You all know what I’m talking about. The frizzy hair when Viggy finds Oscar. Look at him there compared to when he’s “back in the painting” before the warped face thing(god that creepy bit of face morphing haunted my dreams for years, I love it!). Did they forget to get the hair and makeup team on Wilhelm?
The climax of GB2 is really awkwardly staged, was it reshot? If you look closely, Vigo is never in the same shot as any of the Ghostbusters. I love GB 2 with all my heart but the showdown with Vigo is all kinds of messy. I remember reading an FX article where the energy beam Vigo snarls at the GB’s(and their subsequent paralyzed bodies) were a last minute addition. The climax as read in the script is way too brief(if I recall there is no Dana tied up, Venkman egging Vigo on or hiding Oscar and no paralyzed beam. It’s been awhile so I could be wrong but I remember them coming down off the statue, dispatching Janosz then defeating Vigo. That’s it).
Anyone have any insight into whats going on with Vigo’s appearance?
The different look isn’t so much editing as it was a reshoot of the final battle scene a few WEEKS before the movie was released. Apparently, the production didn’t bother to get the original hair, makeup, and costume crew for the reshoot. You know the “big shoulder look” that Venkman comments on? That was a costume malfunction! The shoulder armor on the Vigo costume was designed to be tied “up” for storage, and let loose to hang with the actor’s shoulders during filming. The reshoot costume crew didn’t know this, and left the shoulders up for the new shots, giving us the big shoulder look. (Well worth it for Murray’s line, though.) I’m not sure exactly what the hair crew was thinking. I know people have tried to come up with in-universe explanations for the differences, but no… it seems like it was pretty much due to reshoots.
The original final battle was pretty much how it’s listed in the 2/27 script floating around online. Vigo was almost out of the painting, grabbed Stantz as a shield, then both were coated with the slime blowers. Vigo falls back into the painting, the paint turns to liquid and runs off the canvas, revealing the hidden portrait underneath.
Wow. That’s interesting. Do you have any links on where I could find out more? I’ve read the Cinefx article which mentions all the reshoots, but I can’t remember anything about Vigo’s different look. Any GB2 production info is always appreciated. Thanks
A GB2 crew member told me about the Vigo battle reshoot, but there are some great magazine articles on both GBFans and Spook Central. The Cinefex article is probably the best read on the development/production of the movie. The new GB 30th anniv. SFX magazine has a cool little section on GB2. Producer Joe Meduck even mentioned the Vigo reshoot, explaining how Columbia asked for the end sequence to be beefed up a little bit.
It’s a shame there wasn’t ever a MAKING GB2 book published. Here’s hoping the Cleaning Up The Town doc has some cool stuff!