The Furore around GHOSTBUSTERS by Jason Reitman is exhausting and overwhelmed



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I wanted to weigh on the current ghost hunters maelstrom for a while now. I am not a fan particularly invested ghost huntersbut I like all the movies to varying degrees and for different reasons. This should not be a source of controversy – but that's it. If you are not aware of the online war raging on Ghostbusters in the past five years, you are in luck.

Here's the basics: two Ghostbusters movies were released in the 80's, featuring a group of SNL-type dudes, with no other film coming out before 2016. This film, titled ghost hunters during the first release and Ghostbusters: Answering the call on home video, was actually a remake of the original movie, featuring a group of SNL type ladies and directed by BridesmaidsPaul Feig. From the moment the film was announced, a group of very vocal fans were outraged by the fact that the franchise was being redone with women in the lead roles.

Some have asserted, more or less truthfully, that their outrage was intended to reintroduce frankness instead of creating a direct follow-up, but the general trend was misogyny. The cast members – especially Leslie Jones, who is not the only non-white member of the main cast – have been subjected to considerable abuse by angry male fans. Donald Trump even joined the group, confirming the misogynistic roots of the reaction (or maybe he hated that the EPA was not the bad guy this time). The original star, Dan Aykroyd, has described angry fans as "insignificant midges," "losers" and "active members of the Klan".

The film was released; it was pretty good and it worked well; it inspired many girls; a few years have passed.

The apocalypse of fans eventually disappears, replaced by an indignation similar to misogyny and racism at the Star wars suites, Star Trek: Discoveryand more. Then, last month, Sony announced that a new ghost hunters The film will be released in the summer of 2020. Jason Reitman, the son of the original director, Ivan Reitman, will be the director. It would not be related to the 2016 movie. A teaser trailer came out, featuring the Ecto-1 car from the original movie.

Fans who hated Answer the callThe existence of made a ride of ride, believing that the project was a capitulation to their own vitriol. I sucked into the whirlpool myself via a tweet, retweeted by Jones and Feig and answered by many, many people. This tweet, which was consistent with Jones' understandable consternation about the ad's optics, expressed both the desire to see a sequel to the 2016 film. ghost hunters, and tiredness to the toxic fan strutting. Since then, I have blocked a lot of people on Twitter.

This week, the Internet lymph nodes swelled again, while Reitman stated in Bill Burr's podcast that he was looking to "make the film to the fans". Fans of Answer the call became angry, and Ghostbros again celebrated, both believing it was a dog whistle that these Ghostbusters would be men and that they would do human things, possibly including harassment as in the original film, and that the fire storm raged.

Reitman soon clarified his words, saying "it went wrong!" and expressing his admiration for Feig's film, implying that he has never intended to denigrate or throw it away (a pretense supported by Feig himself)

You know what? I believe him.

First of all, Reitman does not consider me at all like the kind of person who would give an observatory cry to misogynists. In addition, the comment "put the film back", in its context, reads as follows: "We try, in every way, to return to the original technique and make the film to the fans." It's in the middle of a rave on the fetishist level in which filmmakers have recreated the original movie style for the teaser. They used the original sound files and scores, and even created the titles practically, using the original vinyl lettering of the original movie poster. He basically says the same thing, J.J. Abrams used practical creatures and 35mm films on Star Wars: The awakening of the force, do not comment on a story or characters.

It's important, because, above all, the Reitman movie will not even be the film that the toxic sector of the fans thinks it's.

From Reitman's point of view, he was led to straighten out a franchise that, from Sony's point of view, never reached the dizzying heights of his original input. Whatever our vision of 2016 ghost huntershe reported about half Ghostbusters II done, in adjusted dollars, and less than a third of what the original did. Honestly, I would say that it makes more sense to kill the franchise at this point – at least we would avoid all this nonsense. But for a studio looking to exploit this franchise until it's dry, using a strongly nostalgic angle at the age of Strange things is logical too.

I did not do that Strange things comparison by chance. Based on my short time as a target of toxic ghost hunters fandom (which I can add to games, Star wars, DC, Marvel and Lady Gaga in my list of fandoms who attacked me online), one thing became immediately clear is that no one, on either side of the argument, really knew what spoke Reitman's movie. Both parties have assumed that it would be a star made up of adult men, perhaps former comedians, either because that is what they wanted, or because it was a big one. they were afraid. This is not the film, however. Reitman & # 39; s ghost hunters will play four kids like his leads. Two will be men. Two will be women. The original cast may appear, but the film is based on children.

Two boys. Two girls.

Reitman is not aiming to satisfy the dissatisfied movie 2016, unless the studio is unhappy with its box office performance. Given the main distribution of the film, it aims to simultaneously modify the nostalgic nerve (at the Strange things), and to attract new audiences – like these children. Your sons and daughters will both have new heroes in this movie. And after all, Reitman has in his filmography well-known films about adolescence (Juno), adults trying to hang on to adolescence (Young adult) and parenthood (Tully), all centered on female characters. His childhood was literally spent watching his father do ghost hunters movies. If anyone is qualified to make this movie nostalgic, it's fine him.

Will I see a sequel in 2016 ghost hunters? Absolutely, and the fact that this movie essentially guarantees that it will not happen is incredibly disappointing. The insult to this film, however, is not from Reitman. The film that makes it seems fun and on equal terms. That's the side of Sony, but even Sony is not for fans of assholes, but for families, the most lucrative public of the box office. Nobody saw a tsunami of misogyny and said, "This is our target market". But Sony has probably seen the tsunami of money earned by the force awakens, a "heritage suite" obsessed with the past, with or without camera, with young and old heroes, and who says: "This is our raw target".

Let's all lightly fire – especially you, fans of toxic products – and wait to see this movie we like or not. We are all very tired.

Do not hesitate to leave your thoughts on the article – or, if you do not read the article angry, your thoughts on the subject or the title only – in the comments below.

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