70 Fun Facts About Ghostbusters

Who directed the original 1984 Ghostbusters?

He had just made Animal House and Stripes, and Aykroyd considered him the logical choice; he also supplied several of the film's ghost voices.

Dan Aykroyd wrote Ghostbusters as a vehicle for himself and which SNL castmate, who died in 1982?

Aykroyd was writing one of his friend's lines when the phone call came with the news; Murray stepped into the role instead.

Which real New York City firehouse served as the exterior of the Ghostbusters' headquarters?

The Tribeca station was still active, so the interiors were shot in a decommissioned firehouse in downtown Los Angeles.

The Ecto-1 is a converted 1959 ambulance built on a chassis from which carmaker?

Early concepts had it painted black with purple strobes, but the cinematographer pointed out a dark car would vanish in night scenes.

How much do the Ghostbusters pay for the beat-up ambulance that becomes Ecto-1?

The buyer immediately lists everything it needs, from suspension work and brakes to a steering box and mufflers.

What did the crew nickname the Sedgewick Hotel's green ghost, because of the puppet's smell?

The name Slimer only came along with the 1986 cartoon; in the film itself the ghost is never called anything.

Who wrote and performed the Ghostbusters theme song?

He was told the title had to be in the lyrics and, stuck, borrowed the call-and-response idea from a cheap late-night TV commercial.

Which musician sued over the Ghostbusters theme, claiming its melody was lifted from "I Want a New Drug"?

The filmmakers had used that song as temp music in the montage and had first asked its writer to score the theme himself.

The Ghostbusters theme lost the Best Original Song Oscar to which Stevie Wonder hit?

The same Stevie Wonder ballad from The Woman in Red beat it at the Golden Globes too, though the Ghostbusters theme did take the BAFTA.

How many weeks did the Ghostbusters theme spend at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100?

It was Parker's only chart-topper there, and it has crept back into the UK Top 75 more than once around Halloween.

Who composed the orchestral score for the 1984 film?

He called it the most difficult score he had ever written because of the constant swings between comedy and menace.

Which unusual electronic instrument gives the 1984 score its eerie wail?

So few people could play it that a musician had to be flown in from England; the same player returned for Afterlife decades later.

Measured to scale in the film, how tall is the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man?

The novelization rounds him down to a mere 100 feet; the video game classifies him as a Class 7 Outsider Avatar.

How many foam Marshmallow Man suits were built for the 1984 shoot?

Almost all of them were burned on camera by a single stuntman, at $25,000 to $30,000 a suit.

Whose childhood memory of a marshmallow mascot gives Gozer its giant final form?

Told to choose the form of the destructor, he tries to think of something harmless and lands on a corporate logo from his youth.

What single word does the creature in Dana's refrigerator utter?

It turns out to be a demigod servant of a Sumerian destruction god, and it wants Dana's body for the job of Gatekeeper.

After his possession, Louis Tully insists he is which entity?

The Ghostbusters realise the two possessed neighbours must be kept apart, and it lasts about as long as you would expect.

Who plays Dana's nerdy neighbour Louis Tully?

He accepted an hour after receiving the script, made the character an accountant, and ad-libbed the entire party speech.

Which comedian turned down Louis Tully after proposing a German accent and German shepherds?

The filmmakers felt the movie already had enough dogs in it, thanks to Zuul and Vinz.

Which actor plays the EPA inspector who shuts down the containment unit?

He said the character could not be played funny; Peck was written as a Margaret Dumont-style straight foil to the Marx Brothers.

How often did Ernie Hudson have to audition before landing Winston Zeddemore?

He took the part for half his usual fee on the strength of a bigger role, then got a slimmed-down script the night before shooting.

Sigourney Weaver changed Dana Barrett's profession from a model to what?

At her audition she got down on all fours and howled like a dog, which is also where the idea of Dana being possessed came from.

Who plays Janine Melnitz, the Ghostbusters' deadpan secretary?

Rushed onto set on her first day, she borrowed the set dresser's glasses and wore them for the rest of the film.

Gozer was originally written as a business-suited architect to be played by which comic actor?

When he passed, the role went to Yugoslav actress Slavitza Jovan and was restyled after the androgynous looks of Grace Jones and Bowie.

Harold Ramis borrowed Egon's surname from which German historian?

The first name came from a Hungarian refugee Ramis went to school with; the look came from a journal cover on abstract architecture.

The title 'Ghostbusters' was legally tied up by a 1970s children's show owned by which rival studio?

Backup titles under consideration included Ghoststoppers, Ghostbreakers and Ghostsmashers.

How much did the rival studio charge Columbia for the rights to the title, on top of 1% of profits?

Thanks to Hollywood accounting the film technically never showed a profit, so the 1% was never owed.

How many consecutive weeks was Ghostbusters the No. 1 film in US theaters?

Purple Rain finally knocked it off in early August, and it took the top spot back the very next week.

Which December release narrowly edged Ghostbusters as the highest-grossing film of 1984 in North America?

The margin was about $5 million, and Ghostbusters reclaimed the crown as the biggest comedy of the decade after a 1985 re-release.

The Ecto-1's distinctive siren was built from a recording of what?

The snarl was cut up and played backwards; the roof rack was so big it flew to Manhattan by plane while the car went by train.

The PKE meter prop was built around what everyday household gadget?

The gear was deliberately made to look homemade and military-surplus rather than sleek, to match the characters' scrappy science.

Roughly how much did each fiberglass proton pack weigh with its lighting batteries installed?

The weight strained the actors' backs, so lighter hollow and foam-rubber versions were made for wide shots and action scenes.

Which Swedish screen legend provided the dubbed voice of Vigo the Carpathian in Ghostbusters II?

The on-screen actor, Wilhelm von Homburg, reportedly only discovered he had been dubbed while watching the premiere and stormed out.

In Ghostbusters II, the villain Vigo is imprisoned inside what?

The 16th-century tyrant needs a child to possess so he can step out of the canvas and conquer the world again.

Which New York landmark do the Ghostbusters bring to life with slime in the sequel?

The idea is that a positive symbol will rally New Yorkers and weaken the negativity-fed slime; the statue is returned to Liberty Island afterwards.

In what year was Ghostbusters II released?

It arrived five years after the original, and the story is set five years later too, with the team sued out of business.

The climax of Ghostbusters II takes place on which night?

The slime beneath the city rises to the streets that night, so the film has become an unlikely New Year staple.

Which Bobby Brown song from Ghostbusters II earned him a cameo as the mayor's doorman?

Its video features a bizarre parade of cameos including Christopher Reeve, Jane Curtin, Donald Trump and two Ramones.

Who plays Janosz Poha, Dana's accented museum boss in Ghostbusters II?

The role had no accent in the script; the actor invented a Carpathian backstory and modelled the voice partly on Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice.

The river of slime in Ghostbusters II flows through which abandoned real-life New York system?

It was a real one-block demonstration subway from 1870 that pushed a car along with air pressure.

Ghostbusters II's record non-holiday opening narrowly beat which film released weeks earlier?

The record lasted exactly one week before Batman blew past it with a $43.6 million debut.

What is the name of Dana's baby in Ghostbusters II?

Early drafts made the child Peter's own son, but Murray felt that unbalanced the story, so Dana got an ex-husband instead.

Who directed the 2016 female-led Ghostbusters reboot?

He co-wrote it with Katie Dippold, and reshoots added scenes that winked at the online backlash the casting had provoked.

In the 2016 film, Chris Hemsworth plays Kevin, who holds what job with the team?

The dim-but-lovable hire is the film's gender-flipped answer to Janine, and he ends up possessed by the villain.

Bill Murray's cameo in the 2016 reboot casts him as what kind of character?

Aykroyd drives the cab, Hudson runs the funeral home and Potts works the hotel desk; Weaver turns up as Holtzmann's mentor.

Principal photography on the 2016 Ghostbusters began in which city, standing in for New York?

The subway scenes were shot on a soundstage because there is no Seward Street station in the real New York system.

In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the Spengler family inherits a farm in which state?

The fictional town of Summerville sits on top of the mine that occultist Ivo Shandor once used, which is why Egon moved there.

Which young actress plays Egon's granddaughter Phoebe in Afterlife?

She also wrote and sang 'Haunted House', which plays over the end credits alongside the original theme.

Afterlife was directed by the son of the original film's director. What is his name?

As a small boy he had a cameo cut from the 1984 film because the set frightened him too much for a second take.

Under what working title was Ghostbusters: Afterlife filmed?

The follow-up used the working title Firehouse, and Frozen Empire's script really did move the action back to New York.

Afterlife's dusty farm country was actually shot in and around which Canadian city?

Nearby Drumheller, Crossfield and Fort Macleod stood in for the town, the last one hosting the Muncher car chase.

What is the name of the horned, fear-wielding demigod released in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire?

He was locked in a brass orb four thousand years ago by sorcerers called the Firemasters, and fire and brass remain his weaknesses.

Who directed Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)?

He co-wrote Afterlife and took over the chair in late 2022; the film is dedicated to Ivan Reitman, who died before it was made.

By the time of Frozen Empire, old foe Walter Peck holds what job in New York City?

Forty years on he is still trying to shut the Ghostbusters down, this time by using Phoebe's age against the team.

Frozen Empire's principal photography took place mostly in and around which city?

Winnersh and Shinfield studios hosted the shoot; a New York stunt scene was accidentally caught on camera by YouTuber Casey Neistat.

Peter Venkman's early voice in The Real Ghostbusters came from the actor voicing which cartoon cat?

Bill Murray reportedly grumbled that the voice sounded like the cat, and Dave Coulier took over the role from season three.

The Real Ghostbusters cartoon aired from 1986 to 1991 on which US network?

It ran for 147 episodes and was retitled Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters when it stretched to an hour in 1988.

Why was the word 'Real' added to the cartoon's title?

The rival studio was simultaneously making its own animated Ghostbusters based on its 1975 live-action show.

In the cartoon, Frank Welker voiced Ray and which mascot ghost?

He also voiced the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, the mayor and assorted spooks; Arsenio Hall was the first Winston.

In which year did the Library of Congress add Ghostbusters to the National Film Registry?

The same year, the rights were consolidated so a new film could finally happen after decades of Murray holding out.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game, which Aykroyd called 'essentially the third movie', was released in what year?

Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, Hudson, Potts and Atherton all returned to voice their characters, set two years after the second film.

What real-life 1980s inspiration did the Stay Puft mascot's designers combine, according to The Guardian?

The face itself was modelled on a Columbia Pictures security guard the director had befriended on his previous movie.

Besides John Belushi, which comedian did Dan Aykroyd originally intend to star alongside in Ghostbusters?

After Belushi's death in March 1982, Aykroyd turned to Bill Murray, who agreed to join without a formal contract.

Roughly how many individual effects shots did Ghostbusters require?

With the major effects houses busy, Richard Edlund left ILM and used part of the budget to found Boss Film Studios.

Gozer's final look was inspired by the androgynous style of which two pop icons?

Yugoslavian actress Slavitza Jovan played the role, dubbed by Paddi Edwards to hide her Slavic accent.

Who plays Lenny Clotch, the Mayor of New York, in Ghostbusters?

Michael Ensign plays the Sedgewick Hotel manager and astrologer Ruth Hale Oliver the Library Ghost.

Who owned Columbia Pictures when their chairman fretted 'we're going to lose our shirts'?

Roberto Goizueta's gloom followed a deadpan industry screening; a teaser built around the 'No ghosts' logo soon turned things around.

Why was the cameo by Ivan Reitman's family as a fleeing household cut from the film?

That frightened boy, Jason Reitman, grew up to direct Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Which agent-producer phoned Aykroyd with news of Belushi's death while he was writing the script?

Aykroyd later pitched Brillstein the concept of three men who chase ghosts, complete with a Marshmallow Man sketch.

Which classic comedy team's Hold That Ghost (1941) was among the ghost films Aykroyd wanted to modernise?

Bob Hope's The Ghost Breakers and the Bowery Boys' Ghost Chasers were the other touchstones.