THE BIG CHILL

GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE

Slimer, the Ecto-1 and the mini Stay Puft marshmallows make a welcome return to New York City in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Director Gil Kenan and the cast of new and returning ’busters tell Total Film about the latest chilling sequel.

A frenetic chase scene follows the iconic Ecto-1 as it speeds around the mean streets of Manhattan. A gargantuan ghost – called the Hell’s Kitchen Sewer Dragon – swoops through the sky as Phoebe Spengler (Mckenna Grace) swings into action from the back door of the souped-up Cadillac. Behind the steering wheel, Paul Rudd’s Gary Grooberson delivers witty one-liners to the Spengler family, who audiences first met in 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. This time around, the Spenglers and Groob are hustling in the hot seat for some seriously sub-zero supernatural encounters thanks to an evil force known as the Death Chill; their rural days in Oklahoma clearly a thing of the past.

‘When they’re together, you see that comic spark is still there’

GIL KENAN

Total Film has been invited into the edit bay of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire for a sneak peek at scenes from the spirited new sequel, presented by the movie’s director and co-writer, Gil Kenan. The location for our interview is a small screening room inside the Capra building on the Sony Pictures Studio Lot in Culver City, California. There’s an Ectomobile parked outside the building (on Ivan Reitman Way, no less), which makes this setting feel like a spiritual home of the franchise. It’s the perfect place to discover more about the monster new movie.

‘Our story takes place within the confines of just a few days of the summer,’ confirms Kenan, giving some background at the start of our interview. ‘It’s two years after the fateful events of Oklahoma and the Spengler family has moved to New York, where they are living in the firehouse. It’s a totally new concept for Ghostbusters. We’ve never seen what it’s like to live in a firehouse, where the work-life balance is a definite challenge.’

Back to the extended sequence we’re previewing today, and the Ecto-1 hurtles around traffic as it tracks the fiendishly frosty new foe. Inside the vehicle, Callie (Carrie Coon) and Trevor Spengler (Finn Wolfhard) deploy a ghostbusting drone in an attempt to capture the cantankerous creature in the clouds above – but do they have what it takes? No spoilers here, but we’re happy to report there are plenty of ingenious gadgets, engaging gags and ghastly new ghouls to entertain audiences as the family races around the city in their no-ghost flight suits. Yep, the Ghostbusters are back on the big screen – where bustin’ makes everyone feel good.

GHOST TOWN

If you live in Berkshire and you noticed ‘something strange in your neighbourhood’ – such as a Hollywood actor or two roaming around the local Tesco Express – your eyes weren’t deceiving you. While the story of Frozen Empire is set in Manhattan, much of the movie was shot in Reading’s Shinfield Studios. This is where principal photography began in March 2023, complete with four ghostbusting OGs: Dan Aykroyd (Raymond ‘Ray’ Stantz), Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore), Bill Murray (Peter Venkman) and Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz).

Kenan has a huge grin on his face as he recalls watching the four actors work together on the UK set. ‘As a lifelong fan of Ghostbusters, it’s an incredibly unique and humbling experience to see these four characters standing shoulder-to-shoulder in front of you,’ the British-born director says with a smile. ‘Especially when they’re standing in their flight suits with proton packs on their backs. When they’re together, you see that comic spark and ferociousness to chase a joke is still there. You also see the deep love they have for their characters and each other. It’s incredible.’

It’s been 40 years since the first Ghostbusters movie was released, and appetite for the franchise continues to grow. That’s one of the reasons why the writers decided to drop a number of seeds into the 2021 script about the OG Ghostbusters and what they’ve been up to since their antics in the 1989 sequel. It was all part of a bigger plan. For Kenan, this plan also involved a return to Manhattan so that the narrative could be set around a much-loved landmark – the firehouse.

An impressive replica of the iconic firehouse was meticulously reconstructed inside one of Shinfield Studios’ mammoth soundstages, along with an entire block of the Tribeca street on which the original building stands. This was no mean feat for production designer Eve Stewart and her team of art directors, who travelled to New York to scan and measure the original from top to bottom. Kenan explains: ‘They weren’t just measuring the dimensions of the building, but also the way the textures of the asphalt give way to cobblestone right in front of the cement driveway. What they built was unbelievable.’

The life-size set certainly wowed the cast when they rocked up to work in Reading. ‘It’s pretty mind-blowing to me that you can shoot a big chunk of this movie in the UK and you would never know,’ admits Paul Rudd, speaking on the phone to Total Film a week later. ‘I lived around the corner from the original firehouse in New York, so I would see that building every single day. The craziest thing is seeing it rebuilt in Reading. It’s nuts.’

‘The attention to detail on the firehouse set was incredible,’ adds Mckenna Grace, calling in from the States. ‘I’d go over to Janine’s desk to look through the drawers and I’d find something in every single one of them. I’d find mugshots of Ghostbusters. I’d find business cards with our names on them. It was crazy.’

With the Spengler family moving into the fanfavourite firehouse, audiences are able to see much more of the building’s interior – including the characters’ living quarters and some top-secret additions. Describing the different floors of the structure, Kenan teases: ‘There’s the basement, where the containment unit is. There’s the ground floor, where Ecto-1 is parked. Then there’s the first floor, where the kitchen is. That’s followed by the second floor, where the bedrooms are found. Above that… well, you’ll have to watch the movie to find out what’s above that.’

GOING GREEN

Alongside a number of practical sets, the filmmakers utilised green-screen space inside the vast studio campus to shoot some of the more complex VFX scenes, including the Hell’s Kitchen Sewer Dragon sequence. ‘That was the very first scene we filmed,’ recalls Rudd, who’s having problems with his phone. The actor can hear an irritating echo every time he speaks, but he enthusiastically pushes through. ‘Can you hear that? No? Man, it’s weird. OK. Well, shooting that scene was really exciting. Firstly, because we were starting the movie and that’s always an exciting feeling. But also, to be in a Ghostbusters flight suit and driving the Ecto-1 was a real kick. You know, there aren’t many of those vehicles around. It isn’t like they built them new for this movie. It’s pretty crazy to think, “This is the Ecto-1 from the original Ghostbusters and I get to drive it.”’

What else goes through the mind of an actor when they’re sitting in the driver’s seat of a classic car with a prominent place in Hollywood history? ‘You’re thinking, “Holy shit,”’ chuckles Rudd, clearly enjoying the memory. ‘You’re thinking, “Wait, I’m actually driving the Ecto-1. This is the coolest thing ever.” But then you’re thinking, “Don’t crash.” You feel the weight of that thing, both literally and metaphorically, so it’s exciting and interesting. It isn’t like there’s a key in the drive shaft. There are ways to turn on the car, shift it and all of that, which is somewhat complex. And because it’s all practical, all of the seats, the gears and everything feel as if they do what they are supposed to do. The parts aren’t made on 3D printers. They are heavy and bold. It feels like all of those cables, wires and vents actually do something.’

The thrill of driving around inside the Ectomobile was also not lost on Carrie Coon, although the actor admits it wasn’t always a relaxing ride. ‘More than once, we’ve been stuck inside the Ecto-1 when something would fall off or break,’ she remembers. ‘I know it’s a very enviable position to be inside that car, but we do get beat up inside it. There are sharp edges. We all get bruises. It’s not comfortable. You know, it’s like driving an old car – but it’s also very surreal. To be honest, I still can’t wrap my head around the idea that I was inside the Ecto-1. Until I see the finished movie with my own eyes, it feels like I’m having an 80s dream.’

SCARY TALE

When Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman started work on the script for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, they decided to take the franchise in a chilling new direction. ‘I set out to make a genuinely scary Ghostbusters film,’ says Kenan. ‘There are real life-or-death stakes in Frozen Empire and that’s not something we’ve had to contend with in a Ghostbusters film up until now. How far can we push the scares? Well, we’re about to find out – but there is a tone and a spirit that Ghostbusters brings with it. It is one that can take you to the edge of terror, but it will also allow you to pivot into a moment of pure joy or comedy.’

While the Hell’s Kitchen Sewer Dragon is a formidable foe in the film, Garraka is the name of the main villain in the movie. ‘He’s the character with the horns in the latest trailer,’ explains Kenan. ‘Then there’s the Death Chill, which is the power that Garraka employs to stop whatever comes in his way. It begins with something we can all relate to. It’s that feeling of cold that we experience when we’re afraid of something. It’s that chill that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Garraka can employ that same thermodynamic property to destroy us, so it starts with something grounded and relatable – and it grows into something expansive and world-threatening.’

In the eyes of Ernie Hudson, the treacherous new villain is a welcome addition to the movie franchise. ‘When I first read the script, I was relieved because this is a step in a bold new direction,’ the original Ghostbusters actor explains to TF. ‘We’ve all seen Gozer and the ghosts from the original movie before, but it’s great to see Gil and Jason come up with a whole new chapter for Frozen Empire. I was very happy to see there’s a way forward without having to try and redo something from the past.’

To counteract the terror of Garraka, it’s no coincidence that three actors with a heavy background in comedy were added to the cast. Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt and British comedian James Acaster all have significant roles in Frozen Empire – and all three characters were written with the actors in mind. ‘Ghostbusters is, was and always will be a comedy brand,’ Kenan tells us. ‘The first film was one of the funniest films of its time. That’s due in no small part to the brilliance of the comic actors who were cast in the movie. In expanding this world, Jason and I knew from the initial germination of the writing phase that there was room for new comic voices.’

‘By adding these three actors, there’s a real return to the original tone of Ghostbusters,’ explains Carrie Coon. ‘People forget the fact that the original movie was released before anyone was blending genres in the way that Ghostbusters blended genres. Annie Potts talks about reading the original script and thinking, “I’ve never read anything like this before.” It was a comedy. It was sci-fi. It was an adventure story, but it was also irreverent and a little bit raunchy. Making sure there are comedians involved in the story reminds us of the tone we’re trying to capture in this franchise. I think it’s a real return to that root. Plus, it’s also about passing the torch to these new people in the story.’

‘To be in a Ghostbusters flight suit and driving the Ecto-1 was a real kick’

PAUL RUDD

With talk of passing the torch forward, the future of the fiendish franchise becomes the next topic of conversation. Kenan and Reitman are executive producers of the upcoming Ghostbusters animated series on Netflix, but Sony has yet to reveal if any additional movies have been greenlit. Kenan is certainly open to more. ‘Jason and I really love Ghostbusters,’ he enthuses. ‘We love these characters and we would be really happy if audiences were down to keep going on adventures with them. If audiences feel this way, then we know what the next stories are going to be.’

Are the actors on board for more movies? ‘Absolutely,’ states Coon without a pause. ‘There’s something so thrilling about working on these movies, especially as a woman. We’re not often asked to participate in the adventure or the physical elements of movies like this. We’re often just on the sidelines, so to be thrown into the action has been a real thrill. On top of that… Well, it’s already going to be in my obituary, so I might as well lean in.’

Mckenna Grace is equally enthusiastic. ‘As heavy as those frickin’ proton packs are, I would gladly put one on again. The proton packs weigh around 40 pounds, but I’m fine with that because it’s been a dream come true to be part of this franchise. I love these films.

I love getting to be a Ghostbuster. I mean, who are you gonna call? This guy! Me.’

GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE OPENS IN CINEMAS ON 22 MARCH.