Bill Murray recalled his first impressions after getting his hands on the Ghostbusters script as the cast of the beloved 1980s film reunited for charity.
Murray was joined by his co-stars including Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts, as well as director, Ivan Reitman, for a virtual reunion.
It was organised by Frozen star Josh Gad for his Reunited Apart series in aid of the coronavirus relief effort.
The cast reminisced about the 1984 supernatural comedy and Murray remembered first setting eyes on a partial copy of the script, sent to him by the film’s co-writer Aykroyd.
He said: “I remember Dan sent me a partial piece, I think it only went about 27 pages. And I thought, this is the craziest, this is the best thing I’ve seen.”
Murray, who wore a sailor’s hat for the livestream in a nod to the Stay Puft marshmallow man that features in the film, added: “I called him back and said, ‘I’m in.’”
Murray played Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters and told of a Thanksgiving gathering at Reitman’s home where he showed off bits of the unfinished film.
The 69-year-old said: “He showed us those scenes without all the special effects and from that moment on, I remember going back to work on Monday and saying ‘guys, let’s all calm down, it’s gonna be really big.’”
Ghostbusters follows a team of eccentric parapsychologists who launch a ghost-hunting business in New York City.
It spawned a 1989 sequel and a third instalment – directed by Reitman’s son, Jason – will arrive next year.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was originally set for release in July but was pushed back to March 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.