Jason Reitman says dad Ivan would hate him screening Ghostbusters: The Preview Cut

A new version of a beloved classic screened in London last night, with Jason Reitman presenting Ghostbusters: The Preview Cut to sold out audiences, and revealing what he thinks father Ivan Reitman would make of the event.

Ghostbusters is one of the most popular franchises of the last 40 years. The first movie hit screens in 1984, and made a fortune at the box office worldwide.

It spawned sequels, spinoffs, songs, cartoons, toys, games, and every kind of merchandise imaginable. And the Ghostbusters are as popular as ever, with a new film shooting in London this year, for release in 2024.

Ivan Reitman directed the first two movies, and last night, his son Jason Reitman introduced an alternate cut of the movie at the Prince Charles Cinema in London’s Leicester Square. Here’s what fans saw and what we thought, plus Jason’s words regarding why his Dad would’ve hated these screenings…

What is Ghostbusters: The Preview Cut?

Columbia Pictures

Ghostbusters: The Preview Cut is a rough assembly of the movie that Ivan Reitman put together at the end of principal photography. Here’s how the Prince Charles describes this version:

“Discovered on a cassette tape during research for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the ‘Preview Cut’ of Ghostbusters (1984) is drawn from an early work-print of the film. It features alternate takes, incomplete (or missing) effects and score, and approximately nine minutes of scenes that didn’t make it to the final cut. The cut was never streamed online and only briefly made available as part of a boxed set release.

“Because it was drawn from a 35-year-old cassette, the picture and sound quality are often that of… a 35-year-old cassette. However, the tools and the talent are there on display in this glimpse at the making of a masterpiece.”

Why Ivan Reitman would hate Jason Reitman screening his rough cut

Jason Reitman – who directed Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and is producing Ghostbusters: Firehouse – introduced his father’s movie twice on Sunday night. Here’s what he had to say about The Preview Cut in the screening we attended (while you can check out his introduction to the other screening in the below video).

“I’m not sure if you know what you’ve signed up for,” Reitman told the audience. “In 1984, before anyone had seen Ghostbusters, or even knew what this movie was, this was the actual cut that played for the first audience that came to the Burbank Studios where Columbia was located, to watch the film for the first time.

“It was early in the editing process. There’s no music in this. This is before they recorded the score. This is before the song Ghostbusters was ever recorded. If you want a song, you’re going to have to sing it tonight. There’s a moment where there’s three minutes of complete silence.

“If you know the movie well, you’re going to notice that it’s not like one of those deleted scenes on a DVD where they plug in a scene you’ve never seen before. You’ll watch a scene and you’ll notice different takes of various lines of dialogue – an added line, an extended shot – even the sound effects are different because they haven’t figured that out yet. Like the P.K.E. Meter does not sound like the P.K.E. Meter. The Terror Dog does not sound like the Terror Dog. There are ghosts missing everywhere. There are ghosts that are drawn in. So this is a very early sketch.

“Here’s the reason why I love it and why I’m sharing it with you. One, I think it’s really important to remember that filmmaking is an iterative process. For some reason we get in our head this Hitchcock idea… that Hitchcock shot exactly what was in his brain and that was the final film. I think that most filmmakers have to find it. And the movie begins to tell you who it is and you have to listen to that.

“What’s cool about this is you are seeing a classic, when it was a B/B+, before it became an A. And if you’re a filmmaker, it’s really interesting to see where the changes would end up being. My father wanted things to be perfect… he would hate that I was doing this, actually, because he never released a Director’s Cut in his life. Because he felt as though the film that is released – that is the version. However, I think he’s smiling down on us today, because he’d see all the Ghostbusters in the audience tonight, and it genuinely fills my heart to see people in their Proton-Packs and in their Flight-Suits tonight in this theater.”

What’s different in Ghostbusters: The Preview Cut

Ghostbusters: The Preview Cut is a very different movie. The story and structure are the same, but within that framework, it plays like an inferior cover version of the classic original.

The big changes are the lack of effects and music. There’s no Slimer, just a glimpse at the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. And very few ghosts, which is a problem in a movie called Ghostbusters. So in scenes where you are expecting to see spirits, the camera cuts to empty rooms and corridors. Or during the film’s finale, scenes of mass panic on the streets.

As Reitman states, The Preview Cut was assembled before Ray Parker Jr. recorded Ghostbusters, and that song made a massive contribution to the movie’s success. Without Parker’s synth-pop classic – and the film’s memorable soundtrack and score – Ghostbusters feels as lifeless as the ghosts therein.

There’s about 10 minutes of additional footage peppered throughout the movie, and it’s mostly character stuff. So there’s more of Walter Peck being an a-hole, which is fun. More of Tully being a loser, which is quite depressing. And more Ray Stanz being enthusiastic, which is adorable.

In this version, there’s more of a spark between Egon and Janine, which is quite sweet. But there’s also much more of Venkman flirting with Dana. However, where in the finished movie he’s funny and charming, here the character seems unpleasant and creepy. So credit to the filmmakers for fixing that issue in the edit.

The result is something of a curiosity; one that casual fans might find perplexing, but hardcore Ghostheads will love, offering a glimpse at where Ghostbusters might have faltered, as well as how Ivan Reitman fixed those issues, and crafted the movie we know and love today.

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