GHOSTBUSTERS BS2

GHOSTBUSTERS by Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis


Genre -- I'm going to take an incomplete on this one. Going in,  I was positive it was Superhero, but I'm not so sure now. I suppose they don't change so much as prove themselves...which suggests superhero. Or you could look at it as a Dude With a Problem but the event really doesn't materialize until midpoint. Or a golden fleece if you say it's Venkmann trying to win the love of Dana. 




OPENING SHOT: 
Gothic architecture; specifically a scary looking gothic lion statue that stands in front of the library. It suggests a secret/scary world that surrounds NYC. Both architecture and gothic statues will come into play in a big way later on. 

SETUP: 
A librarian is scared by something on screen! Meanwhile at the graffiti marred college office of our para-psychology heroes -- Venkmann (Bill Murray) is seducing a college volunteer via an ESP experiment while jolting another subject with electric shocks. It’s obvious he’s much more interested in blondes than science. Just when he’s about to get somewhere, Ray (Dan Aykroyd) interrupts – there’s something big going down at the library. 

Once at the library, they meet up with their geeky colleague Egon, collect some ectoplasm, see some vertical book stacks, and witness an apparition…but they have no idea what to do. They try to grab it but it scares them away. But all is not for naught – Egon has collected some readings that show how they can trap a ghost. 

CATALYST: 
They find out the dean is kicking them out of the college – he thinks they are the worst kind of scientist. Venkmann isn’t worried – with this new ‘trap a ghost’ idea he’s ready to take their shtick to the private sector and start a ghost extermination business. 

THEME STATED: 
The arc of the movie is really the Ghostbusters going from quack scientists who are not respected by the college or their Clients(Dana) or the Government(EPA, Mayor) to being not only respected but being the toast of the town. 

Venkmann is the point-man for the busters. And this disrespect to respect arc is also prevalent in his personal life with Dana. 

It’s Venkmann’s methods that need to change. Early on, he has no respect for science and puts his personal life (girls & money) ahead of his science. 

But later, he comes to be a guy who earns rewards in his personal life by putting in work instead of just trying to lie and con. 

For a moral premise I started with -- 

Using your work for selfish reasons (women & money) leads to failure and lack of respect; working for others/self-sacrifice leads to victory and respect/fame.

...refining it a bit, I came to -- 
Lying and conning leads to lack-of-respect; proving your worth leads to respect/fame. 


DEBATE: 
They buy a near-condemned firehouse and setup shop. Cut a commercial. Hire a secretary. 

Meanwhile, Dana (Sigourney Weaver) has an encounter with some evil creature in her refrigerator. 

She shows up as their first potential client, and Venkmann immediately jumps in and offers to check out her apartment. His investigation is more focused on her than ghosts, frustrated she gets rid of him but he vows that he will gain her respect by figuring out her little demon problem in her refrigerator. 

B-STORY: 
Dana’s (Sigourney) story starts out in the background but by the midpoint becomes the main issue the Ghostbusters must face. 


BREAK INTO ACT 2: 
We got one!! Their first real case has arrived. 

FUN & GAMES: 
They go to a hotel and track down a slimmer, eventually trapping it using their new proton-pack/trap technology earning them $5000. 

In the type of montage we usually see in Superhero origin stories like Superman or Spiderman – we see them on the cover of magazines, busting ghosts, and becoming a sensation. 

Dana is watching and her interest in Venkmann is growing. 

MIDPOINT: 
Not only is the business getting more and more successful but Venkmann visits Dana and drops some research on her(and the name Zuul) and with things going good asks Dana out on a date and she accepts! Respectability! 

Bill does a little victory dance around a fountain…his Moment of Grace…there might be something to honest work instead of scamming after all! 

But there’s a downside to their success – an EPA guy shows up wanting to see their containment unit. Words are exchanged and he vows to come back with a warrant. 

BAD GUYS CLOSE IN: 
And more trouble – Ego says his reading suggest things are about to get really bad ‘supernaturally’. 

Meanwhile, Dana and her geeky neighbor are possessed by Zuul! 

Venkmann shows up for the date and Dana is full-on possessed. Meanwhile, the neighbor is dropped off at the Ghostbusters HQ. Venkmann shoots Dana up with some Thorazine. 

ALL IS LOST: 
The EPA guy comes back with his warrant. Shuts down the containment unit. All the captured ghosts are unleashed on NYC. 

DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL: 
The guys are thrown in prison. There, Ray shows some research – Dana’s building was built by a creepy cult leader to try to ‘channel Zuul’ to our world. 

Meanwhile Gatekeeper/Keymaster get together…NYC is under siege by the paranormal. And the building is obviously channeling Zuul. 



And here's another interesting thing -- I have no doubt that shutting down the containment unit is an All Is Lost...but in reality, as my buddy Dan points out --  it's never really said that Zuul comes because of the containment unit being shutdown...it's not even really suggested. So really? What do they lose there? They get thrown in prison and their respectability drops and I guess it signals the end of their business...but in some ways it more proves them right not wrong. 

What follows is classic Dark Night of Soul stuff-- city under siege, guys in prison, etc. 

BREAK INTO ACT 3: 
The mayor wants to see the Ghostbusters…Venkmann convinces him to let them try to stop the bad-guy and earn his trust… 

FINALE: 
The Ghostbusters head to the top of Dana’s building. They do battle with Zuul using their proton packs. Eventually they pick their destroyer ‘the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man’. Their only hope is to perform a near suicidal/selfless act – Cross the Streams. 

They do. And the marshmallow man is destroyed. New York is saved. 

CLOSING IMAGE: 
They return to a rabid-Ghostbuster loving crowd. Bill gets a kiss from Dana. They’ve gone from disrespected quacks to heroes.