A writeup for Den of Geek (my first) about a celebrity(!) première screening I went to for the new Ghostbusters Blu-ray. A nice experience with a free bar and olives. I would be not be opposed to doing it again.

Due to the tube strike it ended up being a hideously long walk from Acton to the Soho Hotel, the posho venue for the screening. We weren’t quite sure how to act among so many Z-list celebs, so concentrated on taking full advantage of the bar before realising we hadn’t actually eaten a great deal so stuffing our faces with Haribo Marshmallows from the press pack. Those suckers are big.

The film was good (as I knew it would be) and I was impressed with Blu-ray, though I still can’t quite see the need for it in a regular home environment.

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It’s safe to say that the Blu-ray release of Ghostbusters was, for both Sony and the fans, a Big Deal. With the simultaneous launch of the Ghostbusters video game on the franchise’s 25th Anniversary, a promotional website for the disc itself at GhostbustersIsHiring.com, as well as plenty of talk surrounding the possibilities of a filmed sequel featuring the majority of the original cast, this was a launch that deserved a heavy amount of publicity.

And so it was that Dizzee Rascal, a semi-finalist from Britain’s Got Talent, and a whole host of ex-Big Brother housemates gathered in the lobby of the Soho Hotel, eagerly awaiting a screening of the Blu-ray. The screening itself was delayed a little while, presumably due to the increased congestion as a result of London’s tube strikes (though tellingly the theatre was only approximately 50% full) but everyone dutifully filed in, took their seats and listened to Dave Berry’s introduction.

After a very brief video introduction from director Ivan Reitman, we were straight into the movie. Granted, it was playing in a cinema environment, and hardly the usual venue for watching a Blu-ray, but I have to say the transfer looked and sounded flawless. The film holds up astoundingly well with an audience; all the laughs came at the right places and the actors carry the film through Ramis and Akroyd’s dialogue beautifully, garnering exactly the reactions they aim for – except, perhaps, when an unknown voice shouted at Egon, calling him a loser for collecting spores, molds and fungus.

And that was it, though it would’ve been nice to see a preview of the game in action, or some of the additional Blu-ray content which the US premiere featured. Attendees received a copy of the disc and of the game (a timed exclusive on PS3 in PAL regions), some marshmallows and a packet of Angel Delight (which always reminded me a little of ectoplasm, but I’m not sure that Bird’s necessarily intended that particular association).

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