New Ghostbusters film takes shoot to Fort Macleod

Fort Macleod is getting ready for its close up.

Next week, Hollywood film crews will take over the main street of the southern Alberta town's historic downtown to shoot a scene for the new Ghostbusters film.

It's not the first time Fort Macleod has been used as a film location.

In April, crews working on the film Let Him Go, starring Kevin Costner, also shot scenes in Fort Macleod, and there are rumours of another film production coming to town this fall.

The look of the town

Laszlo Uhrik, the location manager for Ghostbusters 2020, says that's because directors and production managers like Fort Macleod for its look.

"Specifically the main street, that block of buildings that has been maintained the way that it looks now, gives a look that is timeless in a sense," he said.

"It's really a beautiful block of buildings."

Uhrik said the town will be a stand-in for a small, nondescript place in Oklahoma.

But there won't be any recognizable Hollywood faces in town this time. Crews will be shooting a roughly four-minute long driving scene with stunt performers.

'Win-win'

Sue Keenan, the town's chief administrative officer, says it's a win-win for film crews and local businesses when Hollywood productions come to town.

"When you are talking about 100, 120 crew alone, it's huge, especially when you are a small business," she said.

"But with the anticipated visitors we are expecting for this particular shoot coming in costumes and everything else, it should be significant for us."

Like father like son

The first twoGhostbustersmovies starred Bill Murray, DanAykroyd, HaroldRamisand Ernie Hudson as parapsychologists in New York who investigate ghosts for a living.

Four-time Oscar nomineeJason Reitman is directingthe new instalment in theGhostbustersseries, which set to come out in the summer of 2020.

Theproduction will be shooting in Calgary and the surrounding area from July 15 to Oct. 10.

Reitman's father,Ivan Reitman, directed and produced the originalGhostbustersmovie, which came out in 1984, as well as the sequel in 1989.