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. 

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 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.

Ivan Reitman’s confirmed this past January that he was directing Ghostbusters III, so the news that Columbia wants a younger director to take on the project is pretty shocking. Vulture is now reporting that Columbia is looking to take the project in a somewhat different direction, one that doesn’t involve Reitman.

The third film is currently being written by The Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and it’s been rumored since the start of development that the plan would be to involve a younger group of Ghostbusters as to reboot the popular franchise. However this plan doesn’t involve Reitman, who is now 63 years old. Columbia is hoping to get a younger director to fill the shoes, like they have with the new Spider-Man director Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer).

Hit the jump to see why Columbia’s decision to get rid of Reitman could potentially end with the cancellation of Ghostbusters III.

While rumors of another Vacation movie being developed is hardly new, it seems the rumor is actually real. According to Variety, New Line is getting ready to follow a new generation of the Griswold family on an adventure.  To make it happen, the studio has hired screenwriters Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Sam Weir from Freaks and Geeks!) to pen the update.  David Dobkin’s (Wedding Crashers) is going to produce.  For more on where the Griswold’s will go, hit the jump:

Whether you’re filled with excited or filled with dread at the prospect, Ghostbusters 3 looks like it’s really happening.  MTV confirms that Ivan Reitman, who directed and produced the first two movies, will return for the third installment.  He also says that he has received a finished script from writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (Year One, the US version of The Office) and they’re currently at work on a second draft.

However, Reitman, who’s last film was2006′s My Super Ex-Girlfriend, danced around Sigourney Weaver’s comments about her son Oscar becoming a ghostbuster and Bill Murray’s character now being a ghost.  “I’m not going to comment on what’s in the script and on what Sigourney may or may not have said,” Reitman says. “She’s been so busy on Avatar, I’ve not been able to find her. There’s some very cool things in the new draft, let’s just put it that way.” I had trouble finding the words, “No”, “False”, or “Untrue,” anywhere in that response.

Finally, Reitman says he’s planning to shoot next year, which contradicts Harold Ramis’ comment this past December where he said that they were planning to shoot this summer and release the movie in 2011.  Reitman’s last film was 2006′s My Super Ex-Girlfriend.

Ghostbusters 3 has been rumored for a great many years, but the project looks like it is finally taking off.  Director Harold Ramis says it may start shooting next summer and hit screens in 2011.  He also revealed a few details about the plot of the film.  It’s unlikely that Dan Aykroyd’s Ghostbuster go to Hell script will ever see the light of day, as Ramis appears to be leaning toward a Ghostbusters: The New Class type of movie.  The full quote and a bunch of speculation is after the jump.

It has often been said that a film is not simply the sum of its parts. Well in “Year One”, starring Jack Black and Michael Cera, featuring a slew of star cameos, and directed by Harold Ramis, this is proven true. This not very funny comedy is not simply the sum of its parts. It’s much less. We know Jack Black can be funny. We know Michael Cera can be funny. We know Harold Ramis can write, direct AND be funny. However, these talents just fail to add up and as a consequence, “Year One” is not only a bit of an incomprehensible mess, it’s also not funny. Hit the jump for the rest of my review.

I know I was laughing throughout “Year One” but I think it’s only because I have a good sense of humor and I enjoy the rush of endorphins that laughter provides.  Trying to remember what exactly I laughed at, I couldn’t tell you.  It’s a film that vanishes from your memory the second you leave the theatre and you’re left wondering what happened to the last hour and forty minutes and why your pants are missing (I have recently been informed that I am no longer invited to screenings of Sony films).

Opening tomorrow is director Harold Ramis’ new comedy “Year One”. To help promote the film, our partners at Omelete were invited to New York City to interview everyone involved and they sent me. So thanks to them, after the jump you can watch our exclusive video interview with director Harold Ramis.

During the interview, we talked about how the movie got put together, what’s on the DVD/Blu-ray, the massive sets that were built, what Bible story had to be cut due to budget, and, of course, I asked about “Ghostbusters 3″. It’s a great interview so take a look:

Ray Parker Jr. has continued to work. You wouldn’t probably know it unless you were a fan. But he put out an album in 2006. At this point, not only is Ray Parker Jr. not afraid of no ghosts, no one is afraid of no ghosts. People may be more afraid of Ray Parker Jr. than ghosts. We like in a post-scared of no ghosts culture. It is hard to know how good busting makes someone feel, though.

Ghostbusters is a bona-fide “classic” now. It’s a loosey-goosey movie, it’s tightly put together, but it feels free. The set pieces never feel stuck in their boxes, and the comedians seem to bring their own sensibilities to the material. Directed by Ivan Reitman from a script by Harold Ramis and Dan Ayroyd, it moves at a quick clip and balances the boo scares with the jokes successfully. It’s one of the film effects driven comedies that works as a comedy first. But it’s Bill Murray’s movie.

More after the jump:

This Friday, director Harold Ramis’ new comedy “Year One” hits theatres. So to help promote the film, I spent the past two days in New York City as a reporter for our partner website Omelete.  In the coming days I’ll be posting the full interviews, but with all the talk about another “Ghostbusters” movie floating around the Internet, I figured I should post what he told me right now.

The highlight: if the script for “Ghostbusters 3″ turns out as good as everyone hopes, they’re all in. Even Bill Murray!

The video interview and quotes after the jump:

Opening next weekend is director Harold Ramis’ “Year One”. The film stars Jack Black and Michael Cera as a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers that are banished from their primitive village and are forced to set off on an epic journey through the ancient world.

The screenplay is by Harold Ramis & Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg (“The Office”) from a story by Harold Ramis. The film is produced by Harold Ramis, Judd Apatow, and Clayton Townsend and it also stars David Cross and Hank Azaria.

So to help promote the film, we’ve been provided with 8 clips and you can watch them after the jump. Take a look:

“The time is right.”

These were the words spoken by legendary director/producer Ivan Reitman last night at the Ghostbusters 25^th Anniversary Blu-Ray Premiere at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. I had the privilege to attend the event, courtesy of Fangoria, Atari, and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. There, I watched the original Ghostbusters film in Blu-ray on the big screen, played the soon-to-be-released videogame, and spoke with Mr. Reitman about all things Ghostbusters, as well as his most anticipated project, Ghostbusters III.

Let’s get right to it: the status of Ghostbusters III. According to Reitman, a general outline for the film has already been completed by its two writers, Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg (who also wrote the upcoming Harold Ramis directed film, Year One). Dan Aykroyd has been saying in interviews recently that the film will be about “passing on the torch to a new generation of Ghostbusters.” Reitman said that while this is true, he stressed that it is merely one part of the story they’re trying to tell. The writers are expected to turn in their first completed draft in a month or so, and all five of the Ghostbusters “rights holders” will review and approve it.

What do I mean by all five? Ghostbusters is not owned solely by Sony/Columbia Pictures. They are just one part of what Ivan Reitman considers to be a sort of Ghostbusters “family.” Before anything can move forward on anything related to Ghostbusters, all five parties must submit their approval. This includes Sony/Columbia, Ivan Reitman, Dan Akryoyd, Harold Ramis, and Bill Murray. Reitman contributes the protection of the franchise (aka why there haven’t been dozens of Ghostbusters sequels) to this “family.” As such, Reitman stressed that “Ghostbusters III is never definite,” but it’s certainly looking pretty good now.