Ivan Reitman sat down with Jeremy Smith to discuss his latest film Draft Day. However, it was only a matter of time until the discussion moved to Ghostbusters 3:

I felt really uncomfortable about directing it. My expectation for the longest time – because we’ve been working on it for almost four years now, really actively on a regular basis with two sets of writing teams – was that I wanted to direct it and it was going to be good. We have very good scripts that really honor the tradition of it. The original GHOSTBUSTERS are all in their sixties – the ones who are alive – and one of them is extraordinarily reticent and hasn’t read a screenplay, despite having said that he has. I hung in there until Harold’s death, and then I realized maybe this is the opportunity. It happened in combination with [DRAFT DAY], which I’m so proud of; it was so satisfying to do something more serious and had a dramatic flow to it. It made more sense for someone of my age. I remember coming back and thinking about [GHOSTBUSTERS 3] for weeks even prior to Harold’s death, and then that just pushed me over the edge. So I went to Sony and I said, “Look, I’m not comfortable directing this sequel now.”



I realized I only have a number of movies left in me, and I did GHOSTBUSTERS. People will only be comparing it to that [first movie], and I’ll only be fighting against myself. It just felt too weird, especially with the loss of Harold, who just focused that moment in my own life and my own sense of mortality. So I backed off. But I’m going to be very involved in it. I’m going to produce it, and it’s going to be the second draft that Etan Coen wrote. It’s terrific, and it really lives up to the original in a way GHOSTBUSTERS II didn’t. I think the second GHOSTBUSTERS is two-thirds of a great movie, and I think the last act is ridiculous. I had no problem making it, but I knew we couldn’t do that again. We had to do something that has the kind of energy and scale and deliciousness of the first one. I think we’ve got stuff like that in this. Generally, people are always cynical about these things because at their heart they start as financial desires by a studio. But there are really good creative people behind this that are trying their best. It doesn’t mean it will be as great a movie as the first one. I hope strangely that it isn’t. (Laughs) And strangely I hope that it is. That’s the most honest answer I can give. I think it has the opportunity to be a really great film in its own right. You have to judge these movies as they come out.

Prior to Harold Ramis’ passing, Interviews with the cast and crew had a fearfull undertone that suggested that Ghostbusters II had scarred them. Lets face it, Ghostbusters 3 has been in development since the late 1980’s and I suspect that over the coming months, many of those who previously supported the film will echo Reitman’s sentiments.

Taking this into consideration, I don’t think that Ghostbusters 3 will ever be made. I believe we will be given a reboot instead with much of the plot being inspired by the script for Ghostbusters 3. I hope I’m wrong, but I can’t help but think that if they were ever serious about making the film, then it would have been released long before now.

Source: AICN