Ghostbusters Page #3

PETER:

I think we'll take it.

REAL ESTATE WOMAN

Good.

Outside Ivo Shandor Building

The building is huge and grandiose. Ominous music. Show the terror dog statues on the roof. DANA BARRETT gets out of a taxi and enters the building.

Inside Shandor Building

DANA gets off the elevator. Sees a neighbor.

DANA:

Oh, hi.

LOUIS TULLY pops out of his apartment

LOUIS:

Oh, Dana, it's you!

DANA:

Oh, hi, yes Louis, it's me.

LOUIS:

I thought it was the drugstore.

DANA:

Oh, are you sick?

LOUIS:

Oh! No, no, I'm fine, I feel great! Just ordered some more vitamins and stuff. I was just exercising. I taped a 20-minute workout and played it back at high speed on my machine so it only took ten minutes. I got a great workout.

DANA:

Good.

LOUIS:

You wanna come in for a mineral water or something?

DANA:

Oh, I'd really like to, Louis, but I have to go rehearsal now. Excuse me.

LOUIS:

No sweat, I'll take a rain check on that. I always have plenty of low sodium mineral water and other nutritious foods in the house. But you already know that.

DANA:

Yeah, I know that.

LOUIS:

Listen, that reminds me, I'm having a big party for all my clients, my fourth anniversary as an accountant, you know, and even though you do your own tax return, which you shouldn't do, I'd like you to stop by, being that you're my neighbor and all -

DANA:

cutting him off

Well, thank you, Louis, I'll really try to stop by.

LOUIS:

Listen, that reminds me, you shouldn't leave your TV on so loud when you go out. The creep down the hall phoned the manager.

DANA:

That's strange, I didn't realize I'd left it on.

LOUIS:

Well, yeah, you know what I did? I climbed on the ledge and tried to disconnect the cable, but I couldn't get in, so you know what I did? I turned my TV up real loud too so everyone would think all our TVs had something wrong with them -

DANA:

closing her door on him

Bye, Louis.

LOUIS:

Okay, so I'll see you later, huh?! I'll give you a call! I'm going to go have a shower.

tries to open his door, but he's locked himself out

DANA's living room

DANA watches an ad on TV. In the ad: PETER, RAY and EGON stand outside the fire house wearing long blue coats and talk to the camera.

RAY:

Are you troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night?

EGON:

Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic?

PETER:

Have you or any of your family ever seen a spook, specter or ghost?

RAY:

If the answer is yes, then don't wait another minute. Pick up your phone and call the professionals.

PETER, RAY, EGON

Ghostbusters!

RAY:

Our courteous and efficient staff is on call twenty-four hours a day to serve all your supernatural elimination needs.

PETER, RAY, EGON

We're ready to believe you!

Message flashes on screen: "GHOSTBUSTERS555-2368".

DANA turns off TV.

DANA's kitchen

DANA lays some groceries out on the table. She turns around. Eggs tremble, leap out of their shells and cook on counter. Growling noise from fridge. DANA opens fridge.

The spirit world appears in front of her. A terror dog, ZUUL, jumps out in front of her.

ZUUL:

roaring

Zuul!

DANA closes fridge, screaming

Outside Ghostbusters HQ

PETER watches Marty put up a sign, reading "GHOSTBUSTERS" in small type.

PETER:

You don't think it's too subtle, Marty? You don't think people are going to drive down and not see the sign?

Marty shakes head. Dark blue hearse drives up.

You can't park that here!

RAY:

getting out of car

Everybody can relax, I found the car! Needs some suspension work; and shocks, and brakes, brake pads, lining, steering box, transmission, rear end -

PETER:

How much?

RAY:

as PETER groans

Only forty-eight hundred. And maybe new rings, also mufflers, a little wiring...

Inside Ghostbusters HQ

The secretary, JANINE MELNITZ, sits at her desk reading a magazine. PETER comes up.

PETER:

Janine! Any calls?

JANINE:

No.

PETER:

Any messages?

JANINE:

No.

PETER:

Any customers?

JANINE:

No, Dr. Venkman.

PETER:

It's a good job, isn't it? Type something, will you? We're paying you for this stuff!... Don't stare at me, you got them bug eyes... Janine! Sorry about the bug eyes thing. I'll be in my office.

PETER goes off. EGON pops up out from under JANINE's desk.

JANINE:

You're very handy. I can tell. I bet you like to read a lot, too.

EGON:

Print is dead.

JANINE:

Oh, that's very fascinating to me. I read a lot myself. Some people think I'm too intellectual, but I think it's a fabulous way to spend your spare time. I also play racquetball. Do you have any hobbies?

EGON:

I collect spores, molds and fungus.

DANA enters

DANA:

Hello?

goes to JANINE

Oh. Excuse me. This, this is the Ghostbusters' office?

JANINE:

filing nails

Yes, it is. Can I help you?

DANA:

I don't have an appointment. I'd like to talk to someone, please.

PETER:

bolting out of his office

I'm Peter Venkman. May I help you?

DANA:

Well, I don't know. What I'm about to say may sound a little unusual.

PETER:

Oh, that's all we get day in, day out around this place. Come into my office, Miss -

DANA:

Barrett, Dana Barrett.

Lab in fire house

DANA is hooked up to a machine. As she talks, PETER, RAY and EGON watch a monitor which turns her head different colors.

DANA:

And this voice said "Zuul". And then I slammed the refrigerator door and I left. That was two days ago, and I haven't been back to my apartment.

PETER:

Generally you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance. What do you think it was?

DANA:

Well, if I knew what it was I wouldn't be here.

PETER:

Egon, what do you think?

EGON:

shining a head lamp in PETER's eyes

She's telling the truth. At least, she thinks she is.

DANA:

Well, of course I'm telling the truth! Who would make up a story like that?

PETER:

Some are people who just want attention. Others, just nutballs who come in off the street.

RAY:

You know what it could be? Past-life experience intruding on present time.

EGON:

Could be erased memories stored in the collective unconscious. I wouldn't rule out clairvoyance or telepathic contact, either.

DANA:

I'm sorry, I don't believe in any of those things.

PETER:

Well, that's all right. I don't either. But there are some things we do. Standard procedures we carry out in a case like this which often bring us results.

RAY:

Well, I could go down to the hall of records and check out the structural details in the building. Maybe the building itself has a history of psychic turbulence.

PETER:

nodding

Right, go do that.

EGON:

I could look for the name Zuul in the usual literature.

RAY:

Spates Catalog.

EGON:

Tobin's Spirit Guide.

RAY:

Yeah.

PETER:

Tell you what. I'll take Miss Barrett back to her apartment and check her out - I'll go check out Miss Barrett's apartment, okay?

knows he's said the wrong thing; groans to himself

DANA:

Okay, thank you.

DANA's living room

PETER and DANA enter.

PETER:

Let me. If something's gonna happen here I want it to happen to me first.

Opens a few closet doors. Nothing happens.

DANA:

The closet.

PETER goes to the piano. Plays the two highest notes over and over.

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