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Firehouse

Revision as of 06:10, 25 March 2016 by Mrmichaelt (talk | contribs) (secondary history, trivia, appearances)
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This article is about content that is either unreleased or only out recently that may be seen as a spoiler. This means that there is no spoiler rule in effect. Read the Spoiler Policy.

Specifics: This is for Ghostbusters International, Deviations



The Firehouse is the headquarters of the Ghostbusters.

History

Ghostbusters

The Firehouse was the location that the Ghostbusters used as a home base for their ghost-busting enterprise in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II. It housed the men in the sleeping quarters formerly occupied by firemen and was the location of the Containment Unit. The Firehouse was also where the Ecto-1 was stored.

When the trio were touring the station with the Realtor, Egon Spengler considered it unacceptable with it being in poor condition structurally, having unacceptable wiring for their equipment needs and it was in a bad neighborhood. However, when Ray Stantz, whose money is financing the operation, proved childishly delighted with the property, especially with the fire poles, his partners decided they had no choice but to purchase it.

Ghostbusters II

The second floor and presumable the basement underwent several changes between 1984 and 1989. The second floor's lab and kitchen area have new layouts. Louis' desk is placed between Janine's and the garage bay on the first floor. There is a room used to process photographs and a R&D room but on which floor they are located is never specified.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

The Firehouse is the central hub in The Video Game. In the Terminal Reality Version, in several cutscenes, the Firehouse is shown. In the Redfly Studios version of the game, the building is much more simplified, consisting of the main floor (complete with Ecto-1), the basement (complete with non-interactive containment grid, Insulting Vigo, and Tobin's Spirit Guide), and the Upstairs Portion (Egon's lab for all intents and purposes).

In the upper Floors, the player can slide down the fire-pole, replay past missions, and view the interactive credit sequence. In the Garage, the player can continue the mission by visiting the Ecto-1. There is also a large sub-basement storage area which appears to have been an old abandoned subway platform, complete with a partially bricked up rail tunnel. The Firehouse itself is full of "easter eggs" and callbacks to the two films, including two pairs of old/spare car doors from Ecto-1, the outdoor sign with the "Ghostbusters II" logo, a P.K.E. Meter nearly identical to the design used in "The Real Ghostbusters" cartoon and several disc shaped traps that bare a resemblance to the ones from "The Extreme Ghostbusters" cartoon.

Secondary Canon History

The Firehouse suffered occasional incursions from various entities, Fred, Koza'Rai, and a Zombie. Egon and Kylie battled the Terror Birds on the first floor for about 10 minutes then worked to safely extract them from Dana and Louis. They re-examined them again on the second floor. The other Ghostbusters soon returned and found Vigo was back in his painting. Because of his lapses on the field, Ray was taken to the laboratory on the second floor and subjected to the Aura Video-Analyzer. Peter and Dana had a one-on-one talk as Egon studied Ray's data. However, Ray became possessed and rose up into mid-air causing equipment to malfunction and overheat.

Egon, Peter, and Winston tried in vain to free Ray from possession by Gozer and Tiamat. After they were soundly defeated, Gozer went down to the basement to extract his captured essence from the Containment Unit. The unit's biometric security prevented him from gaining access. Peter, Egon, and Winston caught up and managed to wrangle him before he could attack the unit. However, Tiamat took over and dented the unit's hull. Powerless to stop Tiamat with their equipment, the Ghostbusters were at an impasse. Winston offered himself as a sacrifice and tore live wires from a panel. Ray and Egon manually vented the Containment Unit to prevent the catastrophic explosion. As a consequence, Ellen Gold was released. She immediately tried to manifest familiar surroundings but due to being a long distance away from the original Wander Hills Orphanage, Gold wasn't completely successful. [4] Peter, Egon, and Ray set out to recapture Gold and later the Crybaby Ghost. Once Gold was trapped, the basement returned to normal.

At some point, a proximity alarm was added to go off when something paranormal got close to the Firehouse perimeter. [5] Egon, Donatello, Ray, and April O'Neil started work on building another Interspatial Teleportation Unit while the others set off for a third battle with Chi-You. Once they returned with Casey Jones, he was given a quick examination. Egon and Donatello continued working on the teleporter. Ray, April, and Kylie worked on an EMP device to sever the connection between Chi-You and his thralls in one move. The others simply waited. Chi-You ordered his thralls to attack the exterior of the Firehouse. Even the signage was ripped down and damaged. They kicked down the Firehouse doors and drew most of the Ghostbusters and Turtles to the first floor. In the meantime, Chi-You teleported to the second floor and prevented Ray, April, and Kylie from activating their Electromagnetic Pulse Emitter. Casey triggered the pulse and changed the thralls back to normal. The Ghostbusters and Turtles converged on Chi-You upstairs while Egon and Donatello raced to stabilize the containment grid after their test of the Interspatial Teleportation Unit hit a snag. The battle raged on when Chi-You possessed Winston but was exorcised by Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael's efforts. Peter ended the battle and trapped Chi-You. A short while later, everyone gathered in the basement for a sending off.

The Ghostbusters went down to the basement and monitored Ray's journey to the alternate team's home dimension. After learning the controlling entity was Proteus, they went back to the second floor and conducted research on him. Almost everyone. Ray analyzed the P.K.E. readings he took and found a weakness to exploit, potential susceptibility to quantum interruption. The Egons and Rays went down to the garage bay and worked on Proton Grenades and Proton Packs over the next hour. The Cerberus Manifestation crossed over and arrived on Varick and Moore. It crashed through the Firehouse onto the second floor. Kylie activated the Wall-Trap to distract it. All of the Ghostbusters reunited downstairs and suited up. They opened fire on the manifestation but it resisted. Kylie grabbed the Megatrap and managed to capture enough of it's P.K.E. to reduce its form to ash. However, Proteus had also arrived. He stood atop the Ecto-1 in the garage bay.

Proteus blasted away the bottom half of the stairwell leading up to the second floor, punched a massive hole through the second floor, decimating the recreation area, and caused more damage after he dropped down and stomped the garage bay. Repairs continued on the Firehouse. The one piece of good news was the integrity of the Containment Unit was maintained. However, the damage caused by Proteus still needed a massive amount of money and effort to repair. Egon even proposed a serious discussion about decentralizing operations to their other properties. A policeman named Brent Mitchell arrived at the front door looking for the Ghostbusters on account of the phones being disconnected. They took off for Staten Island to look into a weird break-in.

Real Life Locations

The exterior shots are from a working firehouse in the Tribeca area of New York City on the Avenue of the Americas. It is a pilgrimage site for die-hard Ghostbusters fans while in New York. The interior shots were filmed in a decommissioned Los Angeles-area firehouse which was also used in National Security, The Mask, Big Trouble in Little China and Flatliners.

Rooms

  • Below
    • Basement
    • Sub-Basement (Storage)
    • Circuit Breaker Room
  • First Floor
    • Garage
    • Secretary Desk
    • Peter's Office
  • Second Floor
    • Sleeping Quarters
    • Dining Area
    • Egon's Lab
    • Bathroom and Showers
  • Third Floor
    • Full Kitchen [6]

Appearances

Primary Canon

Secondary Canon

Cryptozoic Entertainment

Trivia

Ghostbusters

  • The Real Estate woman noted the property was 10,000 square feet but Egon corrected her and stated it was 9,642.55 square feet.[7]
  • The Firehouse was two firehouses in reality. One was an old firehouse in use in New York and a decommissioned firehouse in Los Angeles used as an artist's studio. Exterior shots were done at the New York firehouse and interior shots were all done in the Los Angeles firehouse. [8] [9] [10]
  • Michael Gross found the New York firehouse in his preliminary trip to the city. The firehouse was around the corner from where he was staying. After finishing location scouting, the firehouse was still chosen to be the location. [11]
  • Production designer John DeCuir made a foam core mockup of the Firehouse to establish a feel for the set before construction and renovation of the shooting location and for Ivan Reitman to determine blocking action and camera angles. [12]
  • The Firehouse was used, essentially as found, in the sequence where Egon, Ray, and Peter look around the hall. Once the initial scenes were shot, John DeCuir and his staff moved in and made the necessary modifications for later sequences. [13]
  • During shoots at the New York firehouse, the production crew ran into the crew of "Hill Street Blues", a police drama television series, a lot. [14]
  • Both the Los Angeles and New York Firehouses were built in the same year, 1912. [15] [16]
  • Dan Aykroyd really wanted to use the fire pole. It wasn't just a line for Ray. [17]
  • The "We Got One!" scene was filmed in the Los Angeles Firehouse. [18]
  • While the explosion of ghosts out of the Firehouse was an optical effect, the smoke and debris was a practical effect. [19] Three cameras were used for the shot. This led to a lot of miscommunication, premature detonation smoke bomb detonations and cast members running out the firehouse. [20]
  • An expanded version of the street near the Firehouse was rendered in matte painting form by Matthew Yurichich. This included the Stay Puft Marshmallows billboard. [21]
  • The part where the Firehouse's roof ruptured was actually a miniature Firehouse shot at Entertainment Effects Group. [22]

Ghostbusters II

  • In the Ghostbusters II August 5, 1988 draft, the Firehouse is initially in bad shape - not repaired after the events of the first movie. [23]
  • A copy of the 1985 "Nostradamus Into the Millennium" by Erika Cheetham and Glamour magazine March 1989 issue are on Louis' desk when he first meets Slimer.
  • On the wall in Peter's office are frames of magazine and newspaper features:
    • Row 1, Left: A LIFE magazine issue whose cover photograph is a still from the first montage of Ghostbusters II when the four Ghostbusters run down the street.
    • Row 1, Right: New York Post spotlighting Peter, Ray, and Egon's "We're back!" declaration after capturing the Scoleri Brothers.
    • Row 2, Left: The TIME magazine issue from the first movie
    • Row 2, Center: The USA Today edition from the first movie
    • Row 2, Right: A TIME magazine issue of the Ghostbusters in dark jumpsuits and Santa hats from a montage in this movie
    • Row 3, Left: The Omni magazine issue from first movie
    • Row 3, Center: A magazine issue with Ecto-1a
    • Row 3, Right: The Atlantic issue from the first movie
  • In the second floor kitchen, there is a Dustbuster on the top of the refrigerator. Next to it is a box of Scoopy's Cups ice cream cones on top of the fridge.
  • A five packs of Cheese-N-Crackers are on top of the microwave. The periodic table of the elements is posted on the wall behind the microwave.
  • One of the arcades is Jump Bug by Rock-Ola released in 1981.
  • A poster of the Hotel Lincoln on the wall by the billiard table
  • The Hook & Ladder 8 sign was left up during shooting of this movie. It was removed during production of the first movie.
  • At the 55:10 mark, Ivan Reitman, wearing a blue jacket, is walking away from the Firehouse.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

  • In Ghostbusters: The Video Game:[24]
    • Of all the children's drawings on the wall in Firehouse, only one was actually drawn by a child.
    • Ray's desk in the Firehouse features all the prototype equipment that was developed for the game but didn't make the final cut, including ghost stasis-mine disks and five different P.K.E. Meter models.
    • The people calling and leaving messages on the answering machine are all employees of Terminal Reality, Inc. (Developer of PC/PS3/Xbox versions).
  • Also in Ghostbusters: The Video Game:
    • There is a computer on the second floor of the Firehouse that shows the infamous end screen of the original Nintendo Ghostbusters game that says "CONGLATURATION !!! YOU HAVE COMPLETED A GREAT GAME. AND PROOVED THE JUSTICE OF OUR CULTURE. NOW GO AND REST OUR HEROES !"
    • On the second floor on the chalk board below the Ecto-1 sketch is the infamous Konami Code "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A, and B.
    • Hanging in the Firehouse is a crayon drawing of a Ghostbuster. Text on it reads "To Uncle Egon, from Ed." This is a nod to the Denver Ghostbusters fan films.
    • Louis Tully's desk is seen with a note on his computer that states he is "going home early."
    • After the Natural History Museum incident, one of the messages on the phone is from a "Prof. Jones." He is looking for the Vigo painting, states that it is a historical artifact, and that it belongs in a museum. This refers to the title character of the film series, "Indiana Jones."

IDW Comics

See also

References

  1. ↑ GBII Invoice
  2. ↑ GBII Invoice #2
  3. ↑ GBII Invoice Auction
  4. ↑ Egon Spengler (2014). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #20" (2014) (Comic p.10). Egon says: "The ghost is trying to manifest a familiar set of surroundings but we're miles from the source of the original haunting. It's having difficulty."
  5. ↑ Janine Melnitz (2015). IDW Comics- "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters Issue #4" (2015) (Comic p.2). Janine says: "That was a proximity alarm, Peter! It's set to go off whenever something very nasty gets too close to the Firehouse! Which you'd know if you ever bothered to read a memo!"
  6. ↑ Real Estate Woman (1984).Ghostbusters (1984) (DVD ts. 15:49-15:52). Columbia Pictures. Real Estate Woman says: "...office space, sleeping quarters, and showers on the next floor and a full kitchen on the top level."
  7. ↑ Final Shooting Script, p.20 via Spook Central
  8. ↑ Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 38 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "The firehouse which was to become the Ghostbusters' headquarters was, in reality, two separate buildings -- 3000 miles apart. All of the exterior shots were filmed at an old firehouse in New York, which is still in use, while the interiors were shot in a decommissioned firehouse in Los Angeles, presently employed as an artist's studio. The two buildings were remarkably similar, both in appearance and layout."
  9. ↑ Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 38 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Joe Medjuck says: "The firehouse in Los Angeles is a huge place -- three stories high. And all of the scenes that were supposed to take place in the firehouse were actually filmed in the firehouse. None of that was done at the studio. When the script says 'basement of the firehouse,' we are actually in the basement of that firehouse. Though John DeCuir added lots of things to dress the place, most of the essential elements were already there."
  10. ↑ Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 39. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "Though firehall interiors were shot in Los Angeles, corresponding exteriors employed a similarly configured building in New York."
  11. ↑ Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 38 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Michael Gross says: "I made a preliminary trip to New York; and while I was there, I took some photos of that particular firehouse because, coincidentally, it happened to be right around the corner from where I was staying. I thought at the time, 'Now, that's the kind of firehouse we're looking for. But I figured there were probably a dozen firehouses like that in New York and when we did out location scouting, we'd look at them all. Curiously, that one turned out to be the perfect one."
  12. ↑ Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 39. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "Production designer John DeCuir examines a foam core mockup of the firehall -- an existing structure to which he would be adding the enclosed office area at the rear as well as other modifications and refinements. Such mockups were invariably useful in establishing a three-dimensional feel for the sets -- before costly construction or renovation was initiated -- and often proved useful to Ivan Reitman for blocking action and determining camera angles."
  13. ↑ Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 39. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "Once these initial scenes were shot, DeCuir and his staff moved in and made the necessary modifications for later sequences in the film."
  14. ↑ Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 38 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Joe Medjuck says: "The building itself happens to be in a really crummy section of town which is used a lot for filming. We were running into the Hill Street Blues crew all the time."
  15. ↑ Joe Medjuck (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 16:00-16:10). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Joe Medjuck says: "More creative geography. This is an actual old Firehouse in Los Angeles but the interior is an actual in-use Firehouse in New York. "
  16. ↑ Harold Ramis (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 16:10-16:13). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Harold Ramis says: "Coincidentally built in the same year, 1912. "
  17. ↑ Ivan Reitman (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 16:17-16:24). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Ivan Reitman says: "And it's true, as soon as we did see this pole, Danny said we gotta use it. It wasn't just a moment in the movie. "
  18. ↑ Harold Ramis (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 28:32-28:36). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Harold Ramis says: "This really was fun. This was also back in LA. We got to slide down the pole. "
  19. ↑ Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 141 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "Although the explosion of ghosts through the firehall rooftop was inserted optically, a physical effect -- involving blasts of smoke and harmless debris -- was also employed as the building's panic-driven occupants pour out into the street."
  20. ↑ Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 141 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Joe Medjuck says: "We were shooting outside the firehouse in New York. And because of the special effects and the fact that we were using three cameras, it took a long time between takes to set up. When everything was ready to go, Ivan would signal for cameras to roll and then wait for confirmation from each before yelling 'Action!' -- which the people inside the firehouse could barely hear. Richard Edlund and his crew were up on the roof of a building across the street; and on one take, when Ivan asked if cameras were up to speed, Richard said, 'No, we're not ready.' So Ivan stepped into the middle of the street and yelled, 'Hold it!' But everyone on the inside somehow thought he'd said 'Action!' The smoke bombs went off, the doors burst open, the cast came charging out into the street -- and there's Ivan standing right in their midst. Everyone was horrified. It was like the worst filmmaking nightmare come true. But Ivan just burst out laughing."
  21. ↑ Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 142 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "An expansive lower Manhattan street setting, rendered in matte painting form by Matthew Yuricich. When photographed, the firehall would be inserted into the undetailed center section as a live-action element. On a neighboring building is a billboard advertisement for Stay-Puft marshmallows."
  22. ↑ Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 142 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "The rupturing rooftop was shot in miniature at Entertainment Effects Group."
  23. ↑ Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1988). Ghostbusters II (August 5, 1988 Draft) (Script p. 41). "Paragraph reads: "Now, however, it is a sorry sight. The doors and windows have been boarded up; there is still a gaping hole in the roof from the powerful explosion of their ghost containment system; neighborhood kids have thrown rocks through the large Ghostbusters logo that hangs over the entrance; and a big sign is posted on the door that reads "Space Available," followed by the name and phone number of a Realtor."
  24. ↑ Game Informer "What You Didn't Know About Ghostbusters"


Gallery

Overall


Primary Canon


Exterior

Below

First Floor

Second Floor

Other

Secondary Canon


Exterior

Below

First Floor

Second Floor

Other

Non Canon

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