[castewar]

The subject line was designed to catch attention and to give a hint of what I have in mind.

I think it's time to come up with a party, audience participation show for Midnight Movie screenings of Ghostbusters.

Why?
- Well, because just like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I think Ghostbusters is well suited. It's a fun movie, with audiences always high energy and looking for fun and laughs.
- The audience has already seen the film numerous times. Adding to the party wouldn't be a bad thing. And kids who haven't seen the movie already are more likely to see it at evening or outdoor showings, thus preserving their introduction to the film.
- Most of you are already dressing up any how. How many other movies do people dress up to go see repeats of?
- It's a quirky movie, with a lot of things ripe for playing with.

How?
- We've all seen the movie over and over. When we're at the point where we can recite the movie, we're ready to exploit the movie's dialogue and action.
- These type of audience participation showings are organic. Stuff will grow into it in time, ideally. But all we need to come up with is a few dozen cool interjections to start with.

Hence my posting here - people can brainstorm here, at Proton Charging, or at Ghostbusters.net.

When?
- When's the next Midnight Movie and who's going in costume?


RULES!

- Ghostbusters is a PG-13ish movie. It doesn't seem in the spirit of the movie to shout out the worst of the worst, but Venkman's letching does allow for double ententre.

- This is for Midnight Movies only. Midnight Movies are a party - everyone dresses up and has fun WITH the movie. Evening films are for everybody, all ages, who just want to enjoy the movie as is.

- No mess. The worst part of the RHPS midnight movies, the one thing that keeps theaters thinking twice about bringing it back, is when people throw toast. Water guns, they don't care. Toast, they hated. So, no tossing marshmallows or twinkies (except, maybe packaged.)


Examples

Peter "You're right Ray. No human being could stack books like this."
Audience "ZING!"

Ghostbusters logo swirls into view over the University campus
Audience "Who Ya Gonna Call?"



The idea here is to build on the fact that when Ghostbuster fans attend screenings in costume, people want to get their picture taken, they love getting stickers and buttons and other things the fanchises bring to hand out. People want to have a ball at a Ghostbusters movie.


So, let the discussion begin. I'll start organizing and editing together the gems.


THE HOLY GRAIL
In the RHPS, there is a point where someone throws a pitch fork into the ground, which happens to be the bottom of the screen. Someone can, and does, run up, and at the right time gets "hit" in the head with the pitch fork, dying appropriately.

I don't know at this time, if there's an opportunity for one in Ghostbusters.

But if we can find it...

[Ron Daniels]

There are many so called "zing" moments. I could see it working, but getting people involved would be the only problem. I really wish someone around these parts would play GB in a theater, lol.

Also, check your email good sir.

[jettajeffro]

Well we did a Theme song sing-a-long with the audience at our major screening last year. The theater played the music video on the screen and put the words up. Then we did a "bust" where we chased the ghost out and when we were gone they did trivia, then we came back in with a trap. That was all pre-show though.

As a Rocky Horror attendee I've often considered a shadow cast show for Ghostbusters. The Rocky Horror group here as done a shadow cast show of Clue and Cannibal the Musical as well.

As for stuff during the movie, maybe throw marshmallows when Stay-Puft blows up. Can't do anything with slime since the theatres don't want anything messy or potentially hazardous to the screen.

I'm trying to get another screening going in a local theater that is actually owned by our local Rocky Horror group so we might try some of the ideas people come up with on here.

[castewar]

A lot of people really like the idea of lobbing marshmallows. They seems relatively easy to clean-up, so that should be ok.

Yes, it will be tricky to get people involved - this is why I was asking about who all would be attending a midnight show (and if you guys end up organizing one at a theatre, even better.)

I think it would be pretty easy to provide a primer of some of the keener moments - print them out as hand outs. That way a lot of people can be involved, and then as people in the know yell out the others, they'll learn them. These things don't happen over night, it has to be approached as a re-occuring party, and each time, more and more people get into the swing of things.

[jettajeffro]

One of the theaters we worked with last year also did a Buffy Once More With Feeling sing-a-long as well. Like at Rocky they sold or gave away kits with the stuff to use during the screening (confetti etc) and with the instructions on the bag on when to use what.

If you opened it up, the audience would start to come up with stuff on their own as well. Kind of like how every Rocky Horror crowd in each city has their own variation of the participation.

[castewar]

Exactly - this is all about laying some ground work, and then letting it run wild. At that point, people can grow it.

[DocLathropBrown]

Meh.

[castewar]

Meh.

Ladies and germs, the Peanut Gallery...

A round of applause please - they signed up, just to have their abbreviated say.

[LordVego]

as said in my comment on PC: What about a crunch bar or saying ‘YEAH RIGHT!’ when Peter hands it to Egon and says ‘you’ve earned it’?

[castewar]

I like it - like yelling "Psyche!" when peter pulls it back.

Allow me to expound on this a little, because - and fair game - for everyone nine people that like it, there are a couple that don't.

The main complaint is that the rare time it does play in town, people don't want to be annoyed with people yelling. Fair enough, but three things;

1) Complaining the really happy excited people around you are annoying because you can't hear the movie you've heard a million times is downright party-poopery. But regardless, I did point out that it's not a good idea to apply this to evening shows, when the general public and kids are out to watch the movie - midnight movies however are for the hardcores and people looking for fun. Which leads me to my second point.

2) People are already singing along with the opening theme, cheering, and wearing costumes. I'm not exactly suggesting something new, rather a possible, logical extension of what's already happening.

3) First it has to catch on. Which means people have to come up with some corkers, yell them at a movie screen, and other people have to like it. That's a lot to happen and let's be honest, the Ghostbusters fan community isn't exactly super organized. So, perhaps the grumps would like to play along at what is, for now, and in all likelihood for mostly ever, a simple thought game. Once we've got something, people can use it as they like.


Geeez. And I guarantee you, the grumps are the same ones that complain that there's nothing new to talk about...

[DocLathropBrown]

Meh.

Ladies and germs, the Peanut Gallery...

A round of applause please - they signed up, just to have their abbreviated say.

I'm a longtime member of the board communities, I just lurk here. Just because I don't like the idea doesn't mean you have to get offended.

[castewar]

I'm not offend - I'm genuinely amused you signed on and made your first post "meh."
You made the maximum effort to provide the minimum of input. It piqued my interest.

That you don't approve or care or like is immaterial - as I said, not to you specifically, but because it needed saying, is that this isn't for everyone and it's a long road from here at What If...? to it actually being carried out in theater. Posting suggestions is joining the fun. Posting an argument against is a position, even if a little heavy handed at this early stage. Posting the three-letter equivalent of (shrug), for your first post, is amazing.




It seems easier to think up things to throw, since I thought of another. So, besides marshmallows and chocolate bars, I was thinking right at the beginning people could throw index cards - a pack of 50 for a buck. Toss them in the air when the librarian is on the run and the card catalogs are flying apart - bonus points to putting movie quotes on them, or better yet, the URL for your favorite GB website.

Another thought would be to insert a question to Peter

Peter "Are you, Alice, menstruating right now?"
Roger "What's that got to do with anything?"
Audience [Ever thought about going into fashion!]
Peter "Back off, Man. I'm a scientist."

I heard someone yell "Timber!" as the bookshelves fell - that's a good one. I also had an audience yell "Get Her!" along with Ray. Another keeper.

[Dan AKA]

Having attended a few RHPS in the past few years I feel that if it is to be a midnight showing kind of deal who cares about the kids? They shouldn't be there, and if you want to have fun with it, really have fun with it. Make it vulgar, throw crap and have a good time.

"Zing?"

Equals boring g rated fun to me.

Example of what I think would be fun?

"Are you the keymaster?"

Audience- "give it to me give to me give it to me!"

Just saying, it's ghostbusters, not Micky Mouse does Hollywood. One of the great things about midnight cult movie showings is how raw and raunchy they are. I say just come up with some stuff, get a group and do it at a showing. Trying to develope "rules" here is not going to do it.



But it is a neat idea.

[gjustis]

I know absolutely nothing of these audience participation shows. Not a thing. The call & response does sound fairly cheeseball, IMO, but again, I've never tried it (and perhaps I'm misunderstanding the whole process).

That said, I do think it'd be pretty spectacularly neat to see a real, live GB crew and other related characters interacting w/ the film (and the audience). Kinda like a live show alongside the flick.

For example, when the 'Busters go into the hotel after slimer, you could have actual suited-up GB's creeping around the stage as if they're in the hotel, perhaps asking the audience if they've seen the green goober (as if there were more than the three Ghostbusters in the scene, and some are beyond that fourth wall). Could even involve water-splashing as Pete gets slimed and whatnot. This could carry over into a scene w/ folks dressed as random spooks w/ GB's chasing them during the after-hotel montage, or someone dressed as Louis stumbling around during scenes where he's running around town (but not shown onscreen), etc. Any of that make any kind of sense? It'd be almost like the film was spilling over onto the stage.

I like the idea of making it interactive, but in a theatrical way. Just my two bits on the thing.

In fact, I've got quite a bit of free time right @ the moment; if folks are into it, I could work on a kind of outline that perhaps we could open up to the community here to expand upon...think it might be kinda fun...

[castewar]

Dan, I'm not too into making rules myself, and to be honest half of what I wrote yesterday contradicts itself - like, making it PG-13 (which isn't exactly Disney), but then pointing out that Midnight Shows are an old, boisterous crowd.

The rules are less for sticking to, and more about steering - so, the dont-do-it-at-a-regular-show, not a bad idea, because that's more about families hanging out. Evening shows, it's fair game. Honestly, it's all fair game, if people some up with something that works.

Personally I'm not as keen on trying to inject anything hardcore - RHPS is pretty raunchy, but it's a raunchy movie. Ghostbusters on the other hand is a lot of slapstick and dry wit.

I think the keymaster idea you had, or similar, works awesome

Louis (to Egon) "Are you the Gatekeeper?"
Audience "Sorry, all man parts here!"

Louis (to Dana) "I am the Keymaster."
Dana "I am the Gatekeeper."
Audience "Let's Get It On!"

I also had a half-thought about Ray "Buried the needle" comment at the beginning that has potential.

But the Zing! isn't about making it G, it's about participating with all of Peter's sarcasm lines - and he has a lot. The audience could shout "Sarcasm! We get it!", but Zing! is more direct, punchier.


J, the RHPS is exactly what you have in mind - a lot of shows in areas have a standing group that acts as a shadow-cast, reenacting the movie at the front of the theater. A lot of them get pretty hooked on trying to recreate the costumes and props exactly... which doesn't sound like any people we know at all.
I wasn't going to bring up shadow casts, as I'm not a proper, I don't have a costume, I'm in no position to do it. However, if the show has people in costume, and they want to interact with the movie, why the hell not?

It's a party! And I didn't think of this until today, but it's these big party midnight screenings that help bring the RHPS to theaters - some cities have one a month. If this would help get Ghostbusters into cities a few times a year, wouldn't that be worth looking into?


What we need, and I can't find one, is a transcript of the movie - the shooting scripts that are online won't help, they're not exactly like the movie lines.

[gjustis]

I'm starting to get it (I think), but I still don't really understand the call & response thing...how do people know what to say and when to say it? What's the point of everyone saying something at one time? I guess I don't really see the comedy or fun in it. Just seems so terribly scripted.

What I'm thinking is a bit more like a stage show; the audience participation wouldn't be scripted (at least in terms of what the audience themselves say and do), but would come at the hands of the actors onstage. Of course, this would require a cast of at least, say, six per show, at least two of which would be 'Busters, preferably w/ props.

It'd be like combining a stage show with the film, with the two running in a kind of "seamless" fashion. For example, how do we really know that there weren't other GBs in the background during the hotel bust? Well, of course WE know there weren't, but having some stage acting alongside the film may take the scenes into another dimension. Creeping around next to Ray as he stumbles upon Slimer, zapping the latter in the banquet room, all of that. A couple of cast members dressed as spooks during the montage and those two GBs making chase.

Same thing w/ the Moranis part: after he runs offscreen, he could pop out from the side of the stage and venture into the audience, toying with people and whatnot.

And naturally, stuff like squirting slime (H2O) and flying index cards and marshmallows would fit nicely.

The point would be making the stage show and the flick one big production, rather than just recreating the movie w/ actors onstage.

This making any kind of sense?

Again, it'd take a small but dedicated cast, but if that could be found, it could be super fun, methinks.

[castewar]

There's got to be a RHPS website that covers some of the stuff they do.

The audience callback thing is where everyone gets to feel like they're involved - at a bare minimum it's singing along. In the RHPS, everyone sings and dances along to the timewarp. In Ghostbusters, people are already singing along to the theme song.

At a more advanced level, it's playing with the text - sometimes the audience yells over a line in RHPS to change it into something else, so the following line takes on a new context... this wouldn't work well with Ghosbusters. The RHPS is deliberately cheesy dialogue, so playing with it that way works well. In Ghostbusters, the lines are gold. But another option is to build around the lines, or to express an fun opinion of a character.

At the hotel, when he goes "$5000? I had no idea it would be so much. I won't pay it."
Audience "Cheapskate!"

The call-backs are about keeping the energy up, or building up the energy of the film. The idea is that the movie is so well known now, and so much fun to viewers, nobody wants to just to watch quietly.

I think you're ideas are perfect - having someone play Louis, running around the aisles looking for the Gatekeeper, or earlier, in the bit between where we see him enter the elevator, and exits the building, the Louis actor goes tearing up the aisle yelling "help a bear" etc.


You asked how people know the lines and when to call out - that's just a learning thing. The RHPS had people think up things to yell, they'd go yell them, other people would then remember them for next time. Over time, some lines stuck, some didn't.

There's no set script for the RHPS, as some of the lines vary from city to city, as crowds have their own favorites - some things are consistant, and I think that's what we're aiming for here - some level of cast, dress-up interaction to enhance the movie (a la Louis running around - that's brilliant by the way. You're my hero), some encouragement to get the audience yelling along with lines (Yelling "Get Her!" with Ray is a favorite), and if we think of some goodies to add around lines, and they work with an audience, and it gets adopted, then, that's a bonus.


I'll say it again, there is no min or max to this plan - it can be as small as people just cheering when the title logo comes up and nothing else, or as big as the local prop guys showing up and playing along while the audience hoots and hollars along with the action.

[jettajeffro]

gjustis, I would recommend renting a Rocky Horror Dvd, most versions have a "audience participation" alternate audio track that they recorded at a screening. Then you can hear what we're talking about. It's very much like Mystery Science Theater but with a few hundred people.

[castewar]

Good suggestion - it's not quite the same as being in a theater, obviously, but it's a good example of what's going on. There's a subtitle track that can play along as well.

[DanAmrich]

Movie: "Yes, it's true...this man has no dick."

Crowd: "Oh, I get it!"

[castewar]

Niiice.

I've got to find a transcript somewhere, start plugging these in.

[Spengler56]

I think this is a great idea. I'd like to go to something like this and have a chance to wear my new uniform and pack. Maybe during the scene where they're looking for Slimer we could walk around in our suit and pack and act like we're looking for him. Then when Egon says he found him we'll say "roger, we'll be right down". We could also go in front of the theater and cross the streams with the guys at the end. Heh, that'd be cool.

[howlingwind13]

This job is not worth eleven five a year...

answer- GIVE WINSTON A RAISE!

[AndrewKaz]

When Walter Peck blames the ghostbusters for the explosion and Egon says "your mother". Right before Egon says "your mother" someone in the audience should scream "not your father but".

[sexy sadie]

When Walter Peck blames the ghostbusters for the explosion and Egon says "your mother". Right before Egon says "your mother" someone in the audience should scream "not your father but".

Sara

[AndrewKaz]

When the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man appears someone in the audience should say either "wait a second, thats not J Edgar Hoover" or to make a GB2 reference "aww, i thought it was gonna be He-man".

[AndrewKaz]

Just had a another quick idea. When Louis says "ok, who brought the dog?" everyone in the audience should say "Who?Who?Who?" in the fashion of the unfortunately unforgettible song "who let the dogs out?" by the Baha Men. This is my third post and I just want to say its good to be part of these boards.

[Donkey8012]

I just watched the video of Secret Cinema's version of this. It looks like it would've been neat to attend. You would think they would find better props for an event like that though.

[AJ Quick]

Link?

It sucks this didn't get a good reception.. but I think Secret Cinema had a good idea. Since this is the kind of stuff that they normally do. It would be harder for a bunch of GBFans to get together vs. a bunch of actors putting it on.

[Donkey8012]

I watched the video over on protoncharging.com.