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 scripts that are noted as being from my (Paul Rudoff) personal collection are ones that I actually own copies of. Some of these scans have been cleaned by Matthew Jordan.
I have digitalized (scanned in) all of the scripts presented on this page, except where otherwise noted. These scripts have been compiled into PDF files suitable for printing. 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. Photos of some original scripts can be found on the Ghostbusters Wiki.
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.
If you have any scripts not already provided here, and can scan then in, please e-mail me. I’d like to provide the most complete collection of scripts available.
January 20, 1983 (possibly “Ghost Mashers” by Dan Aykroyd)
(only available as: Text Excerpts from Making Ghostbusters)
June 6, 1983 (first draft co-authored by Aykroyd & Ramis)
(only available as: Text Excerpts from Making Ghostbusters)
July 6, 1983 (incomplete, missing last 30 pages) (scanned and provided by Lawrence Duane)
(also available as: Text Excerpts from Making Ghostbusters, Text Notes from Lawrence Duane, photo #1 of script, photo #2 of script)
• NOTE: The Ghostbusters Wiki has detailed notes on this script draft.
August 5, 1983 (scanned and provided by Patrick O’Riley, image clean-up done by Matthew Jordan)
(also available as: Text Excerpts from Making Ghostbusters)
• NOTE: Erroneously listed as “First Draft” on the cover even though there were earlier drafts (as noted above).
• NOTE: The Ghostbusters Wiki has detailed notes on this script draft.
September 30, 1983 (“Third Draft”) (from Paul Rudoff’s personal collection)
• NOTE: The Ghostbusters Wiki has detailed notes on this script draft.
October 7, 1983 (“Final Shooting Script”) (from Paul Rudoff’s personal collection – in the book “Making Ghostbusters” by Don Shay)
(also available as: Text/Html, PDF Text (v1), PDF Text (v2), Multi-Page Html)
• NOTE: The Ghostbusters Wiki has detailed notes on this script draft.
June 15, 1984 (“Combined Continuity & Master Subtitle/Spotting List”) (from Paul Rudoff’s personal collection)
(also available as: 2-Color PDF for those who want a smaller file to download)
• NOTE: This is, essentually, a transcript of the final movie dialog and actions, with descriptions of what certain words and phrases mean. I believe that it was intended to help aid foreign distributors in wiriting up subtitles for the film. This large, nearly 300-page document, also includes notes on where the six film reels begin and end, and other techincal bits and bobs that would undoubtedly be useful for a film projectionist.
• NOTE: On the Spook Central Facebook page is a gallery of the shots that begin and end the six film reels.
Final Film Transcript (transcibed by MrMichaelT)
(also available as: RTF document)
• NOTE: This is a word-for-word transcription of the dialogue and situations from the final edit of the film.
