History Trivia / Ghostbusters1984

** [[CommonKnowledge Contrary to popular belief]] *The part where the bookcase falls over and Peter asks Ray "Has this ever happened to you before?" was shot roughly according to the original script.

** The part where the bookcase falls over and Peter asks Ray "Has this ever happened to you before?" was not part of the original script. The bookcase actually fell over of its own accord (possibly from being disturbed by various crewmembers) and the subsequent lines were ad-libbed. It was decided to leave this material in as it added an extra element of mystery to the atmosphere as to whether it was a natural occurrence, or a malicious act on the part of the ghost that the soon-to-be Ghostbusters were looking for.

* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/ErnieHudson has said that while the immediate cast and crew was very welcoming he always felt snubbed at the studio level for his involvement in the film. Not helped by the fact his role was originally introduced on page 8 before moving to halfway through the movie, but none of the posters showed him with the other three. He credits the fans for not letting the studio forget that he is a Ghostbuster too.

** Because of the fraught production cycle and the improv-based background of the leads, so much of the movie was improvised and so many draft versions exist that when Creator/JasonReitman attempted to host a full-cast table reading of the film as part of his Live Read series, no final shooting script was available; a cobbled-together script from various drafts plus transcripts of the cast's various ad-libs was ultimately used.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Upon its release, the film became the number one hit in America except for, ironically, New York City. NYC citizens ended up being so enraged by the film's constant closing of their streets for shooting that they basically boycotted it. According to the DVDCommentary for ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'', NYC ended up being the only city where ''Ghostbusters'' lost out to the creature feature.

* DuelingWorks: With 1984's other much-less-kid-friendly-than-it-appears horror comedy, ''Film/{{Gremlins}}''. ''Ghostbusters'' soundly creamed ''Gremlins'' at the box office. . . [[{{Irony}} except in]] [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff New York City]]. Both have gone on to be more-or-less equally loved quirky nostalgia classics, however.

* ReferencedBy:
** Curt Smith of Music/TearsForFears has [[https://pineapplestream.com/images/Musicbooks/Marks,%20Tannenbaum-I%20Want%20My%20MTV-The%20Uncensored%20Story%20Of%20The%20Music%20Video%20Revolution.pdf confirmed]] that the index cards flying out of the library drawer in the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsHiG-43Fzg Head over Heels]]" music video was a rip-off from this movie.
** Mozilla's XUL interface language is pronounced the same as Zuul, so [[https://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul this]] is hidden in the documentation. (and notice the url includes "keymaster/gatekeeper")
** ''Series/KeyAndPeele'': The Wizard School Sketch is set at "Vincent Clortho Public School".
** ''Series/StrangerThings'' has the Party dressed as the titular Ghostbusters with prop for the Halloween, completed by the theme song.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://ghostbusters.wikia.com/wiki/Ghostbusters_Wiki Ghostbusters Wiki]], the compendium of ghostbusting.

* TropeNamer:
** CrossingTheStreams was renamed to ForbiddenChekhovsGun.
** WhoYouGonnaCall

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/IvanReitman didn't like the deluxe [=LaserDisc=] edition of his movie, because the higher-density lighting that the format allowed made a lot of the matte work in his film too obvious for viewers to ignore.

* {{Defictionalization]]: Although half of the prop sign from the sequel has been inside since filming in the 1990s, the firehouse of Hook and Ladder Company 8, which served as the exterior of the Ghostbusters headquarters, now has an actual ghostbusters sign displayed out front, which was added after fans raised money to install it in 2020.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Creator/JohnBelushi was the first choice for the role of Peter Venkman before Creator/BillMurray was cast, but unfortunately passed away before production on the movie began.
*** Creator/ChevyChase and Creator/SteveGuttenberg were approached for the part of Peter Venkman as well. Chase turned down the offer as he claimed that the original script was [[DarkerAndEdgier much darker and even scarier]] than the final product, while Guttenberg declined due to scheduling conflicts with ''Film/PoliceAcademy''.
*** Creator/MichaelKeaton, Creator/RichardPryor, Creator/RobinWilliams and Creator/TomHanks were also considered for the role of Peter Venkman before the casting of Murray.
** Creator/ChristopherLloyd, Creator/ChristopherWalken, Creator/JeffGoldblum and Creator/JohnLithgow were considered for 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. Winston would've also been the one who was slimed at the hotel rather than Venkman.
** Creator/JohnCandy was approached for the role of Louis Tully before the casting of Creator/RickMoranis. However, Candy wanted to portray the character as an odd German guy who owned dogs. Creator/IvanReitman and Creator/DanAykroyd didn't like this idea, since there was already so much dog imagery in the movie, and they couldn't bring themselves to replace their character with Candy's interpretation.
** Creator/JuliaRoberts, Creator/DeniseCrosby and Creator/KellyLeBrock auditioned for the part of Dana Barrett before Creator/SigourneyWeaver was cast.
** Creator/SandraBernhard was offered the role of Janine Melnitz before the casting of Creator/AnniePotts, but declined as she refused to serve as a comedic foil to a predominantly male cast.
** Gozer was originally going to take the form of a man in a business suit and would've 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 design of Ivo Shandor in ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'' is said to be based upon what Paul Reubens might look like in ten or fifteen years' time.
** [[Music/FleetwoodMac Lindsay Buckingham]] was originally set to do the theme, having done the theme from ''Film/NationalLampoonsVacation'' already. However, because of that success, Buckingham declined the offer as he didn't want to get into the rut of being asked to write movie themes.
** 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.
** About 60 different songs with ''Ghostbusters'' in the title were rejected, before the version by Ray Parker Jr. was accepted. One of them [[https://www.theraffon.net/~spookcentral/scblog/2020/03/19/unused-ghostbusters-theme-songs circulates in chopped up pieces.]] Another one, performed by Glenn Hughes and Pat Thrall, [[https://www.theraffon.net/~spookcentral/scblog/hughes-thrall-unused-ghostbusters-theme-song resurfaced in June 2021.]]
** The movie was meant to be an adult/older teen-oriented comedy, not unlike the earlier Ramis/Murray vehicle ''Film/{{Stripes}}.'' 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, ''[[PrecisionFStrike FUCK!]]''" instead of "LOOK!", but this was cut because the PG-13 rating didn't exist yet and one PrecisionFStrike would've meant nobody under seventeen 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, which led to ''Film/GhostbustersII'' being green-lit. The sequel was toned down to be more kid-friendly, with maybe five 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), fewer sex jokes, and an overall broader style of comedy.
** ''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 technologically unfeasible in 1984. Supposedly, the special effects would have cost over $300 million. Reitman re-purposed the script as a "going into business" story to make it more grounded, realistic, accessible to audiences, and affordable.
** The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was on the chopping block. The producers were worried that audiences wouldn't buy the character, and were prepared to produce a different ending if test audiences didn't react positively. Fortunately, they did, even though the test version of the movie lacked completed special effects, making him more of an UnseenEvil.
** The librarian ghost's OneWingedAngel form was originally even scarier. The original model was later used in ''{{Film/Fright Night|1985}}'' as Amy's vampire face.
** The Ecto-1 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-1 flying out of Ghostbusters HQ, but Reitman suggested that it would be better to show how the team got started.
** 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.
** The ghost in the Ghostbusters logo originally looked more like ''WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost'', and Stay Puft and Slimer looked [[https://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/original-ghostbusters-concept-art-from-stay-puft-to-slimer MUCH different]].
** Originally, Stay Puft was going to be the Pillsbury Doughboy, but Pillsbury declined.
** The movie was originally set in outer space. The main characters were just one of many competing ghost-smashing teams operating in that universe, and worked for an inter-dimensional being called Shandor. Shandor accidentally trapped another being, called Zuul, in our time and dimension, and Zuul's owner, Gozer, would come to our dimension to get his pet back, meaning that it would be up to the heroes to stop him.
** The Ghostbusters originally looked like space cops, with SWAT gear and riot squad helmets with transparent visors, and they used wands instead of proton packs.
** There were originally only two Ghostbusters.
** ButtDialingMordor figured into the original premise--our nuclear power plants and electronics and things were stirring up the dimensions where ghosts reside, and they were waking up ''very'' angry; from this, the free market responded with "Ghostbusters" as a way of getting rid of the ghosts.

*** Creator/MichaelKeaton, Creator/RichardPryor, Creator/RobinWilliams, and Creator/TomHanks were also considered for the role of Peter Venkman before the casting of Murray.
** Creator/ChristopherLloyd, Creator/ChristopherWalken, Creator/JeffGoldblum, and Creator/JohnLithgow were considered for Egon Spengler before the casting of Creator/HaroldRamis.

** Creator/JuliaRoberts, Creator/DeniseCrosby, and Creator/KellyLeBrock auditioned for the part of Dana Barrett before Creator/SigourneyWeaver was cast.

* AccidentallyCorrectWriting: A headline on one magazine seen during the film reads "Princess Di Pregnant Again!" Given the film was released in June 1984, three months before she gave birth to Prince Harry, it is unlikely that the pregnancy was known when the magazine cover was made.

* ActorAllusion: In the jail scene, Venkman suddenly breaks out into a "lounge singer" rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." This mimics the style of his recurring Nick Winters character on SaturdayNightLive.

** According to Harold Ramis on the DVD Commentary, Ray sliding down the Firehouse Pole and his excitement during the tour scene wasn't scripted. When the cast and crew got on location in Los Angeles (where the Firehouse interior was shot), Aykroyd took one look at the pole and genuinely became excited. So, they decided to incorporate it into the scene (which fits Ray's childlike enthusiasm).

* DuelingWorks: With 1984's other much-less-kid-friendly-than-it-appears horror comedy, ''Film/{{Gremlins}}''. ''Ghostbusters'' soundly creamed ''Gremlins'' at the box office. . . [[Irony except in]] [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff New York City]]. Both have gone on to be more-or-less equally loved quirky nostalgia classics, however.