Sony. Hacking. Leaked emails. You know the drill, right? This one, again dug up by The Daily Beast, involves Paul Feig's upcoming Ghostbusters reboot, which we know will be led by a female cast. Actually, that's not quite accurate. It COULD involve Feig's film, but would be a spinoff starring Channing Tatum and Chris Pratt. Did the idea of Tatum and Pratt as Ghostbusters just make your head explode? Chill out, Slimer, here are the details.
It all began back in August with an enthusiastic email from Tatum to Amy Pascal, proposing to spinoff Feig's film with one that he would star in with Pratt, his co-star in 10 Years.
“Let us show the world The DarkSide and let us fight it with all the glory and epicness of a HUGE BATMAN BEGINS MOVIE. I know we can make this a huge franchise. Fun adventure craziness. COME OONNNN!!!”
Er, so apparently Tatum and Jonah Hill both read like adolescent boys when making insane movie pitches. That email was followed up by Hannah Minghella, co-prez of Columbia Pictures, who expanded on what Tatum's hopes for the film are. They include bringing in the Russo Brothers (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) as producers and possibly Feig as a director...
“So… in a curious turn of events - the Russos and Channing want to develop Ghostbusters as a vehicle for Channing and Chris Pratt to do together,” wrote Minghella. “The Russos, Channing and Reid have been brainstorming ideas and want to create a whole new mythology that would support multiple movies (the way that Nolan reinvented Batman). To be clear - the Russos want to produce (not direct) and while Channing and Chris are looking for a movie to do together they haven't mentioned this to him yet because they weren't sure how we'd react.They want to make it simultaneously super scary while also super funny. They love the idea that they are mortal heroes who are believers in the paranormal and the only people who can defend mankind from a paranormal threat. I know we're mid negotiations with Paul [Feig]. I'm not sure whether we'd ever develop two different versions simultaneously. Joe Russo is open to the idea that both movies could be developed in partnership so they compliment one another within the same Ghostbusters universe. Apparently the Russos are very close to Paul and Joe suggested Paul could be attached to direct both. Personally I think it's possible for the female version to co-exist with this other version so maybe they're not mutually exclusive.”
Who knows how Sony responded to all of this, but it sounds more probable than that 23 Jump Street/Men in Black crossover idea.
