t revere these films, from Judd Apatow (considering Freaks and Geeks) to Todd Phillips (whose Road Trip is inarguably indebted).

The Blues Brothers was the first Saturday Night Live spin-off film, and Animal House launched John Belushi, which came out within weeks of Chevy Chase’s Foul Play, both of which showed that SNL could launch comedy stars, so everyone who came after owes to Animal House (which was a much bigger hit than Foul Play). And this is all due to one man: John Landis. Our reviews of the Blu-rays of Animal House and Blues Brothers follow after the jump.

When it comes to kids’ movies, modern parents are to be pitied.  For every Pixar film that hits theaters, five terrible kids’ movies drop at the same time.  One can only imagine the dread and self-loathing that these poor, baffled souls must feel whenever they see a trailer for something like Alvin and The Chipmunks:  The Squeakuel or Marmaduke.  Anyone without kids has to wonder:  do these parents grow immune to the terrors of bad kids’ movies over time, or does a film like Yogi Bear– which just arrived on Blu-ray– make them yearn for the sweet, sweet release of death (or, barring that, their kids growing up)?  Maybe, if we watch the film ourselves, we’ll know what it’s like to be one of these parents, and maybe we’ll even discover that Yogi Bear isn’t as bad as we expected.  Maybe, but not probably.  Full review after the jump, folks…

Bio-pics are the scourge of modern filmmaking. Most lives don’t fit into an easy narrative, and putting lives into a two to three hour narrative often means compromising the truths of the people involved. Great artists are even more difficult as many are total shits, and often terrible human beings. For Sir Richard Attenborough’s biography of Charlie Chaplin – titled Chaplin – the rough edges are unavoidable, but the filmmakers attempt to sand them down. Chaplin (as played by Robert Downey Jr.) is a pedophile and a terrible father, and the film makes excuses for him. Perhaps audiences don’t want to see that artists they love are sometimes terrible human beings. It may ruin the illusion of great art, but it does no favors to the truth. Attenborough wants to print the legend, and that’s entertaining enough if you accept the format and the inherent dishonesty – which the narrative  hope to at least game a little by suggesting that the narrator is dishonest. With an all star cast (including Kevin Kline, Dan Aykroyd, Milla Jovovich, Diane Lane, Nancy Travis, Anthony Hopkins, Moira Kelly, Marisa Tomei, and more) it’s at least diverting. My review of the Blu-ray of Chaplin follows after the jump.

Warner Bros. has released 8 movie clips from their upcoming live-action/CGI feature Yogi Bear.  While the trailers haven’t exactly won me over, I also realize I’m not the target demo and kids will probably love this movie.  Hit the jump the clips of Yogi (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), Boo Boo (voiced by Justin Timberlake), Anna Faris as visiting nature documentary filmmaker Rachel Johnson, Tom Cavanagh as the diligent Ranger Smith, T.J. Miller as Smith’s over-enthusiastic deputy, Ranger Jones, Andrew Daly as the conniving Mayor Brown; and Nate Corddry following behind as Brown’s Chief of Staff.

Warner Bros. has released 44 high resolution images from their upcoming live-action/CGI feature Yogi Bear.  While the trailers haven’t exactly won me over, I also realize I’m not the target demo and kids will probably love this movie.  Hit the jump for images of Yogi (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), Boo Boo (voiced by Justin Timberlake), Anna Faris as visiting nature documentary filmmaker Rachel Johnson, Tom Cavanagh as the diligent Ranger Smith, T.J. Miller as Smith’s over-enthusiastic deputy, Ranger Jones, Andrew Daly as the conniving Mayor Brown; and Nate Corddry following behind as Brown’s Chief of Staff.

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for Yogi Bear, and at the very least, the quality is equivalent to trailer #1.  Yogi is a 3D adaptation of the beloved Hanna-Barbera cartoon in which Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake voice Yogi and Boo Boo, respectively.  The live-action cast is comprised of Anna Faris, TJ Miller, Tom Cavanagh, and Andrew Daly.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

Warner Bros. has released a new poster for the 3D live-action/CG hybrid remake of Yogi Bear, and it both made my day and ruined my night.  I don’t remember the last time a poster for a family film has fascinated me so, but I won’t be able to sleep tonight.  I think the exact nature of what’s going on in the poster is open to a slew of crazy interpretations, so I’ll leave it up to you to fill in your own blanks.  I hope Yogi’s wild-eyed gaze in the image above has convinced you to check out the full poster after the jump.

The teaser trailer for the live-action adaptation of Yogi Bear has gone online.  When we reported on the project last November, I was negative about it.  This teaser trailer makes me feel completely justified in that negativity.  There’s crummy animation, slapstick jokes, and nothing approaching the charm of the original cartoon.  Just because you quote the show, doesn’t mean you’re honoring it.  Of course, as I said then, I’m sure the soundbites will be about how everyone involved with the movie loved the show and want to bring it to a new generation.

Directed by Eric Brevig (Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D) and stars Anna Faris, Tom Cavanagh, and T.J. Miller as well as the voices of Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake as Yogi and Boo Boo, respectively. Hit the jump to check out the teaser trailer as well as the the poster that we put up yesterday.  Yogi Bear opens in 3D on December 17^th.