Official Ghostbusters Website Updated / Spook Central's Stance On The Reboot - Trailer Coming Soon

The official Ghostbusters website has recently been completely revamped with new image galleries for the original two films and the new reboot. The images on display are very large and are some of the highest quality that I've ever seen. As such, I updated and added to the images here on Spook Central on the following pages:

• Ghostbusters 1 Multimedia - In the Official Photos section, updated these images: gb1_mult_img_offphoto04.jpg, gb1_mult_img_offphoto06.jpg, gb1_mult_img_offphoto08.jpg, gb1_mult_img_offphoto19.jpg; and added the last two images in the section.
• Ghostbusters 1 Deleted - Added two images of Ray sitting by equipment with LED text display.
• Ghostbusters 1 Deleted: Pulling Up To Fort Detmerring - Very first image on the page, and the first image of the guys outside of the car, have been replaced with better copies.
• Ghostbusters 1 Deleted: The Fort Detmerring Ghost - Added brand new behind-the-scenes image of Ray in bed at the very bottom of the page.
• Ghostbusters 2 Multimedia - In the Official Photos section, updated these images: gb2_mult_img_offphoto13.jpg, gb2_mult_img_offphoto17.jpg, gb2_mult_img_offphoto18.jpg, gb2_mult_img_offphoto20.jpg, gb2_mult_img_offphoto21.jpg, gb2_mult_img_offphoto25.jpg, gb2_mult_img_offphoto26.jpg, gb2_mult_img_offphoto28.jpg.
• Ghostbusters 2 Deleted - Updated the last Egon/Ray with mood slime image.

If you want to download the full set of images from the official Ghostbusters website, for a LIMITED TIME, you can grab them in this 73 Mb .rar file that was collected by Matthew Jordan. When that file is no longer available, you'll need to download them off the Ghostbusters.com site. Here are the direct links:

GHOSTBUSTERS (INCLUDES SOME MISLABELED GB2 PICS)
http://www.ghostbusters.com/wp-content/gallery-bank/gallery-uploads/ghostbusters_1984_image_001.jpg
through
http://www.ghostbusters.com/wp-content/gallery-bank/gallery-uploads/ghostbusters_1984_image_080.jpg

GHOSTBUSTERS II
http://www.ghostbusters.com/wp-content/gallery-bank/gallery-uploads/ghostbusters_1989_image_001.jpg
through
http://www.ghostbusters.com/wp-content/gallery-bank/gallery-uploads/ghostbusters_1989_image_036.jpg

GHOSTBUSTERS 2016 REBOOT
http://www.ghostbusters.com/wp-content/gallery-bank/gallery-uploads/ghostbusters_2016_image_001.jpg
through
http://www.ghostbusters.com/wp-content/gallery-bank/gallery-uploads/ghostbusters_2016_image_014.jpg

I noticed some blurring and editing in the images, just like in The Ultimate Visual History book, which makes me sad. This makes me think that the blurring was done by Sony *before* they gave the photos to Insight Editions. The full list of blurs/edits is below. I did not include extreme cropping, such as the crowd at the bottom of "ghostbusters_1984_image_042.jpg".

• ghostbusters_1984_image_017.jpg - Blurred crowd faces; they look like their faces are melted!!!
• ghostbusters_1984_image_018.jpg - Text on green truck has been removed. (For comparison)
• ghostbusters_1984_image_024.jpg - Temple doors blurred.
• ghostbusters_1984_image_025.jpg - Labels on yellow tank on car roof has been blurred out. (For comparison)
• ghostbusters_1984_image_026.jpg - Background people's faces blurred, including William Atherton on the far left.
• ghostbusters_1984_image_040.jpg - Blurred firemen faces.
• ghostbusters_1984_image_041.jpg - Temple doors blurred. (For comparison)
• ghostbusters_1984_image_042.jpg - Elements in the background have been blurred: the green sign on the building and graffiti on the white truck.
• ghostbusters_1984_image_058.jpg - Painting blurred.
• ghostbusters_1984_image_060.jpg - The labels on the yellow tank on the car were digitally removed. (For comparison)
• ghostbusters_1984_image_061.jpg - The name "Sniffer" and the company's name plaque were digitally removed from the equipment Ray is holding. (For comparison)

As someone who likes things in their original form, I absolutely HATE when they do crap like this. Gotta blame the legal department.

As previously stated, some new images from the reboot were added to the official site, but they have not been added to Spook Central. This is because Spook Central will cover the reboot in a limited capacity. I thought that I already gave my stance on the reboot, but I can't find any record of it, so let me use this space to let all of you dear readers know how Spook Central will and will not cover the reboot.

First, let me give my (Paul Rudoff) personal opinion on the reboot movie. Simply put, I find the idea of a female Ghostbusters, as USED IN THIS FILM, to be a gimmick. There are many female Ghostheads who dress up for the various franchises, and I'd much rather see any of them make their own fan film than the "Hollywood Version". And that's putting aside the fact that if this were "real", the team would be more likely to be mixed of both genders than one or the other. It's sad that the overly-PC Extreme Ghostbusters got it right. It doesn't help that I can't stand this director or many of the cast members. I was much more behind the idea when names like Anna Faris and Eliza Dushku were bandied about. Apparently, we can't have female Ghostbusters in their '30s (save for Kate McKinnon), even though ALL FOUR of the original guys were in their '30s when they made the original film. I mean, wasn't the whole reason for the "passing of the torch" idea because the original guys were "too old"? I have nothing against older women, but if you want the rebooted franchise to have legs, you need to put it in the hands of a younger group of women. There are many smart and talented young women in Hollywood. Hell, one of my favorite actresses, Alison Brie, is a huge Ghostbusters fan. I would kill to see her don the jumpsuit and pack, and I think she'd be even more excited at that prospect. Instead, we get Paul Fieg's friend Melissa McCarthy and such simply because they're Fieg's favorites.

That's not to say that I can't be pleasantly surprised by what Feig and company have done. As much as I absolutely hate Jonah Hill - I want to punch him in the face every time I see him, and he completely ruined a whole bunch of movies for me (Forgetting Sarah Marshall being the best example) - I was surprised by how much I liked him in the 21 Jump Street reboot. In fact, I thought that the 21 Jump Street reboot movie was a great way to update an old idea and do it differently instead of simply retreading it. So, I'll have a more firm opinion on the Ghostbusters reboot after I see the real trailer on March 3, 2016. Maybe it'll actually make me interested in the actual film. Right now, the more I see of the upcoming merchandise, I'm actually more interested in the ghosts/demons than the humans.

I've given a lot of thought on how, or even IF, Spook Central will cover the reboot. I'm slowly starting to wind Spook Central down. I've eliminated parts of the site so as to keep the focus on what the site does best. For almost 20 years now, the site has been updated and worked-on by hand by one person. This has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages, too. Simply put, the reboot would add way too much work for me, and unless it absolutely blows me away, I don't have the passion for it as I do for the classic media. So, I decided that I will cover some of the important elements here on the Spook Central blog/main page. When the trailer drops, I'll post some screens and a review/commentary. When the movie itself comes out, I'll likely post a few words here. Maybe I'll make a post for this or that, but that's generally about it. Most of the official reboot news will be posted on the Spook Central Facebook page, where Matthew Jordan has been really on the ball on it. Matthew posts a lot more on the GB Reboot Appreciation Facebook Page, and he and Michael give in-depth coverage for the reboot on the Ghostbusters Wiki (where I'm also an admin). I'd be more likely to post considerable stuff for the reboot there than I would here.

Finally, the short and pointless 30-second teaser FOR the reboot's trailer was just released (embedded below). Apparently, the Ghostbusters reboot will not feature the Ghostbusters, but will instead be about the police and National Guard. Or maybe this is just a teaser for Sony's sequel to its 1998 Godzilla film. Anyway, the real trailer will be released on March 3, 2016.