script9

Ghostbusters

Page 8

                INT. THIRTY-FIFTH FLOOR HALLWAY
                The stairwell door opens and the Ghostbusters stagger into the hallway,
                completely exhausted.

VENKMAN (gasping and spitting)
I'm glad we took the stairs.

                INT. DANA'S DOOR
                The Ghostbusters arrive. The door frame is charred and blackened by soot.
                Venkman rings the doorbell. DING-DONG.

VENKMAN
Dana?

WINSTON
Maybe we should go downstairs and call first?

Venkman knocks on the door and the door simply falls off its hinges and
crashes to the floor. The Ghostbusters gape at the damage to the apartment.

                INT. DANA'S APARTMENT
                The exterior building wall is completely gone providing an unobstructed view
                of the Hudson and New Jersey. All the furniture is overturned and the other
                walls are cracked. A powerful wind blows through the apartment fluttering the
                shredded curtains.

WINSTON (ready to leave)
Well, she's not here. Let's go.

VENKMAN
No! The kitchen!

                INT. THE KITCHEN
                The team enters and sees that the refrigerator has been blown away revealing
                a hole in the wall and the entrance to a stone staircase behind it.

VENKMAN
He looks at the forbidding portal and turns to Stantz.

VENKMAN (slaps his shoulder)
Go!

Stantz realizes that Venkman expects him to go first. He leads the charge up
the stairs.

                EXT. THE ROOF
                Dana and Louis stare at the Temple, then begin a miraculous and horrible
                transformation into the hideous forms of the Terror Dogs.

THE TEMPLE
The solid stone walls rumble ominously and start to separate.

THE GHOSTBUSTERS
They come running out onto the roof and gape at the scene.

                THE TEMPLE
                The walls open completely revealing the secret architecture of the Temple: A
                stone staircase leading to a set of monumental doors, and beyond them a
                massive pyramid that appears to be suspended in mid-air with no visible
                means of support.

                LOUIS AND DANA
                They complete their transformation into the Terror Dogs, which now turn and
                snarl menacingly at the Ghostbusters.

THE GHOSTBUSTERS
They can't believe their eyes.

VENKMAN (aghast)
Shit! I've been out with some real dogs, but this is ridiculous!

The heavy rumbling of moving stone draws their attention back to the temple.

                THE TEMPLE
                The Terror Dogs have now taken ritual positions on the staircase. The heavy
                stone gates begin to open and a bright white light starts to emerge. As the light
                descends the stairs a human form slowly materializes.

                THE FORM
                It is a thin, hollow-cheeked, distinguished looking man in his early sixties. His
                eyes are burning red pin-holes, He looks around at the spectacular rooftop
                view, then acknowledges the two Terror Dogs and starts stroking them like
                house pets.

THE GHOSTBUSTERS
They stare at the apparition,

SPENGLER (recognizes him)
It's Shandor - the architect!

WINSTON
I thought he died!

VENKMAN
It doesn't seem to have slowed him down any.

STANTZ
I don't think it's Shandor.

He gets to his feet and speaks sharply to Gozer.

STANTZ (CONT'D)
Gozer the Gozerian?

                GOZER
                He looks up and seems to notice the
                Ghostbusters for the first time.

STANTZ
He 'busts' Gozer.

                STANTZ (forceful)
                As a duly-constituted representative of the
                City of New York, and on behalf of the
                County and State of New York, the United
                States of America, the Planet Earth and all its
                inhabitants, I hereby order you to cease and
                desist any and all supernatural activity and
                return at once to your place of origin or next
                parallel dimension.

VENKMAN (to Stantz)
Well, that ought to do it.

                GOZER
                He stands up to his full height and regards
                Stantz curiously.

GOZER
Are you a god?

STANTZ (compulsively honest)
No.

                GOZER
                Then die! He raises his arms and blows away the Ghostbusters with searing
                bolts of energy.

                THE GHOSTBUSTERS
                Momentarily stunned, they tumble all the way down the stairs and almost fall
                off the edge of the roof.

WINSTON (to Stantz)
You should've said "yes!" He might have been willing to negotiate.

Venkman gets to his feet first, really mad now.

                VENKMAN (setting his wands)
                Okay. That's it! I'm gonna turn this guy into toast. The Ghostbusters leap into
                action. One by one they activate their Proton packs and take up positions for
                an entrapment.

GOZER
He braces for the onslaught.

VENKMAN
He shoots a particle stream at Gozer.

                GOZER
                He leaps out of the way with superhuman agility and executes a perfect
                double-flip with a half-twisting round-off at the end.

VENKMAN
He can't believe his eyes.

VENKMAN
Agile bastard, isn't he?

STANTZ
Forget the trapping! Just blast him!

The others adjust their units and they all blaze away at Gozer.

                GOZER
                He stands there calmly and absorbs the force of the streams. There is a
                brilliant pink flash and Gozer disappears.

                THE GHOSTBUSTERS
                They stare for a long moment, finding it hard to believe that they won. Then
                Winston lets out a triumphant whoop.

                SPENGLER
                He scans the temple with his PKE meter, not at all convinced the danger has
                passed.

STANTZ
He bounds up the stairs.

STANTZ (jubilant)
We neutronized him! The guy's a molecular nonentity.

VENKMAN AND SPENGLER
He wants to believe it but sees the doubt on Spengler's face.

                SPENGLER (reading the meter)
                Not necessarily. There is a deep seismic rumble and the entire building begins
                to vibrate. The Ghostbusters look around nervously as the entire building starts
                to sway.

                EXT. THE EAVES
                Cement carvings and moldings around the edge of the roof crack and break
                off.

                EXT. THE STREET
                The crowd screams and runs as cement debris rains down the side of the
                building and crashes on the sidewalk.

                THE GHOSTBUSTERS
                They look up at the sky waiting for the big blow. An incredibly loud
                thunderclap rocks the rooftop.

                THE SKY
                A bolt of lightning crackles from the swirling dark cloud and strikes the
                rooftop.

                The Ghostbusters stand there facing their new God like Moses on Mount
                Sinai. And then Gozer speaks to them in a voice that can be heard throughout
                Metropolitan New York and parts of New Jersey.

                GOZER
                SUBCREATURES! GOZER THE
                GOZERIAN, GOZER THE DESTRUCTOR,
                VOLGUUS ZILDROHAR, THE
                TRAVELLER HAS COME. CHOOSE AND
                PERISH.

VENKMAN (shouting to be heard)
Is he talking to us?

WINSTON
What's he talking about? Choose what?

STANTZ (to the heavens)
What do you mean "choose?" We don't understand.

GOZER
CHOOSE!!

                SPENGLER
                I think he's saying that since we're about to be sacrificed anyway, we get to
                choose the form we want him to take.

                STANTZ
                You mean if I stand here and concentrate on the image of Roberto Clemente,
                Gozer will appear as Roberto Clemente and wipe us out?

SPENGLER
That appears to be the case.

VENKMAN (quickly)
Don't think of anything yet. Clear your minds. We only get one crack at this.

GOZER
The choice is made. The Traveller has come.

VENKMAN (in a panic)
We didn't choose anything! (to the others) I didn't think of an image, did you?

SPENGLER
No.

They look at Winston.

WINSTON
My mind's a total void!

They all look at Stantz.

STANTZ (guilty)
I couldn't help it! It just popped in there!

VENKMAN (desperately)
What? What popped in there?

STANTZ (pointing)
Look!

They all turn and look to the south.

                GHOSTBUSTERS POV
                Looking south past Columbus Circle, they see part of something big and white
                moving between the buildings accompanied by thunderous footsteps of almost
                seismic proportions.

VENKMAN
He doesn't know what it is yet, but he knows it's coming.

VENKMAN (desperately)
What is it? Ray, what did you think of?

                BROADWAY AND 55TH
                The massive white shape passes behind some buildings, offering a glimpse of
                what appears to be a fat, white arm.

STANTZ
He's about to go into shock.

STANTZ (babbling)
It can't be! It can't be!

                COLUMBUS CIRCLE
                The thundering footsteps continue to plod as the thing starts to emerge from
                behind the buildings. Now we can see part of a blue garment covering its
                enormous chest.

STANTZ
He recognizes the monster.

STANTZ
It's ... It's ... It's the STAY-PUFT MARSHMALLOW MAN.

Winston, Venkman and Spengler gape.

                THEIR POV
                They look across the roof tops and see a large, square, white, bobbing,
                laughing head atop a massive body of similar puffed white squares. The being
                is dressed in a tiny sailor's hat, red bosun's whistle and lanyard and a little blue
                vest with a button undone in the middle revealing a little white belly. It is the
                cute, quintessential American brand symbol, looming as large as Godzilla.

                STANTZ (V.O.) (desperately apologizing)
                I tried to think of the most harmless thing ... something that could never
                destroy us ... something I loved from my childhood.

THE GHOSTBUSTERS
They watch the Marshmallow Man plodding toward them.

VENKMAN
AND YOU CAME UP WITH THAT?

                STANTZ
                The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man! He was on all the packages we used to
                buy when I was a kid. We used to roast Stay-Puft marshmallows at Camp
                Waconda!

VENKMAN
Great! The marshmallows are about to get their revenge.

                THE STAY-PUFT MAN
                He plods relentlessly uptown toward the
                Ghostbusters' rooftop vantage point. The
                ground rumbles as his big, soft feet come
                down on the pavement.

                THE STREET
                People are fleeing in panic as the marshmallow
                feet pad along kicking over lampposts and mail
                boxes.

                A CAR
                The driver jumps out just before an enormous
                white marshmallow foot comes down and
                flattens his automobile.

                THE GHOSTBUSTERS
                They stand there helplessly watching the laughing bobbing head of the
                Stay-Puft Man as he comes toward them.

VENKMAN
What now?

SPENGLER (adjusting his thrower)
Full-stream with strogon pulse.

Venkman looks at Stantz. Stantz shrugs.

VENKMAN (decides)
I guess that's all we've got.

They step to the edge of the roof, moving like warriors now ready to face the
consequences.

                EXT. THE STREET
                Peck comes running up to the front of the apartment building. People are
                fleeing the oncoming monster. Peck grabs a COP who is just about to flee
                himself.

PECK (in a rage)
Are the Ghostbusters up there?

COP (desperate to get away)
Yeah!

                PECK
                I want you to go up on the roof and arrest them. This time they've gone too
                far.

The Cop looks at Peck like he's insane, then sees the Stay-Puft Man looming
up at the end of the block.

COP (knocking Peck's hands away)
You arrest them, numb nuts! I'm getting out of here.

He runs off. Peck turns to face the monster.

                THE STAY PUFT MAN
                The ground shakes with every step as he reaches the building. Then, using the
                church next door as a stepping stone, he begins climbing the wall.

                THE GHOSTBUSTERS
                They look over the edge of the roof as the
                Marshmallow Man climbs higher and higher.

VENKMAN (shouts)
Hit him!

They each fire point blank at the Stay-Puft
Man.

                THE STAY-PUFT MAN
                He bellows with pain and rage as the beams
                strike him right in the chest and set his skin on
                fire. He begins to burn with a blue flame that
                spreads quickly across his torso and down his
                arms. The Stay-Puft Man bellows even louder,
                flailing its huge arms in response to the searing
                flames that are starting to engulf him.

THE GHOSTBUSTERS
They stare at the horrible conflagration.

WINSTON
Good. Now we made him mad.

                THE STAY-PUFT MAN
                Carbonous, flaming hunks of melting
                marshmallow are flying from his arms as he
                waves them in wild rage.

                THE STREET
                Peck stands there paralyzed with fear. A mass
                of flaming marshmallow falls and flattens a
                news stand nearby. Then a huge glob of sticky
                toasted marshmallow comes zipping down
                from above and lands right on him, burying him up to his neck in melted
                sucrose.

                THE STAY-PUFT MAN
                The flaming monster keeps coming intent on their destruction. Most of his
                chest has melted away revealing horrid musculature and a skeletal rib cage.

THE GHOSTBUSTERS
They square off and face him for the last time, their weapons poised.

VENKMAN (calmly)
We're going to be killed by a hundred-foot marshmallow.

                THE STAY-PUFT MAN
                He is almost on them now, fully engulfed in flames, reaching for them, ready to
                swat them with his burning fist.

VENKMAN (to the others)
On the count of three! One ... Two ...

SPENGLER (he has the best idea of his life)
No! Them! Shoot them! (he points at the Terror Dogs) Cross the beams.

THE TERROR DOGS
They stand beside the portal literally petrified.

VENKMAN
He hesitates.

VENKMAN (protesting)
No! You said crossing the beams would be BAD. It'll kill her! And us!

SPENGLER
Life is just a state of mind.

VENKMAN
But it's my favorite state.

STANTZ
Either way we're history.

THE STAY-PUFT MAN
His burning fist is starting to descend on the Ghostbusters.

VENKMAN
He chooses the only way out.

VENKMAN (shouts)
Now!!

                THE GHOSTBUSTERS
                They turn and fire at the two petrified Terror Dogs and blow them to oblivion.
                The entire front of the temple is obliterated along with the door.

                THE STAY-PUFT MAN
                With the destruction of his earthly portal, the flaming monster is suddenly
                engulfed in a cyclonic wind that begins to swirl around him like a fire-storm.
                The flames are whipped higher and higher as the tornado begins to pick up
                rotational speed. Then the Marshmallow Man seems to explode from deep
                inside creating a flaming air burst high above the rooftops.

THE ROOFTOP
The Ghostbusters are blasted off their feet.

                THE SKY
                The fireball reaches its maximum explosive force, then a sudden jet of air
                pressure occurs like a titanic vacuum cleaner in the sky and sucks the flaming
                mass of gasses and ash up through our atmosphere and right out of our
                dimension. The dark clouds disappear with it, leaving a beautiful clear blue sky
                over the whole area.

THE TEMPLE
It now looks like an ancient ruin.

                THE GHOSTBUSTERS
                They are lying at the foot of the stairs. Everything is still. One by one they get
                slowly to their feet and look around to see that the crisis has passed.

STANTZ
Everybody okay?

Venkman looks up at the portal.

                THE TERROR DOGS
                They are still on the pedestals but charred almost beyond recognition.
                Venkman mounts the stairs and gazes sadly at the remains.

                THE PEDESTAL
                Venkman stands there mourning, then a slight movement under the blackened
                skin of the Terror Dog catches his eye. The movement gets stronger, then
                suddenly a human hand pokes through the carbonous coating.

                VENKMAN
                Hope surges in him and he starts frantically tearing away the black coating,
                finally revealing Dana alive and well under the burnt skin of the Terror Dog.

STANTZ AND SPENGLER
They peel the charred coating off Louis and help him to his feet.

                LOUIS
                He looks around wondering how he ended up on the roof of a wrecked
                high-rise. He looks at his scorched and ripped suit crusted with the
                still-smoking gobs of melted marshmallow.

LOUIS (amazed)
Jeez! Somebody must have spiked the egg salad.

VENKMAN
He helps Dana to her feet.

VENKMAN
Are you all right?

She looks around at the incredible scene.

DANA (totally confused)
Oh, sure. I'm getting used to this.

                LOUIS (seeing Dana for the first time)
                I'm innocent! Honest, Dana. I never touched you. Not that I remember
                anyway.

DANA (getting annoyed)
All right, what happened to me?

VENKMAN
Nothing! We just got rid of that thing in your kitchen.

DANA
Really! Is it gone?

                VENKMAN
                Yeah, along with most of your furniture and a lot of your personal possessions.
                This one took some work.

DANA (noting the wrecked temple)
Thank you. Next time I want to break a lease I'll know who to call.

She hugs him.

VENKMAN
This is going to cost you, you know. Our fees are ridiculously high.

DANA
Talk to my accountant. (she indicates Louis)

LOUIS
Oh, great! I bet we could write off all the damage as an Act of God.

THE GHOSTBUSTERS
They look at each other and nod.

STANTZ
I'll go along with that.

EXT. STREET - NEAR THE APARTMENT - NIGHT

                THE TWO BUMS
                They hear the cheering down the street as they cautiously inspect a massive
                mound of cooling sucrose.

FIRST BUM
Well, that definitely looks like marshmallow to me.

SECOND BUM (sniffing it)
Yeah, it's some kind of mallow-type substance - that's for sure.

                FIRST BUM
                You have to wonder why anybody would dump a marshmallow that size right
                in the middle of the street.

                SECOND BUM
                I wonder if there might not be a very large cup of hot chocolate somewhere in
                the area.

FIRST BUM
That would definitely explain it.

                EXT. THE STREET NIGHT
                A happy throng of jubilant citizens is gathered
                outside the lobby entrance to the apartment
                building.

                THE ENTRANCE
                The battered but victorious Ghostbusters
                emerge from the lobby. Venkman and Dana
                are holding hands. The crowd roars with
                unrestrained joy and gratitude, Janine runs
                over and hugs Spengler enthusiastically. The
                Ghostbusters wave and head for the
                Ectomobile parked at the curb.

                THE GHOSTBUSTERS
                They get into the Ectomobile and drive off with
                lights flashing and sirens screaming as the crowd cheers wildly.

THE END