Editing Ghostbusters (section)

=== Filming ===
{{multiple image|total_width=350
 | direction = horizontal
 | alt footer = Head shots of Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman 
 | caption_align = center 
 | image1 = Ghostbusters Headquarters - Firehouse, Hook & Ladder Company 8 (52142207393).jpg
 | caption1 = [[Firehouse, Hook & Ladder Company 8]] (in 2022), the New York City firehouse used for the exterior of the Ghostbusters headquarters.
 | alt1 = Photograph of 55 Central Park West which served as the home of Dana and Louis and the setting for the climactic battle
 | image2 = 55 Central Park West (Ghostbusters Building) by David Shankbone.jpg
 | caption2 = [[55 Central Park West]] (in 2007), which served as the setting for the climactic battle.
 | alt2 = Photograph of Firehouse, Hook and Ladder Company 8, the New York City firehouse used for the exterior of the Ghostbusters headquarters 
}}
[[Principal photography]] began in New York City on October 28, 1983.<ref name="AFI" /><ref name="VanityFair2014" /><ref name="BTMSep14" /> On the first day, Reitman brought Murray to the set, still unsure if he had read the script.<ref name="VanityFair2014" /> Filming in New York lasted for approximately six weeks, finishing just before Christmas.<ref name="THR2016" /> Reitman was conscious they had to complete the New York phase before they encountered inhospitable December weather.<ref name="LAWeeklyJul2016" /> At the time, choosing to shoot in New York City was considered risky. In the early 1980s, many saw the city as synonymous with [[History of New York City (1978–present)#Koch and Dinkins (1978–1993)|fiscal disaster and violence]], and Los Angeles was seen as the center of the entertainment industry. In a 2014 interview, Reitman said he chose New York because "I wanted the film to be{{nbsp}}... my New York movie".<ref name="VanityFair2014" /> As Reitman was working with comedians, he encouraged [[Improvisational theatre|improvisation]], adapting multiple takes and keeping the cast creations that worked, but directing them back to the script.<ref name="RollingJuly2016" />

Some [[guerrilla filmmaking]] took place, capturing spontaneous scenes at iconic locations around the city, including one shot at [[Rockefeller Center]] where the actors were chased off by a real security guard.<ref name="VanityFair2014" /> A scene was shot on [[Central Park West]] with extras chanting "Ghostbusters" before the name had been cleared. Medjuck contacted the studio, urging them to secure permission to use the word as the title.<ref name="Esquire" />

The building at [[55 Central Park West]] served as the home of Weaver's character and the setting of the Ghostbusters' climactic battle with Gozer. The art department added extra floors and embellishments using [[matte painting]]s, models, and digital effects to create the focal point of ghostly activity.<ref name="FSR" /><ref name="NYMag2005" /><ref name="DigitalSpyMay2015" /> During shooting of the final scene at the building, city officials allowed the closure of the adjacent streets during [[rush hour]], affecting traffic across a large swath of the city. Gross commented that, from the top of the building, they could see traffic queuing all the way to [[Brooklyn]]. At various points, a police officer drew his gun on a taxi driver who refused orders; in a similar incident, another officer pulled a driver through his limo window. When angry citizens asked Medjuck what was being filmed, he blamed [[Francis Ford Coppola]] filming ''[[The Cotton Club (film)|The Cotton Club]]'' (1984). Aykroyd encountered science-fiction writer [[Isaac Asimov]], a man he admired, who complained, "You guys are inconveniencing this building, it's just awful; I don't know how they got away with this!"<ref name="Esquire" /> Directly next to 55 Central Park West is the [[Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (Manhattan)|Holy Trinity Lutheran Church]], which is stepped on by the Marshmallow Man.<ref name="DigitalSpyMay2015" />

Other locations included [[New York City Hall]],<ref name="DigitalSpyMay2015" /> the New York Public Library main branch,<ref name="AFI" /> the [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts]],<ref name="LATimesLincoln" /> [[Columbus Circle]], the [[Irving Trust Bank]] on [[Fifth Avenue]],<ref name="Curbed" /> and [[Tavern on the Green]]. [[Firehouse, Hook & Ladder Company 8]] in the [[Tribeca]] neighborhood was used as the Ghostbusters' headquarters.<ref name="AFI" /><ref name="PeopleJun2014" />{{sfn|Wallace|2015|pp=31–32, 38–39, 48}} Columbia University allowed its [[Havemeyer Hall]] to stand in for the fictional Weaver Hall, on the condition the university not be identified by name.{{sfn|Wallace|2015|pp=31–32, 38–39, 48}}

Filming moved to Los Angeles, resuming between Christmas and the New Year.<ref name="THR2016" /> Due to the film's use of practical effects, skilled technicians were needed who resided mainly in the city and soundstages that were non-existent in New York.<ref name="LAWeeklyJul2016" /> Despite its setting, most of ''Ghostbusters'' was filmed on location in Los Angeles or on sets at Burbank Studios. Location scouts searched for buildings that could replicate the interiors of buildings being filmed in New York.<ref name="AFI" /><ref name="LAWeeklyJul2016" /> Reitman tried using the interior of Hook & Ladder 8, but was unable to take it over long enough because it was an active fire station. Interior firehouse shots were taken instead at the decommissioned [[Fire Station No. 23 (Los Angeles, California)|Fire House No. 23]] in downtown Los Angeles. The building design, while common in New York, was a rarity in Los Angeles. An archival photograph of an active crew in Fire House No. 23 from 1915 was hung in the background of the Ghostbusters' office.<ref name="LAWeeklyJul2016" />

Filming in the main reading room of the New York Public Library was only allowed in the early morning and had to be concluded by 10:00&nbsp;am.<ref name="DOGMay2016" /> The basement library stacks were represented by the [[Los Angeles Central Library]] as Reitman said they were interchangeable.<ref name="LAWeeklyJul2016" /> The [[Millennium Biltmore Hotel]] stood in for the scenes set at the fictional Sedgewick Hotel.{{sfn|Wallace|2015|pp=47–48}} Principal photography concluded at the end of January 1984, after between 55 and 62 days of filming.<ref name="THR2016" /><ref name="TestedMay15" />