You know when reboots or remakes have such obnoxious shout-outs to the previous iterations that they might as well have looked at the camera and winked? Like in Terminator: Genisys where they give Emilia Clarke the Terminator’s line “come with me if you want to live.” Or when Rise of the Planet of the Apes makes Malfoy shout “It’s a madhouse!”
Unrelated topic: Ghostbusters 2016.
At Sony Pictures’ CinemaCon 2016 presentation they showed the audience Dan Aykroyd’s cameo for the new Ghostbusters. And, oy vey, it’s either a head-slapper or a big clapper, I don’t even know anymore.
Let me set the stage for you:
Ghosts are swarming Times Square and the Ghostbuster car is broken or something—I dunno, I’m making this part up for context’s sake. The Ghostbusters wave down a cab.
The city is being overrun by ghosts but this cab driver is unflappable. He turns around… It’s Dan Freakin’ Aykroyd! An Original Ghostbusters cast member! Oh my god! Your whole body flushes with feelings of nostalgia and warmth that Sony Pictures Studios knows will spread from that old movie to this new one.
He turns around in his seat to face his ghostbustin’ passengers. Oh boy oh boy, what’s going to happen next!
“I ain’t afraid of no ghosts,” Dan Aykroyd says. Blackout. The audience roils with laughter. “It’s just like the song!” you say to the stranger sitting next to you, wiping tears of joy from your eyes.
Got a glimpse of Dan Aykroyd's cameo as a cab driver where he says "I ain't afraid of no ghosts." #CinemaCon
— JoBlo.com (@joblocom) April 13, 2016
Even though the movie is still going, you can’t help yourself. You stand. The rest of the audience joins you on their feet and a spontaneous chant ripples over the amassed cinematic congregation.
“Sony Pictures! Sony Pictures! Sony Pictures Stuuuuu-di-oooooos!”
