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Tuesday, December 7th, 2021 11:36 PM

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Rejected cast addition to Ghostbusters: Afterlife

It was recently proven via a book and assorted articles that for several shots Ivan Reitman portrays Dr. Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). An attempt at adding this notable appearance to cast of the movie (#211202-071619-007000) ended up rejected with reason stated as "Unable to verify".

Ironically enough, attached instruction states "Include URL evidence to help verify the request ↓" which is exactly what was done.  

Accepted Solution

Employee

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3 years ago

Hi Nikolay & eboy -

Yes, this is a bit of a gray area as far as eligibility.  Generally, we will only list these Cast credits if the individual received an on-screen credit within the cast section, as per our motion capture guidelines.  In this case, the role is not credited which makes it ineligible, however, if the role is voiced, then we may make an exception and list the cameo role.

eboy - can you confirm if the role is voiced?

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@Michelle I saw the movie too and I can confirm that the role is not voiced (in these particular scenes - if we're speaking technically same character has lines in the movie and they are re-used ones by Harold Ramis).

I'm perfectly fine with moving Reitman to "Other Crew" as long as role is in his filmography somewhere. 

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Based on the ”Motion Capture credits” guide, it seems that this (uncredited) credit falls under ”Othet Crew”.

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3 years ago

(SPOILERS) = Do not read if you hate any kind of spoilers..


I just saw this movie a week ago. Egon Spengler (face, at least) is basically a CGI-character (also in story wise, but let’s leave it to that), so I guess Ivan Reitman basically did a motion capture performance (his father’s face added in post etc). Does this qualify to ”Acting” department?

(edited)

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@eboy I would argue that it is one of those cases when lines are really blurred. I have studied what shots Reitman was in (before I saw the movie) and one of the most crucial ones is his hand guiding Phoebe's proton pack. I believe that while face is added later, overall shot remains him, especially that hand. It just amped with the glow. 

Additional notes on that:

-Another actor who portrays Egon, Bob Gunton, is fully credited in the cast section (with a spoiler-redacted role, but still);

-Reitman is fully suited for his scenes and was not seen having any markings (dots for further digital correction), which is, at the very least, not a standard practice for motion capture performance;

-That's kinda besides the point, but oddly enough on-set readers now could be found in the Cast credits, despite their performances are literal placeholders. Not arguing that they should be there by default unless credited (if delighted that latter happens, tbh), but to provide additional context. 

Oh, and Reitman is also seen in the previously unseen outtake from the original movie edited into the news report, but that is kind of besides the point, too. 

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3 years ago

Yes, what is the difference between ”acting”, ”body/photo double” and (e.g.) ”motion capture performance” (especially in the recent years where the whole character can be CGI, but still ”played” by someone on the set or in front of the green screen).

Employee

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3 years ago

Hi Nikolay & eboy -

The credit has now been approved as a motion capture actor within the "Additional Crew" section, as it is not eligible to be listed as a cast credit.

Cheers!