Jason and Ivan Reitman reveal their favorite Ghostbusters: Afterlife Easter eggs
Only true Ghostbusters nerds will catch these sneaky gems
Film Features Ghostbusters
If you’ve seen Ghostbusters: Afterlife or read any of the reviews—like ours, for instance—then you know the new movie is a veritable eye spy of in-jokes and references to the first two supernatural films. And who can blame director Jason Reitman, really? People love the movies his dad, Ivan, directed—including him.
It’s something we asked both Reitmans about when we talked to them about the new movie. Specifically, we asked the pair about their favorite deep dive Easter eggs in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, since there are just so many.
As Jason Reitman tells us in the video above, his favorite is a deep cut indeed. “There’s a great line in the original where Egon says, ‘I once had half a Slinky, but I straightened it.’” We had a straightened Slinky on Phoebe’s night table in Chicago at the beginning of the movie.”
Jason Reitman says the Slinky is emblematic of the fact that, “the movie was made by all Ghostbusters fans. The whole cast, the whole crew, everyone was sneaking in Easter eggs. I’m still finding Easter eggs in the movie that I didn’t know about.”
Ivan Reitman’s favorite reference was a little more obvious. His was, “a
larger, more profound one, which was just to see the stars from the original film show up and start to act in the form and in the tone of what they did back in ‘84,” saying “ When Bill Murray started his very first scene, I said, ‘Oh my God, I haven’t seen that in such a long time.’ I was so happy to experience it again.”
Fans can join the Reitmans in that joy as Ghostbusters: Afterlife hits theaters this weekend. If you want to read more about the movie, you can check out our review right here.
10 Comments
The line about the slinky isn’t from the original movie. It’s probably from the sequel, but I don’t know it by heart like I do the first one.
Is kinda funny when two guys patting themselves on the back for all the fanwank they put in the movie don’t even get it right.Feels like a very telling moment about what went in to making this movie.
Yep it’s from 2 and he misquoted it, so good job Jason Reitman I guess?The only way I’m watching this is when it’s on streaming and I’m hungover.
It’s weird, because if he didn’t even try to quote the original movie, I wouldn’t care. I don’t need Jason Reitman to know all about Ghostbusters to make a sequel. But the fact that he goes out of his way to be “Remember this line from the original classic?” and then it’s a misquoted line from the second one – well, that’s pretty silly.
Exactly, I wouldn’t really care but man it’s just so out there that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I can understand in a way but if it’s your ‘favorite’ Easter Egg in the movie that YOU MADE then screwing it up is kind of noticeable.
I just got home from seeing it, and there’s so much stuff cluttering all the various houses and apartments and schoolrooms, I can’t imagine that anyone’s going to see a piece of wire and say, ‘Oh look, a straightened-out Slinky!’. The movie, although it takes a while to get going, is a lot of fun in the second half. It’s almost 100% fan-service and ‘remember this?’ bait, but I don’t really mind that as long as I’m expecting it going in.
Given the utter contempt with which Murray treated the Ghostbusters voice work he did on the game that was occasionally touted by Aykroyd as a direct in-continuity sequel to the GB storyline… I’m happy to hear somewhere along the line he got better.Seriously. That game is a blast, but you could have put in the guy doing Garfield on the TV series for Murray and it would have been a more believable Venkman.
From what I’ve read, the movie is virtually nothing BUT easter eggs and fan service.
Three of the original actors appearing in their original roles (and in the credits, and at least one in the trailer) is an Easter egg now?
AV Club, Nov 22: “Afterlife hands Ghostbusters back to the fans by writing them into the movie”Commenters, Nov 22: “Boooo! No it doesn’t, you stupid snobs” Jason Reitman, Nov 23: “The movie was made by all Ghostbusters fans. Everyone was sneaking in Easter Eggs”