Dammit, Bill Murray — just as we were ready to accept that he wouldn’t be a part of the new Ghostbusters movie, he went ahead and agreed to a cameo (which we now know will not be Peter Venkman). He didn’t have to say why, we were all just happy to have him. But he did have an explanation, and it’s one of the sweetest things a Ghostbusters fan could hear. It should also kill any doubts about the movie for those who are still whining about it.
Murray spoke to Vulture about how he made the decision to get back to ‘busting, as disillusioned as we all know he was after Ghostbusters 2:
“I thought about it for a very long time,” he said. “Like, many, many months. No, that’s not right. I was seriously thinking about this for years, really … It kept eating at me, and I really respect those girls. And then I started to feel like if I didn’t do this movie, maybe somebody would write a bad review or something, thinking there was some sort of disapproval [on my part].”
“Those girls,” specifically, are Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, whom Murray called “a great hope” and says, “I like those girls a lot. I mean, I really do. They are tough to say no to,” and added that director Paul Feig was “a real nice fellow.”
The thing about these quotes that elicits warm fuzzy feelings is that Murray knows how much fans look to him as a way to legitimize the new movie. Despite his being the “heart” of the Ghostbusters, many feel that original writer Dan Aykroyd is more interested in the money than preserving the “sanctity” of the first movies. (For the record, this writer disagrees.) But when Murray says “they are going to have great success with this project” and “I feel really good about it,” we know he means it. His very presence means he means it.
Bill says it’s okay, you guys. Maybe allow yourself to have an open mind now.
(via A.V. Club)
