Ghosts of Ghostbusters: Chuck Gaspar

Dear Chuck Gaspar, Special Effects Supervisor,

It’s the eggs. 

The eggs make me most appreciate your work on Ghostbusters. As special effects supervisor, you were responsible for all of the practical, on-set effects work. The really big set-pieces— proton packs, Slimer, Terror Dogs, Gozer, Stay Puft Marshmallow man, and so on—those were the domain of Richard Edlund, and his visual effects team. Your team had the task of making all of those post-production elements feel real, and appear to interact with the real on-set elements. Chandeliers exploding after a missed shot, a dining cart smashed into a wall by a frantic ghost; that was all you.

But I keep coming back to those eggs on the counter of Dana Barrett’s Upper West Side Apartment. It’s certainly not the most spectacular effect you rigged in Ghostbusters, but when revisiting the film after all these years, I was struck by how well that simple trick works. The eggs come alive, vibrating in their carton, jumping out, smashing on the counter and frying sunny-side-up. Apart from the logistics necessary to execute even this simple scene (was there a whole griddle rigged to that counter top?), I started contemplating how this would be created today.

Of course the entire sequence would be CGI. A graphic artist would spend hours creating wire frame models, adding texture maps, creating photorealistic eggs that could be manipulated in any manner. Sure, those eggs would really be able to really fly out of that carton, and the lighting on them would be perfect for any angle you could conceive of: the camera could be anywhere!

But none of it would have half the whimsy of the simple effect you created in 1984.

Rest in peace,

Casey

Ghosts of Ghostbusters: David E. Blewitt

Dear David E. Blewitt, Editor,

What a weird movie this must have been to edit. Ghostbusters had so many disparate elements to balance. There’s the shambling, semi-improvised comedy in the style of Caddyshack, Stripes, and Meatballs that requires a light touch to get the pacing just right. Then there’s the high-budget special effects extravaganza that forces itself into the comedy, requiring beats more akin to an action movie. And speaking of beats, there’s also the seemingly random soundtrack that mixes all manner of song genres, with each song requiring a moment in the spotlight with its own mini-montage.

Thankfully, David, you were the perfect man for the job. With your career experience, mainly in documentary filmmaking, you were certainly qualified to filter through and stitch together what—based on the players involved—must have been a mountain of footage. Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis certainly didn’t need your help to be funny. No doubt they were thankful to have your expertise in choosing which improvised bits were not only funniest, but best served the story. And maybe because Ghostbusters was a new kind of cinematic beast at the time, you chose the most straight-ahead stylistic approach. Comedy, effects and action are all treated with a similar documentary-like feel.

Ghostbusters director of photography Laszlo Kovacs also had extensive documentary experience, and together you gave the film exactly what it needed. The almost detached point of view that lets the growing insanity feel that much more, well, insane against the backdrop of  very real 1980s New York City. That’s what made the ghosts both funny and scary; we were never told exactly what to feel, and could therefore feel anything we wanted.

Rest in peace,

Casey

Ghosts of Ghostbusters: Jim Bullock

They came, they saw, they kicked it’s ass… And then they died. To celebrate the re-release and 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters, Dear Cast and Crew presents a 10-part series dedicated to the memory of people who helped make the film a classic. 

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Dear Jim Bullock, Sound Editor,

I could be in another room, on another floor, in another building while Ghostbusters is on, and even if I only hear ten seconds, I know exactly what’s happening. Maybe that’s because I’ve seen the film at least a hundred times. Or maybe it’s because you transformed what must have been a thousand hours of audio tracks into the soundscape that helped make Ghostbusters one of the most beloved films of the last thirty years.

From the very first scene your work sets the literal and figurative tone for the entire film; the librarian softly pads between rows of books over a seemingly benign score. The wood cabinet drawers slide open and catalogue files shuffle into the air. Then horns, a xylophone, and a Theremin amplify the tension as the librarian realizes she is not alone. Her footsteps quicken to a run, the score builds to a crescendo and we hear a deep, other-worldly roar pierced through by her blood-curdling scream that fades into Ray Parker Jr.’s titular song.

You were responsible for assembling layers of sound that have now become iconic; from the eggs rattling in their carton, then popping and frying on Dana’s kitchen counter; the green blob cackling and gulping and breaking plates; the whoosh as ghosts are incarcerated in the vapour trap. The assorted beeps, pulses, and hums of equipment, the deep growls of ghost hounds, and the splitting crack as the heavens open up and threaten to rain hellfire down on New York city.

All this noise, and yet you made sure the cacophony never drowned out some of the most quotable dialogue in comedy history. 

By the time you came to Ghostbusters, you were already an expert, having spent the 50s and 60s as sound editor on dozens of shows: I Love Lucy, Peter Gunn, and even one with a ghost protagonist, My Mother the Car. You tried your hand at acting in the 80s, appearing in Knight Rider, The Wonder Years, and my favourite bad movie, Rocky IV. Those gigs alone are enough to make my inner child geek-out. Add Ghostbusters, and I think you just might be my new hero.

Rest in Peace,

Di

Ghosts of Ghostbusters: Bernie Brillstein

They came, they saw, they kicked it’s ass… And then they died. To celebrate the re-release and 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters, Dear Cast and Crew presents a 10-part series dedicated to the memory of people who helped make the film a classic. 

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Dear Bernie Brillstein, Executive Producer,

I knew who you were even before Ghostbusters. Which, considering I was eleven years-old at the time, either says a lot about your reputation, or says a lot about what an odd kid I was.

I’d seen your name on the credits of Hee-Haw, The Muppet Show, and Saturday Night Live. I read that you became John Belushi’s manager by accident when he refused to sign his SNL contract minutes before the first show went to air. He would commit only if you, Lorne Michaels’ manager, represented him. You agreed, and Belushi became your first star client.

You broke a lot of ground in the late-70s and early-80s. You convinced Atlantic Records to pony up a hundred-and-twenty-five grand to produce an album by the as-yet-unknown Blues Brothers. You were one of the first to profit from packaging TV shows, hiring your own writers to create projects, then filling them with your own stars, and executive producing the programs yourself. After selling them to networks, this scheme guaranteed you a producing credit and points on the back end. Until you gamed the system, an exec producer was largely a figurehead. But, by packaging talent, you held all the cards. It’s a tactic that has since become the industry standard, and one you carried on into the 1990s with shows like The Sopranos, Politically Incorrect, and The Larry Sanders Show. 

Some might consider that approach a little too close to bribery. But no one seemed to mind it coming from you. By all accounts you were a real mensch. While you were busy reinventing the wheel and trying to keep Belushi from killing himself, Dan Aykroyd had been developing a script for him and Belushi to star in. It was set in a future, where teams of ghost disposal units were as common as firefighters and paramedics. He called it Ghost Smashers. After Belushi’s passing, Aykroyd and Harold Ramis reworked the script, and Aykroyd pitched it to you. As a testament to just how trusted you were, Aykroyd sold it to you for a dollar.

After it was passed over by several studios and directors who just didn’t get it, the film, retitled Ghostbusters, went on to make over $291 million worldwide.

Your dollar investment paid off. But more than that, it made you the original gatekeeper of Zuul.

Well Played, Sir,

Di

Ghosts of Ghostbusters: László Kovács

They came, they saw, they kicked it’s ass… And then they died. To celebrate the re-release and 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters, Dear Cast and Crew presents a 10-part series dedicated to the memory of people who helped make the film a classic. 

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Dear László Kovács, Director of Photography,

You were certainly an unfunny choice for this movie. But with a motley cast, a motley crew, and a motley group of characters out to save the world, why not hire the cinematographer from Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces?

Both you and director Ivan Reitman have talked about how comedies typically have a look—and how this movie should not have that look. Instead of a simplistic comedy approach with high-key shots and bright colors, Ghostbusters is shot like a serious film. You added a distinct color cast, but otherwise let the scene define the tone (rather than imposing yourself on it). There are sequences that look like drama, documentary newcasts, and epic adventure (that 2.35:1 anamorphic aspect ratio!). This allows you to set real stakes in a plot that is patently ridiculous. It also allows for a very broad range of humor: from pun-tastic setpieces and light improv to dark sarcasm and tragic irony—all within the same film. 

Through a consistently (and I imagine painstakingly) unobtrusive filmmaking approach, you allowed the movie to conjure it’s own reality. By making a comedy that didn’t look like a comedy, you made people believe this unbelievable story. I think that’s a key reason it’s stood up so well – and even improved – over all these years.

Sincerely, 

Cory 

Ghosts of Ghostbusters: Theoni V. Aldredge

They came, they saw, they kicked it’s ass… And then they died. To celebrate the re-release and 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters, Dear Cast and Crew presents a 10-part series dedicated to the memory of people who helped make the film a classic. 

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Dear Theoni V. Aldredge, Costume Designer,

For a designer who won praise and awards for musicals and costume dramas, I find it weird and wonderful that you worked on Ghostbusters.

The result, which contrasts your usual golden gowns and flawless tuxes, lacks none of the detail. It’s pure understated geek cred, which serves the movie perfectly. Those earth-tone button-downs, pullovers, blazers, and khakis each member of the professional paranormal investigations and eliminations outfit perfectly. The clothes emphasize that our heroes are nobodies—a gang of misfits and losers who luck into a profitable business, and, eventually, a chance to save the world.

For a movie made in 1984, this one has aged so very well. The only people who dress in embarrassing 80s style are those who are supposed to be completely embarrassing. The best example is Lewis Tully, aka. Vice Clortho, aka. The Keymaster of Gozer (aka. Rick Moranis). He’s all about velour tracksuits and turtlenecks beneath shiny collared shirts. So he probably deserves everything that happens to him. The real costume showcase, however, is Dana Barrett; as the central party of interest – and exponentially classier than everyone else – you made her look the part of the self-reliant damsel in distress. 

Your work in Ghostbusters could have all been done yesterday, ten years ago, or ten years from now. Like the movie itself., this shit will never get old. Thank you for helping make it so.

Everlastingly yours.

Cory

Ghosts of Ghostbusters: John de Cuir

They came, they saw, they kicked it’s ass… And then they died. To celebrate the re-release and 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters, Dear Cast and Crew presents a 10-part series dedicated to the memory of people who helped make the film a classic. 

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Dear John De Cuir, Production Designer,

It seems strange and wonderful that you ended your illustrious Oscar-winning career with Ghostbusters. At 66 years-old, you were a Hollywood stalwart known for designing everything from Technicolor costume dramas like The King and I and South Pacific, to iconic black-and-white film noirs like The Naked City. But in your final two films, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid and Ghostbusters, you turned your talents to parody. Yet you still took your work dead serious. And by doing so, elevated what could have been mere supernatural silliness to something superb.

Your standout effort has to be the iconic ghost-busting HQ in the barely-renovated Hook & Ladder 8 fire station in Tribeca. You went all-out, layering cobwebs and dust before converting it all into a sparsely furnished frat-boy fantasy of pole-sliding fun. The doors still squeaked and the beds were foldout cots, but the money went where it mattered: into an ectoplasmic storage containment facility that’s the science-geek equivalent of a killer sound system. Of course, when the neighbour down the street (aka. the Environmental Assessment Agency) orders them to turn it off, all hell breaks loose. And so do your designs.

A mix of matte paintings and early computer graphics turn the corner suite of a skyscraping apartment into a still-impressive paranormal beacon for the dead. The influence of Raiders of the Lost Ark is perhaps obvious, but that doesn’t detract from the fun. You must have known that the jokes would work best as relief from the tension, and so created some genuinely impressive modern gothic statues and architecture that made the menace of Zuul feel real.

I’m not ashamed to say it: I was afraid of those ghosts.

Sincerely,

Christopher

Ghosts of Ghostbusters: Ruth Oliver

They came, they saw, they kicked it’s ass… And then they died. To celebrate the re-release and 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters, Dear Cast and Crew presents a 10-part series dedicated to the memory of people who helped make the film a classic.

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 Ruth Oliver, Library Ghost,

Talk about leaving an impression. Ghostbusters marked only your second (and final) film credit, but that brief acting career sure ended on high note—a screaming, squealing, terrifying, hilarious high note. The pitch-perfect delivery of your gentle shush followed a minute later by a face-melting shriek represents everything right with this comedy-horror-sci-fi classic. It’s a formula filmmakers have been unsuccessfully trying to emulate for the past 30 years.

So what, exactly, makes Ghostbusters so great? The answers seem both obvious and immeasurable. The best way to break it down is just to look at that opening. We’re introduced to all-new characters and an original concept (imagine!), plus a story that’s motivated by the “who”, not the “how” or “why”. When we follow a group of neurotic screwballs to the New York Public Library, it doesn’t feel like an obligatory plot point. We’re already laughing at Bill Murray, already intrigued by Dan Aykroyd’s passion—we’d happily follow them into a phone book (sorry, I’m trying to think of something even more boring than a library).

That’s when the camera movements get smooth, the music gets serious, the gadgets start blinking, and everyone becomes laser focused. Well, almost everyone. Murray’s casual approach to your floating, semi-transparent, full-torso figure sets the tone for the entire film: a high-wire balance act between making people laugh at the ridiculous premise while still getting them to buy in. And it works That you were able to upstage one of comedy’s all-time greats in one of his all-time greatest performances says it all.

I hope you’re finally floating in peace somewhere;: a library, a theater, or whatever else suits you. And don’t worry—you didn’t miss anything in Ghostbusters 2.

Sincerely,

Christopher