Ghostbusting the Reboot Jinx

Casting reports for new "Ghostbusters" and "Indiana Jones" flicks raise hopes - and fears of disappointment.

News of planned movie franchise reboots inevitably spurs the crucial question of casting: Who you gonna call?

Those of us still pining for a "Ghostbusters" revival after years of false starts, got a new dollop of hope this week: Melissa McCarthy has signed on for the all-female revival, with Kristen Wiig and "Saturday Night Live" cast members Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon expected to follow suit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Meanwhile, Deadline reports that Disney is eyeing Chris Pratt as the next Indiana Jones, though his "Guardians of the Galaxy" co-star/co-raccoon Bradley Cooper has been bandied about as a possible Indy in recent months.

The reports suggest that some smart casting choices are in the works, raising hopes – and fears of disappointment. Trying to wring new movie magic out of old favorites can be as risky as, to put it in "Ghostbusters" terms, crossing the streams.

Hollywood's reboot record, the James Bond franchise aside, is mixed. Gus Van Sant's 1998 shot-for-shot remake of "Psycho" was ambitious, but didn't scare anyone out of the shower. The Farrelly brothers' genial 2012 homage to The Three Stooges didn’t generate near as many nyuck-nyuck-nyucks as the original shorts.

Still, there are signs that moviemakers are getting better at the reboot game. The two most recent “Planet of the Apes” movies offered stunning re-imaginings worth of the original first two classic films (and almost erased memories of Tim Burton’s weak 2001 updating).

Director J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" revival with young actors playing Kirk, Spock and Co. generated big box office. It also helped earn him perhaps the most scrutinized job in Hollywood history: resuscitating the "Star Wars" franchise this year with a mix of the 1977 cast and new-fangled characters.

Abrams’ triumph with “Star Trek” – and challenge with “Star Wars” – rests in imbuing the new work with the spirit of the original, while not being tied by handcuffs of reverence in fashioning a fresh film. The distance of time could be a help or a hindrance. The just-released trailer for the new “Fantastic Four” flick features a new cast, a mere decade after the original. “Spider-Man” got a similar 10-year reboot, with Andrew Garfield supplanting Tobey Maguire.

The prospect of Pratt as Indiana Jones seems a natural if only because his affable “Guardians” adventurer was, in part, an homage to Harrison Ford’s roles in the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Star Wars” series (though the versatile Cooper would be an strong choice, too). There’s also a certain symmetry in the “Saturday Night Live” ties of the reported new “Ghostbusters” team, given the original star turns of show alums Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, who called the casting choices “magnificent.”

He’s right: Wiig and McCarthy, who previously co-starred in the riotously funny “Bridesmaids,” excel at character-driven verbal and physical humor. Jones, a magnetic scene-stealer, and McKinnon, a comedic chameleon, are emerging as the latest “SNL” breakout performers.

Reboot director Paul Feig, who previously helmed “Bridesmaids,” no doubt grew up on the original "Ghostbusters" films. His daunting task will be to create new memories while not sliming old ones. It looks like he’ll be flanked by a great team as he chases filmdom ghosts.

Jere Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multimedia NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also the author of "Raising a Beatle Baby: How John, Paul, George and Ringo Helped us Come Together as a Family." Follow him on Twitter.

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