Who ya gonna call? Petition writers!
OK, it doesn’t quite have the same wring to it as Ray Parker Jr.’s ear worm Ghostbusters, but that hasn’t stopped a group of film fans from launching an online petition to restore Ecto-1a … the car used by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson in 1989’s Ghostbusters II.
Here on the official site, the organizers explain that both Ecto-1 automobiles were scheduled to be restored in an effort backed by Sony Pictures executive Keith Hargrove. But while the rebuilding of Ecto-1 (from the original Ghostbusters) is complete, a lack of funding prevented the studio from moving ahead on the restoration on Ecto-1a, the car used in the sequel. “[Five] years later, the original Ecto-1a from Ghostbusters II now sits on the backlot at Sony in dire need of restoration,” the site reports.
Hey, at least we’re not wasting our breath on more Ghostbusters 3 talk, right? Here’s an excellent clip on the restoration process on the initial Ecto:
What are the petition launchers looking for? The group, called Ghostbusters Fans, is lobbying for Sony to sell them the movie prop (and its requisite parts) so that they can restore “her” to “the condition she was seen in the silver screen in 1989.” Back in its glory day, it looked like this:
At last count, the petition has 3,547 digital signatures. No word (at least as far as I can tell) as to how many the site needs before it gets Sony’s attention. There is a field in the petition asking those who sign if they would be willing to donate money toward the restoration project, and if so, how much? And then they conclude with a series of photos showing how the car has collapsed over the years, starting with its time at Universal Studios Florida leading to its above condition on the Sony lot. One day, these fans hope the Ecto-1a can look like this. Will you help them?
