Memories, tributes and legacies that go far beyond the limits of the return of a film with a historic success. Even ghosts, evanescent and elusive, have a soul, and if a son retraces his father’s footsteps, while a daughter does the same, with her parent who died prematurely, it means that fantasy has taken root in the heart, as well as in the ‘imaginary: “When I told my father about the project – explains Jason Reitman, son of Ivan, director of the first and second Ghostbusters – I was nervous, of course our relationship is based a lot on conversations about cinema. Then, when, finally, I told him the whole story, he was moved and cried ».
After the European preview at Alice nella città (the section of the Rome Festival dedicated to children), Ghostbusters Legacy arrives in theaters on November 18 with Warner Bros: «We saw him together for the first time at Comic-Con – says Reitman -, in front of a flood of fans. We were sitting next to each other, I saw that my father’s eyes were shining with pride. I made this film for him and for my whole family ».
Culture, passions, creative flair, are handed down and, pending the release of the sequel, the biography of the revered Harold Ramis arrives in bookstores from the 11th. My father The Ghost Catcher (Silhouette Publisher), signed by the eldest daughter Violet Ramis Stiel, teacher and social worker, who offers a careful and affectionate description of the paternal talent, actor and writer who died prematurely who has linked his name to monuments of comedy. Not only Ghostbustersin which he played Dr. Egon Spengler, but also Animal House, I start all over again.
Cultured, thoughtful, expert in paranormal phenomena, Spengler was the most introverted of the original group, a character tailored to Ramis whose existential path is described in the book, from simple origins in Chicago to the philosophy of life, from the relationship with the cinema to the one with his daughter: «When he disappeared – he said on TV -, I felt so much affection for him from the fans, that I thought it was right to share with the public what I know about him. My father was very generous, he loved answering questions, chatting with fans ».
The footprint of a much-loved parent is also reflected in Ghostbusters Legacy, written by the director with Gil Kenan and Dan Aykroyd, also among the executive producers: “It doesn’t happen by chance that you’re the son of a ghost catcher – says Reitman -, in fact my film is about nostalgia, I shot it for my grandchildren , but it is clear that it also speaks of how we are used to looking at the past. In short, ghosts are also metaphorical, each of us would like to have the opportunity to carry the proton backpack on our shoulders ».
The memory of the shooting of the first Ghostbusters is indelible: “I was 6 years old and, when I went on the set to visit Dad, I looked at Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis on the roof of a building, or I was fascinated by the gigantic Marshmallow Man suspended in the sky”. Fresh from an eviction and just arrived in Oklahoma, the Spengler family (in homage to their missing colleague), made up of a single mother, 12-year-old Phoebe and 15-year-old Trevor, begins to deal with strange phenomena. The discovery of the legacy of his grandfather, the famous Egon Spengler himself, sets off the adventure: «That film remained at the top of the box office for two consecutive months, I have wondered many times about the reasons for that incredible success. I think my father was part of that group of authors, Zemeckis, Dante, Spielberg, who were experimenting with a new genre of arthouse films in which comedy, horror and terror were mixed ”.
The female figures lead the story of Ghostbusters Legacybut for Reitman, author of Juno e Between the clouds, this is nothing new: «I have always loved telling about women and I was very lucky to have, this time, good interpreters like McKenna Grace and Carrie Alezandra Coon». With them, in the film, there is also the team of old friends, including Sigourney Weaver who, in the first chapter, was cellist Dana Barret, obsessed with the appearance of strange creatures in the refrigerator at home: “We used some of the techniques put fine-tuned for the first film, because, in the 1980s, it was about cutting-edge special effects ». The cameo then entrusted to Jason Reitman as a child was postponed to the second title: “My father always tried to put family in his films, but it seems that the day I was supposed to shoot was too naughty, and so I couldn’t do it.” The pandemic has increased, confesses Reitman, “my desire for cinema, it was the thing I most missed. And it was wonderful to discover, as soon as it was possible, that there are a lot of people who continue to love him as I do ».