Despite my complete disdain for recent reboot of Ghostbusters that came out, I have a genuine love and see way too much potential in the franchise to see it die. Unlike others who want to completely ignore that this movie exists, I see a great opportunity to correct the ship that director Paul Feig and former Sony Exec Amy Pascal have sent off-course. Let's be honest, we have four very talented ladies in this cast who could, with the right material, give us a genuinely great Ghostbusters film and possibly even a viable franchise. I'll break it down to five key story and visual elements that need to be corrected in the possible sequel if there is one. If you like what you read, share these ideas along with your own and maybe we can get this to the people who can make it happen. If you don't like it, well, that's what a comments section is for.
FROM HERE ON, EXPECT SPOILERS
1. More New York: Personally, I would love to see Ghostbusters go to other places or to have more teams in places like New Orleans (which is where Ghostbusters should be stationed anyways!). But as the reboot really didn't give us a lot of The Big Apple to begin with (perhaps because it was shot in Boston), we need to get back to basics. Shoot at very iconic New York locations, make the celluloid bleed Empire State. One thing that the original films did right was to get that feeling of the boroughs right. Hell, find some of those 80s taxis and play it up. If you can make it feel slightly timeless, even better. Get a cinematographer and a production designer who can create that authenticity. VERY IMPORTANT
2. Don't Be Scared Of No Ghosts: I get it, you want this to be friendly to kids. But you'd be surprised what kids can take when it comes to scares. Make these ghosts scary, freaky, or both! And don't make them too colorful, play up the vapor aspect of a ghostly look. In fact, get Greg Nicoterro or one of this proteges to build you some practical makeup monsters that make you go "eww". Then what you do is let your Ghostbusters comment on just how gross, especially McCarthy or Jones. That way kids can laugh at just how gross the monster is and make it less scary through comedy. If Zuul is your villain as mentioned in the post-credits sequence, give the villain something truly terrifying. Personally, I'd go with something like Zuul the Devourer of Souls and show Zuul eating and/or liquefying ectoplasm to fuel the coming of Gozer. Make Zuul formidable and a genuine threat. This will ensure that when the Ghostbusters defeats Zuul (or delays. Because you know we want Gozer to eventually come) that it feels like a genuine challenge. Extra points if you utilize stop-motion monsters somewhere.
3. NO. MORE. CAMEOS. EVER.: This isn't Batman '66. You don't need to remind us that there used to be another better movie (until you can prove to be the better movie). It's time to own that YOU ARE THE GHOSTBUSTERS and this movie is going to meet your ghostbusting needs. Make the comedy that works for your actors and the scenario. Don't you even think about turning Bill Murray into a ghost!
4. Create A Consistent Lore: Especially considering that you're wanting to create an expanded universe, let's start off with the one thing that has been a hindrance for this franchise since the first film; consistency. Rules need to be made to explain why some ghosts can be trapped and others not. We need to to know the basis of the laws of science in regards to this universe and the laws regarding what these paranormal investigators are allowed to get away with. In the reboot alone, the Ghostbusters get away with LITERAL murder without seeing one day in jail for it. Are we going to see just ghosts or will we see demons, zombies, maybe even angels? Will we discussing the religious ramifications of these events? What agencies are gunning to take down the Ghostbusters? What supernatural forces are at play? What can they and more importantly can't they do? Why do some people not become ghosts or does everybody become one eventually (but NOT Bill Murray)? These are important questions that need to be addressed as soon as possible in the context of the series.
5. Give The Ghostbusters Real Stakes: If there is one thing you would assume Sony would have learned from their Spider-Man days, it's that bringing your heroes down to earth helps that audience root for them. The best way to do this is to create a conflict that has genuine ramifications. It is here that we can give three characters something to add to the story and to possibly introduce another beloved character to the series. As you are very aware of, owning a business in itself has these kinds of stakes. And a business that is losing money is one that is on life support, a great way to create tension and a genuine threat of implosion. So what can you do with this?
First let's talk about Patty. She's pretty one-note in the first film and yet still very interesting. Why not give her more involvement in the business, namely that she's running the firm's operations. Perhaps she's going to night school for a degree and perhaps her classmate might be a rather demur nerd who's really good at numbers named Louis/Louise Tully (in my version, played by Allyson Hannigan). Perhaps she's the one trying to keep the Ghostbusters from going into the red because they're tearing up more stuff than they can afford busting ghosts (now imagine her trying to keep the team from destroying millions of dollars in stuff busting a ghost in Museum of Fine Art). She's now a large part in a plot that needs resolution and not just the sidekick.
Let's also talk about Abby and Erin. So far, their falling apart prior to the first film hasn't been explored (that might change with the supposed Director's Cut). But from what we do know, Erin is desperate for recognition and acceptance while Abby is more dedicated to the work. Let's say that another wedge happens if Erin is considering franchising Ghostbusters in order to capitalize on possible competitors (because you know there will be at some point) and Abby refuses because it might mess up her ideal Ghostbuster family. This creates genuine tension that these two could fall apart (and perhaps they do at the end of the movie and now we have two teams for the sequel). Just saying that could be a thing.
I could also recommend having more Ghostbusters, perhaps more gender-diverse and possibly even international (seriously Europe and Asia MUST have some great ghosts to bust), but even if we just stay with these four actresses, this is salvageable and I certainly want to see great ideas come about in the future installments.
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In short, I still believe in the Ghostbusters franchise and I firmly believe we don't need to go back to the drawing board but can work with what we have. But steps must be taken to ensure that this series doesn't become hokey and marginalized. These films can both be fun and well-made not just by visual standards. But we need to expect more from the studios in order for them to get the point that their days of lazily cashing in on cheap remakes are over.
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