Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/780285
P E R S P E C T I V E | M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 7 39 Director Ivan Reitman was six weeks out from Ghostbusters' principal photography when he discovered that the property and transportation departments had each thought the other was creating the Ecto-1, the Cadillac ambulance converted to a ghost-battling quasi-military vehicle. Reitman's search for a consultant to help him out of this bind led him to Stephen, who went to an interview with Reitman, armed with his portfolio, and got the job. In addition to the Ecto-1, he was also tasked with helping visualize a whole series of props that had fallen through the production cracks: the Proton Packs, Particle Throwers, Ghost Traps and several others. Starting on September 22, 1983, Stephen would take descriptions from Reitman and references in the script and draw up ideas at home, four to five miles from The Burbank Studios. Basically, over several days, he would return to Reitman daily with his ideas and get feedback. Once the drawings were approved, he would buy parts and fabricate a rough mock-up. One of the first props he started on was the Particle Thrower. Soon the design and building processes overlapped. Most of his time was spent on the props. For the Proton Pack, Stephen based his rough sketches on flamethrowers he recalled from military magazines. Around the start of October, he started on Ecto-1 then went back to working on props. On October 6, he bought a pack frame for the Proton Pack mock-up from California Surplus, on Santa Monica and Vine, and built a rough mock-up of the backpack flamethrower idea. Dane and Reitman talked and refined the design. The working design then went to the prop builders. Stephen continued to guide the construction and Opposite page, top to bottom: Three elevations in Mr. Dane's now-familiar style, for the jet truck from THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION. Production Designer J. Michael Riva brought him on board specifically to design this vehicle, modifying a 1982 Ford F-350 pickup. Brand-name components included Goodyear tires and Monroe shock absorbers. The frame assembly was reinforced, and included adding the front end from a Grand National stock car. Other additions included air scoops from a DC-3 transport plane, the cockpit from a World War II German fighter plane and parachute packs to assist deceleration. Engine modifications included an oversized carburetor and room for nitrous oxide tanks for extra speed. As for the jet engine itself, in addition to providing a visually impressive trail of flame and smoke, it was capable of producing 3,000-4,000 lbs. of thrust, which translates to speeds of 150 mph-200 mph for the jet car. This is well below the mach-plus speeds it's said to reach in the story, but still pretty impressive for a movie prop. This page, clockwise from top: Mr. Dane sitting on the vehicle in the shop of Thrust Racing, owned by Jerry Segal and George Haddebeck, who built the prop; Segal also served as the stunt driver for the jet car sequences. Two views of a 3D model of the vehicle drawn recently by Ukrainian fan, and CGI artist, Dmytro Kotliar; the fascination with Mr. Dane's designs lives on. Multiple photographs of a white cardboard model built by Mr. Dane to explain the geometries to the Thrust Racing technicians and to director W.D. Richter; Mr. Dane is holding this model in the photograph above.