With Draft Day coming out on Blu-ray/DVD on September 2^nd, Collider got on the phone with director Ivan Reitman to talk about why he was drawn to that film and the experience that he had working with Kevin Costner.  While we will run the full interview closer to the release date, we did want to share what he had to say about where things are at with Ghostbusters III, and the upcoming 30^th anniversary Blu-ray for Ghostbusters I and II, out in September.  Sony will also be re-releasing the first Ghostbusters on August 29th in theaters in 4K.

During the interview, Reitman said that he’s met with director Paul Feig about doing a version that’s got “a very important female presence,” that the film was initially slowed down by Bill Murray’s reluctance to be involved, that he thinks there’s a great story and a great conceit that can be made with a new cast, why he ultimately decided not to direct it himself, and that the version that he was working on was the one with all of the original cast members.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Collider:  Since the possibility of Ghostbusters III was brought up, there’s been this list of possible directors for the project, including yourself, but the film still hasn’t gone into production.  And now, the latest possibility being talked about is a female-led Ghostbusters, directed by Paul Feig.  Is that something you’d like to see happen?

IVAN REITMAN:  On the drafts that I’ve been supervising, there’s always been a very important female presence.  It’s nice to know that Paul is interested in the same thing.  I met with him because I’ll be producers whatever the new Ghostbusters is.  The studio is very interested in it, and certainly Aykroyd and I, and the late Harold Ramis until he passed away.  We’ll see.  I don’t like talking about it because this thing has been in such flux for so long that people, particularly online, are annoyed about it, and that’s not anybody’s desire or hidden plan.  I think we were initially slowed down by Bill Murray’s reluctance to be involved.  Not that that’s all that surprising.  He’s somewhat reluctant about most things.  I think that affected the timing of things, to a great extent.  We all wanted him back, at the center of it, as well.  But I think there’s still a great story in Ghostbusters and a great conceit about it that has held true, for all these years.  And I think there’s a great movie to be made, with a new cast, as well.

You’re also releasing a 30^th anniversary Blu-ray for Ghostbusters I and II in September, and that’s supposed to be loaded with exclusive bonus materials.  What do you think fans will be most excited to see with that, and what was it like to revisit that 30 years later, knowing that fans still love the films so much?

REITMAN:  Well, it certainly makes me feel wonderful about that.  To me, the most important thing about this is that I think the transfers are wonderful and the mixes are being played in a very faithful way.  You’ll get an excellent transfer of the film.  Danny Aykroyd and I did a new behind-the-scenes interview, and that was interesting, between us.  Looking back at it, after many years, and just talking about it, might be interesting for some people.  What’s fabulous is the realization that people still seem to really love it, and they pass it on to their children.  That it’s had this multi-generational appreciation is certainly something that makes me very warm in my heart and very happy.

Do you know what you’re going to direct next?

REITMAN:  I’m still trying to figure that out, and I’m working with a bunch of writers on different things.  Our company is producing a movie called Bastards, that we’re going to do in the new year, that’s a comedy.  Hopefully, we’ll find something that I can get started on in the new year, as well.

What is it that makes you decide to sign on as a producer for something, but then doesn’t make you decide to take that step further, as a director?

REITMAN:  Just a really good, cool idea that I think would work, that audiences would want to see, and that’s a little different than things before, but that I don’t necessarily have to do, as a director.  That’s finally what led me to back away from doing another Ghostbusters.  I had done two others, and it would have been without Bill or Harold.  I certainly would have done it with the original cast version.  That’s the script that I was working on.  But it was clear that I didn’t have half the cast anymore, so I thought, “Well, I’ll produce this next one and make sure that the spirit is true to the originals.  But, I’ll let somebody bring some fresh ideas to it.”  That’s what it’s going to need.