Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Chapter 03)

Chapter 03 has Phoebe Spengler protesting her benching, an episode of Repossessed, and Phoebe making a delivery to Ray's Occult Books.

Cast[]

Listed as they appear in film.

Entities[]

Mini-Pufts

Equipment[]

Items[]

Vehicles[]

Ecto-1

In-Universe Media[]

Repossessed

Environmental[]

Places/Locations[]

Plot[]

A man on a rented bicycle sponsored by Manhattan City Bank pedaled past the Firehouse. On the third floor, Callie grabbed everyone's flight suits for laundry. Trevor complained about the ongoing mold situation in his bedroom but soon realized he was alone. Callie advised Phoebe to be a teenager now that she was benched from being a Ghostbuster for being a minor. Phoebe stated if it were the 18th century, she would already be in the workforce and have four children. Callie retorted she would be a grandmother. Phoebe added she would already be dead. They took a fire pole down to the second floor where Gary was making tacos for movie night. He revealed he found a VHS copy of "Cannibal Girls" to watch. Callie asked if it was family friendly. Gary hoped not since it was about a family that ate people. Phoebe threatened to take her grievances to the labor board on the grounds being a Ghostbuster was her calling and she saved the world. Callie emphasized "we" but Phoebe pointed out they were turned into possessed canines. They walked down to the first floor while Trevor watched the beans. Trevor was annoyed something got into the snacks again.

Gary and Callie tried to convince her three years would go by fast. Gary pointed out he was studying earthquakes and chose to be a Ghostbuster. He took the occupied Trap out of Ecto-1 from the rear door. Gary and Callie reminisced about going on a date, being possessed, and getting some action. They fist bumped. Phoebe commented "gross" then contended it made sense for Gary since he was a scientist then turned to Callie. Callie warned her to choose her next words carefully. Phoebe fumed.

Gary and Callie went down to the basement. Gary was surprised Phoebe knew those words. Callie pointed out he could have backed her up. She found it nice he was being their friend but he sometimes needed to be an asshole, too. He felt it was not his place to be. She hoped it was. He was unsure if it was allowed. She granted him permission. He warned her he could be scary and demonstrated. She laughed at his expense. He promised to be a nice to her and only be an asshole to her kids. Callie noticed the Containment Unit was acting up again. Gary and Callie struggled to pull down the handle together but finished depositing Sewer Dragon into the Containment Unit.

Another episode of "Repossessed" filmed in Ray's Occult Books. Ray's first guest was an elderly woman named Ms. Mikowski who presented her late husband Harold's wrist watch. She told him Harold wore it everyday and now when she walked in a room, it would beep. Ray noted if an object was exposed to a deep emotional experience, it could bind a spirit to it. Ray used a P.K.E. Meter but detected no readings. It was deemed a regular wrist watch with no ghost in it. Per the premise of the show, Podcast smashed it to pieces with his Hammer of Truth. Podcast asserted it got the views. Ray assured her Harold had transitioned to the next life and yelled out for the next person. The next guest looked behind him with unease. While Podcast was cleaning up, Ray read his copy of "Strange But True - The World's Weirdest Newspaper Stories" at the register. He remarked it was another hot day. Phoebe entered Ray's Occult with Ray's requested jar of Psychomagnotheric Slime. Podcast took Phoebe downstairs into the basement and showed off his living quarters. He asked if the new team caught a Class 5 or Class 7 yet but he was interrupted by a phone call from his parents. He played a recording of a rocket launch and conversed with them in Korean. The parents were under the impression Podcast was at space camp. Phoebe noticed a Mini-Puft on a table but Podcast promptly smashed it with a shoe and revealed Ray smuggled some back from Summerville. He suspected they were mating. One had his arm in a pencil sharpener while standing on another, a Puft was impaled on sharpener's handle while two turned it. One was in a jar containing a blue substance, one stretched in a box, others were on books, one rode on a horse figure, Pufts dropped on Pufts on shelves, one Puft was decapitated, Pufts with a stapler fired staples at other Pufts, a Puft was hit with a pencil, one stood in front of a magnifying glass, one was stabbed in the gut with a pencil after it tossed it up in the air, two played with a digital camera, one threw M&Ms into the mouth of another, one was on fire, and one chewed on a Duracell 9V battery. The Puft with its arm in the pencil sharpener waved at Phoebe and Podast. Phoebe found it disgusting. Nadeem Razmaadi entered the store with a small box. The Mini-Pufts suddenly stopped what they were doing and hid in fright. Podcast was surprised and admitted he never saw that happen before.

Trivia[]

The Firehouse second and third floor sets were at Winnersh Studios in the United Kingdom.^[1]
Phoebe's bedroom is the same room used as a darkroom during the events of Ghostbusters II.^[2]
Hole plugs and safety chains were added to prevent actors and crew from falling through the fire pole holes or to ensure they landed on the right floor during a take.^[3]
The Firehouse attic was a set at Farnborough Film Studios in the United Kingdom.^[4]
30 grams total was used to make ectoplasm that drips from the Firehouse ceiling.^[5]
Gary finds a VHS copy of Cannibal Girls.
There is a DeLonghi Ballerina 4 Slice Toaster in the kitchen on the second floor.
Phoebe alludes to when Gary was possessed by the Terror Dog Vinz Clortho during the events of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Gary joins in referring to them as "Ghost Dogs."
During pre-production, Peter Venkman's office wasn't going to built fully as it appeared in past movies. Instead it was going to serve as the family's storage space from when they moved into the Firehouse.^[6]
Prop modeller Ellen Gould was put in charge of making all the Traps. James Hunt worked on the pedal. Gould rigged some of the Trap mechanisms along with Martin Gaskell, Douglas Hedges, and members of the SFX team. Paintwork and finishes were done by many on the team, including Vicki Fifield, Thomas Duddy, and Fran Hannebury.^[7]
While designing the Proton Locker, Art Director Luke Whitelock briefly toyed with replacing the original roller shutter with a decommissioned bank vault under the notion that after Egon Spengler had taken all the equipment down to Summerville, Ray put in a more secure storage space. It didn't match the space so the original roller shutter was revisited. Whitelock found company that made a similar shutter but the head piece needed to match the original film so the art deparment made a fibreglass version that sat over the top of the modern slimline roller head.^[8]
The idea for the locker was that the packs could be charged in there but the whole things was a lift that could lower down into the basement for repairs and to move several used Traps to the Containment Unit. To release the packs, the actors were taught how to release several safety switches and about the external red and green light system to at least inform their actions at the locker.^[9]
The Firehouse basement were two sets at both Shinfield and Winnersh Studios.^[10]
Gary alludes to Sewer Dragon as he struggles to deposit it into the Containment Unit.
The Ray's Occult Books set was at Shinfield Studios in the United Kingdom during Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire production.^[11]
Many of the books in Ray's Occult are from Gil Kenan's personal collection.^[12]
Gil Kenan specifically brought the haunted dolls to set.^[13]
Mannequins were dressed with hats and glasses based on those used in Blues Brothers.^[14]
Items like candles and post cards on the spinner racks, as well as official merchandise, bears a different address number of "201 St. Mark's Place" rather than the real world address of "33 St. Mark's Place."
Logan Kim was given the choice of picking from three different versions of the prop. One was lightweight, one was middleweight, and one was heavy in the range of 15 pounds or so. He picked the heaviest one.^[15]
The back area where Repossessed is recorded is the only area of the set changed from the original set. The area is four to six feet wider.^[16]
Podcast mentions Ray normally rents the Ray's Occult basement to Norwegian ghost hunting clubs on Booking.com which is also one of the movie's corporate partners.
Atop one of the bookcases near Podcast is Ray's hard hat from the First Avenue excavation in Ghostbusters II.
Above Podcast's bed are photographs he took during Ghostbusters: Afterlife: the stop sign Muncher took a bite of, Phoebe walking up the path to the Farmhouse after she agreed to be his lab partner, and several from his encounter with the Mini-Pufts in Ecto-1.
Podcast lied to his parents he went to space camp for summer.
Podcast reveals Ray smuggled some Mini-Pufts from Summerville.
The Third Floor came with the Mini-Puft set pieces of them hurting each other, in both previsualization and postvisualization.^[17]
Two Mini-Pufts are stapled against a cut out newspaper article containing a photo from the Ghostbusters commercial in Chapter 7: Fried Eggs & Zuul in the first movie. Only Peter is visible. While not visible in the movie, a behind-the-scenes photo revealed there was an article above it, the New York Post with the "They're Back!" headline seen on Peter's office wall in Ghostbusters II in Chapter 16: Vigo 101 when Janine Melnitz leaves for the day.^[18]
Nadeem's blue Nike hoodie was found in a thrift store by the costume department.^[19]

References[]

↑ whitelock_design_limited 4/21/2024 Luke Whitelock writes: "Secondly this set was built at Winnersh studios and my ground floor set was based at Shinfield which was a 10 minute drive away so I couldn't oversee both sets and another Art Director (Tom Weaving) came on board to take over and oversee the finishes."
↑ Gil Kenan (2024). Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire- Commentary (2024) (Blu-ray ts. 41:21-41:35). Sony Pictures. Gil Kenan says: "This bedroom where Phoebe has sort of made her room, was made out of what, in the earlier films, was a dark room in the old firehouse."
↑ whitelock_design_limited 4/21/2024 Luke Whitelock writes: "The main living area has a new kitchen and family living area, we had the job of making the characters be able to stop between floors when going down the poles so we introduced these plugs for them to land on that could be moved around when access to the ground floor was needed. We also had to introduce safety chains to the poke holes to prevent anyone falling in."
↑ horacestunts instagram 4/4/2024 Kevin Mangold writes: "The Firehouse Attic Farnborough Film Studios, Farnborough, UK."
↑ Adam Savage's Tested YouTube "Adam Savage Gets SLIMED on the Ghostbusters Set!" 2:26-2:33 3/5/2024 Doug McCarthy says: "Now, we have gone a little thicker. We've gone up to 30 grams of stuff that was kind of dripping out the ceiling real slow."
↑ Extraplasm Podcast "Episode 81: "This Old Firehouse" With Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Art Director Luke Whitelock" 1:15:29-1:15:51 5/1/2024 Luke Whitelock says: "There was a time on pre-production where they weren't going use or utilize Venkman's office. They were just going to put storage boxes in there and say like you know 'the guys have moved in and this is where they're storing all their stuff' I was like 'you gotta dress it like Bill's or Venkman's office'."
↑ Ellen Gould instagram 4/5/2024 Ellen Gould says: "I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to be in charge of making all the #ghosttrap for #ghostbusterfrozenempire ! Posing with these is compulsory I loved these guys so much and had such a blast on this job! Also featured are the pedals, made by the multi talented work son I call Jimbo, otherwise known as @the_propmakers_journal_ I also rigged some of the mechanisms, alongside @gaskell3565, the SFX team and @doughedgescollectedwork Excellent paintwork and finishes by Vicki Fifield, @thomas_shauny @valeriamedici90 Fran Hannebury and all."
↑ whitelock_design_limited instagram 4/24/2024 Luke Whitelock says: "The first slide here you see we were playing on an idea that Ray had gone out of his way to replace the original roller shutter with a decommissioned bank vault after Egon had taken all the equipment down to Summerville, Ray wasn't going to let that happen again. I got so far as drawing it up but it just didn't work in the space aesthetically so we reverted to the original roller shutter. I found a company that made a similar shutter but the head piece needed to match the original film so we made a fibreglass version that sat over the top of the modern slimline roller head."
↑ whitelock_design_limited instagram 4/24/2024 Luke Whitelock says: "The idea is that after a job, Ecto is reversed up to the locker, packs are put on charge and the the whole cage is a lift which can be lowered to the basement where repairs can be made and traps emptied into the containment unit. In order to release the packs, there are additional safety switches and an external red and green light system that tells you if it’s safe to remove the packs. Although very little of this is explored in the film we work it all out for the actors to adhere to in their actions."
↑ whitelock_design_limited instagram reply 4/26/2024 Luke Whitelock writes: "there were two sets of the basement one at Winnersh and one at shinfield."
↑ horacestunts instagram 4/8/2024 Kevin Mangold writes: "Ray’s Occult Books - Shinfield Studios."
↑ Den of Geek YouTube "How Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Director Gil Kenan Got Bill Murray to Return AGAIN | Talking Strange" 12:51-13:06 3/24/2024 Gil Kenan says: "A lot of the books in Ray's Occult set were from my personal collection of paranormal books. You'll notice some Colin Wilson and some encyclopedias of the unknown. All of those come from my personal collection."
↑ Den of Geek YouTube "How Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Director Gil Kenan Got Bill Murray to Return AGAIN | Talking Strange" 13:07-13:28 3/24/2024 Gil Kenan says: "The haunted dolls that are interacted with in this film are all dolls that I personally brought to set to be able to put on screen because I, too, come from the same dark corner of the world that you and Dan do which is that we are open to wonder."
↑ Extraplasm Podcast "Episode 81: "This Old Firehouse" With Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Art Director Luke Whitelock" 1:16:40-1:16:46 5/1/2024 Luke Whitelock says: "We've even got Blue Brothers hats and glasses in Ray's Occult on the mannequins."
↑ Yes Have Some Podcast YouTube "Logan Kim Returns to chat Ghostbusters, Megadeth, and Senior Midterms!" 8:42-8:59 12/11/2024 Logan Kim says: "They actually made three different versions of hammers. They had a really light one. They had a medium-sized one, probably 5, 10 pounds and they had a bigger one which is the one I had which... 15 pounds? I don't actually even remember."
↑ Extraplasm Podcast "Episode 81: "This Old Firehouse" With Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Art Director Luke Whitelock" 1:19:51-1:20:02 5/1/2024 Luke Whitelock says: "I think four or six feet wider. About four to six feet wider but aside from that it was all based on photo reference from Ghostbusters II."
↑ beforesandafters "Here’s how practical Slimer puppetry was mixed with CG for ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’" 4/29/2024 Line reads: "Here, Baumann pays tribute to the work of visualization outfit The Third Floor for coming up with fun pieces of action in previs and postvis."
↑ Luke Whitelock instagram 5/16/2024
↑ Countdown City Geeks YouTube "Alexis Forte Interview - Ghostbusters Frozen Empire Costume Designer" 42:38-42:41 3/29/2024 Alexis Forte says: "The hoodie was from a thrift store."