Who Ya Gonna Call?

"There is no Dana, only Zuul."

If you turn on your TV today, at some point you will probably come across a show like Ghost Hunters where experts in ghosts go into supposedly haunted places to find evidence of supernatural beings. While they seem to be successful in their endeavors, they have nothing of four ghostbusting heroes from the 1980s: Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spendler, and Winston Zeddemore. If you don't recognize these names, you might recognize this part of a song written about them: "If there's something strange in your neighborhood, Who Ya Gonna Call? GHOSTBUSTERS!" If you still don't know what I'm talking about, never fear. By the end of my speech you'll know a great deal about these men, their theme song and the movie, Ghostbusters, which told their story. And if you're a diehard fan, well, this will be a short walk down memory lane. So strap on your proton pack and come with me on a journey in the world of the Ghostbusters!

"It's okay, the table broke the fall."

Ghostbusters was released into theaters all across America on June 8, 1984, and grossed up to $229.2 million at the box office. This paranormal comedy film stars an all-star cast featuring the talent of Bill Murray as Peter Venkman, Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz, Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler, Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett, and Rick Moranis as Louis Tully. This "ghostly" film is about how three parapsychologists in New York City set up shop as professional paranormal investigators and eliminators known as the "Ghostbusters". When a possible client comes to them when she finds a "devil-dog" in her fridge, "the boys in beige" have to solve her problem, and save the world from a dimension destroying goddess named Gozer.

"Are you a god?" "No..." "Then... DIE!!!"

Dan Aykroyd and his friend, John Belushi, created the idea for a story about a group called the "Ghostsmashers" who travel through time, space, and different dimensions fighting off giant ghosts. Their outfits consist of S.W.A.T. like uniforms with helmets that have moveable visors, and wands to fight the spooks instead of their well-known proton packs.

"He's an ugly little spud, ain't he?"

On Rotten Tomatoes, Ghostbusters received a 94% "Certified Fresh" rating based on 46 reviews. Rotten Tomatoes also said the movie was "An infectiously fun blend of special effects and comedy, with Bill Murray's hilarious deadpan performance leading a cast of great comic turns." Roger Ebert rated Ghostbusters 'three-and-a-half stars out of four. He also said, "This movie is an exception to the general rule that big special effects can wreck a comedy… Rarely has a movie this expensive provided so many quotable lines."

"I ain't afraid of no ghost... I ain't afraid of no ghost!"

Now, the song "Ghostbusters" was written and performed by Ray Parker, Jr. This was the theme song for the movie, as the song "Footloose" is for the movie Footloose. The song ranked #1 on Billboard's hot 100 charts and stayed at that spot for three consecutive weeks. But in the fall of 1984, Huey Lewis sued Parker for copyright infringement on "I Want A New Drug". Lewis was given the chance to work on the soundtrack for the movie, but declined because he was already working on the soundtrack for Back To The Future. They settled it out in court. In 2001 on VH1's Behind the Music, it was said that Lewis supposedly broke an agreement not to bring up the original lawsuit again.

"GHOSTBUSTERS, What do you want?!"

Ever since the movie came out in 1984, billions of people have watched the movie, but not just that, but listened to the music, grew up watching the original cartoon The Real Ghostbusters, and wore the suits and Proton Packs on Halloween and at Cosplays around the world. They also got their own video games, toy lines, and comic book series. It even became such a big phenomenon, Aykroyd, Ramis, and Reitman developed the sequel Ghostbusters II in 1989. And if you are lucky, you might spot their car Ecto-1 at a car show, in a parade, or just driving around in Hollywood. In 2012, for Halloween all throughout October, the producers re-released the movie in 3-D to movie theaters everywhere. The movie was nominated for AFI's 100 Years… 100 Movie Quotes: "We came, we saw, we kicked its butt!" and "He slimed me", both spoken by Peter Venkman himself in the movie. In 2008, Empire magazine ranked the film #189 on its list of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.

"Tell him about the Twinkie." "What about the Twinkie?"

We've now come to the end of our journey into the world of Ghostbusters. You can unstrap those proton packs, now. And whether you're a newbie to or a long-time fan of this classic film, I hope you've learned a little more about one of my favorite movies. And don't forget, if you do see something strange in your neighborhood, don't call the people at Ghost Hunters. Call the...

GHOSTBUSTERS!