Tommy Avallone is a favorite around the Philadelphia film area. We even awarded him a Philadelphia Geek Award for his film, “I Am Santa Claus.” So when we heard about the latest film he was involved in, “Ghostheads,” a documentary about the “Ghostbusters” fandom, we just had to talk to him.

What defines an extreme Ghostbusters fan?



For Ghostheads, Ghostbusters is more than just a movie to them. They bond over their love of it. It’s the passion that fuels their daily lives and they use their passion for good. The geeks for good.

Whose idea was it to do this documentary? And what was the moment that made you want to be a part of this project?

Brendan Mertens started working on this documentary about a year ago, but he’s been involved with the fandom for a long time as he’s a Ghosthead himself. He was really interested in how each state and each province had their own version of being a Ghosthead. They even have their own logo’s, which are always a variation of the original Ghostbusters logo.

I got involved when I was researching something else and stumbled upon Brendan’s documentary. I originally offered footage I shot of the Haddon Heights Ghostheads, but I slowly started to get absorbed in the world of this fandom myself. The fans had the same amount of passion that I found while I was working on “I Am Santa” and that really intrigued me and pushed me to join the documentary as a producer.

I should also point out that one of the other producers on this film, Lee Leshen, worked on “Back in Time”, a “Back to the Future” documentary, which is another geeky passion project.

The trailer for the Kickstarter shows that you managed to talk to a majority of the actors from the films, as well as people involved with the films, how amazing was it to get them to talk about the fandom?

It was amazing how once Ghost Corps (the production company started by Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd) heard about the documentary, they reached out to us and gave us access to people involved with the franchise and the ability to shoot on the Sony set. We were up close to all the props we had as toys growing up.

Ivan Reitman, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and everyone else we talked to were happy to talk about the fans and the franchise. It’s always amazing to see people talk about a film years later.

What stood out about the Ghostheads, Todd Whalen, Tom Gebhardt, and Alex Newborn that are featured in the documentary?

I knew Tom from the New Jersey Ghostbusters and he really stuck out to me. He’s constantly involved with their activities and to top it off, he has his own Ecto-1!

Brendan knew Todd from local conventions in Canada and heard about his traveling to meet fellow Ghostbusters, so he wanted to get his story. As for Alex, he really stuck out to Brendan for how his love of the films spread into fatherhood and helps him to get his child with cerebral palsy to reach out.

Are the Philadelphia Ghostheads represented in the documentary?

The Philadelphia chapter wasn’t exactly functioning at this time, sadly, but I’ve heard they are making a comeback. But we do have a Philly connection in Adam F. Goldberg of the ABC show “The Goldbergs,” who signed on to be a co-producer of the documentary. We do have a Kickstarter reward that will allow you to visit the set of “The Goldbergs” but it is a little pricey, so I understand if people don’t go for that one.

As the film gets closer to being released, how excited are you?

Oh, I’m extremely excited! We all are. The documentary should also be released around the release of the new “Ghostbusters” film, so it will be a really fun time for all of us Ghostheads.

So is it safe to say you can’t wait for the new “Ghostbusters” film?

I can’t wait to see this new interpretation of the franchise. All of the ladies are hilarious, plus with Paul Feig, who is another supporter of our documentary, behind the wheel, it’s sure to be great.

What are you hoping viewers take away from this documentary?

The passion of the Ghostheads. This documentary is fueled by fans to show other fans they aren’t alone in their love for this fandom.

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“Ghostheads” is currently running a Kickstarter for the post-production phase of this documentary, which should be released in July, 2016. There are a ton of amazing rewards from Thank You credits to signed memorabilia, to your very own Proton pack and more! If you want to be a backer, head on over to Ghostheads.com