Ghostbusters

I have a lot of thoughts on the broad reaching topic but simply I think it is an overall positive trend that the undue status quo is being shook up.

True some of it derives more from a cynical motivation of solely striving to cash in but thankfully there are more who are sincerely attempting to represent the true diversity of reality. It needs to be done and society as a whole will benefit in the long run once the myriad of stereotypes are demolished.

In regards to casting an all female ensemble for a Ghostbusters reboot, I have no issues with the premise. My concerns lie with the ultimate execution of the script, acting, directing, and the final product.

If I were doing the casting I would have selected different talent, such as Tina Fey for example. Not a fan of McCarthy half the time, some roles she has been great and others, mmm.

Also in regards to Dr. Who, I wish they would get rid of Steven Moffat. He is a hack storyteller and perpetuates his chauvinism and misogyny by undermining all the female roles into dewy-eyed unrequited love interests. As with Ghostbusters under proper creative management I would welcome a female Doctor. -Aside but similar note, also really would not hurt if the Doctor was portrayed by someone other than one of Anglo-Saxon descent.

One thing I am certainly tired of is the continued predominance of "Caucasian" leads. When there is some "diversity" in casting in the US it is far too often token roles or second fiddle. When there is someone who is not of clear Anglo-Saxon descent as the lead frequently it is in a role that reinforces a specific stereotype or "ideal".

Anyhow, I welcome the day when races are so intermixed that ones background is indecipherable or cannot be pigeonholed into one category thus ending racial bigotry and women are truly treated as equals in all aspects of the human experience.

Sadly neither of those will happen in my lifetime fully but each step in the correct direction improves the human experience.

Best regards,
KvE

I admit I'm a bit torn myself. I have no problem with an all female cast for Ghostbusters but would prefer a more ensemble cast. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Men and women can work together. That to me seems a better display of equality rather than trying to overcompensate but making an all female cast.

The idea of a female Doctor Who sounds okay but it really hinges more on the story telling. So far I have not been impressed with Steven Moffet. A female Doctor Who with him writing would not be any better than what's going on now. I personally just miss having other time lords around. They've been resurrecting the Master so many times now. Can't we bring back the Rani? Why turn a male into a female villain time lord when they already had one in the past stories? That to me smacks of overcompensating again.

I will admit when the created the new Battlestar series with female Starbuck and Boomer, that outraged me. I personally hate it when they do remakes and arbitrarily change genders. The point of diversity is not about stacking the deck. It's about giving everyone a fair shake to prove their worth.

I just don't see why, especially with Doctor Who, they cannot just write stronger female characters without the need to cast a female in the lead role. The Doctor was born a male, leave him that way just as Lara Croft has always been a female.

As for Ghostbusters, obviously there's no gender defined rule that says that a ghostbuster can only be male. But again, why not just start a new intellectual property instead of riding off the back of a well known brand? It's a reboot so it's not as though they're going to be able to revisit old memories with the original cast. Though I have a feeling they'll take the J J Abrams Star Trek route by having moments in the story from the original.

Perhaps they'll dredge up that old cliché and have all the female ghostbusters be daughters and nieces of the originals.

Chandler wrote:Perhaps they'll dredge up that old cliché and have all the female ghostbusters be daughters and nieces of the originals.

Scary thought.

Yeah, but not as scary as a daughter of Annie Potts

I'm all for it, but to be honest it will be hard to beat the original - few sequels, especially with new actors (male or female) match up to the originals and the script would have to really work.

There are some things that are better being fondly remembered than being resurrected and truly killed.

Ghostbusters is going to be tough to do over without a young Bill Murray.

I think that by casting an all female crew, they are hoping for more favorable reviews, most critics being of the PC mindset.

Studio execs are all out of ideas and have been for the past twenty some odd years.

This is all they got. Just read the Sony Studio hacked emails.

The only idea they had for the next James Bond was to make him Black. That's it. That's all they had. No major ideas of taking the series in a new direction, plot wise, just that: "How about a black James Bond." And then what?

Same with the female Ghostbusters. They think casting will substitute creativity (which really takes hard work and talent.)

Demonlawyer wrote:I'm all for it, but to be honest it will be hard to beat the original - few sequels, especially with new actors (male or female) match up to the originals and the script would have to really work.

There are some things that are better being fondly remembered than being resurrected and truly killed.

Excellent point, Demonlawyer!

Tuco, the real problem with Hollywood and such is that they can't figure out that simply placing women and minorities in lead roles isn't what is needed. What will get attention is utilizing REAL talent (not just pretty faces or massive muscles) for acting and making the lead roles strong and believeable. Diversity aside, Hollywood isn't using people who can actually do the job. Seems to be the root problem overall in business today. Going for eye candy instead of who can get the job done -- properly right the first time. Why do you think some of the movies out now have older, usually better trained acors/actresses in the lead? Because they don't rely on their face or body curves, but what's between their ears instead.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that visually attractive people don't get my eye, because they certainly do. Or that diversity of race and gender wouldn't help, because it would. I'm just inserting that my attention will be held longer by the adept and intelligent. I also feel that average people do not easily identify with the "beautiful" people so much as they can with people who are mentally strong and confident.

This is just my opinion, of course. But I think there are alot of others who would most likely agree with this somewhat. And THAT is why Hollywood fails so abysmally. They've forgotten how to relate to real people.

Now that more time has passed, the trailer for the Ghostbusters reboot has come out and it looks... awful. It's nothing to do with the 'busters being ladies. It just looks stupid.
Ever since Harold Ramis died, a true sequel just hasn't been possible, and I can accept that.

But I don't think it was necessary to reboot when ghosts can simply re-appear in 2015 for a new team to fight.The magic of Ghostbusters was in Dan Aykroyd & the rest of the group. It is a perfect movie. There is not one thing I'd change about it. So no good can come of a reboot. Nothing could ever be any better.

Ramis, Aykroyd, and Murry had guy chemistry. They were the three guys who work together, live next door, and all hang in the garage drinking beer and seeing what sort of ungodly, massive, mechanical monstrosity they can create to perturb their wives with. It was fun for them and it showed in the movie. Those movies are hard to come by these days. Broken Lizard (Super Troopers) comes to mind for newer film makers working along these lines, but I haven't heard of anyone else.

I think the new movie will bomb.

And let's face it, for the most part girls don't do that (hang in the garage drinking beer, etc.). Most womens' interests lie elsewhere, which is good because it would be bad if men and women had nothing but the same interests all the time: humanity needs the diversity.

The Extreme Ghostbusters animated series in the 90s (the series wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either) did have a girl Ghostbuster and she was a good original character. Having bewbs didn't poison her or the show.

It's OK to do something different. 1983 was 33 years ago; things have to be different. That's why I would've preferred a sequel and not a remake regardless because trying to replace the Ghostbusters is just sacrilege. But new characters in the same universe is easier to accept.

So I think what annoys me most about the new Ghostbusters movie is not that it sucks but that it really didn't have to suck. I've wanted a new Ghostbusters ever since Ghostbusters 2, and this is what we're getting instead, when the GB universe has endless possibilities. >_<

Joilet, if it had at least been a group of people, women, hedgehogs,--I don't care what-- that had the chemistry that the predecessors had, it'd be okay. I don't think this new movie will compare to what's been done because Hollywood won't take the time and energy to get good actors together, who can hash out a fun movie, ad-libbing great lines occassionally, and know each other so well that they anticipate and deliver really iconic scenes for later generations.

The reward is all about the money, and nohing more.



If you all want to see a good movie coming out this year, and you love fantasy, I'd recommend seeing Fantastical Beasts, and Where to Find Them. It's based on JK Rowling's small addendum book for the Harry Potter book series. The reason I suggest this book, is because Rowling herself is producing it, aka bankrolling it with her own money. It's a labor of love for her, and there will be some really great special effects as well as the familiarity of the wizarding world that many of you grew up with.

I was already grown, but I read the whole series twice while in my second pregnancy. When you're round like a blueberry Violet Beauregarde and nothing else to do... you read Harry Potter.