[JurorNo.2]

Last Christmas, I went a little crazy and purchased not one, not two, but three different novelizations of Ghostbusters II. Not long after that, I went even more crazy and gave two of them away to a children's hospital! I kinda miss them now, but I hope I've done my part in spreading the good news to a new generation.

Anyway, before I gave them up, I did this kind of side by side comparison of a particular scene, and I thought I'd share it here. In general, I don't think much of movie novelizations, but they can be cool when they try to get into a character's head. For these purposes, I chose the scene at the museum where the Ghostbusters go to take pictures of the painting.

1. First, the child friendly Scholastic Storybook, by Jovial Bob Stine:
"Venkman walked off, leaving Stantz alone with the painting. Stantz scanned it with his giga-meter until his eyes met Vigo's. Suddenly, a burning red ray shot from Vigo's eyes into Stantz's. Stantz stood there frozen, unable to look away, unable to move.
'Now that's one ugly dude,' Winston said, coming up behind Stantz and breaking the spell. 'Hey, you all right, Ray?'
'Yeah. I'm fine. I just got light-headed for a second there,' Stantz replied. Trying to shake off the weird feeling, he followed his buddies out the door."

OK, seems pretty straight forward and harmless so far. And it's couched in terms young readers could understand ("breaking the spell"). Though surprisingly, the book later includes Ray's line from that infamous cut scene: "I just felt like driving into that tree and ending it all." You'd think such a line would have been an easy cut in a book meant for the kiddies (not that I'm complaining when stories challenge young readers!).

2. We now move on to the slightly more advanced "Junior" novelization, by B.B. Hiller:
"Stantz stared at the portrait. Unmoving, the portrait stared back at Stantz. Stantz seemed to feel the whole world fading. He was alone on earth with Vigo. Nothing else mattered--except Vigo. Lord, master, Vigo.

Yeesh, that took a disturbing turn! Instead of Ray just being frozen at the painting, we actually get a glimpse of him turning evil. Or at least weirdly subservient. It works though, it's not unlike the spontaneous affection Janosz had for Vigo. Interestingly, that "I just felt like driving into a tree and ending it all" line is cut down to simply "I just felt like driving into a tree." What's funny is I actually think the second version is creepier!

3. And now finally, we get to the "Adult" novelization, by Ed Naha:
"Stantz stood before the painting, transfixed. Deep down within him he knew what was happening to him. He knew he should turn away, but the conscious being known as Ray Stantz was gradually fading away, enslaved by a new evil being. Stantz's childlike eyes narrowed to reptilian slits. His open, optimistic face began to grow taut. His lips, capable of a smile at the most dire of occasions, slowly twisted themselves into a terrifying sneer.
Stantz felt an arm on his shoulder....
'Now that's one ugly dude,' Winston said to Stantz.
Stantz shook his head. 'Huh? What?'
Stantz made a concerted effort to figure out what had happened to him during the last minute or so. Everything was a blank.
'You finished here?' Winston asked.
'What? Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure, Sure,' Stantz said, his legs still feeling wobbly.
'Are you all right?' Winston queried. 'You coming down with something?'
Stantz managed a feeble smile for his good and loyal friend, Winston. 'No, I'm fine. I just got light-headed for a second there. Let's go.'"

Not surprisingly, this adult version contains a lot more detail (though I still say the "Junior" novel wins in the disturbing department!). Ray doesn't just spontaneously turn evil, he has a moment of conflict. And the image of his usually cheerful disposition transformed into a "terrifying sneer" matches pretty well Dan Aykroyd's demeanor in the film. It really drives home the theme of the story, namely the dangers of negativity taking over. Ray is the heart of the Ghostbusters, the embodiment of their positivity and hope. And a villain that can snuff that out so easily is truly frightening. The potential to explore that further is always there when I watch the movie.

[Sav C]

Hey Juror, what a coincidence! I'm one of those people who combs every crevice of the internet looking for Ghostbusters related knowledge (even though this is the only site I'm registered at besides Vimeo and YouTube (but I don't use them socially, just to share my own videos)) and stumbled across this when you posted it on Reddit. Cool comparison!

Anyways I remember someone told you about a part of the novelization where the Ghostbusters go to the World Trade Center, and out of curiosity went and found that scene in a scanned in copy of the book (from some other crevice of the 'net.) Anyways, since it seemed like a rare scene that I didn't remember being in the script, I thought I would transcribe it just for myself to have (and because I have too much free time,) but now I get to share it with you! Here it is: Excerpt from the Ghostbusters II Novelization Page 90 - 94

[JurorNo.2]

Hey Juror, what a coincidence! I'm one of those people who combs every crevice of the internet looking for Ghostbusters related knowledge (even though this is the only site I'm registered at besides Vimeo and YouTube (but I don't use them socially, just to share my own videos)) and stumbled across this when you posted it on Reddit. Cool comparison!

Anyways I remember someone told you about a part of the novelization where the Ghostbusters go to the World Trade Center, and out of curiosity went and found that scene in a scanned in copy of the book (from some other crevice of the 'net.) Anyways, since it seemed like a rare scene that I didn't remember being in the script, I thought I would transcribe it just for myself to have (and because I have too much free time,) but now I get to share it with you! Here it is: Excerpt from the Ghostbusters II Novelization Page 90 - 94

Hey, great! I'm glad that post can still be found. Glad you enjoyed. Oh thanks for the transcript, I hadn't read that scene before (I don't always read books in the right order, don't ask, lol)! I totally know what you mean about wanting to have hard copies of things you find online for yourself.

"I hate to do this, sir, but you are a public fire hazard." It sounds like an old SNL police sketch or something, hehe.

[GBfan_CH]

Oh wow what a find! This is the exact sort of thing I would do. Definitely the junior version is the best. The adult one means well, but the description goes on for much too long. I guess they were trying to increase the word count because they couldn't add new scenes? How thick are these books?

My first experience of GB was the old Larry Milne novel. I didn't even know there was a film until two years later! In my defence, I was six.

[Sav C]

Hey, great! I'm glad that post can still be found. Glad you enjoyed. Oh thanks for the transcript, I hadn't read that scene before (I don't always read books in the right order, don't ask, lol)! I totally know what you mean about wanting to have hard copies of things you find online for yourself.

"I hate to do this, sir, but you are a public fire hazard." It sounds like an old SNL police sketch or something, hehe.

I skip around quite a bit when I read. When I got the Big Bad Book of Bill Murray I went straight to the Ghostbusters/GBII/GBIII section, then read it through all the way. Good read.

[JurorNo.2]

Oh wow what a find! This is the exact sort of thing I would do. Definitely the junior version is the best. The adult one means well, but the description goes on for much too long. I guess they were trying to increase the word count because they couldn't add new scenes? How thick are these books?

My first experience of GB was the old Larry Milne novel. I didn't even know there was a film until two years later! In my defence, I was six.

I'm right there with you, the Junior version gets right to the point and it's ten times more unsettling. As I recall, the ending is also better in that one too, IMO. I saved a couple scans before giving them away, I'll see if that was one of them.

The adult one is 184 pages. The others were obviously much shorter, hehe.

Oh yes, I did buy Larry Milne's novel a few months later (to make up for my loss ::sniff::). Wow, having that be your first impression of GB, I'll have to check it out again with that in mind! It's pretty good too, the only weird thing is how literally everything is stated in the present tense, you know what I mean? Like he sits down, he walks over, etc. It's like the author is documenting everything as it happens or something!

[GBfan_CH]

Film novelisations must be the hardest things to write if you can't take liberties with the characters. All you have is Bill Murray's deadpan delivery to flesh out.

The creature snarled. Venkman seemed unfazed.

The toast burned. Venkman seemed unfazed.

Still, it got me hooked. Plus it had those glossy pictures in the middle, of course.

[JurorNo.2]

Hey, great! I'm glad that post can still be found. Glad you enjoyed. Oh thanks for the transcript, I hadn't read that scene before (I don't always read books in the right order, don't ask, lol)! I totally know what you mean about wanting to have hard copies of things you find online for yourself.

"I hate to do this, sir, but you are a public fire hazard." It sounds like an old SNL police sketch or something, hehe.

I skip around quite a bit when I read. When I got the Big Bad Book of Bill Murray I went straight to the Ghostbusters/GBII/GBIII section, then read it through all the way. Good read.

Hmm yes, I'd probably do the same.

[JurorNo.2]

Film novelisations must be the hardest things to write if you can't take liberties with the characters. All you have is Bill Murray's deadpan delivery to flesh out.

The creature snarled. Venkman seemed unfazed.

The toast burned. Venkman seemed unfazed.

Still, it got me hooked. Plus it had those glossy pictures in the middle, of course.

Lol, exactly. Venkman definitely seems the hardest one to write for. I actually think we really shouldn't know too much about how he's feeling; the whole point is that he's putting up a front, and we only get small glimpses.

Those glossys are some of the best I've seen, I agree.

[GBfan_CH]

Lol, exactly. Venkman definitely seems the hardest one to write for. I actually think we really shouldn't know too much about how he's feeling; the whole point is that he's putting up a front, and we only get small glimpses.

Those glossys are some of the best I've seen, I agree.

So did you read all three books? I love GB2... but that's a little too much GB2 I feel.

[JurorNo.2]

So did you read all three books? I love GB2... but that's a little too much GB2 I feel.

Well like I said I tend to skip around so no, I didn't read them all front to back. Just certain bits for comparisons. And sure, sometimes they were very similar and it got repetitive, like for instance, Winston calling Vigo an ugly dude every time, lol. It's like, "Oh yes, there's that line again, lol." I'm surprised the Adult one didn't go into detailed description of how offended Vigo was, lol.

[Sav C]

Hey, great! I'm glad that post can still be found.

For me it comes up on the first page of google when I type "ghostbusters ii novelization" into the search bar.

[JurorNo.2]

Hey, great! I'm glad that post can still be found.

For me it comes up on the first page of google when I type "ghostbusters ii novelization" into the search bar.

You're kidding me?! I had no idea. First page, alright!!!

[GBfan_CH]

So did you read all three books? I love GB2... but that's a little too much GB2 I feel.

Well like I said I tend to skip around so no, I didn't read them all front to back. Just certain bits for comparisons. And sure, sometimes they were very similar and it got repetitive, like for instance, Winston calling Vigo an ugly dude every time, lol. It's like, "Oh yes, there's that line again, lol." I'm surprised the Adult one didn't go into detailed description of how offended Vigo was, lol.

Holy cow that's what we need: the story from Vigo's perspective.

"Vigo wasn't having a very good day..."

[JurorNo.2]

Well like I said I tend to skip around so no, I didn't read them all front to back. Just certain bits for comparisons. And sure, sometimes they were very similar and it got repetitive, like for instance, Winston calling Vigo an ugly dude every time, lol. It's like, "Oh yes, there's that line again, lol." I'm surprised the Adult one didn't go into detailed description of how offended Vigo was, lol.

Holy cow that's what we need: the story from Vigo's perspective.

"Vigo wasn't having a very good day..."

"Foolish half man," thought Vigo. "In life I had a puppy, not a kitten!"

Actually, some of my favorite parts in the Adult one are from Janosz. Like when he's opining how nice it is to finally have a friend like Vigo (Aww). Also, unlike the movie, he actually notices that Vigo has gotten to Ray and he's relieved that the Ghostbusters will soon be no more (I'll have to look that part up again).

[JA Slow]

I enjoyed reading all GB2 print. I just wish they all didn't have the brief original ending. Reading the NOW Comics adaption for the first time was a major WTF moment. I thought, "That's it? They break in and just slime Viggy and it's all over?" Years later I learned about the hoops adaptions go through and why they're often different.

I like the idea of someone ingesting mood slime and seeing what would happen. I think some kind of possession would occur but pyrokinesis was a good choice. Surprised they didn't explore that in the movie.

[GBfan_CH]

I enjoyed reading all GB2 print. I just wish they all didn't have the brief original ending. Reading the NOW Comics adaption for the first time was a major WTF moment. I thought, "That's it? They break in and just slime Viggy and it's all over?" Years later I learned about the hoops adaptions go through and why they're often different.

I like the idea of someone ingesting mood slime and seeing what would happen. I think some kind of possession would occur but pyrokinesis was a good choice. Surprised they didn't explore that in the movie.

Or the bit where Ray and Egon get intimate with it.

[JA Slow]

I enjoyed reading all GB2 print. I just wish they all didn't have the brief original ending. Reading the NOW Comics adaption for the first time was a major WTF moment. I thought, "That's it? They break in and just slime Viggy and it's all over?" Years later I learned about the hoops adaptions go through and why they're often different.

I like the idea of someone ingesting mood slime and seeing what would happen. I think some kind of possession would occur but pyrokinesis was a good choice. Surprised they didn't explore that in the movie.

Or the bit where Ray and Egon get intimate with it.

The lid was kept on. All in the name of science!

[Sav C]

I like the idea of someone ingesting mood slime and seeing what would happen. I think some kind of possession would occur but pyrokinesis was a good choice.

Did I miss something? Because I don't remember seeing anything about ingesting it.

[Scylla]

Out of curiosity are the novelizations difficult to get a hold of these days? I can't imagine they're in print any more, but I'd love to give them a read (and Amazon is not being particularly helpful or enlightening).

[d_osborn]

Out of curiosity are the novelizations difficult to get a hold of these days? I can't imagine they're in print any more, but I'd love to give them a read (and Amazon is not being particularly helpful or enlightening).

You seek the legendary Spook Central! Enjoy!

http://www.theraffon.net/~spookcentral/gb2_book.htm

[pferreira1983]

The Junior version has Ray trying to commit suicide. That's crazy.

[JurorNo.2]

The Junior version has Ray trying to commit suicide. That's crazy.

Yeah like I said, I'm surprised no one thought twice about that. Probably the oddest choice is to have Ray say afterward, "And I just felt like driving into that tree and ending it all. Phew! Sorry, boys!" Sorry boys? Um...understatement?

[pferreira1983]

The Junior version has Ray trying to commit suicide. That's crazy.

Yeah like I said, I'm surprised no one thought twice about that. Probably the oddest choice is to have Ray say afterward, "And I just felt like driving into that tree and ending it all. Phew! Sorry, boys!" Sorry boys? Um...understatement?

Yeah it's a little...questionable.

[JurorNo.2]

Yeah like I said, I'm surprised no one thought twice about that. Probably the oddest choice is to have Ray say afterward, "And I just felt like driving into that tree and ending it all. Phew! Sorry, boys!" Sorry boys? Um...understatement?

Yeah it's a little...questionable.

I'm just saying, imagine if he'd said that in the first movie. "Oh look, Mr. Stay Puft just stepped on ten people. Phew! Sorry, boys!"