Harold Ramis
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramiswas an American actor, director, writer, and comedian. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in Ghostbustersand Ghostbusters IIand Russell Ziskey in Stripes; he also co-wrote those films. As a writer-director, his films include the comedies Caddyshack, National Lampoon's Vacation, Groundhog Day, and Analyze This. Ramis was the original head writer of the television series SCTV, on which he also performed, and he was one of three screenwriters of the film National Lampoon's Animal House...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth21 November 1944
CityChicago, IL
CountryUnited States of America
As an actor, you're completely at the mercy of other people. You basically go begging for the opportunity to work. As a writer, at least nobody can tell me what to do. I can write what I want. I might not sell it, but at least I'm in control.
I loved writing and performing, but the idea of doing it for a living seemed so remote. But I eventually let it devolve to the point where it was the only thing I could do.
It's a great luxury for me to be able to write on the films that I direct, and kind of a nice thing to be able to write enough to get credit, which is difficult for a director.
Analyze This is a good movie because Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal are really good. But without the material to put on the play, of course, they couldn't be good. For me, it starts with the writing.
When a director writes, there's a compulsory arbitration. You have a right to challenge any of the arbitrators, but they pick three of four arbitrators who read all the drafts with no names attached and then allocate credit.
There's a personal story of my own that I will write at some point, and it's a film that I will happily make. It could very well be the next thing I do, unless someone shows me something great.
I made a handshake agreement with my best friend in college, Michael Shamberg, who is now a movie producer. We used to write shows together, and we said, "Let's only do what's fun. Let's never take a job where we have to dress up in a suit."
They both have this really explosive unpredictable energy. You just don't know what they're going to do,
Stripes' was my first on-camera appearance and people already knew me somewhat from that, but nothing like 'Ghostbusters.' Fashion models were interested in me,
As consultants, they actually delivered to us a fairly detailed scientific proposal that told us they would look for small changes in temperature and air pressure, as well as odors and vapors of different kinds, ... So, all of our equipment design was predicated on the 'what if?' reality.
And then there's some certain physical similarities just in stature and the way they move. They move funny. Belushi used to just walk out onstage, audiences would laugh. And I see that in Jack.
Approaching it skeptically, I wanted to know if you were going to make a sincere scientific investigation, what would be the parameters of that,
I've never been a big believer in ghosts or the spirit world, and for me, that was part of the point of the movie, ... What the 'Ghostbusters' represented was the triumph of human courage and human ingenuity. People create their own monsters. Our fears come from within us, not outside.
Plus I'm not so sure Bill was wildly enthusiastic about putting the suit on again,