GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE Director Gil Kenan Talks About Pitching the Idea for the Film to Ivan Reitman

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opened up this weekend, and while it wasn’t the most well-received Ghostbusters movie there ever was, it was still a good time at the theater with a lot of fun and a lot of fan service. The film was directed by Gil Kenan, who had co-written the rebooted Ghostbusters: Afterlife with Jason Reitman, who directed that movie. Reitman was famously the son of franchise director Ivan Reitman, who directed the first two films. Ivan passed away two years ago, and Frozen Empire was dedicated to him, but he did get to hear about the film before he died, and Kenan recalls being able to pitch the idea to him.

In a recent interview with Comicbook, Kenan talked about his own origin in the fandom of the franchise, saying:

"I can't tell you how meaningful it was first to make Afterlife as a co-writer with his son, Jason Reitman who brought that film to the screen so beautifully as director. I had a front row seat to that process as a writer, as a participant in that creative process. And I've, as a filmmaker, changed my life as a fan. I mean, I watched the first Ghostbusters as one of my first big movies. Uh My dad took me to see it when I was a little kid and it completely floored me. I remember exactly where I was sitting for Ghostbusters 2 at a movie theater in the San Fernando Valley. When Bill Murray's Peter Venkman character says you couldn't go anywhere, you could have caught it. The beautiful San Fernando Valley and the whole audience started erupting in cheers. And I remember as a kid looking around being like you idiots, he's making fun of us. And, and so as an outsider, as a fan, I was so incredibly honored to be able to have a seat at the table creatively for telling the next chapter of these stories with Afterlife." 

He went on to talk about stepping up to become the director, and pitching the idea for this film to Ivan Reitman:

"And as that film was coming together, Jason and I started on our own to have a conversation about what the next step of this journey was gonna be where the story was gonna go. And we just started to have these ideas that began to feel exciting and those ideas started to kind of take shape to the point that a few weeks before afterlife opened, we went up to uh Montecito to Ivan's house and sat and told him the story of Frozen Empire. We pitched the entire three act structure of this film and got uh the warmest reception, his blessing, his validation for the direction we wanted to take these characters in and this franchise in. And so that was wind in our sails for making this film, and Ivan's voice, his presence, his brilliance was always there with us making this film. So, I it's only fitting that this film should end with his name. And, that he get the producer credit that he deserves."

In the story, New York City finds itself freezing over due to an ancient artifact that unleashes an evil force! Also, the original. In the movie, “the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.”

The film is in theaters now.