Quick Takes: ‘Ghostbusters’ gets the call

It worked for lions, so why not for Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd too?

Sony announced Thursday that it is bringing back 1984’s “Ghostbusters” for a weekly engagement in theaters in October, continuing the revival theme embodied by last week’s re-release of the box office hit “The Lion King.”

For three consecutive Thursdays beginning Oct. 13, director Ivan Reitman’s action-comedy will play in about 500 theaters around the country, the studio said. The Los Angeles-area venues have not been disclosed.

Reitman’s classic starred Murray, Aykroyd and Harold Ramis as paranormal specialists who remove ghosts from New York City buildings and built to a climactic showdown with the larger-than-life (and larger-than-skyscrapers) Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. A sequel was released in 1989.

—Steven Zeitchik

Getty to return works to Greece

The J. Paul Getty Museum said Thursday that it would return two ancient artifacts to Greece as part of a new agreement with the country’s ministry of culture.

The objects in question are fragments of a grave marker and a Greek-language inscription, both acquired in the 1970s, according to the Getty. The museum said the grave-marker fragments have never gone on display in L.A. and that they are part of a larger work depicting female forms that dates from the fifth century B.C.

The Getty said that the Greek-language inscription features 65 lines describing sacrifices and festivals. The work dates from 430 to 420 B.C. and is on view at the Getty Villa.

—David Ng

Ruby slippers to be auctioned

A pair of the ruby slippers worn on-screen by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” is scheduled to hit the auction block Dec. 16.

Although “Oz” ruby slippers have come up for auction in the past — most recently a screen-test pair that fetched $612,000 at a June auction, according to Profiles in History, the auction house in charge of both auctions — this is one of only four pairs of screen-used ruby slippers known to have survived since the making of the 1939 film. One pair is at the Smithsonian, one is in private hands and a third pair was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn.

Profiles in History’s pre-sale estimate for the slippers is $2 million to $3 million. A company representative declined to reveal the identity of the slippers’ current owner.

—Adam Tschorn

Britney Spears on the big 3-0

The singer who created a sensation when she hit the music world in pigtails and knee socks is turning 30 — and Britney Spears says she’s looking forward to it.

The U.S. pop star will be on the South American leg of her “Femme Fatale” world tour as she celebrates the landmark birthday Dec. 2.

“I hear the older you get, the wiser you get and the more you know what you want — so hopefully it’ll be a good year,” the woman who was once one of the Internet’s most-searched names said.

After a performance Thursday in St. Petersburg, Russia, Spears will be touring across Europe — from Hungary and France to Sweden, Germany and Britain — before heading to South America in November.

—Associated Press

Schwarzenegger memoir due

Former California governor, four-time Mr. Universe and big box-office draw Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to publish a memoir with Simon and Schuster, the publisher said Thursday.

The book is tentatively titled “Total Recall.” He’ll be collaborating with Peter Petre, former executive editor of Fortune magazine.

—Carolyn Kellogg

For 2010-11, Leno tops Letterman

“The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” officially wrapped up the 2010-11 television season that ended last week as the ratings victor over “Late Show With David Letterman,” according to late-night figures released Thursday by Nielsen.

Leno’s NBC program averaged 3.8 million viewers per night during the year while Letterman’s CBS telecast drew 3.3 million. That was a 10% increase over the preceding year for “The Tonight Show” and an 8% decline for “Late Show,” NBC said.

The difference: Conan O’Brien was hosting “The Tonight Show” during the first half of the 2009-10 season. The audience jumped as soon as Leno returned to the host’s chair in March 2010.

—Lee Margulies

Finally

New series: Kiefer Sutherland, the former star of “24,” will return to Fox next spring in “Touch,” a drama series from “Heroes” creator Tim Kring about a widower who discovers that his 11-year-old son has unusual abilities.