Paul Feig reflects on the negative reception of his GHOSTBUSTERS reboot – ‘So many were Trump supporters’

Director Paolo Feige recently reflected on his 2016 reboot Ghostbusters and the negative reception it received.

When the film was first announced and fans learned that it wouldn’t be set in the same universe as the original films and that none of the iconic members of the original team would be returning, there was, of course, a lot of gaming.

Being a huge fan of the original films, I definitely wasn’t happy with that direction. But then there was also the fact that the new team would be made up of only women, and this sent a whole bunch of other fans into a rage.

For me, just the idea of ​​rebooting the franchise with a whole new group of characters didn’t sit well. I mean, you can’t reboot a classic movie like Ghostbusters! This is what made my blood boil.

After watching the film, I thought it had a weak story, tired gags, unnecessary cameos, and a bad ending. But, at the same time, my kids enjoyed that moment.

Speaking to The Guardian, Feig reflected on the film’s release. When asked why he decided to make a film without the original characters, he said:

“I count [Murray] he had publicly said he didn’t want to make another Ghostbusters at that point. Harold Ramis was dead. Dan [Aykroyd] and Ernie [Hudson] they were there, but half the team felt weird. It was 30 years ago and Bill and the gang were so iconic; I didn’t want to do anything that would harm the original films.”

He went on to talk about the politics of the time, saying, “The political climate at the time was really weird, with Hillary Clinton running for office in 2016. There were a lot of kids looking for a fight.

“When I was full of people, on Twitter, I would go back and see who they were. Many were Trump supporters. Then Trump turned against us. It said, “They’re remaking Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford.” You can’t do it. And now they’re making Ghostbusters with only women. What’s happening?’ and I got all angry.

“They’re all gone [frick]cannibal. He turned the film into a political statement, as if to say, “If you’re pro-women, you’ll go see it.” If you’re not, then…’ I didn’t think it mattered at all that the main characters were women, but people were carrying a lot of baggage with them.”

Whether you agree with Feig’s perspective or not, it’s hard to argue that the film didn’t have all the odds stacked against it from the start.

That said, the latest Ghostbusters film, Ghostbusters: The Frozen Empirewhich is connected to the original universe, also turned out to be a huge disappointment. A weak story is a weak story.