Credit: Sony PicturesOne of cinema’s most controversial reboots, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), is still making waves for all the wrong reasons seven years after it was released in theaters.
In 2016, the Ghostbusters reboot caused a storm of such epic proportions that anyone who had a real PKE meter at the time would have picked up some serious paranormal activity from the film’s announcement to its time in theaters.
When the initial trailer for the film dropped online, the fanbase went into a frenzy, and many were quick to echo the words made famous from Ray Parker Jr.’s iconic “Ghostbusters” song from the original 1984 film — “It don’t look good.”
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The idea of rebooting a beloved classic like Ghostbusters (1984) was already risky, but the fact that many fans thought the film looked terrible really got the feud between fans and filmmakers rolling.
The cast and crew were trolled by many unhinged fans angry at the idea of a female-led Ghostbusters film (who do not represent the fanbase as a whole). At the same time, some cast members, along with director Paul Feig, added insult to injury by hurling negativity back in the direction it came from.
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Attacking a film’s target audience is not a smart way to do business (there are even jokes in the movie that poke fun at fans, though these are likely reserved for the trolls). Still, there’s no excusing the vitriolic abuse the likes of Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones received.
Answer the Call didn’t fare well with critics and was a box office bomb, catching $229.1 million worldwide in its streams against a budget of $144 million. It was so poorly received that Sony Pictures would restore the continuity established in the original two films.
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While Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) is far from perfect, it grossed over $204.4 million worldwide against half the budget of its predecessor. Now, a sequel is due for release next year, which will see the return of the Afterlife ensemble and several original actors.
But seeing the likes of the Answer the Call cast members return to the franchise is very unlikely. Not only because their film isn’t canon with the rest of the series, but their experience with the 2016 film has probably left a bad taste in their mouths.
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We can’t speak on behalf of Kristen Wiig (Erin Gilbert), Melissa McCarthy (Abby Yates), and Kate McKinnon (Jillian Holtzmann), but Leslie Jones’ upcoming autobiography, “Leslie F***ing Jones: A Memoir” (2023) — what a charming title — appears to speak for itself.
In excerpts shared by Rolling Stone, Jones, who plays Ghostbuster Patty Tolan in the 2016 reboot, reveals her profoundly negative experiences with the film, from receiving sexist and racist backlash from trolls to her grievance with Afterlife director Jason Reitman.
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Jones’s experience with trolls on social media was widely publicized at the time. Ultimately, the Saturday Night Live actress left Twitter/X, which she talks about at great length in her autobiography. Speaking specifically about the racism, she says:
“Of all the women in Paul’s remake of the movie, I was the one who got taken through the wringer. I wonder why… Oh, right, because I was a Black girl.”
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Needless to say, the abuse Jones suffered on social media was vile and inexcusable.
She also talks about how Jason Reitman, son of the late Ivan Reitman, who directed the original two films, Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II (1989), said “something unforgivable” when talking about the 2021 sequel before it hit theaters. She said:
“And it wasn’t just racist sh**, either — when I started doing this movie, this is when I really started seeing not only racism, but classism. Even the director of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Jason Reitman — the son of the original director, Ivan–said something unforgivable when discussing his new version that came out in 2021. On Bill Burr’s podcast he said this about our version of Ghostbusters: ‘We are, in every way, trying to go back to the original technique and hand the movie back to the fans.'”
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What Reitman was referring to by saying, “hand the movie back to fans,” was the continuity, as Afterlife follows on from the original two films and is in no way a reboot. At the time, he also said, “This is gonna be a love letter to Ghostbusters… I want to make a movie for my fellow Ghostbusters fans.”
Jones goes on, adding that Reitman tried to “walk it back” with a follow-up tweet, saying:
“He did try to walk it back, tweeting, ‘Wo, that came out wrong! I have nothing but admiration for Paul and Leslie and Kate and Melissa and Kristen and the bravery with which they made Ghostbusters 2016. They expanded the universe and made an amazing movie!’ But the damage was done. Bringing up the idea of giving the movie ‘back to the fans’ was a pretty clear shout-out to all those losers who went after us for making an all-female film.”
At the time Afterlife was announced, Jones took to Twitter/X to vent her frustrations, saying in a colorful post:
“So insulting. Like, f*** us. We dint count. It’s like some- thing trump would do. (Trump voice) ‘Gonna redo ghostbusteeeeers, better with men, will be huge. Those women ain’t ghostbusteeeeers’ ugh so annoying. Such a d*** move. And I don’t give a f*** I’m saying something!!”
It should be noted that Afterlife would introduce two new female Ghostbusters — Phoebe Spengler (McKenna Grace) and Lucky Domingo (Celeste O’Connor).
Jones also goes on to say in her book that she had positive experiences and memories from her time working on the 2016 film.
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Ghostbusters: Answer the Call remains widely hated by fans. While it gets a few things right, there’s no denying it was a critical and financial disaster. That said, it has inspired a generation of young girls to cosplay as Ghostbusters at comic conventions and for Halloween.
As per Sony Pictures, here’s the synopsis for Ghostbusters: Answer the Call:
Ghostbusters makes its long-awaited return with Director Paul Feig’s unique and hilarious take on the classic, supernatural comedy, led by the freshest minds in comedy today, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth. Together they team-up to save Manhattan from a sudden invasion of spirits, spooks and slime that engulfs the city. Robert Abele of TheWrap says, “This new A-team of Ghostbusters are fresh and funny.”
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Ghostbusters: Answer the Call stars Kristen Wiig (Erin Gilbert), Melissa McCarthy (Abby Yates), Leslie Jones (Patty Tolan), Kate McKinnon (Jillian Holtzmann), Chris Hemsworth (Kevin Beckman), and cameos from original Ghostbusters icons Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson, all of whom play new characters.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 will be released on March 29, 2024.
What do you think of Leslie Jones’ comments? Are you a fan of the Ghostbusters reboot? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!