ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
Crazy Frog v Coldplay - DAY BEFORE:
The Zoot Suit Riots - DAY BEFORE THAT:
Nepal's Royal Bloodbath - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
Super Mario Bros - The First Videogame Movie
ON THIS DAY
Who You Gonna Call?
‘Ghostbusters’ opened in US cinemas on 8th June, 1984, quickly becoming the highest-grossing comedy of all time.
The brainchild of SNL’s Dan Aykroyd – whose great-grandfather was a 19th-century psychic investigator – the film was pitched and delivered within 13 months. Drawing inspiration from 1930s ghost comedies, the wisecracking ensemble comedy smashed the Hollywood wisdom that big-budget comedies don’t recoup their investment.
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca survey some original alternative titles for the film; revisit Akroyd’s unworkable first draft (set in the future, with intergalactic travel); and reveal why the production necessitated building a whole effects studio from scratch…
Further Reading:
• ‘Ghostbusters’ director Ivan Reitman on the making of the 1984 comedy: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/ghostbusters-director-ivan-reitman-making-911408/
• Ghostbusters at 30: EW looks back at the making of a comedy classic | Longform – EW.com: https://microsites.ew.com/microsite/longform/ghostbusters/
• ‘Ghostbusters Trailer’ (Columbia Pictures, 1984):
ON THIS DAY
Who You Gonna Call?
‘Ghostbusters’ opened in US cinemas on 8th June, 1984, quickly becoming the highest-grossing comedy of all time.
The brainchild of SNL’s Dan Aykroyd – whose great-grandfather was a 19th-century psychic investigator – the film was pitched and delivered within 13 months. Drawing inspiration from 1930s ghost comedies, the wisecracking ensemble comedy smashed the Hollywood wisdom that big-budget comedies don’t recoup their investment.
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca survey some original alternative titles for the film; revisit Akroyd’s unworkable first draft (set in the future, with intergalactic travel); and reveal why the production necessitated building a whole effects studio from scratch…
Further Reading:
• ‘Ghostbusters’ director Ivan Reitman on the making of the 1984 comedy: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/ghostbusters-director-ivan-reitman-making-911408/
• Ghostbusters at 30: EW looks back at the making of a comedy classic | Longform – EW.com: https://microsites.ew.com/microsite/longform/ghostbusters/
• ‘Ghostbusters Trailer’ (Columbia Pictures, 1984):
ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
Crazy Frog v Coldplay - DAY BEFORE:
The Zoot Suit Riots - DAY BEFORE THAT:
Nepal's Royal Bloodbath - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
Super Mario Bros - The First Videogame Movie
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OLLY MANN
Olly Mann made his name with another trivia-wielding podcast, Answer Me This! with Helen Zaltzman – and now presents The Modern Mann, The Week Unwrapped, and Four Thought for BBC Radio Four. He also has an A-Level in History, so Dan Snow beware.
REBECCA MESSINA
Rebecca got a passion for podcasting working at The Week magazine and a passion for trivia appearing on University Challenge in 2011, making The Retrospectors her natural home.
ARION MCNICOLL
Arion started out in satirical news in Australia, then moved to the UK to work for ostensibly serious publications including The Times, CNN, and The Week… before realising that since around 2016 the news has all been satire really.
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