Not sure if this has been talked about before but…

For the new Ghostbusters movie, should Harold Ramis get into the same shape like he was in the past movies or should he just look like he does now?

Not to sound rude toward Mr. Ramis, but I was thinking about it with some friends. Just wanted your thoughts…

Well…considering the fact that he's well into his ‘60s, nobody is expecting him (or any of them for that matter) to look like he did in ’84, or ‘89. The whole “plot” of the 3rd movie is pretty much probably going to revolve around the original, old (not older, just old) GBs “passing the tourch” to a younger generation, so there’s no reason for them to get into shape/try to look slimmer and younger for a movie that isn't totally just about them anymore.

I think Ramis should try to get into shape for the movie. He's overweight and has an ugly beard.

I think he should lose weight and dye his hair. Not black, but more salt and pepper instead of entirely gray. He doesn't have to be at his 1980's weight, but he should still lose about 20 pounds.

Although being a Ghostbuster is a physically demanding job, Egon does have a sugar addiction. So, unless he's kicked the habit / cut back, it could just be said that his addiction has finally caught up with him.

Still, knowing Hollywood, they'd probably have Harold shed some of the weight regardless.

Makes me wonder if Ray would still be a chain smoker, or if he'd be on the patch these days…

The Ghostbusters don't exactly take very good care of themselves.(*egon)

Cosmic-Riptide;152111
Although being a Ghostbuster is a physically demanding job, Egon does have a sugar addiction. So, unless he's kicked the habit / cut back, it could just be said that his addiction has finally caught up with him.

Still, knowing Hollywood, they'd probably have Harold shed some of the weight regardless.

Makes me wonder if Ray would still be a chain smoker, or if he'd be on the patch these days…

The Ghostbusters don't exactly take very good care of themselves.(*egon)

Harold is a veteran movie actor/producer/writer/director. No one in Hollywood would ever demand that he loose weight for a part… He's not Shia Lebouf or some dumb actor that's going to be completely forgetten in the next 10 years…

However, from what I've seen of Harold lately, he has lost a lot of weight.

StayinPuft;152140
Harold is a veteran movie actor/producer/writer/director. No one in Hollywood would ever demand that he loose weight for a part… He's not Shia Lebouf or some dumb actor that's going to be completely forgetten in the next 10 years…

It's all part of being an actor, no matter how famous or respected you are…

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,84784,00.html

(*winston)

While I agree the beard needs to go, I don't think THAT much weight needs to be lost. I mean after all Egon in his 40's a la Extreme Ghostbusters was overweight slightly….comes with age unfortunately.

I guess I'm kind of indifferent. I wouldn't mind seeing Harold or Dan slim down a bit for the new film to look somewhat closer to their characters in GB2. But if it doesn't happen that's okay too.

The Ghostbusters always had that regular guy feeling about them, so if they show up looking exactly as they do now, I doubt I'd have a big problem with it.

Cosmic-Riptide;152144
It's all part of being an actor, no matter how famous or respected you are…

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,84784,00.html

(*winston)

Ya and I would argue that Tom Hanks is a dramatic actor… Harold is a comedy actor. Gaining weight is alot easier than loosing weight. Harold being fat would just be either ignored in GB3 or there would be jokes about it. No one would ever say “you have to loose weight cause Ghostbusters can't be fat!” Are the producers going to demand that Bill Murray die his hair and get a face lift just so he looks like he did back in the 80s? No. Are the producers going to demand that Dan loose weight because he is pretty chubby too… Since GB is his baby I'm going to say no. Dan/Harold/Bill/Ivan/Columbia all own an equal share in GB. No one would EVER tell them what to do or how to look. I can see people saying “Hey Harold, maybe loose some weight for this part?” but under no circumstances is someone going to say “Hey Harold, loose some weight for the part or you aren't going to be cast”.

There is a difference between doing something because they are that good of an actor that they want to fully embody their role that they would gain weight/loose weight, and, doing something because a Hollywood producer tells them that they have to or they don't get the part.

If Harold wants to loose weight for the part, I fully support that. But to say that he is under pressure from the studio to loose weight is silly.

StayinPuft;152183
But to say that he is under pressure from the studio to loose weight is silly.

That isn't exactly what I was getting at. Admittedly, part of it was a small jab at how superficial Hollywood is, but…

If there is another Ghostbusters, and if the original GB's have the starring role, there will most likely be parts that are, at least a little, physical. These may be little things that wouldn't require a stand-in but may still strain the actors (especially with equipment strapped to their backs and waists).

At the very least, I would think that to be sure that the actors won't hurt themselves, the studio would help them shape up a bit before shooting.

I highly doubt that a studio would just slap a bunch of heavy equipment on an actor and say “ok, now run towards the camera”, without any thought to the actor's well-being.

A little weight loss may be necessary for the actor's sake (and/or for a number of other reasons).