Bill Murray Confirms Ghostbusters 3 Role And yes, Peter Venkman will be a... Source: The Mail On Sunday
Oh, Venkman. Oh, Venkman, we’re sorry…
It’s been floating around the interweb for a while now – mainly because Sigourney Weaver let the cat out of the bag when she was doing Avatar press duty back in December – but Bill Murray has confirmed that he will be appearing as the glorious sleazeball, Dr. Peter Venkman, in Ghostbusters 3. And yes, Virginia, he will be a ghost.
“I’ll come back in Ghostbusters 3 only if I get to be a ghost,” Murray told The Mail On Sunday in an exclusive interview. “I said to them, 'I'll do it if you kill me off in the first reel.' So now they are going to have me as a ghost in the film.”
Now, bear in mind that this interview probably took place in October, when Murray was in the UK for Fantastic Mr. Fox, and a lot could have changed in Ghostbusters 3 World since then. But if we were a gambling website, we’d be Bet365.com. And we’d also put money on the story proving true.
On one level, we’re disappointed. We’ve never been huge subscribers to the school of thought that Ghostbusters 3 needs a new, young, sexy team of hot comedians (even if the likes of Paul Rudd do end up wielding the proton chargers) to replace the Murray-Aykroyd-Ramis-Hudson team. And this would seem to indicate that Murray will only be making an extended cameo in the film, while the New Ghostbusters get the lion’s share of screentime.
However… if Ghost Venkman sticks around, and becomes an integral part of the film’s storyline, this could be comedic gold. In life, Venkman was an incorrigible hounddog with an eye for the ladies, a world-weary quip for every occasion, and a ‘that’ll do’ attitude that set him apart from a thousand cookie-cutter heroes. In death, there’ll be no limitations to what Venkman can say or do. If he’s allowed to interact fully with the other Ghostbusters – old and new – then this could be an inspired decision for Murray. After all, he garnered some of the best notices of his career as Zombie Bill Murray (kinda) in Zombieland. So why not tackle Ghost Bill Murray?
It's a downer no matter how you look at it.
There's no need to get gimicky with Bill Murray. Invest an extra million dollars into the script and when it comes time to shoot it, let Bill roll with it. ... Read More
DAMMIT! Thanks for the Zombieland spoiler ... NOT!
I have NOT seen Zombieland yet, but have been very much looking forward to it. In every review I've read, there has been mention of a secret surprise cameo which, fortunately, no one ever spoiled. Now, I'm innocently reading this Ghostbusters 3 article, and Whamo, out of the blue, you spoil it. Not cool. WTF?! ... Read More
I think the Venkman ghost idea sounds pretty good, it's going to make the character far more mobile than an old man (which is what Bill Murray is now) trying to run round busting ghosts just as he did 20 years ago. I think this is a clever ploy to actually get more screen time for Murray's fantastic acerbic wit rather than being resigned to bit parts as "mentors" which is where I can see messers Akroyd, Ramis and Hudson ending up.
I also agree that the new team need to have tha... Read More
I'm not sure what GHOSTBUSTERS III should be about. It needs to be funny, it needs to include scares and it needs to tell an original story.
I would keep it simple. They're approaching their retirement but Venkman, Stantz, Spengler and Zeddemore are still in business as paranormal investigators and eliminators but haven't had to do a bust in years. Venkmans dream of them becoming "rich beyond our wildest dreams" never did pan out and financially, they're on the verge of ruins. They're desp... Read More
While very wary of this supposed new turn and twist to development, in concept this could work, Frightners was certainly enjoyable enough... ... Read More
