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Paul Feig has opened up on the discourse surrounding his reboot of Ghostbusters and the political backlash it received for using an all-female cast.
The 2016 version of the beloved 1980s film, starred Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy as the Ghostbuster characters, replacing the roles previously played by Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson.
Due to the death of Ramis in 2014 and Murray’s refusal to commit to the project, Sony Pictures decided to reboot the franchise entirely and not make the film as a sequel.
Although the film was well received by critics, audiences turned against it with Feig claiming in 2020 that an anti-Hillary Clinton movement caused the film’s poor box office performance where it made $229m (£171m).
Now, speaking to The Guardian, Feig has again addressed the vitriol aimed at the movie, citing comments made by Donald Trump.
“The political climate of the time was really weird, with Hillary Clinton running for office in 2016. There were a lot of dudes looking for a fight,” said Feig.
He then referenced the abuse he would receive on Twitter/X and noticed that many of the trolls were Trump supporters. Feig adds: “Then Trump came out against us. He was like: ‘They’re remaking Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford. You can’t do that. And now they’re making Ghostbusters with only women. What’s going on?’ and got all upset.”
The 62-year-old Bridesmaids and Jackpot director claimed that “everybody went f**king cannibal” which “turned the movie into a political statement” about pro or anti-women.
He concluded by saying: “I didn’t think it mattered at all that the main characters were women, but people brought a lot of baggage.”
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The cast of Feig’s film faced misogynistic abuse, with Jones being sent racist tweets ahead of and upon its release. The comedian condemned the racism at the time and retweeted the posts for her followers to witness what she was experiencing.
Speaking to People in July, Dan Aykroyd defended the film as part of the Ghostbusters franchise and said he is “proud” to have worked on the reboot as a producer.
“I liked the movie Paul Feig made with those spectacular women,” he said.
“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.”
