Ghostbusters 2016: Talk about the movie(s).

[sttngfan1701d]

I definitely think the negative reaction to the trailers has a bit of a bandwagon feel to it. I DON'T think that all those dislikes on YouTube are from people that really disliked the trailers. They just wanted to be part of a trend or set some sort of dislike record.

Also, they're just trailers, after all. You can't tell much about a movie based on them. That being said, they don't excite me either. There are plenty of funny women out there...Melissa McCarthy is not among them. I was a huge fan of Gilmore Girls and liked her on that show, but nothing she has done since while trying to be funny. The black woman didn't make me laugh either. The comedic portions felt forced. Then again, it IS just a trailer. So who knows? The movie might be a surprise hit.

But I don't like that we now live in a society where ANY criticism of ANYTHING involving a female cast automatically means that one is sexist. It's just stupid and not necessarily true. 2016 is a weird year where everything has to be politically correct. It's getting ridiculous.

This is a movie. Any movie is a financial risk. It's up to the studio to make it, and then market it, successfully. Then the audience votes with their money. But now, if this movie flops, they have a built-in excuse....SEXISM! ZOMG people are so SEXIST! Even though there have been plenty of successful films with female casts, if THIS movie fails, it'll be a damning indictment of society! Blogs will be written!

Wikipedia lists the budget at $154million. That means it'll have to get $300million worldwide to be a success. That's a big gamble for a reboot of a LOOOONG dead franchise, female cast or not. It'll have to aim for "Bridesmaids" money.

 

[Tosk]

I definitely think the negative reaction to the trailers has a bit of a bandwagon feel to it. I DON'T think that all those dislikes on YouTube are from people that really disliked the trailers. They just wanted to be part of a trend or set some sort of dislike record.

Not to mention there are people who don't like being called sexist just because they think the new movie looks substandard. The inability of some people to accept that anyone could not want to see nuGB for any reason other than misogyny could arguably have caused more hatin' on it than there would have been otherwise.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

It'll have to aim for Bridesmaids money.

And what if it does gross Bridesmaids money?

To be frank, most of the people objecting to it-men and women-are full of shit, and are acting in the same manner as the people who hated the 2014 Annie movie and the casting of Hemidall in the first Thor movie (or the gender-flipping of Starbuck and Boomer in the 2004 Battlestar Galactica. A lot of them seem to be staging a 'backlash' of their own to the people who were calling Hollywood out on its inability to have more movies and TV shows with women and minorities in them, and as soon as a major studio did do something about it (and with a beloved property) the fans started a backlash, which people just participated in simply to score points against 'SJW's' whom they perceive as destroying popular culture and making it boring and politically correct.

There's also another personal thing that I've observed about the objections to this movie; the women aren't fuckable enough for most of the males seeing it. Fat phobia also seems to be a factor in the objection to McCarthy, as if a female Ghostbuster is supposed to be just only Janine Melnitz (cartoon version) or Kylie Griffin from Extreme Ghostbusters.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

And what if it does gross Bridesmaids money?

Then it makes money and the studio and the creators can say "I told you so!" and all the fans who like it can feel vindicated. But if it doesn't...the "sexist" stuff will be trotted out post-haste. Although this has a much larger production budget than Bridesmaids did, so if it grosses the same amount, it'll be seen as a disappointment most likely. A modest success. Not something to hoot and holler over. It'll need to make more than $300m to be considered a success these days. But unless it TANKS, it can do that in worldwide numbers.

Fat phobia also seems to be a factor in the objection to McCarthy, as if a female Ghostbuster is supposed to be just only Janine Melnitz (cartoon version) or Kylie Griffin from Extreme Ghostbusters.

Fat....phobia? Is that a thing now? (everything is a "thing" in 2016 I'm finding out...)

No, I don't think that's the case. I liked McCarthy before she was famous for being "funny." I don't like her brand of comedy that's been her bread and butter since Gilmore Girls ended. If people don't like her, why does it have to be "because she's fat?" People can have legitimate reasons for not liking her, just like they have legitimate reasons for not liking Adam Sandler, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Dan Akroyd, Eddie Murphy, whatever.

And last time I checked, McCarthy keeps being cast in movies. If people didn't like her, she wouldn't have a career because all her movies would tank. I read a blog post about this subject not too long ago...about how Hollywood wasn't giving Melissa McCarthy her due because people were "intimidated" by a plus-size, powerful, successful woman who's brash in her roles. And I remember thinking "What planet is this writer on?" It literally made no sense. Here is a woman that is so busy she could hardly find time to film a short cameo for the upcoming Gilmore Girls reunion telefilms, and this writer was saying that Hollywood wasn't giving her respect because blah blah blah. So she obviously has fans both inside the industry and outside it, because otherwise we wouldn't see her. She would be getting NO work. It's happened to plenty of actors who have lost favor or appeal.

People find anything to complain about these days. Anything.

If this movie fails, it's on the studio. Simple as that. Not Melissa McCarthy's weight. Not the female cast. It's the script, the director, the marketing, the studio. As it is with most movies that have big budgets....the studio makes sure everyone knows it's coming. It's not like an indie film that slips by. So if it's good, people will see it. Negative (or positive) people on the internet are not representative of the whole filmgoing public.

 

[Trekker4747]

Also, they're just trailers, after all. You can't tell much about a movie based on them.

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Thing is... That's what trailers are for! We're supposed to judge a movie and make conclusions about based on them to decide whether or not it's worth spending money on to see. And if a trailer makes a movie like crap, guess what? People are going to say the movie looks like crap and are going to be less-likely to see it.

People find anything to complain about these days. Anything.

Agreed. I don't find McCarthy funny and it has nothing to do with her looks, back before she went nuts I used to find Rosie O'Donnel funny. Hell, there's been times I found Rosanne Barr funny. Take any of them from the 90s when they were funny and popular (as well as being these talking head people with crazy political views/social views) and put them in a Ghostbusters movie and I'm all for it!

But I just do not find McCarthy funny. She could look like Scarlett Johansson and she wouldn't be funny, though that'd make about 60% of McCarthy's humor hard for her to do.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

Actually, the post you quoted was mostly factual, not opinion. The FACT is that women lead action movies have done fantastic for decades. This is not really a point that you can argue, and it's a pretty devastating refutation of the sexism angle. This Ghostbusters movie is a severe outlier from the norm - from that perspective.

That's what I tried to tell the writer of this article at the Movie Morlocks blog last year when she wrote about how there weren't any female characters of action like Lady Penelope around these days. That still doesn't change whet I feel about this new Ghostbusters movie, though..

 

[Owain Taggart]

If this movie fails, it's on the studio. Simple as that. Not Melissa McCarthy's weight. Not the female cast. It's the script, the director, the marketing, the studio.

This. I fear that there's a stigma attached to it, and it certainly isn't helping when one particular person as part of the production has been on the defensive and antagonizing with anyone who disagrees with him. To that end, I'd have expected more being done by Sony to spin some positive light, not feed into the controversy.

 

[CRM-114]

Not to mention there are people who don't like being called sexist just because they think the new movie looks substandard. The inability of some people to accept that anyone could not want to see nuGB for any reason other than misogyny could arguably have caused more hatin' on it than there would have been otherwise.

I don't care either that the new Ghostbusters has a female cast. If the material I saw in the trailers and the special preview with the '84 movie last week are any indication, this movie looks pretty blah no matter the cast would be.

Except Chris Hemsworth. He's the only one he did anything funny in the preview.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

But I don't like that we now live in a society where ANY criticism of ANYTHING involving a female cast automatically means that one is sexist. It's just stupid and not necessarily true. 2016 is a weird year where everything has to be politically correct. It's getting ridiculous.

More than ridiculous, its an old psychological tool designed to "smother" any any all opposing beliefs, with the threat of some punitive action (whether social or financial) if you do not bow to their will. Thankfully, there is enough sensible push-back to the insecure extremists among the Social Justice Warriors, hence the reason there is legitimate criticism of this Ghostbusters reboot and the producers' motives for making it.

This is a movie. Any movie is a financial risk. It's up to the studio to make it, and then market it, successfully. Then the audience votes with their money. But now, if this movie flops, they have a built-in excuse....SEXISM! ZOMG people are so SEXIST! Even though there have been plenty of successful films with female casts, if THIS movie fails, it'll be a damning indictment of society! Blogs will be written!

As you said above..ridiculous, and the SJW prepared response of SEXISM! ZOMG will not take root. A bad or misguided film is just that, not the "victim" of some imagined "male threat" to women in film.

 

[CRM-114]

This. I fear that there's a stigma attached to it, and it certainly isn't helping when one particular person as part of the production has been on the defensive and antagonizing with anyone who disagrees with him. To that end, I'd have expected more being done by Sony to spin some positive light, not feed into the controversy.

A lot of what Sony has been doing has an air of desperation to it, in the wake of the hacking scandal and their capitulation to North Korea regarding The Interview.

They've had to go on the offensive regarding Ghostbusters. There's so much at stake, including the creation of a new production company called Ghost Corps just to shepherd future Ghostbusters projects.

There's also the bizarre decision to combine 21 Jump Street and Men in Black:
http://uproxx.com/movies/sony-confirms-jump-street-men-in-black-crossover/
…and now apparently has a director:
http://collider.com/jump-street-men-in-black-james-bobin-mib-23/

Not to mention that with Spider-Man: Homecoming, they've practically begun giving Spider-Man back to Marvel/Disney.

It seems like Sony is desperate for good press (and a hit movie) but couldn't buy it if it were on sale at the 99-cent store.

 

[JD]

I didn't realize Sony had been having such bad luck lately.

 

[Owain Taggart]

A lot of what Sony has been doing has an air of desperation to it, in the wake of the hacking scandal and their capitulation to North Korea regarding The Interview.

They've had to go on the offensive regarding Ghostbusters. There's so much at stake, including the creation of a new production company called Ghost Corps just to shepherd future Ghostbusters projects.

Yeah, there definitely is. Almost seems like they're flailing their arms around randomly. In regards to GB and any future GB projects though, being spiteful at a fanbase likely won't win them many fans, and if there really is so much at stake, then they should have toned things down. All they're doing is burning their bridges before things even really get started and creates a negative atmosphere.

 

[ichab]

And what if it does gross Bridesmaids money?

To be frank, most of the people objecting to it-men and women-are full of shit, and are acting in the same manner as the people who hated the 2014 Annie movie and the casting of Hemidall in the first Thor movie (or the gender-flipping of Starbuck and Boomer in the 2004 Battlestar Galactica. A lot of them seem to be staging a 'backlash' of their own to the people who were calling Hollywood out on its inability to have more movies and TV shows with women and minorities in them, and as soon as a major studio did do something about it (and with a beloved property) the fans started a backlash, which people just participated in simply to score points against 'SJW's' whom they perceive as destroying popular culture and making it boring and politically correct.

There's also another personal thing that I've observed about the objections to this movie; the women aren't fuckable enough for most of the males seeing it. Fat phobia also seems to be a factor in the objection to McCarthy, as if a female Ghostbuster is supposed to be just only Janine Melnitz (cartoon version) or Kylie Griffin from Extreme Ghostbusters.

You see bigotry and misogyny everywhere in your little world don't you?

 

[Aldo]

It seems like Sony is desperate for good press (and a hit movie) but couldn't buy it if it were on sale at the 99-cent store.

Not to mention the fact that they let Bond get away from them. They had a chance to bid in the auction, but I believe Tom Rothman wasn't interested in holding onto Bond.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

Not to mention the fact that they let Bond get away from them. They had a chance to bid in the auction, but I believe Tom Rothman wasn't interested in holding onto Bond.

I guess they felt that the grosses of SPECTRE weren't enough for them.

 

[JeffinOakland]

The previews to the new Ghostbusters look awful. If the reviews/word-of-mouth are good, I'll watch it. I don;t care if the Ghostbusters are women, if Star Trek and Star Wars have gays, if James Bond and Batman are black or if Spiderman is a black, Jewish homosexual. If the movie/tv show looks interesting and gets good buzz, I'll watch it.

 

[Kemaiku]

I didn't realize Sony had been having such bad luck lately.

Lately being the last several years.

 

[Solariabsg25]

Hated the first trailers for the movie, just weren't funny and looked awful.

But we had two separate TV spots here in the UK I caught and they looked good - so I'm wondering, is it a case of a bad movie, or just really bad trailers? And if it's the latter, then it could well mean the film will suffer at the box office more harshly that it deserves.

 

[eyeresist]

I thought the idea of this movie was great, and I was appalled by how unfunny the first trailer was. (The later trailer tried to dodge the problem by including less jokes.)

TThe black woman didn't make me laugh either.

I think she (turns out her name is Leslie Jones) has actually come off best in the trailers - she sells her jokes by sheer enthusiasm. I mean, that "cadillac" joke was objectively awful (and kinda racist), but she made me laugh. The rest of the cast have that fairly interchangable and ubiquitous white girl snark.

 

[Csalem]

I think Kate McKinnon has come off the most interesting in the trailers and she is why I am going to go and see this in the cinema.