Summary Dan Aykroyd supports the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot with female cast, praising their performances and the film's unique vision. Online hate and divisiveness surrounding the movie reveals audience entitlement and bias against the all-female cast. Aykroyd commends the new cast for stepping into iconic roles, emphasizing the film's entertainment value despite online backlash.
Original Ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd, who played Dr. Ray Stantz in Ivan Reitman's 1984 horror comedy Ghostbusters, has shared his approval and support for the 2016 reboot of the same name directed by Paul Feig. Saying that the 2016 version was met with an obnoxious reaction by internet users is an understatement. The film still has the power to divide the waters between those who understood Feig's standpoint and the online trolls who didn't care for the movie's biggest change: the all-female cast.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Aykroyd gave his opinion about the film in which he appeared in a cameo, and also supported by being an executive producer:
"I liked the movie Paul Feig made with those spectacular women. I was mad at them at the time because I was supposed to be a producer on there and I didn't do my job and I didn't argue about costs. And it cost perhaps more than it should, and they all do. All these movies do."
Ghostbusters 2016 PG-13 Release Date July 14, 2016 Director Paul Feig Cast Kristen Wiig , Melissa McCarthy , Kate McKinnon , Leslie Jones , Zach Woods , Ed Begley Jr. Main Genre Comedy
Aykroyd continues praising the film, especially the new cast of comedians who took on the difficult role of stepping in the shoes of 1980s icons like Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson: "I thought that the villain at the end was great. I loved so much of it. And of course, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones and Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, you're never going to do better than that.
"So I go on the record as saying I'm so proud to have been able to license that movie and have a hand and have a part in it, and I'm fully supportive of it, and I don't besmirch it at all. I think it works really great amongst all the ones that have been made."
2016's Ghostbusters Was the Target of Online Hatred Like We've Never Seen Before Close
The contempt against Ghostbusters began even before the film was released. At one point, the trailer of the film garnered more dislikes than likes on YouTube and became the most hated film trailer on the platform. Early reviews became "review-bombing tactics."
When the film was released, it was divisive. Those who loved it were criticized simply for liking the movie, and those who didn't like it were accused of being biased. Even the stars of the film received online hate with sexist and racist remarks.
Related How Dan Aykroyd's Love of the Paranormal Led to Ghostbusters
Aykroyd's ghostly family history made him a student of all things supernatural.
The conflict, one that's still making people talk especially on "Film Twitter," is proof that audiences sometimes feel entitled to model the industry after their taste. Fan-service films are a reality that still brings big bucks to studios.
But that has nothing to do with the fact that you had four good comedians in an entertaining movie, and some people hated it for something as absurd as "the movie stars women and not men, and the original had men." A reboot won't ever affect a film made decades ago, but online trolls associated it immediately with the tampering of an IP.
Maybe some of those haters could take a page from Aykroyd's book and learn to appreciate that the film had its own unique vision.
Ghostbusters (2016) is available to stream on AMC+.
