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A Convenient Parallel Dimension: How Ghostbusters Slimed Us Forever
“Rarely has a movie this expensive provided so many quotable lines.” So wrote Roger Ebert in his review of Ghostbusters, the 1984 blockbuster that handed our paranormal fears over to some of the sharpest comic minds of the day. Ghostbusters instantly resonated with audiences thanks to eye-popping special effects and crackling wit; to date, it remains the highest-grossing horror comedy of all time. The film spawned an Emmy-nominated Saturday morning cartoon, a tentpole 1989 sequel, a contentious 2016 reboot, legions of merchandise, and one of the most dedicated fan bases in history. Ghostbusters also elevated its players to superstardom, something a few cast members found more daunting than the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
Now, for the first time, the entire history of the slime-soaked franchise is told in A Convenient Parallel How Ghostbusters Slimed Us Forever. The cohesion of talent during the mid-’70s comedy revolution, the seat-of-their-pants creation of the first Ghostbusters, the explosive success that seemed to mandate a franchise, the five year struggle to make Ghostbusters II, the thirty-one-year struggle to make Ghostbusters III—it’s all here, with incredible attention to detail. Thoroughly researched and engaging, A Convenient Parallel Dimension smashes long-held myths and half truths about the dynamics behind this cultural juggernaut and presents the real story, down to the last drop of ectoplasm.
Now, for the first time, the entire history of the slime-soaked franchise is told in A Convenient Parallel How Ghostbusters Slimed Us Forever. The cohesion of talent during the mid-’70s comedy revolution, the seat-of-their-pants creation of the first Ghostbusters, the explosive success that seemed to mandate a franchise, the five year struggle to make Ghostbusters II, the thirty-one-year struggle to make Ghostbusters III—it’s all here, with incredible attention to detail. Thoroughly researched and engaging, A Convenient Parallel Dimension smashes long-held myths and half truths about the dynamics behind this cultural juggernaut and presents the real story, down to the last drop of ectoplasm.
344 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 29, 2023
Since first seeing "Ghostbusters Afterlife," I started watching the two earliest films as well as "Afterlife" on repeat. I also read "Ghostbusters Daughter" by Violet Ramis Stiel and wanted to know more about the overall creative process. This book really put the entire story together, charting out the early careers of all the principals, Ivan Reitman, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Bill Murray, and how the first film came to be, as well as the cartoons and succeeding films in the overall series.
A lot of the information that is out there about "Ghostbusters" is either "official" under the control of the studio in licensed books or in various magazine and newspaper articles, along with numerous interviews with the principals that can be found on YouTube. This book's author, James Green Jr., not only mined through all the existing public material but extensively interviewed the surviving participants and dug through studio archives writing a narrative in chronological order that deals with the creative process, technical issues, and personalities involved.
It's not a hagiography made for fan service, even if Green is very much a fan. It's going to be familiar territory for anyone who has worked in the industry. Film production, whether for television or cinemas, is a team effort, and the finished products are rarely 100% what the original screenwriters first envisioned. For me it was interesting seeing how the various iterations evolved from page to screen. Once he gets to the chapters on "Answer the Call," he covers the difficulty with the hardcore fan base, known as Ghostheads, and their negative reactions toward and ugly trolling of the female principals.
In a way, the account of the coordinated antagonistic fan reviews and ugly comments is an indictment of the close mindedness of a segment of this fandom. I've seen some of the reaction when I've glanced over comments in Prime Video reviews for the two most recent films, where the nicest negativity toward "Afterlife" reacted to the film as a "nothing burger." Face it guys - outside of the animation on the video game, it's not possible to go back to 1984 and give you more of the exact same thing, but different. And it seems that's what risk averse studios are churning out today because that's what the fans will pay to see. However, these days, if you don't give fans exactly what they want, you'll hear about it. Fandom has become toxic - not just for "Ghostbusters" - but for nearly everything that has a dedicated following. "Star Wars," "Outlander," James Bond, Marvel, DC, "Harry Potter," even Jane Austen.
*Spoilers*
~
~
~
~
~
I think perhaps Bill Murray comes off the worst, which should be no surprise to anyone who has heard of or read accounts of his unpredictable, misogynistic, aggressive physical behavior. Green doesn't mention it here, but he used to be called the Murricane for a number of reasons. For the Ghostheads who idolize him and imitate his insolent (at best) behavior, I hope they realize that Murray is the reason there weren't any further sequels for so long, and hold him responsible. It's very well documented in Green's book.
IMO, I'm glad that Murray is finally being held accountable for his nasty behavior, as his last film was scuttled thanks to his physical aggression toward a young female PA who filed grievances. This kind of thing should have been seen as unacceptable for decades, but because he made a lot of money for networks and studios, the old boys club allowed him to get away with it for a long time and no one was able to stop him until the age of #MeToo. The infamous incident with Harold Ramis on the "Groundhog Day" set was mentioned in this book, and it's seen as the impetus of a 20 year freeze between former colleagues and good friends, that lasted until shortly before Ramis died.
One of the facets that became very clear to me was that after the original film, the various iterations were strongly desired by Columbia Pictures in service of profits. This is nothing new for Hollywood. I worked for Disney for many years, corporate masters at this game. Dan Aykroyd is very good at selling new offerings to the public as being for especially for the fans, but Columbia was eager to license the various "Ghostbusters" cartoon series, toys and other merchandise tie-ins, as money making ventures that also served the principals. Reitman, Aykroyd, Ramis, and Murray got gross shares of the profits, as well as strong contractual control over the franchise because of their well-negotiated original contracts. If all didn't agree to a proposal, it didn't go forward. Ramis could joke that their greed knew no bounds, but I think that his share of the profits allowed him to be very selective of the projects he did chose to take on outside of this universe. Compared to some of the other principals, his CV isn't as massively extensive despite being an actor, director, producer, and writer.
I did really enjoy this book. It is very well researched and has extensive end notes. There was a lot of information about some of the phantasmagorical sequel script treatments that never made it to screen. For a fan who considers themselves a completist when it comes to their love of "Ghostbusters," this might be a great read. I wouldn't recommend this for someone who is looking for hero worship. Fortunately for interested readers, Green made the decision not to publish this as an official licensed product, which ensured that all sides of the story made it in - good, bad, and ugly. In fairness to both Murray and Reitman, he does present both good and bad statements from colleagues regarding working with men who have reputations for being difficult.
I listed to a recent podcast featuring Green, and he mentioned that there will be a book update when the next film, tentatively called "Firehouse," comes out. If all goes well, Columbia has announced a March 2023 start date for filming with a December 2023 date for release. I am hoping that there is an automatic update for the Kindle edition that I bought because I don't want to have to pay for an additional one to three chapters. In the film world, I absolutely loved "Afterlife," and I was so happy to see how there was a direct link from my favorite Ghostbuster, Egon, to the character of Phoebe. She's definitely his mini-me. We've lost Harold Ramis and his comic gifts, but I hope that his original work on the first two "Ghostbusters" carries through in Phoebe's upcoming journey. She's definitely the fulfillment of Dan Aykroyd's pronouncement that anyone can be a Ghostbuster. I'm also looking forward to seeing what Green has to say about "Firehouse" once the film is released and he can update this book.
A lot of the information that is out there about "Ghostbusters" is either "official" under the control of the studio in licensed books or in various magazine and newspaper articles, along with numerous interviews with the principals that can be found on YouTube. This book's author, James Green Jr., not only mined through all the existing public material but extensively interviewed the surviving participants and dug through studio archives writing a narrative in chronological order that deals with the creative process, technical issues, and personalities involved.
It's not a hagiography made for fan service, even if Green is very much a fan. It's going to be familiar territory for anyone who has worked in the industry. Film production, whether for television or cinemas, is a team effort, and the finished products are rarely 100% what the original screenwriters first envisioned. For me it was interesting seeing how the various iterations evolved from page to screen. Once he gets to the chapters on "Answer the Call," he covers the difficulty with the hardcore fan base, known as Ghostheads, and their negative reactions toward and ugly trolling of the female principals.
In a way, the account of the coordinated antagonistic fan reviews and ugly comments is an indictment of the close mindedness of a segment of this fandom. I've seen some of the reaction when I've glanced over comments in Prime Video reviews for the two most recent films, where the nicest negativity toward "Afterlife" reacted to the film as a "nothing burger." Face it guys - outside of the animation on the video game, it's not possible to go back to 1984 and give you more of the exact same thing, but different. And it seems that's what risk averse studios are churning out today because that's what the fans will pay to see. However, these days, if you don't give fans exactly what they want, you'll hear about it. Fandom has become toxic - not just for "Ghostbusters" - but for nearly everything that has a dedicated following. "Star Wars," "Outlander," James Bond, Marvel, DC, "Harry Potter," even Jane Austen.
*Spoilers*
~
~
~
~
~
I think perhaps Bill Murray comes off the worst, which should be no surprise to anyone who has heard of or read accounts of his unpredictable, misogynistic, aggressive physical behavior. Green doesn't mention it here, but he used to be called the Murricane for a number of reasons. For the Ghostheads who idolize him and imitate his insolent (at best) behavior, I hope they realize that Murray is the reason there weren't any further sequels for so long, and hold him responsible. It's very well documented in Green's book.
IMO, I'm glad that Murray is finally being held accountable for his nasty behavior, as his last film was scuttled thanks to his physical aggression toward a young female PA who filed grievances. This kind of thing should have been seen as unacceptable for decades, but because he made a lot of money for networks and studios, the old boys club allowed him to get away with it for a long time and no one was able to stop him until the age of #MeToo. The infamous incident with Harold Ramis on the "Groundhog Day" set was mentioned in this book, and it's seen as the impetus of a 20 year freeze between former colleagues and good friends, that lasted until shortly before Ramis died.
One of the facets that became very clear to me was that after the original film, the various iterations were strongly desired by Columbia Pictures in service of profits. This is nothing new for Hollywood. I worked for Disney for many years, corporate masters at this game. Dan Aykroyd is very good at selling new offerings to the public as being for especially for the fans, but Columbia was eager to license the various "Ghostbusters" cartoon series, toys and other merchandise tie-ins, as money making ventures that also served the principals. Reitman, Aykroyd, Ramis, and Murray got gross shares of the profits, as well as strong contractual control over the franchise because of their well-negotiated original contracts. If all didn't agree to a proposal, it didn't go forward. Ramis could joke that their greed knew no bounds, but I think that his share of the profits allowed him to be very selective of the projects he did chose to take on outside of this universe. Compared to some of the other principals, his CV isn't as massively extensive despite being an actor, director, producer, and writer.
I did really enjoy this book. It is very well researched and has extensive end notes. There was a lot of information about some of the phantasmagorical sequel script treatments that never made it to screen. For a fan who considers themselves a completist when it comes to their love of "Ghostbusters," this might be a great read. I wouldn't recommend this for someone who is looking for hero worship. Fortunately for interested readers, Green made the decision not to publish this as an official licensed product, which ensured that all sides of the story made it in - good, bad, and ugly. In fairness to both Murray and Reitman, he does present both good and bad statements from colleagues regarding working with men who have reputations for being difficult.
I listed to a recent podcast featuring Green, and he mentioned that there will be a book update when the next film, tentatively called "Firehouse," comes out. If all goes well, Columbia has announced a March 2023 start date for filming with a December 2023 date for release. I am hoping that there is an automatic update for the Kindle edition that I bought because I don't want to have to pay for an additional one to three chapters. In the film world, I absolutely loved "Afterlife," and I was so happy to see how there was a direct link from my favorite Ghostbuster, Egon, to the character of Phoebe. She's definitely his mini-me. We've lost Harold Ramis and his comic gifts, but I hope that his original work on the first two "Ghostbusters" carries through in Phoebe's upcoming journey. She's definitely the fulfillment of Dan Aykroyd's pronouncement that anyone can be a Ghostbuster. I'm also looking forward to seeing what Green has to say about "Firehouse" once the film is released and he can update this book.
March 12, 2023
I enjoyed the first half, then struggled to finish
And by first half I meant the first 45%
This book contains a lot of bummer. Stuff you didn't want to know about people you thought you liked.
The second big take-away is the staggering number of Ghostbuster sequels that died in pre-production. I get the impression that if every attempt to make a Ghostbusters had actually been made there would have been 12 of them or something.
This book gets to the end of filming GB2 at the 45% mark. The rest of the book are those endless failed attempts to make GB3. That's like 50% of this book is futility and failure. Had I quit there I wouldn't have missed anything much but I kept reading out of support for Answer the Call. I didn't learn much new except that Chris Helmsworth ad-libed ALL his lines in that movie (wow!), and that the smear campaign against the female cast did rattle SONY (boo!).
My over all impression is that this book is way too long, too sad, and that 3 stars was a star too generous. but I Thought they never should have made number Ghostbusters 2, so ya know... I liked the first one, but I'm not a super fan.
And by first half I meant the first 45%
This book contains a lot of bummer. Stuff you didn't want to know about people you thought you liked.
The second big take-away is the staggering number of Ghostbuster sequels that died in pre-production. I get the impression that if every attempt to make a Ghostbusters had actually been made there would have been 12 of them or something.
This book gets to the end of filming GB2 at the 45% mark. The rest of the book are those endless failed attempts to make GB3. That's like 50% of this book is futility and failure. Had I quit there I wouldn't have missed anything much but I kept reading out of support for Answer the Call. I didn't learn much new except that Chris Helmsworth ad-libed ALL his lines in that movie (wow!), and that the smear campaign against the female cast did rattle SONY (boo!).
My over all impression is that this book is way too long, too sad, and that 3 stars was a star too generous. but I Thought they never should have made number Ghostbusters 2, so ya know... I liked the first one, but I'm not a super fan.
January 5, 2024
primary takeaway: Easily the best B-T-S monograph/production(s) memoir of 2022.After recent B-T-S feature doc Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters (2019), I presumed there wasn't much more to cover -- really, Cleanin' Up is the early-aughts Behind the Music (i.e. anecdotally self-referential, carousal talking-head retrospective), whereas Parallel Dimension is the contracts, memos/email-leaks, call sheets & all day/sit-down deposition transcripts (à la warts 'n all) ...of the Ghostbusters'
the author actually comprehends this perfectly (via his book's Introduction):
In the early stage of this book, there was a conversation with Ghostbusters majority rights holders Sony Pictures Entertainment about making my work officially licensed. The caveat was that my manuscript would be subject to their approval. In the interest of objectivity, I declined. I'm trying to tell the full story.
-James Greene, Jr.
Deep in the Heart, 2022
Again and again, a lot of remarkable feature film monographs are punched down by authors (editors?) hedging comprehension, yielding to those principals & talent commemorated, who prefer some facet of prior controversy or legacy turnover be redacted or skewed in favor of preserving their direct line of access & cooperation (between author and subject). James Greene's manuscript reads like Uncut edition of contemporary B-T-S production(s) memoir; He is authoring and editing for the same demographic: GB fandom. bravo
June 3, 2023
I'm keeping this short and sweet.
Good book, it's a very well done and comprehensive account of the entire process of how Ghostbusters began. How Ivan and Murray and Akroyd met, the personal struggles with the inclusion of Ernie Hudson, how the idea spawned, etc.. It tells of the the earlier Saturday Night Live days, how that setting was like etc. Easily the definitive backstory of the movie. I like that it also goes into the media buzz around the movie, the iconic logo creation, how the actors felt about specific writing choices in the movie.. the matte paintings used.. It really takes you on a full journey. Of course the song...one of the biggest lasting legacies of the movie is the Ray Parker Jr song, and how that came about, the selection process of contenders, how it was recorded.. it's all here.
My negative is that...what the hell..it only discusses Ghostbusters 1. None of the other movies are talked about.. I was sort of disappointed that it wasn't a full history of the entire series, but I suppose that would have taken an enormous amount of time. So fair... but even just a chapter regarding all of the others as a summary would have been nice. Either way, it's a good read, if you're a Ghostbusters fan I'd say this is probably required reading. There's not interviews or anything, which is sad, but the account seems very close to how it all happened, and I trust the work put into it.
Overall, a quick read, an entertaining read.
Good book, it's a very well done and comprehensive account of the entire process of how Ghostbusters began. How Ivan and Murray and Akroyd met, the personal struggles with the inclusion of Ernie Hudson, how the idea spawned, etc.. It tells of the the earlier Saturday Night Live days, how that setting was like etc. Easily the definitive backstory of the movie. I like that it also goes into the media buzz around the movie, the iconic logo creation, how the actors felt about specific writing choices in the movie.. the matte paintings used.. It really takes you on a full journey. Of course the song...one of the biggest lasting legacies of the movie is the Ray Parker Jr song, and how that came about, the selection process of contenders, how it was recorded.. it's all here.
My negative is that...what the hell..it only discusses Ghostbusters 1. None of the other movies are talked about.. I was sort of disappointed that it wasn't a full history of the entire series, but I suppose that would have taken an enormous amount of time. So fair... but even just a chapter regarding all of the others as a summary would have been nice. Either way, it's a good read, if you're a Ghostbusters fan I'd say this is probably required reading. There's not interviews or anything, which is sad, but the account seems very close to how it all happened, and I trust the work put into it.
Overall, a quick read, an entertaining read.
February 22, 2023
“I knew that we could be late for the rest of our lives.”
PARENTHETICAL FORWARD: This author and I are acquainted through our connection to The Best Show with Tom Scharpling and his book agent was very kind enough to send me a copy that I’ve been burning through over the last month or so. I’ll also be reviewing it “officially” for Dis/Member in the coming days.
But even beyond ALL that…y’all. This thing is the real deal. And an absolute must buy for the Ghostbusters fanatic in your life.
James packs this thing with so much detail and real human texture that, even if it WASNT exhaustively recounting every single Ghostbusters thing from top to bottom?! The stories and the anecdotes alone would be worth it.
And even better, James’ voice is just achingly beautiful throughout this thing. The care and warmth you can feel just radiating from the page sets this way, way apart from the usual bone-dry “geek history” books you usually get from this sort of non-fiction. And FUNNY TOO. Beyond just the real world farce of the whole GB saga, James keeps peppering in these really funny turns of phrase or persistent runners that give it a whole SEPARATE charm from what you are actually there to read.
I’m gonna save some for the “official” review, but short version, this thing is a triumph. I’m so happy I get to write it up.
PARENTHETICAL FORWARD: This author and I are acquainted through our connection to The Best Show with Tom Scharpling and his book agent was very kind enough to send me a copy that I’ve been burning through over the last month or so. I’ll also be reviewing it “officially” for Dis/Member in the coming days.
But even beyond ALL that…y’all. This thing is the real deal. And an absolute must buy for the Ghostbusters fanatic in your life.
James packs this thing with so much detail and real human texture that, even if it WASNT exhaustively recounting every single Ghostbusters thing from top to bottom?! The stories and the anecdotes alone would be worth it.
And even better, James’ voice is just achingly beautiful throughout this thing. The care and warmth you can feel just radiating from the page sets this way, way apart from the usual bone-dry “geek history” books you usually get from this sort of non-fiction. And FUNNY TOO. Beyond just the real world farce of the whole GB saga, James keeps peppering in these really funny turns of phrase or persistent runners that give it a whole SEPARATE charm from what you are actually there to read.
I’m gonna save some for the “official” review, but short version, this thing is a triumph. I’m so happy I get to write it up.
February 5, 2024
2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the original Ghostbusters movie, an iconic film with quotable lines has always lingered as a huge part of pop culture, comic books, video games, action figures, cartoons, and more films have been created with the Ghostbusters, it’s also one of the few franchises that I would bet 85 % of the world population knows what it is, and that’s amazing.
This book is the first one I know of, and after reading it, is the definitive book about the Ghostbusters franchise, covering everything about it in detail, though the comic books are not mentioned, and the toys are touched upon but not expanded, what you get is an in depth look at all aspects of the franchise, with tons of behind the scenes stuff I was not aware of, through the good times and bad, the book delves into the good and bad of the players, not shying away from showing some of the principles in not a good light.
But the key to the book is how in depth it is, filled to the brim with all kinds of information, a lot of which I was not aware of, if you love everything Ghostbusters, this is a great book. Perfect to read for the 40th anniversary
This book is the first one I know of, and after reading it, is the definitive book about the Ghostbusters franchise, covering everything about it in detail, though the comic books are not mentioned, and the toys are touched upon but not expanded, what you get is an in depth look at all aspects of the franchise, with tons of behind the scenes stuff I was not aware of, through the good times and bad, the book delves into the good and bad of the players, not shying away from showing some of the principles in not a good light.
But the key to the book is how in depth it is, filled to the brim with all kinds of information, a lot of which I was not aware of, if you love everything Ghostbusters, this is a great book. Perfect to read for the 40th anniversary
October 1, 2023
I'd give this 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up here because it really is incredibly thorough. Damn near everything you could want to know about the films and things associated with them. The author does go off on tangents, though. I mean, why are we discussing the film "Ishtar" now? Seriously, he gives histories and details into the work of everyone, both before and after the film. I'm almost surprised he didn't dedicate 3 pages to "Designing Women" because Annie Potts was in it.
However, like I said, it's very thorough. Sometimes too many tangents, but at least they were still interesting. I found myself getting worn out about the Ghostbusters III stuff. It was kind of like how people have talked about the Beetlejuice sequel for 12 years and nothing ever came of it (until now, of course). You get years of Ghostbusters III information in a couple of chapters.
If you are a big fan of the film(s), I think you will really enjoy this book.
He didn't mention Ron Jeremy was an extra in the original!
However, like I said, it's very thorough. Sometimes too many tangents, but at least they were still interesting. I found myself getting worn out about the Ghostbusters III stuff. It was kind of like how people have talked about the Beetlejuice sequel for 12 years and nothing ever came of it (until now, of course). You get years of Ghostbusters III information in a couple of chapters.
If you are a big fan of the film(s), I think you will really enjoy this book.
He didn't mention Ron Jeremy was an extra in the original!
April 11, 2024
Readin' Makes Me Feel Good
A wonderful book that mines the highs and lows of the franchise, while not ignoring the less-than-pretty truth behind the scenes in this decades spanning story.
A thorough and insightful case study, that has been a talking point for me among my friends since I had the pleasure of diving into its pages.
I genuinely got chills during certain parts, and welled up at others; testament to how the humanity of the franchise and its story is captured beautifully by Greene.
Whether you're a fan of the actors, directors, franchise, or the movies, animated TV show, or even video game (and how their respective businesses operate) - A Convenient Parallel Dimension will sate a hunger for knowledge you didn't even know you had.
When I finished the book, the first question I had, was the very same question the creators of Ghostbusters have had since their whopping success in 1984: when's the sequel?
A wonderful book that mines the highs and lows of the franchise, while not ignoring the less-than-pretty truth behind the scenes in this decades spanning story.
A thorough and insightful case study, that has been a talking point for me among my friends since I had the pleasure of diving into its pages.
I genuinely got chills during certain parts, and welled up at others; testament to how the humanity of the franchise and its story is captured beautifully by Greene.
Whether you're a fan of the actors, directors, franchise, or the movies, animated TV show, or even video game (and how their respective businesses operate) - A Convenient Parallel Dimension will sate a hunger for knowledge you didn't even know you had.
When I finished the book, the first question I had, was the very same question the creators of Ghostbusters have had since their whopping success in 1984: when's the sequel?
November 29, 2022
This is my new favorite book of 2022!!
There were some editing issues for the audiobook.... but so worth listening too.
Especially if you are a die hard Ghostbusters fan like myself!
FYI - the book does not play favorites when it comes to the actors of Ghostbusters. Especially with Bill Murray. Part of me wonders if Murray was more agreeable would the franchise become bigger than the Marvel Universe? I guess we will never know.
To say I geeked out so hard on this book would be the biggest understatement of the year. Listening to the book reminded me of the first time I saw the movie when I was 2 years old.
Thank you, James Greene Jr for this book. The little scientist within absolutely adored it.
Because ".... when someone asks you if you're a god. you say YES!"
There were some editing issues for the audiobook.... but so worth listening too.
Especially if you are a die hard Ghostbusters fan like myself!
FYI - the book does not play favorites when it comes to the actors of Ghostbusters. Especially with Bill Murray. Part of me wonders if Murray was more agreeable would the franchise become bigger than the Marvel Universe? I guess we will never know.
To say I geeked out so hard on this book would be the biggest understatement of the year. Listening to the book reminded me of the first time I saw the movie when I was 2 years old.
Thank you, James Greene Jr for this book. The little scientist within absolutely adored it.
Because ".... when someone asks you if you're a god. you say YES!"
January 9, 2023
A Convenient Parallel Dimension gave me new information I didn't have before about the behind the scenes aspects to all of the GB films. Sadly, the book suffers from several spelling and grammar errors that a review should've caught.
The notes section is incredibly impressive, the author cites sources for nearly every line, quote, or reference contained within.
I was surprised it skipped the announcements made at Fanfest entirely, yet went into the backstories of several non-GB properties development cycles. That section made the book seem less about the history of GB and more about the shortcomings of Hollywood as a business.
The notes section is incredibly impressive, the author cites sources for nearly every line, quote, or reference contained within.
I was surprised it skipped the announcements made at Fanfest entirely, yet went into the backstories of several non-GB properties development cycles. That section made the book seem less about the history of GB and more about the shortcomings of Hollywood as a business.
March 20, 2024
Enjoyed it for the most part. Comprehensive retrospective of how the movies were produced, and in a lot of cases, not produced. Well researched with plenty of quotes and excerpts from articles from the times the movies were made. From the description I thought it would talk about the franchise as a whole, including the cartoons and the impact on pop culture and the like, but it mostly just sticks to the movies. It does touch upon the video game and a little bit of the cartoons. The forward mentions trying to be objective in the analysis, and it is when it when sticking to the subject matter. I found the digressions about the Electoral College and COVID distracting and out of place.
November 27, 2022
I was expecting a book about Ghostbusters but it was a book about the movie industry through the lens of Ghostbusters. Anyone interested in Hollywood in general or the Ghostbusters will still enjoy learning about everything it took to create this amazing phenomenon that almost wasn’t. But just be aware that it’s a little different than you’re probably expecting.
Read the full review at: https://www.thecosmiccircus.com/book-...
Read the full review at: https://www.thecosmiccircus.com/book-...
July 2, 2023
Before diving into this book, I thought it was just a behind the scenes yarn about the original 1984 film and it’s impact on pop culture in the following decades. But I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be an in-depth look into all of the Ghostbusters properties that includes the recent 2021 movie.
It touched on things i never knew and some things I’d rather not, but was highly entertaining throughout.
It touched on things i never knew and some things I’d rather not, but was highly entertaining throughout.
May 10, 2024
This book goes so much more in depth about certain things than I expected: especially the circumstances that delayed both sequels, but also details surrounding the other people involved beyond the set. There are a lot of great tidbits about unused sequel drafts, too - definitely a fun read/listen if you're a ghosthead!
March 18, 2023
Everything from every possible world of Ghostbusters covered in the greatest detail while being very readable. Respect to the author for turning down the "official" tag and being honest, to the point it may as well be called in places "Bill Murray Is A C**t".
August 8, 2023
This book was super informative about a movie franchise I have loved ever since it release the first installment when I was 14. I really enjoyed it.
Want to read
December 28, 2023Read to the chapter where they cover the atrocious 2016 reboot, then stopped.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews