Bill Murray: ‘No One Wants to Pay Money to See Fat, Old Men Chasing Ghosts!’

Bill Murray isn’t tight-lipped about his disinterest in returning as Dr. Peter Venkman for Ghostbusters 3, but a recent story published by The National Enquirer (yes, that National Enquirer), suggests that Murray finally received the script for review…and returned it to fellow ‘busters Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis in shreds. Since this story comes from the Enquirer, we should all probably take it with a grain of salt. Then again, where’s the fun in that? Time to speculate and exacerbate! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, MASS HYSTERIA!

Accompanying the purportedly shredded script—penned by Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky—was a note that read quite bluntly, “No one wants to pay money to see fat, old men chasing ghosts!” Now, even though Aykroyd, Ramis and veteran Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman claim that the film will go on with or without Murray, this news isn’t at all encouraging for those hoping for another sequel. As for me, I tend to agree with Bill on this one. Let it go, guys.

For more on this story, head over to Screen Rant by clicking here.

Happy New Year, Wortmaniacs!

Another year is in the history books and, regrettably, several weeks have gone by without a new entry from yours truly. As much as I love the fact that my job now takes me to new and interesting cities every week, my travel schedule has really cut into my “write about nerdy stuff” time. Frankly, when I’m not on the road or writing on very tight deadlines, the last thing I can bring myself to do is blog. Having said that, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to find the time to write for myself more often, even if it’s just a couple of sentences at a time.

Now that I’ve apologized once again for seemingly abandoning The Wort Report—which turned five in November if you can believe that—Here’s a quick rundown of awesome stuff I’ve wanted to blog about over the past few weeks:

-The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey are going to own next year, based on the trailers alone. Go ahead and call me a frothing fanboy. It won’t be the first time.

-Skyrim is one of the best games I’ve ever played…and I’m really not that far into it. Any gaming experience that can make me momentarily clear my mind of social or work-related responsibilities is to be commended.

-Peppermint bark is an underrated holiday treat.

-Finding deep dish pizza in Chicago is nearly impossible on Christmas night. I now know this from experience.

Anyhow, that’s it from me for now. Be sure to follow me on Twitter for bite-sized nuggets of Wortman on a more regular basis.

‘What Would You Say if I Pissed on You and Your Scientists?’

Dayjob Orchestra are weird dudes. That is all.

Patty Jenkins Drops Out of ‘Thor 2’

That was quick. Not long after being revealed as the out-of-nowhere director chosen to direct Marvel Studios’ Thor 2, Patty Jenkins has left the project, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog. Jenkins—who directed Charlize Theron in Monster—cited “creative differences” as the reason for her departure.

“I have had a great time working at Marvel,” Jenkins told THR. “We parted on very good terms, and I look forward to working with them again.”

After Kenneth Branagh’s surprisingly refreshing take on Marvel’s God of Thunder, I hope the studio finds a director suited to continue the character’s solo adventures beyond next summer’s Avengers team-up film. Who do you think it should be?

Joker Creator Jerry Robinson Dead at 89

Comic book artist Jerry Robinson, credited as the creator of The Joker, died on Wednesday in Staten Island at the age of 89, The New York Times reports.

It’s long been contested whether Robinson or Batman co-writer Bill Finger were responsible for conjuring up The Clown Prince of Crime—in fact Batman creator Bob Kane contends that he and Finger were responsible for the character and that Robinson had little or nothing to do with it. However, comic book historians argue otherwise.

Robinson is also credited with helping create Batman’s sidekick Robin and the dichotomy-obsessed baddie Two-Face.

Although this is a sad day for comic book fans, it’s also a chance to honor the fact that Robinson brought to life the perfect foil to The Dark Knight, and introduced the world to a character that has thrived in every medium from comic books to animation to live-action feature films to video games. In fact, I’d say The Joker ranks right up there with Darth Vader among the best villains of all time.

For the full story, click here.

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Prologue to Screen before ‘Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol’

The rumors are true. MTV News reports that a six-minute prologue to The Dark Knight Rises will run on select IMAX prints of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol when the spy sequel hits theaters on Dec. 16.

According to the article, the brief clip—said to be the film’s opening sequence—will only play before Ghost Protocol on screens using true IMAX 70 mm projection. A mere 42 screens in the U.S. and Canada will show it.

I’m not sure if this convinces me to see Ghost Protocol—I barely remember seeing the third Mission Impossible movie to be honest—but this is undeniably a smart marketing move by Warner Bros. However, I think it’d be even smarter to widen the release to all IMAX screens whether or not they meet that specification, but what do I know?

For a full list of theaters playing the Dark Knight Rises prologue, click here.