We all know a new Ghostbusters movie has been in the works for a long time now, and it’s obviously been quite difficult to persuade Bill Murray that he should return to the beloved franchise.
A few months ago, a rumor was making the rounds about Murray sending a shredded copy of the script back to Dan Aykroyd along with a note: “No one wants to pay money to see fat, old men chasing ghosts!”
Now Aykroyd is refuting such speculation, telling Empire Murray didn’t actually shred the script, and confirming he wants Rick Moranis back for GB3 as well.
“Bill Murray is not capable of such behavior. We have a deep, private personal relationship that transcends business,” Aykroyd said (presumably with a straight face).
“We communicate frequently and his position on the involvement in Ghostbusters 3 has been made clear and I respect that. But Bill has too much positive estimation of my writing skills to shred the work.”
Now apparently Rick Moranis is adamant that he is retired from the biz, with Harold Ramis telling Indiewire, “Rick won’t do it. Rich has retired from show business.”
Still, Akyroyd’s hoping he’ll come back for just one last protopack party.
”If we can get the script to Ghostbusters 3 right, then it would definitely have Moranis as a major component,” Akyroyd continued. “None of us would want to do the movie without having him as a participant.”
Indiewire also claims Sony won’t go forward on a third Ghostbusters without Bill Murray, and has apparently allocated a $150 million budget for the film.
In addition, the site quoted director Ivan Reitman (a year ago) as saying: “There is almost nothing is accurate online about [Ghostbusters 3],” adding, “[Still], it’s got a really good story, this one. Maybe the best of the whole series. I hope we get to do it.”
Reaction from IndieWire and Moviefone to the latest news? Moviefone writes, “Yes to Moranis. No to Murray. (Is Chevy Chase available? Someone’s got to take over smartass duty). The more news involving Ghostbusters 3, the weirder it gets.”
And Indiewire writes, “Dear Dan Aykroyd: For the love of God, let it go…we’re not holding our breath it’s gonna happen, and if it does, good luck to whoever tries to fill Bill Murray’s shoes.”
