History Trivia / Ghostbusters1984

* ChristmasRushed: Reitman liked some ideas in Aykroyds' original script, but proposed a structural overhaul to focus on the guys going into business. He pitched the movie to Columbia Pictures, who gave them a great budget but a deadline of about 14 months (May 1983-June 1984). They hadn't even written the shooting script. They got something together in two weeks but [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants were rewriting everything as it went along]], Winston was supposed to be hired when they started the business but got pushed towards the middle of the act. There were numerous {{Special Effect Failure}}s because it basically just the test footage, but they tightened up the editing to keep it from being too noticeable.

** Filming got underway in October 1983 and everything began to run smoothly, though the team soon hit a snag when they realized that the "Ghostbusters" trademark had been used by a similar property, ''WesternAnimation/FilmationsGhostbusters''. The team attempted to work around this by having different logos bearing the names ''Ghostbreakers'' and ''Ghoststoppers'', though Columbia eventually negotiated the rights to the name. The rest of the shoot was trouble-free.

** CrossingTheStreams was renamed ForbiddenChekhovsGun.
** WhoYouGonnaCall

** Originally Gozer was going to take the form of a man in a business suit and would have been played by Creator/PaulReubens. Reitman was the one to devise the androgynous form at the last minute, believing it would work better as a supernatural manifestation rather than the rather mundane look. However, the Video Game's design of Ivo Shandor is said to be based upon what Paul Reubens might look like in ten or fifteen years' time.

*** Creator/MichaelKeaton, Creator/RichardPryor, Creator/RobinWilliams, and Creator/TomHanks were also considered for Peter Venkman before the casting of Murray.
** Creator/ChristopherLloyd, Creator/ChristopherWalken, Creator/JeffGoldblum, and Creator/JohnLithgow were considered for the role of Egon Spengler before the casting of Creator/HaroldRamis.
** Creator/EddieMurphy was initially offered the part of Winston Zeddemore before Creator/ErnieHudson was cast, but turned it down due to filming commitments to ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop''. Originally, the character was meant to appear in more of the film and would've joined the team much earlier. Zeddemore would've also been the one who was slimed at the hotel rather than Venkman.
** The role of Louis Tully was offered to Creator/JohnCandy, who wanted to play him as an odd German guy who owned dogs. The directors didn't like this idea, since there was already so much dog imagery in the movie, but couldn't bring themselves to replace the character.
** Originally Gozer was going to take the form of a man in a business suit (who may have been Ivo Shandor) and would have been played by Creator/PaulReubens. Reitman was the one to devise the androgynous form at the last minute, believing it would work better as a supernatural manifestation rather than the rather mundane look. However, the Video Game's design of Ivo Shandor is said to be based upon what Paul Reubens might look like in ten or fifteen years' time.

** The role of Winston was originally intended to be for Eddie Murphy, bridging the generations of Series/SaturdayNightLive sketch comedians between Murray/Ackroyd and Murphy. Murphy's Winston would have been an ex-US Marine and MultiDisciplinaryScientist far smarter than Ray, Egon, or Peter. Perhaps fortunately, he wasn't available, leading to the casting of Creator/ErnieHudson as a much more down to Earth AudienceSurrogate, and preventing Ghostbusters from being regulated to a footnote in Murphy's early career.
** The movie was meant to be an adult/older teen-oriented comedy not unlike the earlier Ramis/Murray vehicle ''Film/{{Stripes}}.'' Creator/ChevyChase turned down the role of Peter Venkman due to how dark and scary the script was; Chase claims it was much, much darker than the final product. Even then, what ended up in theaters is chock full of casual smoking, swearing, political undertones, sexual innuendo, and of course [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment the ghost-on-human blowjob scene]]. There's even allegedly an alternate take where Egon, upon spotting Stay-Puft coming up the road, shouts "Oh, FUCK!" instead of "Look!", but this was cut because the PG-13 rating didn't exist yet and one PrecisionFStrike would have meant nobody under 17 could see the movie, as it would jump straight from PG to R. Upon realizing kids were losing their minds over it, however, ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' was conceived and began running and the sequel was toned down to be more kid-friendly, with maybe 5 swear words dropped in the whole movie, every character except Ray ceasing smoking (and Ray is never, ever seen with lit tobacco or even a cigarette, he merely chews on the end of unlit pipes and cigars), and fewer sex jokes.

** Many actors were switched out or not intended as their original performers, the part of Ray Stanz being by far the most stable as it was designed for co-writer Aykroyd almost from the start.
** The part of Venkman was written for Creator/JohnBelushi, [[AuthorExistenceFailure but he died before that could become a reality]]. The part was then offered to fellow ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' alum Creator/ChevyChase, but he declined. Creator/BillMurray, the driving force of the movie, was a last-minute addition to the cast. While Murray made the role his own, several lines are clearly intended for Belushi, such as the speech after the university fires them. It sounds corny from Murray, who usually plays a cynic, but Belushi was good with such bombastic speeches. Creator/SteveGuttenberg was also offered Venkman, but turned it down to do ''Film/PoliceAcademy''.
** Creator/EddieMurphy was to play Winston, who would have been part of the original group along with Ray, Peter and Egon. He was described as a former Marine and Ph.D.-level scientist, the original script called for Winston, not Venkman, to be slimed in the Sedgewick Hotel. Murphy was left out because they didn't want the movie to be perceived as a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''-inspired film (even though Creator/HaroldRamis was never an ''SNL'' cast member; he was on ''Series/{{SCTV}}'', which some people see as a LighterAndSofter Canadian version of ''SNL''), and because he was busy with ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'' at the time. Winston was then re-written as more of a blue-collar everyman and eventually given to Creator/ErnieHudson, though WordOfGod has it that Winston was a [[SemperFi Marine]] and a [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam veteran]] before joining the Ghostbusters (this never comes up in the films or the animated series, the latter of which has two episodes stating that Winston was previously a construction worker).
** The part of Louis Tully was initially offered to Creator/JohnCandy, who wanted to play him as an odd German guy who owned dogs. The directors didn't like this idea, since there was already so much dog imagery in the movie, but couldn't bring themselves to replace him. Fortunately, Candy passed on the role, and they offered it to Rick Moranis, who had a much better take on the character. It helped, too, that Moranis, Candy, and Ramis were all friends since Second City together, and understood that the best guy for the role was the best guy for the role.
** Creator/HaroldRamis was not originally intending to play Egon, he never had much success as an actor and was just interested in writing for the film. After a hard time casting for Egon (Creator/JeffGoldblum, Creator/JohnLithgow, Creator/ChristopherLloyd and Creator/ChristopherWalken were considered and Creator/JayLeno auditioned), Aykroyd and Reitman suggested that Ramis would be perfect for the role and as soon as he read for it everyone agreed.
** Creator/MichaelKeaton was offered the choice of playing either Venkman or Egon Spengler and declined both.

** Originally Gozer was going to take the form of a man in a business suit (who may have been Ivo Shandor) and would have been played by Creator/PaulReubens. Reitman was the one to devise the androgynous form at the last minute, believing it would work better as a supernatural manifestation rather than the rather mundane look. However, the Video Game's design of Ivo Shandor is said to be based upon what Paul Reubens might look like in ten or fifteen years' time.

** Ray Parker Jr. almost refused to do the theme song, as he had no idea how to work the title into it. However, when he saw the advertisement sequence, he was inspired to make it call-and-response.
*** On that note, Music/FleetwoodMac's Lindsay Buckingham was set to do the theme, having done the theme from ''Film/NationalLampoonsVacation'' already. Because of that success, he declined.
** According to Creator/ChevyChase the script he read was much darker, scarier and more violent than the film that actually got made.
** Creator/MichaelKeaton turned down both Venkman and Egon.

** The Stay-Puft marshmallow man was originally supposed to come up out of the water right next to The Statue of Liberty, to get a contrast of size, but the scene was too hard to shoot.

*** Originally, the Stay-Puft marshmallow man was going to be the Pillsbury dough boy, but Pillsbury declined.

** Creator/EddieMurphy was to play Winston, who would have been part of the original group along with Ray, Peter and Egon. He was described as a former Marine and Ph.D.-level scientist, the original script called for Winston, not Venkman, to be slimed in the Sedgewick Hotel. Murphy was left out because they didn't want the movie to be perceived as an ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''-inspired film (even though Creator/HaroldRamis was never an ''SNL'' cast member; he was on ''Series/{{SCTV}}'', which some people see as a LighterAndSofter Canadian version of ''SNL''), and because he was busy with ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'' at the time. Winston was then re-written as more of a blue-collar everyman and eventually given to Creator/ErnieHudson, though WordOfGod has it that Winston was a [[SemperFi Marine]] and a [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam veteran]] before joining the Ghostbusters (this never comes up in the films or the animated series, the latter of which has two episodes stating that Winston was previously a construction worker).

** The script rewrites got underway immediately, with the group (sans Murray, who was filming ''The Razor's Edge'') decamping to Martha's Vineyard and working around the clock to get the plot hammered out. Large chunks of the plot (which Reitman later admitted were too shocking) were chopped out. The team soon realized that they would need more than 200 effects shots to see their vision brought to the screen, and most of the other major effects houses with busy with tentpole films. In response, Reitman got visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund to create his own FX house, Boss Film Studios. The only problem was that by the time all the necessary arrangements were completed, the team was 10 months out from a release date without a single frame of footage to show for it. Designers began creating creatures and ghosts for a script that hadn't been fully completed at that point.

* ActingForTwo: In one DeletedScene Creator/BillMurray and Creator/DanAykroyd play two random homeless men.

** The part of Venkman was written for Creator/JohnBelushi, [[AuthorExistenceFailure but he died before that could become a reality]]. The part was then offered to fellow ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' alum Creator/ChevyChase, but he declined. Creator/BillMurray, the driving force of the movie, was a last-minute addition to the cast. While Murray made the role his own, several lines are clearly intended for Belushi, such as the speech after the university fires them. It sounds corny from Murray, who usually plays a cynic, but Belushi was good with such bombastic speeches.

* CastingGag: Michael Ensign, who playes the hotel manager, had previously been in the 1982 film adaptation of ''Music/TheWall'' as... a hotel manager. Both movies even have said hotel eventually getting trashed by the protagonists point.

** The ghost in the Ghostbusters logo originally looked more like WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost, and the Stay-Puft marshmallow man looked [[http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Page-100-copy.jpg MUCH different]].

** A series of alternative takes for the Ghostbusters' little commercial recently came out on the internet; many of these contain alternative names for their business in case a deal with Creator/{{Filmation}} (the studio which created the live-action series ''The Ghost Busters'') couldn't be brokered. Such names include "Ghoststoppers" and "Ghostblasters" (ironically enough, there's an interactive dark ride called "Ghost Blasters").

** Originally Gozer was going to take the form of a man in a business suit and would have been played by Creator/PaulReubens. Reitman was the one to devise the androgynous form at the last minute, believing it would work better as a supernatural manifestation rather than the rather mundane look. However, the Video Game's design of Ivo Shandor is said to be based upon what Paul Reubens might look like in ten or fifteen years' time.

* IAmNotSpock: According to the DVD commentary, the movie ruined William Atherton's life, what with random people yelling "Hey, dickless!" at him on the streets. Atherton was then typecast into "asshole" roles for the next decade (see ''Franchise/DieHard'' and ''Film/BioDome'', among others.)

** The Ectomobile was originally going to be painted black until it was pointed out that most driving would be at night and the car would be difficult to see. It was then repainted white.

** The original version of the script began with the Ecto-mobile flying out of Ghostbusters HQ, but Reitman suggested that it would be better to show how the team got started.

* WorkingTitle: ''Ghostsmashers'', ''Ghoststoppers'' and ''Ghostblasters''. These alternate titles were all considered in the event that Filmation didn't allow Columbia to use the name ''Ghostbusters''. There are even alternate takes of the commercial available online where the other names are used just in case.

** A policeman tries to ticket the Ectomobile, but the car won't let him.

** ''Ghostbusters'' varies tremendously from its original concept. Creator/DanAykroyd's original script called for multiple groups of ghostbusters who traveled through time and fought ghosts in different dimensions wearing SWAT-like gear and using wands to battle ghosts. This idea was rejected as technically unfeasible in 1985. Supposedly, the special effects would have cost over $300 million. Ivan Reitman re-purposed the script as a "going into business" story to make it more accessible to audiences.

** Creator/HaroldRamis was not originally intending to play Egon, he never had much success as an actor and was just interested in writing for the film. After a hard time casting for Egon (Creator/JeffGoldblum, Creator/JohnLithgow, Creator/ChristopherLloyd and Creator/ChristopherWalken were considered), Aykroyd and Reitman suggested that Ramis would be perfect for the role and as soon as he read for it everyone agreed.

* IAmNotSpock: According to the DVD commentary, the movie ruined William Atherton's life, what with random people yelling "Hey, dickless!" at him on the streets.

* EnforcedMethodActing: According to one of the DVD specials, when Walter Peck gets deluged with "marshmallow" goo (actually shaving cream) in the climax, the actor William Atherton wasn't warned about what was going to happen.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Tthe reason Winston is a lesser character compared to other Ghostbusters -- when Hudson signed on, Winston was in the script from page eight (rather than toward the end of act 1), and was by far the most technically competent and qualified of the Ghostbusters. [[WordOfGod Aykroyd]] apparently still blames himself for Hudson's character being sidelined. (as WhatCouldHaveBeen below shows, the more prominent Winston was even written with Creator/EddieMurphy in mind)

** Ray and Winston inspect Fort Detmerring, where Ray dresses in an old General's coat and falls asleep. When he awakes, he sees a female ghost above his bed. This part of the sequence was kept and used in the montage in the middle of the film.