Making Ghostbusters Paperback – November, 1985

An amazing book. The annotations, alone, are worth the price of the purchase. An invaluable insight into the making of this timeless classic.

it's a great book. but i wish some of the pictures were in full color. i love that amazing burnt orange dress sigourney weaver wore when she played zuul that outfit was designed by theoni v. alderedge. love her designs. this book is a great collector's item for who cherish this great sci-fi comedy.

Imagine yourself back in New York in 1983. It's about 5:30 in the morning. You're a regular pedestrian walking down the street near the New York Public Library. A large crowd of people are gathered there. Equipment such as cameras, lights, and microphones are everywhere. Soon you find yourself standing next to Bill Murray.
You ask, "What's this production?"
Bill says, "Production? This is a madhouse! These cameras are just getting in the way!"
You step back and see odd statues and robots crafted into obscene and terrifying figures. Suddenly, a voice shouts, "Action!" and you're pushed aside while Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd walk into the magnificent library with a huge camera dolly following them.
Finally, you spot a small card table packed with coffee, donuts, and Styrofoam cups. Tired and thirsty, you pour yourself some hot coffee from an electric pot hooked up to a small generator. As soon as you touch the pot, a kid jumps from behind the shadows and screams, "Don't move!"
"I just want a sip of coffee!"
"This is Dan Aykroyd's coffee table. Only he gets anything on it, ya' hear? I'm his assistant!"
"You've got to be kidding!"
The kid whips his arm from the shadow of a tall streetlight and points with a shaking hand, "And that table is Bill Murray's!"
Not willing to argue with this crazed assistant, you begin to walk away from the mass of moviemaking paraphernalia and out of the area. Before leaving, you spot a short, nerdy man sitting at a small card table by some sound equipment. The table is filled with art supplies, and the man works on carefully molding a green goblin the shape of a spud. "I've got to get out of here," you think to yourself as you skip over a roadblock and scuffle back into the reality of non-fiction.
In 1984, the next summer, not knowing what to do with your friends, you go to a movie called GHOSTBUSTERS, for it's been getting a lot of hype in the media and you want to see what the fuss is about. As the first scene comes into focus, you let out an involuntary shout of amazement. That was the New York Public Library! Soon enough, the pieces fall into place. You had witnessed the partial filming of one of the greatest comedy films in history!
After the movie, as you walk into a bookstore to kill time before a party, there in front of you is a large book entitled, "Making Ghostbusters: The Screenplay." Ecstatic, you pass up cab fare to attend your party and buy this magnificent book, pouring over it until dawn. You realize that you're a Ghostbuster fan for life. The book is a possession you cherish, for it's like a souvenir of time you spent unknowingly with some of the greatest moviemakers in film history, not including that overprotective assistant.
The movie GHOSTBUSTERS means a lot to many people. One way to sum up their incredible fondness of the movie is "pure cinema magic." Most first impressions of the movie quantify its resounding quality: the wizardry of the special effects, the amazing cast, and the taught, well-written script. And it's largely a comedy! How many comedies have accumulated such a fan base? It's almost unheard of! How many comedies are enjoyed as thoroughly and extensively fifteen years after their original release? Almost none, I'd bet.
Here, in Making Ghostbusters: The Screenplay, the behind-the-scenes secrets and the complete shooting script are here, but the book is more than that. It's a complete sentimental scrapbook that materializes the movie's greatness and encapsulates its craftsmanship and artistry like a time capsule of moviemaking blood, sweat, tears, and creativity.
What this classic volume needs badly is a reprint, but for now, Amazon.com is probably your only hope. With the magnificent re-release of the movie on DVD, this book in its entirety would be a wonderful companion. So let's get this message out; let this be the manifesto! Hear that? Get those printing presses cranking, and bring back the magic!

Lately it's become common to publish screenplays of popular movies, a merchandising opportunity for every movie. But if it's standard money-making for studios today, then they can thank Ivan Reitman, Dan Aykroyd, and everyone involved in the making of Ghostbusters.
Making Ghostbusters is the entire screenplay for the motion picture Ghostbusters (obviously) and as the Summer Blockbuster for that year, Ghostbusters was merchandising gold. If it had the no-ghost logo, it was hot. The screenplay was no exception.
Besides being an interesting contrast between what's written in a script and what finally ends up onscreen, Making Ghostbusters fills every available space, including the margins, with production notes, stories, anecdotes, asides, photos and illustrations by and of the cast and crew.
Unless you are a film student or a fan of a particular movie, movie screenplays can prove fairly dull. Why read about a movie when you can rent it? As a fan of Ghostbusters I found Making Ghostbusters a must-have resource, but considering that Ghostbusters is still the highest grossing comedy of all time, even non-fans will find it a funny and engrossing look at how to produce a motion picture.

Making Ghostbusters contains hundreds of exclusive concept sketches (many by legendary horror artist Bernie Wrightson), details of which scenes were deleted and why, color photos (though not nearly enough), and more. The book is built around an annotated script, with enlightening comments from Harold Ramis, Ivan Reitman, and others from the creative team. Few hit movies have had their creative process so wonderfully documented from genesis to box office--for Ghostheads, it's a must-have.

This book is GREAT! It has behind-the-scenes photos and stories, the shooting script includes dialogue that never made it to the final film, it has Sigourney Weaver's 'wrap' poem to the cast and crew, everything. You can also find drawings of monsters that didn't make the film, diagrams of the ghostbusting equipment, and a history of how the film was conceived by Ramis and Aykroyd. If you are a true ghosthead, this is a must own.

This book totally kicks butt dudes !!!!! Specially if you are a true Ghostbusters fan or should I say Ghosthead !!!!!!!!! It has like a hundred pictures in it !!!!! I recommend this book to all Ghostbusters fans around the WORLD !!!!!!!!!

This book is awesome!!(although im biased, my uncle wrote it..