- August 24th, 2016, 9:38 am#4878422
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.
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.
Last edited by JurorNo.2 on August 24th, 2016, 10:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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