SOS Fantômes, cult comedy, is broadcast on TF1 Séries Films. This is an opportunity to ask the question: where does the legendary logo of the Ghostbusters team come from?
It is December 12, 1984. SOS Fantômes landed on French screens, attracting 3 million spectators. This team of ghost hunters, made up of Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson, quickly became cult. Worldwide, the feature film brings in nearly $ 300 million in revenue for a budget of 30.
If Ghostbusters has become so iconic, it is also thanks to a design that everyone now knows ... the famous Ghostbusters logo! This frightened-looking white specter barred by a prohibition sign remains engraved in the minds of the public and helps to install the SOS Fantômes myth. This little ghost, who will become a symbol of American pop culture, has a rather particular history.
In 1984, Michael C. Gross, artist, designer and associate producer of the film, produced this logo. He has no idea that his contribution will forever mark a whole section of the history of American comedy. Baptized Mooglie by director Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd, the little ghost will become inseparable from the saga.
The artist's challenge was to create an instantly recognizable logo without needing to add the film title to it. According to Gross, the idea of including "Ghostbusters" in letters on the logo's crossbar was quickly scrapped because it was unreadable. In 1989, Tim Burton's promotion of Batman was inspired by Ghostbusters, featuring the Batman logo everywhere instead of the title.
Before getting into filmmaking, Gross worked for Esquire magazine. He was also a graphic designer for John Lennon and artistic consultant for The Rolling Stones, the Muppets and the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. One of Michael C. Gross's great accomplishments, aside from the Ghostbusters logo, is a famous cover for National Lampoon magazine that appeared in 1973.
We saw a dog with a worried look with a pistol aimed at his head. The catchphrase? " If you don't buy this magazine, we'll kill the dog. " This formidable efficiency hit the US so much that the American Society of Magazine Editors will rank it among the 40 best covers in history.
National Lampoon
The artist was also honored by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where several of his works and creations were exhibited. After having produced 11 feature films, from Metal Hurlant to the two Ghostbusters via Twins, A Kindergarten Cop or Beethoven ... Michael Curtis Gross retired in 1994 at the age of 50. For 20 years, he spent happy days in his home near San Diego. He died on November 16, 2015, at the age of 70, from cancer he had been fighting for years.
GAFFES DE SOS PHANTÔMES
