Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard and Ernie Hudson on new film in franchise
Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard reprise their roles as a family and team of ghost catchers in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – this time in the location of the original films, New York City.
The latest addition to the movie franchise sees the original and new generation team up to protect their home from a second Ice Age.
Souped up Cadillac – Ecto-1. Pic. Columbia Pictures
Here are the key things you need to know about the fourth outing of everyone’s favourite 80s ghost hunters.
Ecto-1 or Millennium Falcon?
There wouldn’t be a Ghostbusters film without the iconic Ecto-1.
In the first reboot, Afterlife, the car was found by Wolfhard’s character on the grounds of his late grandfather Elon Spengler’s farm.
(L-R) Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon. Pic: Columbia Pictures
With the help of Spengler’s ghost, they repaired it and in Frozen Empire, it returns to the streets of New York.
“I actually got to drive it, it was really unreal,” says Rudd, admitting it was a “tricky” vehicle to manoeuvre.
“It’s almost like you’re driving the [Star Wars spacecraft] Millennium Falcon.”
The Marvel star says that despite this being his second film in the franchise, the excitement never goes away.
Star of the show – Slimer. Pic. Columbia Pictures
The production used two versions of the car for Frozen Empire – remaking one with a Corvette engine for the high-speed shots.
Wolfhard says it was “insanely powerful”, but would constantly overheat and choke as they began to film a scene.
Ghostbusters cast’s friendships
Filming for the new movie took three months, and Rudd says the majority of downtime for the cast was spent together “without mobile phones”.
The Proton packs were so heavy that the crew installed pieces of wood for the cast to rest them on between takes and it gave them the perfect opportunity to get to know each other.
Pic. Columbia Pictures
He says he would constantly ask for stories from the originals about the first film.
He has one stand-out memory of Ernie Hudson… his choice of treat.
“Ernie would always have those Tootsie Pops he loved – he had a real sweet tooth,” explains Rudd.
Hudson thinks it’s hilarious that that’s what Rudd remembers of him and adds it was simply to “fight the hunger urge”.
Ghostbusters and Finn Wolfhard’s directorial feature debut
In between filming for Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Frozen Empire, Wolfhard made his directorial feature debut with Hell of a Summer.
(L-R) Celeste O’Connor, Finn Wolfhard, James Acaster, Logan Kim and Dan Aykroyd. Pic. Columbia Pictures
The comedy-horror premiered at the Toronto film festival in September last year.
His co-director Billy Bryk also featured in the first reboot as Zahk and the duo began writing the script during its production.
“I’m so in my head now”, says Wolfhard who thinks that going behind the camera has given him some new advantages and disadvantages when it comes to acting.
“I’ll see a scene in my head, I’ll think about what I look like in the future on screen and go, ‘God, you’re such an idiot right now’.”
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Jumping into the conversation, Rudd reassures his co-star, calling Wolfhard a “terrific actor and a great director,” but insists that the insecurity around filming never goes away.
‘It crosses a generation’
The first Ghostbusters film was released in 1984 and starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson.
Pic. Columbia Pictures
Eddie Murphy was originally intended for the role of Winston Zeddemore but he turned it down to do Beverly Hills Cop.
The role instead went to Hudson who says people still come up to him on the street quoting his character.
Hudson tells Sky News: “In the first Ghostbusters, because the part had been cut down from what the original part was, the guys all sort of came together and gave me a lot of the really good lines.”
The most common quotes he receives are: “It’s a big Twinkie”; “If there’s a steady pay check” and “If someone asks if you’re a God, you say yes.”
Director Gil Kenan, centre. Pic. Columbia Pictures
The 87-year-old actor says the franchise has always had its fans at the centre – something he believes is responsible for its continued success.
“It crosses a generation and the wonderful thing about Ghostbusters for me is you see a lot of sort of remakes or reboots or sequels, but a lot of times you get the feeling that it’s something the studio wants and not necessarily the fans, you know? But, this is one that I feel like the fans are asking for”.
The Firehouse. Pic. Columbia Pictures
The American actor says he was delighted to rejoin the cast and crew for Frozen Empire.
The new Ghostbusters’ film is just under two hours long.
And it does have an after-credits scene which suggests this might not be the last we see of the franchise.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is in cinemas now.
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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