Why Chris Hemsworth’s big, expensive Ghostbusters scene was cut

WE HAD the joy of seeing a lot of Chris Hemsworth and his bulging arms in the new Ghostbusters, but it turns out his biggest scene was cut from the flick.

Chris Hemsworth as receptionist Kevin in a scene from Ghostbusters.

WE HAD the joy of seeing a lot of Chris Hemsworth and his bulging arms in the new Ghostbusters, but it turns out his biggest scene was cut from the flick.

Director Paul Feig told Vulture he originally shot a dance sequence lead by Hemsworth set to The Bee Gees’ You Should Be Dancing. But after the scene got mixed reviews from test audiences, Feig decided to cut it, saying it was “the biggest decision of my life”.

And it turns out it was a spectacularly expensive decision too.

A source has come forward and told The Hollywood Reporter the scene “cost in the low seven figures and took up two full days of shooting, not including rehearsal time”.

In the epic scene, Chris Hemsworth’s character — receptionist Kevin — is possessed by a ghost and leads hundreds of NYPD officers and soldiers in a choreographed dance in the middle of Times Square as it’s being destroyed.

Hemsworth as Kevin in a scene from Ghostbusters.

It was one of Feig’s favourite scenes, but he decided it had to go.

“There was something about it where it became a bit of an island,” he told Vulture. “It was stopping the flow for the audience, because even though they really loved it, they were having trouble coming back out of it. It was making the rhythm a little too goofy, in a weird way, and it was hurting our story a little bit … but it was Chris Hemsworth doing this amazing dance sequence!”

But it still got a run somewhere in the movie. In the final version of the film that’s in theatres, parts of the dance sequence play as the credits roll, among several other deleted scenes.

Originally published as Why Chris Hemsworth’s big, expensive Ghostbusters scene was cut