GHOST TOWN
Ghostbusters: Afterlife links the original busters to the next generation – and pays tribute to a fallen hero
WORDS: DAVID GROVE
ALTHOUGH GHOSTBUSTERS: Afterlife serves as a direct sequel to the original 1984 and 1989 Ghostbusters films, director Jason Reitman prefers to describe it as a family film that was made by a family.
Afterlife was produced by Reitman’s father, Ivan Reitman, who, of course, directed and produced the first two films and later co-produced the female-led 2016 remake. “It took me a long time to tell my father that I had a Ghostbusters idea,” says Jason, who co-wrote the script with Monster House director Gil Kenan. “We all try to identify ourselves outside of the looming shadow of our parents. Eventually, I worked up the courage, and that resulted in the most wonderful and complex collaboration of my life.”
Jason Reitman was six years old when the filming of Ghostbusters began in New York City on 28 October 1983. “When my father first stepped onto the set of Ghostbusters, he didn’t know that he was about to make one of the greatest films of all time,” says Reitman. “He just wanted to tell a great story. The rest is a kind of magic – the result of hundreds of people sacrificing to make something that can live on forever. I don’t think anyone can explain why a given piece of art catches lightning. I spent my life scared of answering that question – scared to pick up the proton pack myself. Then I did what my father always did: I told a story.” He adds that the sheer weight of expectation made writing the Afterlife script an intimidating and emotional experience.
Reitmans Ivan (left) and Jason (right) with stars.
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