robbritton
hokay, i see where you're coming from - here's the reasoning i was using.
1) It WAS the success of RGB and the toyline that inspired the idea to make GB2. without them in the intervention it is much more likely they would have got together and made a completely different movie (this is referenced many times, it was not their intent to make a sequel when they agreed to work together again - somebody must have seen dollar signs where still being generated by the property). Five years is a long time in cinema and RGB was serving as fantastic market research for demand.
2) Absolutely there are, but it is the ones which had cartoon runs that the now 30ish disposable income crowd are picking up on in a big way. I'm not seeing Gremlins or Goonies video games being mooted to mass excitement. Basically RGB created longevity - you only have to take a headcount around these parts to see how many folk got into the first movie AFTER seeing the cartoon.
3) Egon talking nothing but science all the time, Ray's excitement at the special clown sauce, The whole sleepy venkman bit, sliding down ropes onto a moving subway train, revisists from prominent figures in the characters' youths, etc. It isn't a criticism in the slightest, just that the writers of season one nailed analogues of the characters so perfectly, even GB2 takes on aspects of them over the GB1 originals. Can you imagine anyone releasing something with Egon shouting, “YOUR MOTHER!” in it? He's RGB all the way. It's testament rather than criticism.
I never through these things out without at least believing them myself, totally happy to be argued with, though - it's nice to be shown things in a different light. I love how everyone has their own take on the GBs. Keeps it fresh, y'know?
huuuuuUGAGGHh.
After Ghostbusters in 1984 the first spin off idea may not have necessarilly been The Real Ghostbusters. Osborn (if I remember the username correctly, maybe DOsborn?) can probably back me up on this a bit, but after the popularity of the first film the immediate desire was not cartoon, but a live action weekly television show which got as far as initial casting apparently. Which implies that Columbia and their then parent company Coca Cola new they had a cash cow on their farm and she was bursting with milk.
I mention this because it helps drive home the point that even if RGB didn't exist we would've gotten a Ghostbusters II, and I would be willing to bet kingpin's soul that it would've happened sooner than 1989. Let's explore.
Bill Murray. After Ghostbusters and the Razor's Edge Bill Murray went into hibernation, with the exception of small cameo appearances. The popular thought on Bill Murray is that he's an asshole, a jerk, hates his fans. I'm going to take the route that he's, in a sense, embarrassed of his fame. This is all glorified arm chair speculation, but a lot of artists hate some of their best work, feel that it is beneath them– especially something that is “birthed” during the beginning of their careers. They don't want the notion that they've peaked– and in Murray's case it is very hard to argue that Peter Venkman is not his greatest achievement as a comedian and actor. His recent dramatic work shall be put into a “Bill Murray is now gray haired and bearded” category.
Now, Ghostbusters was huge. I think a lot of us don't really realize how huge this movie was, but when was the last time you remember a movie being re-released in the same year? How big was that movie? Ghostbusters was huge. Bill Murray's resentment grows. Aykroyd was prepared for the wave of success, already considered the top comedic talent of the time period, the highest selling Blues artist of all time (still might hold that one)– and there's an interview floating around somewhere where he mentions that the Blues Brothers was never meant to have action figures, lunchboxes– but Ghostbusters was always intended as that kind of property.
Now if Real Ghostbusters, or the pseudo live action TV show, never materialized it would've given Ghostbusters a chance to cool down. Bill Murray's strange feelings might've possibly subsided earlier than 4.3 years, and i would be arguing about how stupid it is that the Ghostbusters took a pneumatic train to the center of the earth to save Dana Berrett from leperchauns. Ghostbusters II was never not a possibility. It was a definite. Ghostbusters was the highest grossing comedy for a long time in hollywood, 5 years. Look at something like Titanic, which is still the top spot holder, there wont be a sequel to that because the damn boat sank. the story is done. But then you've got good ol' Ghostbusters. Heroes of the day, riding off into the sunset– and here comes slimer.
sequel.
Ultimately thats my beef with your post and why i've crawled out of the dredges of society to post. Very nice discussion though.
And personally, the “YOUR MOTHER” Egon Spengler is probably my favorite. I'd kill to see the alternate take from Ghostbusters when Egon sees the marshmallow man and screams “Fuck me!”