'Ghostbusters' Screenwriter Discusses Two Of The Reboot's Biggest Nods To The Original

Director Paul Feig was disappointed that the cameos in Ghostbusters were spoiled. Photos taken by the paparazzi and leaks during the shoot told fans who to expect to see in the reboot, but there are possibly still a few surprises left. When we spoke to the film's co-writer, Katie Dippold (The Heat), we asked her about one of those surprises and a certain cameo.

Below, read what she had to say about the Ghostbusters cameo and one lovely nod to the original film. Spoilers are ahead.

The major cameo is, of course, Bill Murray, an actor who's notoriously tough to get ahold of. For a long time, it was unclear whether he'd appear in the movie, and even after he agreed to do the cameo, Feig and Dippold were nervous. Lo and behold, he showed up and shot his two scenes.

Dippold recalled the day Murray came to set:

We just wrote the scene and thought it could be a fun scene, even if he didn't show up. We were always hoping he would do it. We just didn't know until the day before whether or not he was going to do it. It's, like, the mythology that's created: we sent him the script and waited for such a long time. I felt like I couldn't even fully enjoy the day he got there, because I was so afraid something was going to happen that would stop it. I thought there'd be an emergency or the film was going to melt, and we weren't even shooting on film but I thought, What about the film?

There are a handful of cameos and many, many nods to the original film. One of Ghostbusters' stars and co-writers, Harold Ramis, sadly passed away over two years ago, but Dippold and Feig pay loving tribute to the man. Outside of Erin Gilbert's (Kristen Wiig) is a bust of Ramis, and Dippold told us how it came about:

I knew we were going to try to figure out something, but I didn't know what [we were going to do]. I remember when we were looking around Columbia, seeing all the busts and statues...At first, we did all of our location scouting in New York before we realized we were going to shoot in Boston, but seeing all the busts and statues everywhere, it just kind of clicked, having a bust of his face. That was always really important to everyone. His family came to set a couple of times, and they were so lovely and supportive. He has a really amazing, kind, loving family.

That brief shot of the statue is the film's most successful, sincere nod to the original film and cast. It's a sweet and respectful touch that Ghostbusters fans, whether they enjoy the reboot as much as Angie did or walk away disappointed like Peter, should appreciate it.

Ghostbusters is now in theaters.