The book “Making Ghostbusters” says that there were five drafts made of the “Ghostbusters” script. I have found that there is at least one more (there could even be several more). Below are all the drafts that I know of, though not all of them are available for your reading pleasure. All of the ones that have the “From My Personal Collection” notation are ones that I actually own copies of.
I have digitalized (scanned in) all of the scripts presented on this page, except where otherwise noted. These scripts have been compiled into 2 color (black & white) 300dpi PDF files. In order to view and print these scripts, you will need a PDF viewer.
In some cases, a script may be available in formats other than, or in addition to, PDF. For example, I may have transcribed a script into plain text/html format. In these cases, I have left all spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors that were present in the original script, in tact in these transcriptions. This was done so that what you read is very close to the actual thing.
These scripts have been specially formatted for the printed page. I encourage you to print them out, punch holes in the printed pages and place them into a 3-ring binder. Now you’ll have your own neatly-printed script, perfect for any library.
Remember: These are the scripts as originally written by the writers. They most likely are not 100% the same as what appears in the finished filmed product.
Please Note: Some of these scripts (the plain text/html versions) have been taken from this site and used elsewhere on the internet, but with my transcriber’s credit removed. Although I don’t claim to own the scripts, it’s very rude for others to have done this to me. If you find any of these scripts on other sites, please remember that they originally came from this site. None of these scripts were online before I personally transcribed them. That’s a fact.
Ghostbusters — by Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis
* January 20, 1983 (possibly only by Dan Aykroyd and possibly titled “Ghost Mashers”)
* Excerpts – Text/Html
* June 6, 1983
* Excerpts – Text/Html
* July 6, 1983
* Excerpts – Text/Html
* August 5, 1983
* Excerpts – Text/Html
* September 30, 1983 (“Third Draft”) (From My Personal Collection)
* October 7, 1983 (“Final Shooting Script”) (From My Personal Collection – in the book “Making Ghostbusters” by Don Shay)
* Text/Html
* PDF Text (141 Kb)
* June 15, 1984 (“Combined Continuity & Master Subtitle/Spotting List”) (From My Personal Collection)
Final Film Transcript (available in text/html version only)
Unlike the previous items listed on this page, this isn’t a script draft as written by Harold and Dan. This is a word-for-word transcription of the dialogue and situations from the final edit of the film. The transcription was done by Adam Bertocci, and originally appeared on his now-defunct website. I have made corrections as I’ve found them, but there may still be many more to make.
