First 'Ghostbusters' trailer introduces the brand-new Ghostbusting team

First ‘Ghostbusters’ trailer introduces the brand-new Ghostbusting team

March 3, 2016 7:13 AM PT

The very first trailer for the brand-new “Ghostbuster” movie has dropped. And this team certainly isn’t afraid of no ghost, ectoplasm or Internet backlash.

Directed by Paul Feig of “Bridesmaids,” the new team of Ghostbusters is made up of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones.

Yesterday Feig, “Ghsotbusters,” screenplay writer Katie Dippold and the original 1984 “Ghostbusters” director and 2016 “Ghostbusters” producer Ivan Reitman gathered at the Cary Grant Theater on the Sony Pictures lot to screen this trailer for fans and select members of the media.

Feig took the stage before the trailer aired in front of several rows of proton-pack wearing fans and addressed his noticeable nerves.

“My history with this movie goes back to opening weekend when it came out,” Feig said. “I was in film school at the time, in college. And my friends and I had seen the ad so opening night, we were there. I’d never seen anything like it in my life. I’ve [been] a comedy fan for my whole life, it’s all about comedy. I’d never seen something like this that combined comedy with science, with the supernatural, with action. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, if I could do something like that it would just be unbelievable.’

“And then a couple years ago when I was doing ‘Spy’ I got a call from Ivan Reitman, who asked if I’d be interested in coming on board to do a new one. It really blew my mind. ... I have such love for this property and what I really wanted to do was just bring it to a new generation.”

After the trailer was screened, the fans (who were there at Sony’s invitation) cheered for the trailer to be screened “one more time.” And the trio addressed questions.

First a character breakdown, in which Feig stressed the importance of making them scientists: “It was really important to us to make them scientists,” Feig said. “Because that’s what I love about the first one, the idea that Ivan, Dan [Aykroyd] and Harold [Ramis], of funny people fighting the paranormal with science really resonated with us.

“Erin is a character played by Kristen Wiig, she’s a particle physicist,” Feig said. “Melissa McCarthy’s character, [Abby] she’s an expert in the paranormal, she’s been studying it her whole life. Holtzmann [Kate McKinnon] is a nuclear engineer who creates their inventions. And then you have Leslie Jones, who joins the team because she knows New York really well. So she’s kind of their guide through New York -- she’s also a part of a ghost siting.”

“It was also important for us to have the everyman, like in the original,” Dippold said. “Because we talked to so many physicists trying to download us on science. I just listened to people talk and [said], ‘What? What are you saying to me?’ It’s fun to see, just like in the original, the person that I relate to listening to these three nerdy scientists.”

As for fan favorites, clearly Slimer returns in the trailer. Feig said he wanted to “give [the fans] nods but also make each one their own.” And yes, there will be lots of cobbled-together paranormal-busting technology, plus a brand new Ecto ride and lots and lots of slimy ectoplasm.

The trailer is laden with gadgets and gizmos, and Feig really wants the audience to see the creation of the team’s new Ghostbusting gear and proton packs. “I didn’t like the idea of them being handed technology,” he said. “I wanted to see it developed.” Which also correlates to the brand-new gang, and rebooted movie -- not a sequel. These characters and creators will attempt to carve out a little part of the “Ghostbusters” world all to themselves.

The comedians’ improv skills from “Saturday Night Live,” “Mad” and other past work did come to good use on set. Dippold said she would hand Feig notes with jokes off camera. “Harold Ramis used to say the last draft of the script is written on set,” Reitman said.

As for the outrage some fans had over an all-female team, Feig and Dippold joked about how getting the new gig was “no pressure.” But Reitman said watching the new team gave him a chill similar to the first time he saw the 1984 gang walk out on New York’s Madison Avenue. “I really got [the chill]; there was no issue of gender. Paul did an extraordinary job.”

The new “Ghostbusters” movie will premiere July 15.

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