Why Dan Aykroyd ‘was mad’ at the all-female ‘Ghostbusters’ reboot: ‘I didn’t do my job’
Women can fight ghosts too.
Dan Aykroyd, co-writer and star of 1984’s “Ghostbusters,” defended the 2016 reboot in an interview with People while promoting his new Audible Original, “Blues Brothers.”
Marketed as “Ghostbusters: Answer the Call,” the comedy rebooted the original and cast women to play the main parts, prompting intense criticism from misogynist trolls before it was even released.
“I liked the movie [director] Paul Feig made with those spectacular women,” Aykroyd, 72, 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.”
The movie cost $144 million and grossed $229.1 million worldwide. Despite being the second-highest grossing “Ghostbusters” film, after the 1984 original, it was also the most expensive, costing nearly twice as much as “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” (2021). Taking into account marketing costs, the 2016 film’s financial loss was estimated at roughly $70 million.
“But boy, I liked that film,” Aykroyd continued. “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.”
Ernie Hudson, Aykroyd’s “Ghostbusters” co-star, commented on the reboot earlier this year. He celebrated Feig, 61, and the cast, but also questioned the concept.
“Look, I’m a fan of Paul Feig so I have nothing negative about him to say. Other than: I don’t quite understand why you do a reboot, you know what I mean? Just make another movie,” he told the Independent.
“Fans were really invested in the story and the characters, and I think it was disappointing,” Hudson, 78, continued. “I enjoyed the movie, but I think it wasn’t what fans were hoping for.”
McCarthy, 53, expressed her disappointment with the harsh reception during a 2021 interview with People.
“I don’t get the fight to see who can be the most negative and the most hate-filled. Everybody should be able to tell the story they want to tell. If you don’t want to see it, you don’t have to see it,” she told the outlet.
The 2016 film also features Chris Hemsworth, Steve Higgins, Charles Dance and Karan Soni.
Hudson, Aykroyd and their “Ghostbusters” co-star Bill Murray have remained active members of the franchise.
They appeared in 1989’s “Ghostbusters II,” made cameos in the 2016 film and played parts in 2021’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and this year’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.” Harold Ramis, another original Ghostbuster, died in 2014 at age 69 from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis.
“I still have these two very active offices to manage, ‘Blues Brothers’ and ‘Ghostbusters,'” Aykroyd told People this weekend. “I though I could retire five years ago, but it hasn’t worked out that way. That’s OK. I’m grateful for the privilege to keep going.”
The actor also noted the franchise’s constant popularity, emphasizing that his role as Ray Stantz is still the one he’s most known for.
“These are movies that you want to watch again, you want to see them again,” Aykroyd shared. “I think that’s neat to make stuff that endures, that people want to watch once, twice, thrice.”
