DeathStar1
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2001
- Messages
- 3,267
- Real Name
- Neil
Well, everything I've wanted to know at least 
. From the Producer of the series. The Questions on the movies can be found in the movies section...
1)How did the show come about? Was it the next
logical step after the film became such a big
success?
(1) The first movie was made when there was no idea of doing a second movie.
One of the surprises of the first movie was the appeal to kids. In fact at the
first preview screening we saw kids there and thought they might find it too
scary. When the scary parts (to a kid) were then diffused by a joke and silly
laughter...kids loved the release. It also became a useful tool for parents to
use so little kids would be less afraid of things that go bump in the night.
So here we were, no sequel in mind, kids, a few toys (nothing much because we
didn't pre sell something that didn¹t seem ok to kids. SO.....folks who made
livings from developing cartoons from movies came along and convinced us...and
THEN a toy deal could fall into place.
2)How long did this cartoon take to plan before it went
on the air? Was it tough to cast the show,
where you trying to find voice actors who sounded like
their live action counterparts, etc? I think I speak for
all of us when I say that this is the BEST movie to toon
adaption ever done. Plus it really expanded on Winstons
character to boot.
(2)It went into quick production. Columbia TV and we (Ivan's people) looked
at production companies that could deliver 64 shows for syndication. (the ABC
deal was yet to be made) and in a few months we were off and running.
Joe Strasinsky (check the spelling) was hot to be story editor and not only
was talented and funny, but respected and understood the movie.
Ivan is particularly good at casting and put the final approval on the voices.
Arsinio Hall was easy to pick (he auditioned for the movie but was thought to
be a bit young). The other guys were able to do multiple voices and were
improve comedians as well, so tweaking the scripts on set became easy.
Expanding on Winston and Janine was easy on TV because you needed to come up
with new plots and you had lots and lots of time. (episodes).
3)This is a most asked question. Why was the show
changed to a more toonified look in season 3 and
focusing soley on the adventures of Slimer? I like
to refer to it as the Scrappy Doo years of the GB
franchise. It tried to bounce back to the story
structure of the first two seasons toward the end
with 'Slimer and the Real Ghostbsuters', but do you
think it really recovered from the change over?
I'm curious as to wether it was a network decision
or a creative one.
(3)Well your questions about the "toonification
" is interesting. Part of it was this...the show was simultaneously sold to
syndication AND ABC...it had never happened on TV. What this meant is the
first season got on air on syndication and meant several things...not as much
money for animation, so one in three shows would be difficult to watch
(quality of animation, drawing etc) but always (I think) bailed out by the
great writing. There was no standards and practices for syndication and the
show was more adult. When the ABC shows were getting made (same creative team
and production team) we had more bucks for animation but had to write a little
more for Saturday morning (as it was then called). Meanwhile slimer became
more popular with the kids. THEN....the decision was made to go for a longer
show....hence the more stylized (intentional) Slimer spots. The style and
writing tone were to separate it more and keep the Slimer cartoons lighter. It
then sort of ran out of steam (5 years in all on the air and 100 shows...let's
face it , only the Simpson's outran us in the comedy animation world).
4)Speaking of Character changes....What happened
to Janine during the final seasons of the show? I loved
the way the change happened as an episode plot, rather
than just magically popping up in an episode as a character
re-design...but most fans of the show missed her old
Annie Potts Look and NY accent...
(4)Annie's accent did not change. The hair changed because as a woman she was
the only character We COULD change (thereby making her fresher). She was also
developing as a leading smart heroin. The hair change was my idea and I always
liked it.
5)From the Newsgroup: "Why wasn't Lorenzo Music used past
the midpoint of the Real Ghostbusters?"
(5)Lorenzo Music. First off let me say he is a wonderful, smart. Talented,
Funny man. When we started the show we couldn¹t use the original film
actors...too expensive, conflicting and busy schedules, etc. So the voices had
to reflect the CHARACTERS not the actors. In ("Bill's) Venk's case it was
difficult to get the voice to go with the writing...but he was great.
Then mid way through production Bill was having lunch with Ivan Reitman and
said how much he liked the show and said "why doesn¹t he sound like me? We
just assumed we wouldn¹t get permission and worked around it. Ivan came and
told us to change it. Then because we had impressionists/comics doing the
voices any way, we went for Bill and figured it wouldn¹t be the first time
changes in a character would be made mid season on Television. I missed
Lorenzo....on the other hand some people didn¹t care for him because his voice
was so well known for Garfield among many other things.
6)I know that you didn't have any part in Extreme GB,
but if you've seen any of it, what do you think of the series?
And fans want to know, 'Is it considered Cannon with the
original?'
Question#6:
I never even saw one episode of Extreme GB. It was a concept of Hasbro to
try and re vitalize the franchise to sell toys (I never saw a toy either). I
think they may even have paid to get it produced, not sure.
7)What would you like to see released as extras on the animated
Ghostbuster DVD's? Any particular forms, ala season sets
or best ofs? Any current plans to put these out?
7:It's a shame there is no collection of the best shows. The first set of
videos was when video tape was still a young industry. There were only a few
shows completed and some were just terrible...we were still feeling out how
to do the show. One of my favorites was the chickens show and the very
sophisticated boogie man show...too many others to recall...but I wish there
would be a good collection. I'm surprised we haven't seen the show being
aired anywhere at all...
8)Last RGB question....There's supposedly a Ghostbuster
Revival going on. A new Comic Book has appeared,
shifting away from the RGB Designs(Fans of Egons hair
from the series are dissapointed ), and going
with a more movie toned look. If this is a success,
do you think a new animated series based on the book
can make it in todays toon market?
8:I haven't seen a new comic...can you send me one?
I have no idea if it could come back to life...my feeling is no...that was
then and this is now...new audiences, etc.
. From the Producer of the series. The Questions on the movies can be found in the movies section...1)How did the show come about? Was it the next
logical step after the film became such a big
success?
(1) The first movie was made when there was no idea of doing a second movie.
One of the surprises of the first movie was the appeal to kids. In fact at the
first preview screening we saw kids there and thought they might find it too
scary. When the scary parts (to a kid) were then diffused by a joke and silly
laughter...kids loved the release. It also became a useful tool for parents to
use so little kids would be less afraid of things that go bump in the night.
So here we were, no sequel in mind, kids, a few toys (nothing much because we
didn't pre sell something that didn¹t seem ok to kids. SO.....folks who made
livings from developing cartoons from movies came along and convinced us...and
THEN a toy deal could fall into place.
2)How long did this cartoon take to plan before it went
on the air? Was it tough to cast the show,
where you trying to find voice actors who sounded like
their live action counterparts, etc? I think I speak for
all of us when I say that this is the BEST movie to toon
adaption ever done. Plus it really expanded on Winstons
character to boot
.(2)It went into quick production. Columbia TV and we (Ivan's people) looked
at production companies that could deliver 64 shows for syndication. (the ABC
deal was yet to be made) and in a few months we were off and running.
Joe Strasinsky (check the spelling) was hot to be story editor and not only
was talented and funny, but respected and understood the movie.
Ivan is particularly good at casting and put the final approval on the voices.
Arsinio Hall was easy to pick (he auditioned for the movie but was thought to
be a bit young). The other guys were able to do multiple voices and were
improve comedians as well, so tweaking the scripts on set became easy.
Expanding on Winston and Janine was easy on TV because you needed to come up
with new plots and you had lots and lots of time. (episodes).
3)This is a most asked question. Why was the show
changed to a more toonified look in season 3 and
focusing soley on the adventures of Slimer? I like
to refer to it as the Scrappy Doo years of the GB
franchise
. It tried to bounce back to the storystructure of the first two seasons toward the end
with 'Slimer and the Real Ghostbsuters', but do you
think it really recovered from the change over?
I'm curious as to wether it was a network decision
or a creative one.
(3)Well your questions about the "toonification
" is interesting. Part of it was this...the show was simultaneously sold to
syndication AND ABC...it had never happened on TV. What this meant is the
first season got on air on syndication and meant several things...not as much
money for animation, so one in three shows would be difficult to watch
(quality of animation, drawing etc) but always (I think) bailed out by the
great writing. There was no standards and practices for syndication and the
show was more adult. When the ABC shows were getting made (same creative team
and production team) we had more bucks for animation but had to write a little
more for Saturday morning (as it was then called). Meanwhile slimer became
more popular with the kids. THEN....the decision was made to go for a longer
show....hence the more stylized (intentional) Slimer spots. The style and
writing tone were to separate it more and keep the Slimer cartoons lighter. It
then sort of ran out of steam (5 years in all on the air and 100 shows...let's
face it , only the Simpson's outran us in the comedy animation world).
4)Speaking of Character changes....What happened
to Janine during the final seasons of the show? I loved
the way the change happened as an episode plot, rather
than just magically popping up in an episode as a character
re-design...but most fans of the show missed her old
Annie Potts Look and NY accent...
(4)Annie's accent did not change. The hair changed because as a woman she was
the only character We COULD change (thereby making her fresher). She was also
developing as a leading smart heroin. The hair change was my idea and I always
liked it.
5)From the Newsgroup: "Why wasn't Lorenzo Music used past
the midpoint of the Real Ghostbusters?"
(5)Lorenzo Music. First off let me say he is a wonderful, smart. Talented,
Funny man. When we started the show we couldn¹t use the original film
actors...too expensive, conflicting and busy schedules, etc. So the voices had
to reflect the CHARACTERS not the actors. In ("Bill's) Venk's case it was
difficult to get the voice to go with the writing...but he was great.
Then mid way through production Bill was having lunch with Ivan Reitman and
said how much he liked the show and said "why doesn¹t he sound like me? We
just assumed we wouldn¹t get permission and worked around it. Ivan came and
told us to change it. Then because we had impressionists/comics doing the
voices any way, we went for Bill and figured it wouldn¹t be the first time
changes in a character would be made mid season on Television. I missed
Lorenzo....on the other hand some people didn¹t care for him because his voice
was so well known for Garfield among many other things.
6)I know that you didn't have any part in Extreme GB,
but if you've seen any of it, what do you think of the series?
And fans want to know, 'Is it considered Cannon with the
original?'
Question#6:
I never even saw one episode of Extreme GB. It was a concept of Hasbro to
try and re vitalize the franchise to sell toys (I never saw a toy either). I
think they may even have paid to get it produced, not sure.
7)What would you like to see released as extras on the animated
Ghostbuster DVD's? Any particular forms, ala season sets
or best ofs? Any current plans to put these out?
7:It's a shame there is no collection of the best shows. The first set of
videos was when video tape was still a young industry. There were only a few
shows completed and some were just terrible...we were still feeling out how
to do the show. One of my favorites was the chickens show and the very
sophisticated boogie man show...too many others to recall...but I wish there
would be a good collection. I'm surprised we haven't seen the show being
aired anywhere at all...
8)Last RGB question....There's supposedly a Ghostbuster
Revival going on. A new Comic Book has appeared,
shifting away from the RGB Designs(Fans of Egons hair
from the series are dissapointed
), and goingwith a more movie toned look. If this is a success,
do you think a new animated series based on the book
can make it in todays toon market?
8:I haven't seen a new comic...can you send me one?
I have no idea if it could come back to life...my feeling is no...that was
then and this is now...new audiences, etc.
