Discuss Ghostbusters: Afterlife, released on November 19, 2021 and directed by Jason Reitman.
#4965749
starang11 wrote: January 19th, 2022, 2:35 pm
RichardLess wrote: January 19th, 2022, 8:02 am “Egon Spengler can rot in hell” is not Ray Stanz. The film fundamentally gets the character relationship of Egon and Ray wrong. Ray didn’t believe Egon? What? Come on. Ray would be there chasing after Egon in a heartbeat.
For sure, Afterlife could have easily told the same basic story without turning Egon into a crazed loner and the dramatic falling out with Ray. All they needed to give us was that the GBs went out of business sometime after GB2 and drifted apart over the next 30 years (makes enough sense). Perhaps Egon eventually "retired" to Summerville with some of the equipment to research the mine for his own interest, and whether he found more than he expected or his presence inadvertently set something in motion, he had to act fast and died before he could send for help. That's all they really needed to establish, Phoebe puts the pieces together with Grooberson and Podcast and her call to Ray is what brings the GBs back. It leads to the same outcome, only without manufacturing this backstory that doesn't seem to fit Egon or Ray's characters.
For a movie that's not primarily focused on the remaining GBs, it seems to go out of its way to stir the pot with their history.

That said, I don't see how Ray in Grooberson's role solves the problem - why would Ray be casually teaching at a summer school if Egon had just recently died? Wouldn't he be sounding the alarms and calling in Winston and Peter? It would bypass the whole point of the kids putting the pieces together.
Well you wouldn’t just plug Ray into that role you’d have change a few things. Why would Ray be teaching at the school? We can come up with a few ideas. 1) money. It’s some easy cash he can earn while investigating. 2) Grooberson works with Ray. Grooberson is a huge Ghostbusters fan. He got a job working at Ray’s occult book store and helping Ray with odd jobs. Ray goes to investigate Summerville and brings Grooberson along as his assistant(think Marty & Doc Brown). You can keep Grooberson as the Keymaster. Phoebe still discovers the trap and pack. Ray says to Grooberson after he finds out a few things with Pheobes help “Grooberson you stay here. I’m going back to New York & I’m coming back with some friends”. I also maybe kinda like the idea of Ray working on the Ecto 1 with Trevor.

I duno I mean I’d change a bunch of stuff really. I’d have to take place in rural upstate New York instead of Oklahoma, I’d have a different villain but one maybe related to the whole Gozer/Shandor thing. Like Gozer was just the warm up act for the real show. Maybe even have a reason for Gozer asking “Are you a god?” Gozer would search different dimensions for her master, a true god. I don’t know. The first has spook central as a huge super conductive antenna so this one could be something else Shandor built. A beacon. So he built an antenna and a broadcaster, so to speak. It sends out paranormal signals, and the antenna was meant to receive the response kind of deal. The new movie is about the beacon finally reaching a receiver.

I should stop. Again, there’s a million ways this story could’ve been told. The path they chose has its moments but I feel it could’ve been far better.
Sav C, Wafflerobot liked this
#4965752
RichardLess wrote:
starang11 wrote: January 19th, 2022, 2:35 pm For sure, Afterlife could have easily told the same basic story without turning Egon into a crazed loner and the dramatic falling out with Ray. All they needed to give us was that the GBs went out of business sometime after GB2 and drifted apart over the next 30 years (makes enough sense). Perhaps Egon eventually "retired" to Summerville with some of the equipment to research the mine for his own interest, and whether he found more than he expected or his presence inadvertently set something in motion, he had to act fast and died before he could send for help. That's all they really needed to establish, Phoebe puts the pieces together with Grooberson and Podcast and her call to Ray is what brings the GBs back. It leads to the same outcome, only without manufacturing this backstory that doesn't seem to fit Egon or Ray's characters.
For a movie that's not primarily focused on the remaining GBs, it seems to go out of its way to stir the pot with their history.

That said, I don't see how Ray in Grooberson's role solves the problem - why would Ray be casually teaching at a summer school if Egon had just recently died? Wouldn't he be sounding the alarms and calling in Winston and Peter? It would bypass the whole point of the kids putting the pieces together.
Well you wouldn’t just plug Ray into that role you’d have change a few things. Why would Ray be teaching at the school? We can come up with a few ideas. 1) money. It’s some easy cash he can earn while investigating. 2) Grooberson works with Ray. Grooberson is a huge Ghostbusters fan. He got a job working at Ray’s occult book store and helping Ray with odd jobs. Ray goes to investigate Summerville and brings Grooberson along as his assistant(think Marty & Doc Brown). You can keep Grooberson as the Keymaster. Phoebe still discovers the trap and pack. Ray says to Grooberson after he finds out a few things with Pheobes help “Grooberson you stay here. I’m going back to New York & I’m coming back with some friends”. I also maybe kinda like the idea of Ray working on the Ecto 1 with Trevor.

I duno I mean I’d change a bunch of stuff really. I’d have to take place in rural upstate New York instead of Oklahoma, I’d have a different villain but one maybe related to the whole Gozer/Shandor thing. Like Gozer was just the warm up act for the real show. Maybe even have a reason for Gozer asking “Are you a god?” Gozer would search different dimensions for her master, a true god. I don’t know. The first has spook central as a huge super conductive antenna so this one could be something else Shandor built. A beacon. So he built an antenna and a broadcaster, so to speak. It sends out paranormal signals, and the antenna was meant to receive the response kind of deal. The new movie is about the beacon finally reaching a receiver.

I should stop. Again, there’s a million ways this story could’ve been told. The path they chose has its moments but I feel it could’ve been far better.
You'd have to have Callie and Egon be "not that close" due to Callie's mom and Egon not working out. You could have Ray showing Phoebe the gear and explaining who the ghostbusters were. I think Ray and Egon could have set up the automated packs, but were trying to figure out what to do as a more permanent solution. Phoebe and Ray could come up with the "field of traps" idea, which would require Ray to leave town to get the gear and round up Winston and Venkman. While he is gone, the kids bust muncher, despite Ray very clearly telling the kids that a proton pack is not a toy.

Yeah, if done right, Ray being in Summerville really helps a lot of the problems.
#4965763
I think most of this films problems started with Jason’s first mental image.

“A 12 year old girl on a farm shooting a proton pack at wheat.”

Those things, especially combined, would have been some of the last things people would have expected in a Ghostbusters movie.

Setting this in NYC would have solved SO many problems and required leaps in logic.
Like Egon robbing the Ghostbusters and Ray not believing supernatural threats are real.
Those two concepts are the 2 concepts at the heart of Afterlife’s story. Every other part of Afterlife’s story stems from those two.

Are those really the two fundamental concepts people deserved in a Ghostbusters movie?

Egon robbing the Ghostbusters” and “Ray not believing supernatural threats are real”.

Of all the things they could have based this movie on.

What on Earth were they thinking.

I think I’m realizing I like this movie simply because of how long I’ve waited for it. Not for the movie itself.

The last 10 minutes were nice though.
Last edited by One time on January 20th, 2022, 2:51 am, edited 2 times in total.
#4965782
Having Ray be more of a central character and the bridge between the new characters and the old was actually the movie i had in my head after the teaser and a few of the set pics dropped
(ya know with "revelations" being spray painted all over the farm..Ray supposedly having a farm house from his parents, etc.)

It might have changed a few things around, but a lot of the story beats would be the same while not having to explain so much. As you could have had Ray open a "Rays Occult" out in Summerville, so he's looked at as a cooky old 'shop keeper" (podcast can explain that, i can see a quick shot of Ray peaking out and shutting the blinds)

Also.. it was him AND Egon that brought the OGB company under, and then blames himself for not being there when Egon loses the battle against the Gozeriens..(so you could still have the 'Im sorry, Egon" at the end) Ray isnt present during Egon's chase opening, and that can play into the story.

So Ray has all this baggage of having the blame of Egon's death on his hands, as well as taking part in ruining the business in NY...adding stakes for how he needs to reconcile with Pete and Winston in order for them to cooperate and come to Summerville and help in the end. (early on Jason hinting the movie's theme would be "forgiveness" so this is what played out in my head)

The rest of the movie plays out pretty much the same with the other characters (Callie's relationship with Egon, Egon's spirit guiding Phoebe etc) , we can use some Movie Logic here..so when Phoebe calls Ray, it can "redirect" to the phone of Rays Occult in Summerville, we dont need the 'burn in hell' line anymore just a quick explanation on how Ray and Egon came to Summerville, but Ray can now be reluctant to help Phoebe after all that happened to him: "dont go chasing ghosts"

When Zuul and Vinz possess the parents, thats when Ray is called to action by the kids, when they show up at his shop asking for help. Thats when he has to take a deep breathe and call down Winston and Pete with Janine's help.

Just adds a new layer to the story without rearranging too many things, its just interweaving an extra character into the mix for a few scenes.
#4965783
Something struck me about the finale last night.

I think we're all agreed that the OGBs should have had a bit more of an entrance, right? However, it suddenly occurred to me that screeching up in a car, or gyrocopter, or time travelling plane-thing or whatever isn't really something Ghostbusters can do - you can't sit in a car with the packs on, so there has to be a brief getting-out-of-the-vehicle-and-suiting-up sequence. So Janine drives them up and they all hop out and then... spend a couple of minutes getting the gear on while Gozer just watches them! I mean that could be funny, but it's a very good reason for them to walk in from stage left fully suited up for dramatic purposes.

If only they'd framed that walk in the way the storyboards in the art book suggested, but ah well.
#4965784
I'm asking this to the guys who's been on this board longer than me:

1- Ghost Corps employees watching this forum every now and then, is it a real possibility?

2- if the answer to the above question is "yes", what are the chances of them reading all these concerns about Afterlife, giving notes to whoever is in charge of the next movie and slightly correct the course?


I mean, ok, almost everybody would have liked a little more OGB in the movie.

The next one is probably set in New York with a reopening seeming possible. Now, Chicken forgive me, how do you reopen such a thing as the Ghostbusters without making them involved?

In Summerville they were called in emergency, they didn't knew what was really going on, they weren't in their habitat.
Next time? You have a ECU to fix, you have the equipment to upgrade, you're going to do a job LITERALLY INVENTED by those people. Who ya gonna call?
#4965788
Davideverona wrote:I'm asking this to the guys who's been on this board longer than me:

1- Ghost Corps employees watching this forum every now and then, is it a real possibility?

2- if the answer to the above question is "yes", what are the chances of them reading all these concerns about Afterlife, giving notes to whoever is in charge of the next movie and slightly correct the course?


I mean, ok, almost everybody would have liked a little more OGB in the movie.

The next one is probably set in New York with a reopening seeming possible. Now, Chicken forgive me, how do you reopen such a thing as the Ghostbusters without making them involved?

In Summerville they were called in emergency, they didn't knew what was really going on, they weren't in their habitat.
Next time? You have a ECU to fix, you have the equipment to upgrade, you're going to do a job LITERALLY INVENTED by those people. Who ya gonna call?
Because you have a new team of Ghostbusters.
Winston, or a combo of Winston & Ray, as a support cast for the new team (Phoebe, Podcast etc)... sure.

But Venkman isn't worth having back and Afertlife wasn't setting up their return as the focus of the next movie, that's not happening.
#4965804
Alphagaia wrote:My god, I couldn't watch that for more than 10 seconds. What happened to production value for these kind of interviews?







Also, GET OFF MY LAWN!
Just close your eyes and pretend you're listening to a podcast. Gunton had some interesting information and opinions.
Dr.D liked this
#4965810
Chicken, He Clucked wrote: January 20th, 2022, 5:43 am
Davideverona wrote:I'm asking this to the guys who's been on this board longer than me:

1- Ghost Corps employees watching this forum every now and then, is it a real possibility?

2- if the answer to the above question is "yes", what are the chances of them reading all these concerns about Afterlife, giving notes to whoever is in charge of the next movie and slightly correct the course?


I mean, ok, almost everybody would have liked a little more OGB in the movie.

The next one is probably set in New York with a reopening seeming possible. Now, Chicken forgive me, how do you reopen such a thing as the Ghostbusters without making them involved?

In Summerville they were called in emergency, they didn't knew what was really going on, they weren't in their habitat.
Next time? You have a ECU to fix, you have the equipment to upgrade, you're going to do a job LITERALLY INVENTED by those people. Who ya gonna call?
Because you have a new team of Ghostbusters.
Winston, or a combo of Winston & Ray, as a support cast for the new team (Phoebe, Podcast etc)... sure.

But Venkman isn't worth having back and Afertlife wasn't setting up their return as the focus of the next movie, that's not happening.
THAT'S what I'm talking about! ☺
You have a talented new cast who's in love with Ghostbusters (with McKenna on the higher side of the meter and Celeste only looking for a job) and you have a more than willing to return Ernie and Dan.

I'm thinking realistically: how old a guy has to be in USA to open his own business? Here in Italy is 18 and you need financial guarantees.

Ok, Gary and Callie can take all over their shoulders... But can they do all the job alone? No.

You put Ray in some scenes in the Firehouse (I have the impression that Dan can't do too action scenes anymore) and Winston on the street with Gary and Trevor. Phoebe and Podcast now 15 or 16 itching to officially join the team but working as internals.

Boom, everything solved.
#4965813
Davideverona wrote: January 20th, 2022, 5:01 am I'm asking this to the guys who's been on this board longer than me:

1- Ghost Corps employees watching this forum every now and then, is it a real possibility?

2- if the answer to the above question is "yes", what are the chances of them reading all these concerns about Afterlife, giving notes to whoever is in charge of the next movie and slightly correct the course?

I think they peruse the website but don't directly interact unless given a go ahead. It is very rare that we get any interaction with Sony or even Ghostcorps. Erik answering our questions was a very rare opportunity for us.

It's very surprising that this website has been around for as long as we have and we haven't had any visit's from the actors at all. (That I know of.) . They could have checked things out then decided it's not worth their time, or just went "meh."

If there were to have been a Q and A with ATC i'm kind of dreading thinking it wouldn't have gone over well.
I don't think were even on their radar unless there's something they don't want being posted online.
Davideverona liked this
#4965876
Corey91 wrote: January 20th, 2022, 1:18 pm

GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE - Bringing the Ecto-1 Back to Life

Man, I really hope that these 1 minute snippets arn't the full length BTS Special Features on the physical releases. I'd be reallllyyyy bummed.
That feature is on the iTunes copy and no, it’s longer.
#4965885
RichardLess wrote: January 21st, 2022, 7:58 am
Corey91 wrote: January 20th, 2022, 1:18 pm

GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE - Bringing the Ecto-1 Back to Life

Man, I really hope that these 1 minute snippets arn't the full length BTS Special Features on the physical releases. I'd be reallllyyyy bummed.
That feature is on the iTunes copy and no, it’s longer.
Awesome to hear! I was like, they didn't even go over the gunner seat?
deadderek liked this
#4965899
My mother passed away Wednesday morning after a two and a half week battle with Covid. She was vaccinated and was asymptomatic until it devolved into pneumonia and duel lung infection. Seeing her the day before she passed was unbearable and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

The ending to this movie hits different now.
#4965902
Shit, space i'm sorry she and you had to go through that. It must have not been easy for her at all. That particular type of Covid is a very nasty thing, I went through the same thing. It just flattens you like a pancake. Sorry to hear that man.
#4965904
She supported my Ghostbusters obsession and got me everything Ghostbusters related growing up, we got to watch "Afterlife" together before she got sick.

We don't know when any of us will go, spend as much quality time as you can with your loved ones. Even if it's just a phone call.
Dr.D, timeware, deadderek and 2 others liked this
#4965905
SpaceBallz wrote: January 21st, 2022, 3:58 pm She supported my Ghostbusters obsession and got me everything Ghostbusters related growing up, we got to watch "Afterlife" together before she got sick.

We don't know when any of us will go, spend as much quality time as you can with your loved ones. Even if it's just a phone call.
Amen brother. May she rest in peace and you and your family find serenity.

Yesterday was the birthday of my 5 years old deceased grandfather. He was very sick and it was a blessing for him.
It has been really sad for us but the good times came along.
SpaceBallz liked this
#4965910
SpaceBallz wrote: January 21st, 2022, 2:45 pm My mother passed away Wednesday morning after a two and a half week battle with Covid. She was vaccinated and was asymptomatic until it devolved into pneumonia and duel lung infection. Seeing her the day before she passed was unbearable and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

The ending to this movie hits different now.
So sad to hear this. I lost my best friend in similar circumstances. Strength will find you.
#4965912
Just a heads up, some retailers have broken the street date. I'm confident I'll snag one early now.

*UPDATE* Got my copy tomorrow. :)
Last edited by deadderek on January 21st, 2022, 10:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Davideverona liked this
#4965934
SpaceBallz wrote: January 21st, 2022, 3:58 pm She supported my Ghostbusters obsession and got me everything Ghostbusters related growing up, we got to watch "Afterlife" together before she got sick.

We don't know when any of us will go, spend as much quality time as you can with your loved ones. Even if it's just a phone call.
She sounds like an excellent lady, and I'm so sorry for your loss.
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