Alright boy-bots and girl-bots. Lots of random “news” to report in the realm of Ghostbusters. First let’s kick off with the “biggest” announcement thus far. (BTW these: ” ” are used to emphasize sarcasm in this post. Just FYI.)

Ghostbusters 3 is still not green lit. Everything is still in the negotiation phase, and we’re at least 2 months out for the revised script. The internet has pushing around the news that Sony doesn’t want Ivan Reitman to direct the next movie, but he has contractual first dibs and refuses to let anyone take the reigns.

Therefore the movie isn’t happening. Blah blah blah more bull shit. Ivan Reitman does have first dibs to direct or gets to pick who replaces him. Aykroyd, Murray and Ramis all have to approve of this as well as the script before the movie gets green lit. So long story short, we’re in the same place we’ve been for years. I’m sorry if I don’t sound too opinionated about this, but until we here the term “green lit”, all of this “news” doesn’t matter. (More info about this debacle at Proton Charging.com)

Matty Collector pushed back the dates on a lot of their 12 inch and 6 inch figures. Peter is going up for sale mid-April, which is honestly the one I’ve been most excited for. But, he doesn’t have his own special accessories (what, no ghost sniffer?). Ah well. At least they didn’t tuck his pants into his boots like the other guys. (Check ’em out here)

There has been a Big Lebowski alignment chart floating around the internet as of late. Chris over at Proton Charging took his swing at a Ghostbusters alignment chart. I think its spot on.

Lots more great stuff including GB Lego’s and Threadless fan shirts can be viewed over at Proton Charging.com.

Hooray for Internets and their unrelenting fan bases! Ghostbusters got two kick-ass wins this week. The first involving a much needed patch (plus possible DLC) for Ghostbusters: The Video Game’s online play. The second is IDW addressing why Schoening and Eatock’s comic wasn’t picked up.

Jame Eatock posted this earlier this week:

IDW explained to Schoening and Eatock why they turned down their 10-page pitch, as well as IDW’s plans for the franchise. Apparently these plans also involve the two of them working on a Ghostbusters related project. Which is pretty awesome.

IDW Editor, Tom Waltz explained where they were coming from on the GBFans Forum. I’m very surprised how out of their way IDW has gone to keep the Ghostbusters fan community happy. Included below is what Tom posted:

Hello, everyone.

First of all, let me thank every GB fan on this board for your dedicated support to this great franchise. It’s great to see fans interacting so passionately, no matter what the debate may be, or what side you happen to take. Just shows there is still a lot of Ghostbusters love in this world, and I’m happy for it.

Secondly, please know that we at IDW — starting with myself as the GB editor, and all the way through the editorial ranks and beyond — also love the Ghostbusters. We would never have taken on the license if we didn’t. We are passionate fans, too, first and foremost, and we want to do big, exciting things with the property and its beloved characters.

That said, we’ve been catching a bit of heat lately about Dan and James’ rejected pitch, and not always fairly. The truth is this — the pitch was rejected for many reasons that I won’t go into here, other than to say none of it had to do with quality. Dan and James put together a professional, high-quality pitch, and we did take notice. Matter of fact, I’ve been talking recently with both gents about doing some GB stuff for IDW in the near future — I love their work, as does the movie studio.

No, it won’t be their 10-issue story — right now, the direct market is not a viable avenue for a maxi-series of that sort. Sad but true. The direct market simply is what it is, and as much as we’d like to do a long series like the one James and Dan pitched, or even an ongoing series (and, trust me, I’d LOVE to be editing a GB ongoing), it isn’t feasible at this point in time. GB sales would have to jump dramatically for us to even consider it — and, again, it’s purely a business decision and has nothing to do with James’ or Dan’s creative talent, nor IDW’s perceived lack of love for the property. Comic books, though nobody likes to admit it, are a business, and we publishers are at the will of retailers and comics buyers — and right now, as popular as it is with folks on this forum, Ghostbusters is not getting the kind of direct market pre-orders/orders or interest that would justify anything beyond one-shots and/or four-issue mini-series. The numbers are good, but we need them to be great.

Furthermore, I have to admit to being offended by some who, because our previous offerings haven’t been to their tastes, are saying our past creators and editorial teams didn’t possess true love or understanding of the franchise. One, that is blatantly false — every creator we’ve worked with sought us out because they love GB and genuinely wanted to be a part of the universe. Two, everything we publish is first scrutinized and approved by the movie studio, and nothing goes to the printer until they bless it front to back, top to bottom — and, yes, we do rewrites and redraws all the time. I’d like to think that, after all this, if the studio gives it the thumbs up, then you as fans are, indeed, getting bonafide Ghostbusters stories, duly approved by the very people who brought you Ghostbusters in the first place. Does that mean you have to like what you get? No… you don’t, and we acknowledge and respect that not everyone will be happy with our output. But please never think we’re just doing these things on our own without any passion for the property, or any input from the studio, because that is just not true.

All this being said, I, like all of you, want more Ghostbusters. My goal as the editor of the property at IDW is to build our numbers to the point where we can do an ongoing series — and with your help, I might just be able to do that. How can you help? By letting your retailers know you want more Ghostbusters comics ordered and stocked in their stores, by positively supporting the books that have come before and are yet to be published (and we’ve got some good ones coming), and by making sure the next GB movie is a huge hit, which will carry over into comics sales, I have no doubt.

We are all on the same team, folks. Flame wars and in-fighting do nothing for the cause but weaken it. Instead, let’s get fired up and get the world thinking and talking about the Ghostbusters again in nothing but good ways!

I know I want that to happen… what about you?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I really do appreciate it.

I’ll see all of you in the funny books.

Tom Waltz
Editor
IDW Publishing

Thanks to Proton Charging for keeping up on GB news.

James Eatock (Cereal: Geek Magazine) and “Dapper” Dan Schoening (Ghostbusters Wii Art Direction) came up with a really great pitch for a Ghostbusters comic. The pitch was sent to IDW, but unfortunately was turned down.

IDW already has a few Ghostbusters mini-series and single issues that they are producing. So they aren’t far off from wanting an ongoing series.

Dan and James have released the pitch online for everyone to see, and probably to help show there is a fan base for the series. I highly recommend check it out.

Thanks to Proton Charging as always for keeping us up to date on GB news.

Alright sports fans, time for a little run down on some recent happenings in the Ghostbuster’s community. We’ll kick it off with the biggest story revolving around Bill Murray and possible spoilers.

Bill Murray sat down with the UK’s Mail Online to talk about Fantastic Mr Fox. Of course Ghostbusters 3 comes up:

I’ll come back in Ghostbusters III only if I get to be a ghost. I said to them, ‘I’ll do it if you kill me off in the first reel.’ So now they are going to have me as a ghost in the film.

The first 45 minutes of the original Ghostbusters is some of the funniest stuff ever made. The second one was disappointing, because the special-effects guys took over. I had something like two scenes – and they’re the only funny ones in the movie.

Personally I’m taking this news with a grain of salt. This has been a rumor for a long time, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Murray was just throwing out curve balls. Plus, what sense does it make for him to be a ghost if he hated the restrictions of the special effects in the second movie. Moving on…

Looking for a kick-ass background for your iPhone, check out some of Glennz artwork. Samples included below:

Lost Gozer costume found in a surplus store of all places. Sounds like they are going to restore it to its original condition. There’s a thread on GB Fans following the story.

And last but not least, a little fan film by The New Hampshire Ghostbusters. It’s got a Proton Pack in it, that means it has to be awesome.

As always, thanks to ProtonCharging.com for their dedication to Ghostbusters fans over the years. They’re our news source for the latest on Ghostbusters.

Q TV interviews Peter and Dan about Peter’s book “A History of Ghosts; The True Story of Seances, Mediums, Ghosts and Ghostbusters. Some fun insight into Dan’s fascination with the paranormal.

Toy News International announced this new series of Minimates to be released later this month:

The first two-pack will feature the brilliant Egon Spengler in his Ghostbusters 2 uniform (the last missing Ghostbuster in that style) paired with the Titanic Ghost seen captaining the ill-fated luxury liner in the second Ghostbusters film. Two exclusive sets will complete the Courtroom set started with last year’s Peter Venkman by pairing Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler with the dreaded Scolari Brothers – Nunzio and Tony. The final set combines two of our favorite Ghostbusters 2 characters: the near-unstoppable Vigo the Carpathian and Peter Venkman in his “World of the Psychic” ensemble – which of course includes his signature hairless cat!

I had a hard time tracking down waves 1 & 2. I would recommend frequenting the Toys ‘R’ Us online store and pre-ordering them as soon as they pop up. Trying to catch them in stores could prove difficult.

Finally some fairly solid news about Ghostbusters 3. Ivan Reitman met up with Mtv on a recent red carpet event. As per usual, the conversation turned to the long awaited sequel:

Reitman was all business again when the talk turned back to the schedule. “I hope to start shooting in this next year,” he said, giving weight to Ramis’ recent comments about a planned 2011 release.

Then the bomb dropped. Asked if he would be returning to direct “Ghostbusters III,” Reitman answered with a simple and unequivocal “Yes.”

In the interview he also skirts around some of the rumors previously started by Sigourney Weaver:

“I’m not going to comment on what’s in the script and on what Sigourney may or may not have said,” he told us. “She’s been so busy on ‘Avatar,’ I’ve not been able to find her. There’s some very cool things in the new draft, let’s just put it that way.”

I think its safe to say more news will start coming in faster over the next few months. Check back here for these updates as we report on them!

For those that have always wanted a miniature version of the Ecto-1 for a dollar, you’re in luck! Mattel is releasing an Ecto-1 Hot Wheels car mid-January in 2010. Surprisingly not a lot of press on it, but I am super excited for it (obviously). This isn’t nearly as detailed as the die cast Johnny Lightning Ecto-1As (pictured below) previously available, but it will also be a lot cheaper.

Jump over to Hot Wheel’s Collector for larger pictures.

Alright, I can’t emphasize this enough: Just about everything you hear about Ghostbusters 3 is a rumor. A few of the original cast have the script right now for review, I’m pretty sure Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis are the only confirmed persons. So really they are the only cast member’s that would have any weight with the things the leak to the public.

Recently it’s been reported (all over the web basically) by Sigourney Weaver that GB3 is happening and her son Oscar from GB2 will be a new Ghostbuster. Another “fact” is that Bill Murray will be back… as Venkman’s ghost.  Here’s exactly what she’s said to one news source:

I’m afraid to say it [Ghostbusters 3] is happening, I hope people are excited about that. I don’t know if I’m going to be in it, I have had a couple of calls asking ‘would you read the script’.

I know that my little son Oscar – who was kidnapped from me – I think he has grown up to be a ghostbuster.

I might be in it; I see nothing wrong with being in it, although I don’t think I will have a big part. I think Bill Murray has a little more to do with it – he’s a ghost.

Most sites are reporting this as GB3 SPOILERS!!! when in fact it’s bull shit. It is truly amazing how fast bull shit rumors spreads on the internet. While they are fun to talk about or speculate, they are not news.

How about a couple of facts that we know:
• Most of the original cast is interested in participating.
• There is a script currently in the hands of Dan and Harold.
• Ghostbusters 3 rumors have been kicking around for over a decade now.
• Until Sony green lights the script, nothing is going to happen. Period.

The fact that everything she has said is just speculation (ludicrous speculation at that) is why I haven’t bothered reporting on it. We’ve received a lot of emails on the subject because of my love for the boys in grey, so I thought I’d set everyone straight.

For a more in depth view on these rumors, visit Proton Charging for their views on the subject.

UPDATED: Weaver tries to clear up a little of the confusion in another recent statement with Mtv:

“I don’t know,” she told our own Josh Horowitz. “He could come back as a sort of Slimer character.”

A Slimer? The very room service-chomping blob of green Jell-O that attacked him in the first film and gave him the catchphrase-worthy line, “He slimed me”? That’s a pretty specific reference from Weaver, and it leads us to believe what she said at the press conference was not just an off-hand comment. But Weaver went on to say she’s not yet read a script.

“I haven’t read the script,” she said. “They’re sending me the script. I guess my little son Oscar who was kidnapped is a Ghostbuster, which makes me very proud. So Ivan Reitman called me the other day and said he would love me to take a look at it. In a few weeks I’ll actually know what it is, though I probably won’t be able to talk about it.”

Honestly, the Oscar thing doesn’t seem that far fetched. If Venkman stayed with Dana for a while and ended up being a father figure for Oscar, it would make sense for him to want to be a Ghostbuster. It sounds like a lot of her information was just talking with Ivan and some of the “possibilities” for the movie.