Dan Aykroyd and director Ivan Reitman recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly for a look back at the origins of their Ghostbusters franchise, as well as why the series’ long-shelved sequel, Hellbent, has yet to happen. (It’s partly to do with Bill Murray’s “high bullshit detector.â€) In that interview, the two also got to talking about Paul Feig’s upcoming reboot, each sharing their thoughts on how he’s carried on their legacy. Aykroyd thinks of Feig as “the George Cukor of Hollywood†in that he’s got a knack for directing women. It’s one of the many reasons Aykroyd says Feig’s Ghostbusters might even be better than the original: “In a way, his movie might be a little better than the first two because they can do more — CGI might be a little better. But also, you know, there might be more jokes in it. I’m really happy with what I’m seeing.â€
Reitman hadn’t seen the film at the time of the interview, but he says the new Ghostbusters should succeed because the careers of its new cast of comedians mirror those of the original. “I believe the movie is going to be quite wonderful, because I know the cast works. The ladies in this new film are in every way as talented as that original group of actors were,†he says. “They’re at the same place in their lives as Bill and Dan and Harold were when we did Ghostbusters. I have a lot of faith in it, and I have a lot of faith in Paul.â€
As for why you won’t also see Rick Moranis in the new film, Aykroyd thinks his original castmate may have been misinformed about the cameo. “Maybe Rick misunderstood that they wanted him to play the part that he had played in the first movie,†Aykroyd says. “The idea was that he would make a cameo but play a different part — maybe they didn’t make that clear to him.†The way Reitman says he got Murray onboard with a cameo was to really sell the scene: “First of all, it’s a great scene. I finally called him up and I said, ‘Bill, you have to do this. This movie’s great, and you’re going to feel silly not being part of it.’ And he agreed.â€
And it’s a good thing he did because apparently Murray was quite the heartthrob on set. “[The ladies] were swooning after he left,†Aykroyd says. Ladies, he’s still single!