Fake Bill Murray makes the Right Call for 'Ghostbusters III'

You gotta love Bill Murray. Not only because he's one of the best comedians of the last forty years, but because after a string of critically and commercially derided film in the 90s, he fired his agent, and started relying on his instinct (and a randomly checked answering machine) to choose his projects. For the most part, it's been a smart move--instead of The Man Who Knew Too Little and Larger Than Life, we've been treated to Lost in Translation, Broken Flowers, and most recently Get Low and the best cameo of the decade in Zombieland. He hasn't always picked winners--that Passion Play film was a particular embarrassment--but his choosiness has served him well over the last ten years.

That insinct has paid off in another--albeit, almost certainly made up--way. According to the highly dubious National Enquierer, Murray is officially done reading new drafts of Ghostbusters 3--going so far as to mail a shredded copy of the latest drift to Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis with a note reading "No one wants to pay money to see fat, old men chasing ghosts." Aykroyd & Ramis are reportedly furious over the gag, and vow to get the film made without him.

While the story is at least 98% horse manure (really? The effin' Enquirer?), the idea here is sound. Ghostbusters is a classic film, but it's also lightning in a bottle. No one involved has been able to recreate the magic since then; Ghostbusters II is proof enough. And frankly, after the tragic disappointment of recent dragged-back-from-the-80s sequels like Crystal Skull and TRON Legacy, the idea of another Ghostbusters movie with the same crew after 22 years just fills me with a gravest sense of "Ugh." And who wants to feel like that about Ghostbusters?

Source: The National Enquirer via reddit