Atari gives Alyssa Milano a promotion

by: Cyril - posted: 3/23/2009 12:22:00 PM

So the news leaked this weekend that alien killing machine Sigourney Weaver would be replaced by Poison Ivy temptress Alyssa Milano in Atari's upcoming Ghostbusters video game.  Outside of the drastic age difference (Sigourney being 59 versus Alyssa at a mere 36), I honestly didn't think much of it.  And then I received an email from Atari's PR this morning that piqued my interest.  Here is the subject line to this Ghostbuster-related press release:

"Alyssa Milano Unveiled as Part of Star-Studded Cast of Ghostbusters: The Video Game"

Alyssa Milano?  Star studded??  Talk about hyperbole.  Let's not oversell the cast of Ghostbusters here, outside of Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, the Ghostbuster cast looks to be on the B (and maybe even C) list.  Don't believe me?  Can you name the last movie Alyssa Milano was in?  Of course you can't, because this one-time TV star has been slumming it with terrible suspense-thrillers (Pathology) and made-for-TV movies (Wisegal, Single With Parents, etc.).  Outside of her work on the low-rated Charmed, Alyssa hasn't exactly been in the spotlight. 

And that goes for the rest of the Ghostbusters cast.  While Harold Ramis has been funny in movies like Knocked Up, Walk Hard and Orange County, if you add up all of his parts in those movies you still wouldn't have a half hour of footage.  And what about Ernie Hudson?  Lately he's been making weird cameos on TV shows (Bones, Private Practice, Psych, etc.), but he'll return to the big screen later this year in ... Dragonball Evolution?

Look, Alyssa Milano and the rest of the cast are good gets, I can't wait to hear Bill, Ernie, Dan and Harold return to playing off each other.  But to say that these people are star-studded is a gross exaggeration of the term.  Perhaps Atari just hasn't announced the star-studded part.  Maybe we'll see Jack Black, Aneglina Jolie and Brad Pitt announced as voices.  Or maybe not.