Been a while since I’ve been around here, but I’ve been working on an extended edition of Ghostbusters 2, using most of the workable and released scenes from the Blu-Ray.
I added back everything except the museum scene as it was a pre-reshoots scene that doesn’t work without the deleted Sherman Tully/Alternate Mayor scene, plus it kinda kills the pacing towards the end.
Here’s the Louis/Slimer scene with finished SFX, and the VFX/colours being fixed as best they can. I’ve included the Slimer shot from the credits and removed the text and also added the soundtrack back to where I think it should be.
And also the extended scene inside the Statue of Liberty with the boys discussing the water and getting a traffic ticket, with the missing shot restored and the colours greatly improved to match the final film
Theatrical - 1:48:19
Extended - 1:51:46
ADDITIONS
added Dana asking the boys why these terrible things always happen to her, with Egon trying to scientifically reason it
added Dana saying its all her fault Pete and the guys are in court, with Peter saying he’ll land on his feet, like a cat
added Louis trying to catch Slimer with a spare proton pack and almost hitting Jen
added alternate version of Ray, Egon and Winston asking Pete to join them in the sewer, this time its in his apartment and not the street
added an extended dialogue scene with the boys in Lady Liberty discussing the statue, falling out and traffic directions
I’d be more than happy to share links, but I’m not sure what the policies are around here about that sort of thing
Does anyone have anyone experience with FX? If so Can you add the proton stream in during the Slimer scene. Please.
It’s amazing what a difference the music makes. I was disappointed in the Slimer scene but now that I see if with music added back in? It really works!
Quick question. Are you adding stuff in just because it was taken out, or because you think it improves the film?
Cause the “all you can eat BBQ rib night at the sizzler” scene is better outside, I think. It just feels more dynamic, a bit more urgent. The outside and having the Ecto 1A pull up(or Ecto 2 as it’s weirdly called in that scene)…it just works a bit better.
I really think Ivan made a small mistake by not including the bit where Dana questions why this is happening to her AGAIN. A) the Audience is asking the same question and B) acknowledging the unlikely nature of two major supernatural occurrences happening to the same woman makes things a bit more believable somehow, And C) Venkman’s response is funny. It’s just a small moment I wonder why it was cut. I think it’s an important bit.
It’s interesting to see the deleted stuff from both movies. Frankly NONE of the deleted scenes from GB1 are worth putting back in and some could’ve outright ruined the movie(I’m looking at you ■■■ sequence). The Fort Determing stuff is cool but it would’ve messed with the pacing.
But GB2? It’s almost the opposite. I could see most of these bits and pieces helping the movie. Especially the Slimer stuff(otherwise, why have him at all?) and the Ray possessed stuff
I’m loving these additions, even though they’re very subtle I feel each scene adds a lot more to the film. The Statue of Liberty scene in the movie feels like to many cuts between each scene when this version feels more complete having the guys added dialog, it flows better.
Agreed on the Sizzler exterior scene. Without seeing the Possessed Ray footage, it’s hard to say. For all we know, it could have been cut due to simply not working. Hopefully it’ll surface at some point!
I wonder if there was a lot of problems going on behind the scenes that we may never get to know about? Everyone assumes all the changes made to the film was because the scenes didn’t work but we never hear much about behind the scenes of GB2 from Ivan or Dan, usually a director or writer are pretty open on “why this was done” and “why this was changed” so I wonder if the studio forced a lot of the changes that the cast and crew didn’t like and they’re not able to really talk about it?
I might be in the minority on the “The Sizzler scene” but I like the version that wasn’t used in the film. It never made sense to me why Dana would still go out on a date when such a breakthrough was made between Vigo and the River of Slime?
The whole investigation started because of what happened to Oscar. There clearly was a connection between Oscar and the slime underground, especially when it came out the Bathtub to try and get him.
When Egon, Ray and Winston pulled up as if it’s very urgent with news about Vigo and needing to trace where the river of Slime is, Dana just blew it off yelling “TAXI”. Odd when it involves her own Baby?
The other scene makes a little more sense to me because it seems like a casual investigation with them thinking they can trace the source of the Slime, as if they came to a dead end and searching underground was the next step to figure out what’s going on. Also I like how it seems to imply it’s Peter’s choice not to go which makes more sense and is funnier when Winston says “He ain’t coming”.
Interesting, I’m in the opposite view. The scene with the guys outside Venkman’s apartment door felt pretty stunted and flat, whereas seeing them pull up in Ecto-2 (and we got that little tidbit thanks to the scene that made it into the final print) and talking out on the street made it feel a little bit more grounded in New York… And I felt the delivery was better, more natural.
Plus by then, Dana probably had a feel for Venkman, and the likelihood that he’d actually go off with them… After all, she sussed him out from the start: less an academician and more about schmoozing with anyone who might give him the time of day.
Plus she probably felt the right people for the job were actually on the case to investigate the slime (she didn’t know it was a river, and she didn’t know until later that it was directly connected to her case with Vigo and Oscar).
Plus I view her “blowing it off” as her needing a break from this latest paranormal insurgency into her life. It was only a short spell ago that she fled her apartment with Oscar, so I don’t blame her for wanting to have a relaxing dinner date in the run up to New Year’s.
We know exactly why the scenes were added & reshot. It’s was totally Ivan’s call. Check out the Wikipedia page for GB2. It has a thorough explanation of the reshoots and why they happened(With citations). Basically the connection to Vigo and the Slime was made clearer, and Ivan wanted a couple more thrilling sequences with the GBs.
You have to remember the circumstances of how GB2 was made. Columbia was desperate and Dawn Steele, the newer Columbia CEO in charge, made GB2 a top priority. The previous studio head, David Putnam, had a complicated relationship with GB & some of the creatives involved. Anyways, Ivan had total creative freedom on this movie. All these guys were legends and super stars at this point. Columbia gave them tremendous creative control over not just GB2, but the entire franchise going forward. I think GB2 was one of those rare Hollywood situations where it had a standing green light. Meaning any script Ivan thought was good enough went into production after the creatives agreed to do the film.
Anyways, check out the GB2 wiki page. It’s massive now. Some of the citations lead to some pretty fascinating articles.
well I just read the Wikipedia page for GB2 and it just makes me want to see the original cut even more! I was wrong about Columbia Pictures causing the changes and clearly it was Ivan’s choice but it does say the test audience liked the film, Shame we don’t have that version to compare the two.
Check out the 8/5/88 draft, I don’t think the scene changed much throughout development.
The first version was one of the first things shots in NYC, on the same stage as the commercial. The WOTP set was totally different, it looked more like a late-night talk show set. Venkman behind a desk, the two guests in chairs, more contrasty lighting, different logo.
The early-March reshoot with Chloe Webb and Kevin Dunn added the “end of the world” dialogue, which the original version lacked.
Yup. I just re-read the 11/27/88 draft which has another female guest rather than the Kevin Dunn character. It’s quite a bit different.
And here I thought there was nothing new I could learn about this movie. I love it!
That’s another great change. It adds to the suspense and threat level. Plus the “Well for your sake I hope you’re right” line always kills me.
Do we have pictures of the original “World of the Psychic” set? Or who was the cast as the other guest? Because wasn’t Dunn originally cast as the World Trade Centre guy who has pyrokinesis?
You read the final Climax in the 11/27/88 draft with Vigo and you just have to wonder what the hell they were thinking. It’s over so quickly. They come in, shoot Janosz, Ray gets grabbed by Vigo, they spray Ray/Vigo and that’s it. Vigo’s toast. Can you imagine had they just gone with that ending??
I wonder why they never shot the pyrokinesis scene. I love it.
It also seems like the other end of Venkmans phone call to Ray, where Dana first shows up to Venkmans apartment after the tub monster, was a reshoot. It literally spells out the connection to Vigo and the Slime and isn’t in that November draft. Which is also a scene I love. I shall always know the atomic weight of cobalt thanks to that scene.
You guys are right, they really did bulk up the Wikipedia page. I liked reading the thematic analysis, as it made some good points about the messages of community and positivity in GBII.
There’s a lot out there, but not even close to everything. New tidbits/stories/content will probably be popping up for ages.
Yes, have some! One of the press photos shows a glimpse of the logo, I posted a scan here several years ago. There might be a much better look in the GB2 doc.
There was an even more abrupt ending-- Ray tossed a can of paint thinner on Vigo and they called it a day. Seriously!
On the flip side, there was another draft that had Vigo transform into a huge slime monster and conjure other pieces of art in the museum to attack the GBs.
It was, great catch! It was shot along with the darkroom scene, the ECTO-2 reshoot, and a few others.
There’s a lot out there, but not even close to everything. New tidbits/stories/content will probably be popping up for ages.
Yes, have some! One of the press photos shows a glimpse of the logo, I posted a scan here several years ago. There might be a much better look in the GB2 doc.
There was an even more abrupt ending-- Ray tossed a can of paint thinner on Vigo and they called it a day. Seriously!
On the flip side, there was another draft that had Vigo transform into a huge slime monster and conjure other pieces of art in the museum to attack the GBs.
It was, great catch! It was shot along with the darkroom scene, the ECTO-2 reshoot, and a few others.
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The paint thinner idea is pretty funny, but it would’ve been the very definition of anti climatic for decades. Film school teachers would still be using it as an example of anti climax.
Yeah I’ve heard about the art pieces coming to life ending. Though the way I heard it was there was an idea Ivan had to spruce up the climax with the art pieces coming to life but there was no more time to have it complete by the release date. But you’re saying it actually made its way into a draft? Cool. Have you read that draft? If so, how does it read?
What’s your favourite addition made to GB2 during the reshoots?? I gotta go with the ghost train subway sequence. I can’t imagine the film without it.
