Last Updated on October 24, 2022 10:20 am
BOONE, NC – Halloween week in the High Country will leave no shortage of ghoulish activities
for those who are looking beyond the festive “Boone Boo” or the annual trick-or-treat traditions.
The Appalachian Theatre is commemorating the entire month of October with two film series
celebrating both Sci-Fi movies and classic Halloween cinema. At 7 p.m. on Friday, October 28,
the weekend kicks off with a screening of the 1984 supernatural comedy film, “Ghostbusters.”
Produced and directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis,
Ghostbusters” stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as three eccentric parapsychologists who
start a ghost-catching business in New York City. The popular cult film also stars Sigourney
Weaver and Rick Moranis, and features Annie Potts, William Atherton, and Ernie Hudson in
supporting roles.
“Ghostbusters” was inspired by Dan Aykroyd's fascination with and belief in the paranormal,
which he inherited from his father, who had written the book “A History of Ghosts.” Aykroyd’s
mother claimed to have seen ghosts, his grandfather experimented with radios to contact the
dead, and his great-grandfather was a renowned spiritualist. In 1981, Aykroyd read an article
on quantum physics and parapsychology in The Journal of the American Society for Psychical
Research, which gave him the idea of trapping ghosts.
Aykroyd conceived “Ghostbusters” as a project starring himself and John Belushi, in which
they would venture through time and space battling supernatural threats. Following Belushi's
death in 1982, and with Aykroyd's concept deemed financially impractical, Ramis was hired to
help rewrite the script to set it in New York City and make it more realistic. It was the first comedy
film to employ extensive – and expensive – special effects, and Columbia Pictures, concerned
about its relatively high $25 to 30 million budget, had little faith in its box office potential. Filming
took place in New York City and Los Angeles.
Due to competition for special effects studios among various films in development at the time,
Richard Edlund used part of the budget to found Boss Film Studios, which employed a
combination of practical effects, miniatures, and puppets to deliver the ghoulish visuals.
“Ghostbusters” was released on June 8, 1984 to critical acclaim and became a cultural
phenomenon. It was well-received for its blend of comedy, action, and horror, and Murray's
performance was often singled out for praise. It earned $282.2 million during its initial theatrical
run, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 1984 in the United States and Canada, and
the then-highest-grossing comedy ever.
It was the number-one film in theaters for seven consecutive weeks and one of only four films to
gross more than $100 million that year. Further theatrical releases have increased the total gross
to around $295.2 million, making it one of the most successful comedy films of the 1980s. In
2015, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry and its
theme song, “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr., was also a number-one hit.
The plot is deceptively simple. After the members of a team of scientists lose their cushy
positions at a university in New York City, they decide to become “ghostbusters” to wage a hightech
battle with the supernatural for money. They stumble upon a gateway to another dimension,
a doorway that will release evil upon the city. The Ghostbusters must now save New York from
complete destruction.
Sponsored by Lost Province Brewing Company, “Ghostbusters” and the other selections on
the Cinema Classic Halloween Film Series were chosen from hundreds of suggestions made
by audience members and the general public. The film runs one hour and forty-five minutes in
duration. PLEASE NOTE that films @TheApp are shown without trailers, so please arrive a few
minutes before the listed start time to secure tickets and purchase concessions.
The remaining screening on the Cinema Classic Halloween Film Series is Tim Burton’s “The
Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993) on October 30, for which audience members are strongly
encouraged to come to the App Theatre in Halloween costume. Each film has a start time of 7
p.m. with a general admission ticket price of just $5 per person.
While the App Theatre’s online ticketing system is accessible 24/7, customers can avoid the
online service fees by visiting the lobby box office between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. from Tuesday
through Friday, or one hour prior to showtime for each film. For a complete performance schedule
of all upcoming events, or to sign up for the theatre’s e-blast distribution list, visit the organization’s
website at www.apptheatre.org
