New Ghostbusters Director says he is giving the movie “back to the fans”

[Update: Jason Reitman has addressed some of the criticism he received regarding the comments he made earlier this week regarding his new Ghostbusters film. “Wo, that came out wrong! I have nothing but admiration for Paul and Leslie and Kate and Melissa and Kristen and the bravery with which they made Ghostbusters 2016,” he tweeted.”They expanded the universe and made an amazing movie!” Reitman received a strong backlash via social media to the point where the director of the 2016 reboot, Paul Feig, decided to come out and defend Reitman saying “Jason was a supporter of mine at a time when I couldn’t get movies made,” and “He has always been a true gentleman to me and a supporter of Ghostbusters: Answer the Call. I can’t wait to see his take on the Ghostbusters universe. Big love and respect to you, Jason. Your fan, Paul.” I hope that this can temper the backlash and be a fun experience for all Ghostbusters fans.]

Jason Reitman, acclaimed director and son of original Ghostbusters movies director Ivan Reitman, has taken on the task of making a new Ghostbusters movie. I’m excited about this as I think it is so interesting that someone who grew up on the sets of the first two is getting a chance to make his own. He recently stated that “I love this franchise. I grew up watching it. I consider myself the first Ghostbusters fan. I was like seven years old when that movie came out and I love it. I want to make a movie for my fellow Ghostbusters fans.”

Now, this could come across as him trying to push the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot aside in favor of a new direction and that seems to be the case. There was the big uproar in the announcement of an all-female Ghostbusters reboot. The movie turned out fine but didn’t bring in the type of money Sony was looking for to make a sequel. It’s likely that they are distancing themselves from it to refocus audiences on the original two movies. Reitman is a talented director, having made Up in the Air, Juno, and my personal favorite Thank You for Smoking. Earlier reports say that the story will involve a 13-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl. Not much else is known about the movie at this time, but this alone is something that hasn’t been explored before and I’m curious what kind of fresh take he can bring to this franchise.

You have to appreciate his enthusiasm for the original movies since he is also quoted as saying, “We went back to the work files for the sound of the proton pack. And we went back to the stems of Elmer Bernstein’s score” and “Just for where it says, in the teaser, ‘Summer 2020,’ we went back and found the original physical vinyl letters they used to create the Ghostbusters poster in 1984. Rescanned them and then our titles guys reprinted them. We filmed the titles. Not like in a computer. We shot physical titles with a light and smoke effect because that’s how they would have done it back in the day… We are, in every way, trying to go back to the original technique and hand the movie back to the fans.”

His phrasing might not be the best but this is the kind of dedication you want in a filmmaker trying to recapture the magic of a much-beloved movie.

The new Ghostbusters is currently scheduled to release July 10, 2020

Ghostbusters Director Jason Reitman says sequel will ‘Hand the Movie back to the fans’  [IGN]

Jason Reitman attempts to clarify controversial ‘Ghostbusters’ comments [CNN]