'Ghostbusters Day': New and Original Stars Snap a Selfie to Celebrate
(From left) Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon in ‘Ghostbusters’ (Photo: Hopper Stone/Columbia Pictures, Sony via AP)
It was 30 years ago today that Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters arrived in theaters, and Sony Pictures has declared June 8 “Ghostbusters Day” to mark the occasion. To kick off the celebration, Paul Feig, director of the new Ghostbusters arriving next month, tweeted a photo sure to thrill old and new fans.
Related: ‘Ghostbusters’ Delivers More Action in New Japanese Trailer
Feig’s tweet shows his cast — Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones — alongside the stars of the 1984 original. While the late Harold Ramis’ absence is conspicuous, the sight of Feig’s four leading ladies with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts (aka the Ghostbusters’ receptionist Janine Melnitz) stokes anticipation for the summit between the two generations of Ghostbusters squads on tonight’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
I mean, c'mon, how can this picture NOT make you happy? This is an epic group of people. Happy Ghostbusters Day! 👻🚫🍾 pic.twitter.com/s5kSvaRZs5
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) June 8, 2016
No one has yet identified the selfie-taker in the pic’s foreground, nor specified where it was taken (maybe behind-the-scenes at Kimmel’s set?).
One thing we do know: Sony has confirmed that attendees at 30th anniversary screenings of the original Ghostbusters—taking place in 800 theaters nationwide today, with encore showings on Sun., June 12—will get an advance peek at footage from Feig’s film, which will feature cameos from Murray, Aykroyd, and Hudson.
Related: Paul Feig Responds to ‘Misogynistic’ ‘Ghostbusters’ Backlash
Aykroyd, in particular, has shown full support for the female-led Ghostbusters. (He is also an executive producer of the new film.) He recently posted on Facebook that “Apart from brilliant, genuine performances from the cast both female and male, it has more laughs and more scares than the first 2 films plus Bill Murray is in it! As one of millions of man-fans and Ray Stantz, I’m paying to see that and bringing all my friends!”
To see the original and new casts unite on TV, check out Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight on ABC. Feig’s Ghostbusters debuts in theaters on July 15.
‘Ghostbusters’: Watch a trailer for the 2016 version:
