Even though last year's Ghostbusters movie was a reboot sharing no continuity ties with the original Ghostbusters series, director Paul Feig peppered in cameos from most of the original cast members, including Sigourney Weaver, who played Dana Barrett. A year has passed since Ghostbusters' release, but the controversy that surrounded the production is still fresh in minds, whether it was over women playing the new Ghostbusters or the fact that the movie was being remade at all. When asked how she felt about the backlash, Weaver expressed dismay that it happened at all. She said:
I was very surprised by the backlash. I can't begin to interpret it, frankly. I thought it was very childish and cruel. I guess if you saw the movie as a kid you would feel possessive over it. But come on, things change. Women are at the table, and there are plenty of projects to go around.
Weaver, who cameoed at the end of Ghostbusters as Dr. Rebecca Gorin (Jillian Holtzmann's mentor), added that she thought the reboot was a good movie, but more importantly that it didn't take anything away from the original movie. In her opinion, the backlash was primarily driven by the ability to be anonymous over social media, thus allowing the Ghostbusters detractors to be as negative and mean as they wanted. As she explained to EW:
I think it might have more to do with the internet and showing your secret small self on the internet in a way you'd be embarrassed to be if you were out at a bar with friends, acting like a jerk. So I don't know, I don't think this is the end of this kind of thing, because it's happening in so many areas, personal and professional, to all kinds of businesses. I thought it was really sad that it happened to that project. But I think they've all moved on so hopefully everyone learned something from that.
While Ghostbusters did okay critically overall (it ranks at 73% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes), commercially it underperformed, making $229 million off a $144 million budget. One can't help but wonder how much the controversy that erupted from the moment the cast was announced affected that performance, but in any case, the damage is done. While there were plans to make a direct Ghostbusters sequel, those have fallen through. However, the franchise isn't completely dead, as Sony has an animated movie, an animated TV series and a different kind of live action movie in development.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on the future of the Ghostbusters franchise. As for Sigourney Weaver, she may not ever reprise Rebecca Gorin in a meatier role, but hey, at least she still has the Avatar series of films.
