Ivan Reitman & Sigourney Weaver Promote Ghostbusters II

It was 29 years ago today, on June 16, 1989, that Ghostbusters II was released in theaters all across the United States, and it was on that day that director Ivan Reitman appeared on U.S.A. Today: The Television Series to promote the film.


That same month, Sigourney Weaver did her part to promote the film. Here she is in a five minute-long television interview from an unknown source. It doesn't sound like Entertainment Tonight, but it was probably a show similar to that. I recorded this with an audio tape recorder placed near the television speaker, so the audio isn't the greatest, but it's clear enough to enjoy. My family didn't get our first VCR until the end of 1989, so audiotape was the only way we could record television programs and movies before that.


Here is a text transcription of this TV interview.

Interviewer (0:00) - ...nominations for Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl, Sigourney Weaver returns to the silly slimy world of Ghostbusters II. She may not have won either award, but in Ghostbusters she now has a child, and guess what his name is? That's right, Oscar. He's so cute, you're gonna love him. Anyway, it must be an inside joke or something, I don't know. While I was in Gotham, though, to celebrate the release of Ghostbusters II, I had the pleasure, great pleasure, of talking with all the boys as well as the females in this blockbuster sequel. So right now, here's Sigourney Weaver to recall the fun and family of making Ghostbusters II.

Interviewer (0:33) - Who gave you more trouble to work with: the gorillas of Rwanda or Bill Murray?

Sigourney (0:37) - Definitely Bill Murray.

Movie Clip (0:39) - Don't put any of those old cheap moves on me. No, no, no. It's different. I have all new cheap moves.

Sigourney (0:46) - It's wonderful to know that you're going to go into work that day and laugh, you know, when you... even if it's at yourself. I often ended up laughing at myself, some character flaw that they'll point out. But, yeah, I mean, it's so rare in this business you get to work with friends. And on a product where you get a lot of support from the studio, we had that with us. It was a real ensemble.

Movie Clip (1:12) - Well, what do you think? Well, he's ugly. I mean, he's not elephant man ugly, but... he's not attractive. Was his father ugly? Don't listen. And he stinks. You're right, senor. Did his father stink? Yeah. Daddy was a smelly, son. What's your name? His name is Oscar. Named after a hot dog, you poor man! You poor, poor man!

Interviewer (1:37) - While you were shooting, weren't you giving Sigourney kind of a hard time, or not a hard time, but joking with her about...

Bill Murray (1:43) - Well, you have to give Sigourney a hard time, otherwise she's going to become Eleanor Roosevelt, right? I mean, we all have to help her out. So I did my part in trying to stab her in the front and back as much as I can. Imagine being a double Academy Award nominee and yet sinking to work with us in a comedy movie. So, it's fun to tease her. She's a lot of fun to be with and work with. So, the more grief you can give her, the better she takes it.

Sigourney (2:07) - Remember when Bill managed to tag along with Ivan and me when we were going to pick out my children? He would see these little tiny twins and Bill would kind of go off and go, 'Hey Big Guy!', and grab them and pick them up. Their parents would be like this, and the child would be like this, and within 30 seconds, he'd have the baby laughing. It's just incredible. So, there are things like that, if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't believe it.

Movie Clip (2:13) - You're short, your belly button sticks out too far, and you're a terrible burden on your poor mother.

Sigourney (2:41) - Bill Murray's character is such a sleaze that I think they thought that any woman who knew him well, how would he have a relationship with her again? And the audience loves it when he hits on unsuspecting women, you know. So they kind of had to broaden the Peter Venkman idea to include a relationship with someone who already knew what he was up to. And I think it was sort of a courageous step, but I think it brought out a different kind of Peter Venkman in me.

Movie Clip (3:12) - Dana, did you see some shirts here in the floor bed area? Yeah, I put them in the hamper. I have a hamper. It's in the bathroom. Neat. Will you tell me next time you're gonna do that, though, please? Well, I thought they were dirty. I have more than two grades of laundry, okay? There's not just 'clean' and 'dirty'. There are many subtle levels, okay? Hey, you hang this outside the window for 20 minutes, it's perfectly fine. Interesting role model for you, Oscar, huh?

Interviewer (3:48) - You managed to escape being a villain this time, or being not a villain, but being kind of attacked by the ghost and so possessed.

Sigourney (3:54) - Well, I miss being possessed. Rick Moranis and I really, really wanted to be possessed again, but I really wanted Zuul to come back...

Movie Clip (4:02) - Are you the Keymaster?

Sigourney (4:04) - ...get up to some mischief and stuff. So it was actually challenging not to get to do that in the second film. You know, it was easier when I got to turn into a dog, actually. That was an easier role in some ways.

Interviewer (4:19) - Apparently there were over 100,000 gallons of slime used and you managed to not get slimed. Do you feel left out?

Sigourney (4:26) - I know the secret is to stay with Bill. Somehow, in his contract, it must say, 'I don't get, you know, I don't get creased.' And so I didn't get slimed on this one. It was a miracle.

Movie Clip (4:35) - Dana, the guys are going down to the sewer to check the slime stuff. Egon thinks there may even be a huge surge in cockroach breeding. You want to blow off this dinner thing and go with them? Taxi! Women.