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Holding Cell is the twenty-second chapter on the DVD of Ghostbusters. In this chapter, Egon and Ray discuss what they found regarding Dana's apartment, (Spook Central).

Cast[]

Equipment[]

Locations[]

Plot[]

The Ghostbusters were incarcerated. Winston Zeddemore stood at the perimeter and tried to get the guard's attention as he closed the jail cell so he could make his phone call. Winston explained that he just worked with the Ghostbusters and was not present for the explosion. The inmates looked at Winston. Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler looked over blueprints at a table in the middle of the holding cell. Egon pointed out the structure of the Shandor Building's roof cap was exactly like the kind of telemetry tracker that NASA used to identify dead pulsars in deep space. Ray pulled out the blueprints out of his flight suit and laid it over the one Egon was examining. Ray stated the building had cold riveted girders with cores of pure selenium. Peter Venkman surprised the other inmates curious about Ray and Egon's conversation. Peter asked if everybody was getting it so far. Peter had no clue what the big deal was. He surmised they just did not make them like they used to. Ray slapped the side of Peter's head and exclaimed nobody ever made buildings like it. He assumed the architect was either a certified genius or an authentic wacko, then shook his head. Peter implored Ray to pretend for a moment that he knew nothing about metallurgy, engineering or physics and to just tell him what the hell was going on. Peter looked Ray right in the eyes. Ray teased he never studied. Peter grinned. Ray explained the whole building was a huge super conductive antenna that was designed and built expressly for the purpose of pulling in and concentrating spiritual turbulence. Ray lifted his blueprints off the table and pointed at the one under. Peter was kneeling down looking at them. Ray told him his girlfriend lived in the corner penthouse of "Spook Central." Peter stood back up. Peter stated she was not his girlfriend and claimed to find her interesting because she was a client and because she slept above her covers. He clarified four feet above her covers and she barked, drooled, and clawed. The inmates exchanged looks.

Egon stated it was the building, not Dana. Ray laid his blueprint back down. Egon predicted something terrible was about the enter their world and the Shandor Building was obviously the door. Egon revealed the architect's name was Ivo Shandor. He found the name in Tobin's Spirit Guide. Shandor was also a doctor who performed a lot of unnecessary surgery and then in 1920, he founded a secret society. Peter guessed they were Gozer worshipers. Egon confirmed. Peter teased Ray with, "No studying." Ray made a face. Egon continued and revealed after the First World War, Shandor decided that society was too sick to survive. The inmates started getting closer to the table again and really took an interest in the discussion. Egon took stock of that and revealed Shandor had close to a thousand followers when he died. They conducted rituals up on the roof, bizarre rituals intended to bring about the end of the world. Egon concluded the end of the world may actually happen. Peter suddenly broke out into song, "So be good, for goodness sake! Whoa! Somebody's coming!" Ray stated the obvious, they had to get out of jail and find a judge or something. Winston stepped and told them to hold it. He wanted to clarify their plan was to go before a federal judge and say that some moldy Babylonian god was going to drop in on Central Park West and start tearing up the city. Egon corrected him about Gozer: it was a Sumerian god, not Babylonian. Peter joked that was a big difference. Winston told them no offense, but he was going get his own lawyer. A jail guard called the Ghostbusters and revealed Mayor Lenny wanted to see them because the city was going crazy. Peter told the inmates he had to split because the Mayor wanted to rap with him about some things. Egon folded up the blueprint.

Quotes[]

Ray: Your girlfriend ... lives in the corner penthouse ... of spook central.

Trivia[]

Ghostbusters (1984) Trivia[]

  • The incarceration scene was shot on location at an actual New York prison facility that was out of commission and essentially abandoned. Scratches were discovered in the film used for the shot but Sheldon Kahn was able to work around them in editing and a reshoot wasn't necessary.[1][2][3]
  • In the movie's DVD commentary track, Harold Ramis placed the prison's location as somewhere in the middle of 14th Street, not Lower Manhattan.[4][5] At the end of an anecdote, Ivan Reitman commented it was a police station.[6] While not outright confirming the exact location, in the inlay booklet of the Ghostbusters 1 & 2 Gift Set (2014) on page three of "The Story of Ghostbusters," one of the shooting locations briefly mentioned is 'the old New York Police Department lock-up.'
  • Ivan Reitman fired an extra during the prison filming because he was mouthing off.[7][8][9]
  • In the August 5, 1983 draft, on page 106-107, in the NYPD Lock-Up, a biker recognizes the Ghostbusters. He tells them if they get sent to Riker's Island, looks for a guy named "Gash" and say they know him, "The Hook."
  • In the September 30, 1983 draft, on pages 107-109, the holding cell scene starts to look like what happens in the movie. The conversation with "The Hook" in the previous draft is discarded.
  • At the beginning of the chapter, Winston alludes to the explosion at the Firehouse in the previous chapter.
  • The extra in the motorcycle jacket is Dan Aykroyd's friend Larry Bilzerian.[10]
  • Egon mentions NASA.
  • Egon also mentions a dead pulsar. A pulsar is a "highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its magnetic poles" and when it dies when the charged particles exert a reaction force on the magnetic field that slows it and thus, the pulsar down. The pulsar rotates too slowly to be able to produce any beams of radiation and dies. But a pulsating dead star still burns with the energy of 10 million suns.
  • Ray mentions selenium, a nonmetal chemical element used in various applications such as glassmaking, pigments, semiconductors, photocells, and electronics.
  • The inmates listening to the discussion and Peter's 'Everybody with us so far?' was added at the last minute when the extras were seen on the set.[11][12]
  • Ray brings out the 550 Central Park blueprints he was studying in Chapter 20: Keymaster.
  • Ray, Peter, and Egon allude to Dana Barrett.
  • Peter alludes to what he experienced with the possessed Dana in Chapter 19: Peter's Date with Zuul.
  • At around the 1 hour, 21 minute mark of the Preview Cut, included first in the 2022 Ghostbusters Ultimate Edition, in place of Ray's "You never studied" line is "You didn't study one word, did you?" and after the "She barks, she drools" line is "It's a freak show with the girl. Every night is Halloween. You know girls like that? That's all. It's just unusual. I like to go hang out and watch." Egon telling him it's not Dana, it's the building follows.
  • The inmate sitting behind Egon and ignoring the discussion is reading the October 17, 1983 issue of Newsweek which featured a special report on capital punishment titled "To Die or Not To Die."
  • Egon reveals several things:
    • Mentions Ivo Shandor.
    • Mentions Tobin's Spirit Guide.
    • Alludes to the Cult of Gozer, which he states was founded in 1920.
    • Mentions the end of World War I, which took place on November 11, 1918.
  • In the August 5, 1983 draft:
    • On page 107, Egon recites information from the The Roylance Guide to Secret Societies and Sects - The name Gozer refers to "an ancient demonic spirit that was worshiped in a lost pre-Sumerian society known as the Sebouillias. The Sebouillias disappeared without a trace but the ancient Sumerians kept a fragment from their religious text called the Glethestement." It was explained the Sebouillia are a lost pre-Sumerian society that worshiped Gozer but they disappeared without a trace. The ancient Sumerians kept a fragment from their religious text, the Glethestement, which was written in Sanskrit. A rough translation reveals the Sebouillias suffered from decadence and Gozer destroyed them for their sins. It was similar to the plight of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible.[13][14][15][16][17]
    • On page 109, it is mentioned the Temple of Gozer was an exact replica of a Sebouillian temple.[18] It is also mentioned Ivo Shandor built the apartment building in 1923.[19]
    • On page 109, it was also revealed Ivo Shandor was electrocuted at Sing Sing after his attempted abduction of a teenage girl led police to his penthouse apartment, furnished impeccably with stacks of human bones.[20]
    • On page 110, the Hook is worried and tells them they better get on the phone. A group of police officers come for the Ghostbusters on the Mayor's behalf.
  • In the September 30, 1983 draft, on pages 107-109, Egon now cites from Tobin's Spirit Guide and Winston has his moldy Babylonian god line then Egon's correction like in the movie. Then the Jail Guard comes to get them out to see the Mayor.
  • Peter sings a rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" after Egon's briefing.
  • Peter mentions Gozer while Winston and Egon allude to it.
  • The Jail Guard's collar pin indicates he is with the 27th precinct.
  • The guard and Peter mention the Mayor.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife Trivia[]

  • Ray recalls he was in the slammer once, a reference to when the Ghostbusters were imprisoned briefly after the containment grid was shut down in the first movie.
  • Phoebe Spengler, Trevor, and Podcast are briefly held in a jail cell.
  • As the other teenagers look over Phoebe, Podcast, Trevor, and Lucky Domingo's booth as they discuss the map, it mirrors when the Ghostbusters' cellmates started to get interested in their conversation about 550 Central Park West and Gozer in the first movie.
  • Ivo Shandor appears in the movie.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Trivia[]

IDW Comics Trivia[]

  • On page 5 of Ghostbusters Volume 1 Issue #16, the Jail Guard from the prison scene helped haul away Ron Alexander in the framed article.
  • On page 14 of Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #1, the prison is the one from the first movie. Kylie Griffin looks at the blueprints to the Shandor Building from the first movie. An inmate is one of the extras from the prison scene. Peck arrives with the jail cop from the first movie.
  • On page 11 of 35th Anniversary: Ghostbusters, Peter alludes to Egon talking about Ivo Shandor's conclusion the world was too sick to survive while they were in jail in the first movie.
  • On page two of Ghostbusters Year One Issue #1, Tim Carlson recognized Peter's song as the lyric from "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town".

Tertiary Canon Trivia[]

References[]

  1. Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 151 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "The incarceration scene was shot lon location at an actual New York prison facility, now out of commission and essentially abandoned."
  2. Joe Medjuck (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 1:11:01-1:11:05). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Joe Medjuck says: "Yes, this was a real jail, deserted I believe. "
  3. Joe Medjuck (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 1:11:13-1:11:17). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Joe Medjuck says: "Danny claimed it was haunted and the film got scratched, we had to cut around it. "
  4. Harold Ramis (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 1:10:44-1:10:46). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Harold Ramis says: "This is a jail in Lower Manhattan. "
  5. Harold Ramis (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 1:11:07-1:11:12). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Harold Ramis says: "No, it was in the middle of 14th Street or something. "
  6. Ivan Reitman (2005). Ghostbusters - Commmentary (1984) (DVD ts. 1:13:23-27). Time Life Entertainment. Ivan says: "Yeah, well, it was a police station. Things can get out of control."
  7. Harold Ramis (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 1:13:12-1:11:15). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Harold Ramis says: "Ivan, you fired an extra on this day, do you remember that? "
  8. Ivan Reitman (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 1:13:16-1:13:19). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Ivan Reitman says: "Some guy mouthing off... 'You, out and never come back'. "
  9. Harold Ramis (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 1:13:20-1:13:23). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Harold Ramis says: "And he thought you were kidding and you said 'No, get out'. "
  10. Harold Ramis (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 1:10:51-1:10:58). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Harold Ramis says: "This is Larry Bilzerian right here smoking the cigarette in the motorcycle jacket."
  11. Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 152 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "Venkman's line was a last-minute insertion into the script."
  12. Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 152 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Harold Ramis says: "Some things are impossible to anticipate as you're writing. When we actually got to the jail scene and saw all those brutes standing around us, I suggested to Ivan that they watch us and listen intently to all this physics and technical stuff we were talking about. Then Bill could say, 'Everybody with us so far?' It's a natural. But it's something you wouldn't think of until got to the actual set and saw the physical relationship between everything."
  13. Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1983). Ghostbusters (First Draft August 5, 1983) (Script p. 107). Egon says: "This is from the Roylance Catalog of Secret Sects and Societies. The name Gozer refers to an ancient demonic spirit that was worshipped in a lost pre-Sumerian society known as the Sebouillias. The Sebouillias disappeared without a trace but the ancient Sumerians kept a fragment from their religious text called the Glethestement."
  14. Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1983). Ghostbusters (First Draft August 5, 1983) (Script p. 108). Egon says: "It's in Sanskrit."
  15. Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1983). Ghostbusters (First Draft August 5, 1983) (Script p. 108). Winston says: "This won't be word for word, but it's close. "...and the people grew fat in their...something...and there came upon the land a foul...something...something...cast into the fires...for the sins of their..." This word is either "city" or "shoes." I'm not sure."
  16. Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1983). Ghostbusters (First Draft August 5, 1983) (Script p. 108). Egon says: "...yes, "sins of the city." Then it says something about doing things to virgins and wicked revelry and then "came the Traveller, Gozer the Gozerian, Volguus Zildrohar, and death was their lot."
  17. Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1983). Ghostbusters (First Draft August 5, 1983) (Script p. 108). Ray says: "Kind of sounds like Sodom and Gomorrah... or Vegas."
  18. Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1983). Ghostbusters (First Draft August 5, 1983) (Script p. 109). Egon Spengler says: "On the roof, he put an exact replica of a Sebouillian temple."
  19. Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1983). Ghostbusters (First Draft August 5, 1983) (Script p. 109). Egon Spengler says: "It was completed in 1923. Shandor lived in the penthouse."
  20. Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 152 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "Shandor was dropped altogether from the first two Aykroyd-Ramis collaborations, but resurfaced in the third - in name, at any rate - with an even more unsavory background than that suggested by the final shooting script. As recounted by Spengler in the August draft, Ivo Shandor was a deranged surgeon, architect and Gozer worshipper, electrocuted at Sing Sing after his attempted abduction of a teenage girl led police to his penthouse apartment, furnished impeccably - if not tastefully - with stacks of human bones."

Gallery[]

Selected Screengrabs[]

Behind the Scenes[]

 
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