Bridesmaids Director "In Talks" For Female-Led Reboot of Ghostbusters

[Steve Waltz]

I don?t care about the gender as long as it?s good. But, at this moment, an ?all female Ghostbusters crew? sounds more like a gimmick than a stylistic choice. Only time will tell as to whether or not they can make it work into something productive. Let me say, I do feel that this seems like a risk though. Trying to cram yourself into this gender equality war that?s going on in the geek scene seems like a double-edge sword. If the final product is bad then the other side could just use that as ammunition against the movement you?re hoping for. These gimmicky projects feel more like adding to the fire rather than leading to any kind of solution to this gender-equality war.

 

[Soulrender95]

honestly this film is going to get enough flak from just being a reboot without the added issue of it being a gender-flipped version as well.
Personally I think the fact it's a reboot is more damning than the all female cast, with all the reboots in the past 20 years how many have actually been generally accepted as good? not many.

you know what, if they can convince Bill Murray to appear as Venkman in it I think it'd go a long way to appeasing some of the dissenters, considering he's always been the major holdout when it comes to anything past the first film I don't know what Akroyd did to convince him to be in the game but it made me more confident about buying it.

and no getting Akroyd to agree to be in it wouldn't help because let's face it he jumps at *ANY* opportunity to put the Ghostbusters uniform back on, I mean he did it for Casper...

 

[tzimize]

Seems like a fun idea. The all-male team was enjoyable, why not give the women a shot at it?

Because women usually arent funny. I'm sorry but they are not.

Women comedians are usually fucking awful either talking about their vaginas all the time (and expecting shock factor to be the funny thing) or simply have more or less only self depreciating humor. Which really isnt either very funny nor very clever.

Are there exceptions to the rule? Of course. But as a rule...women are usually not funny. I'm sorry if this offends someone but it is simply my experience. I dont mean to come off as a chauvinist, it doesnt make me thing less of women in any way, it has simply been my experience both privately and in the entertainment world. Tina Fey might be one of the exceptions, but honestly...look at for example Alec Baldwin in 30 rock...SO much more fun to watch.

 

[mjharper]

I am only sexist when I am factually correct. Which is what sexism is nowadays. When I say something about women that is true, but they don't want to hear it. So yes I am incredibly sexist because I say allot of true things that women don't want to hear.

You are being sexist. You are basing a general, objective statement - 'women aren't funny' - on a personal preference and maintaining that that is enough to justify the validity of the statement. That's sexism. Let me explain in your own words.

4 women. All leading roles. Funny to me.

"For me". That's the point. No-one in the entire world gives even the slightest s**t what you find funny.

Humour is, by its nature, extremely personal. It's one of the hardest things to translate from one language to another. There is no universally accepted standard of what makes something funny. But that's actually beside the point.

You're taking your preference about what you find funny, and on that basis inferring that women aren't funny, and challenging other people to find movies in which women are funny. Which they can't, because all they can do is provide you with examples of movies which you don't find funny. Because you don't find women funny.

The very fact that you express all of this in terms of being 'factually correct' and telling the 'truth' is what makes it sexism.

People don't want to hear what you have to say because you're unable to distinguish between facts and opinions, and think that your opinions are facts. This makes it literally impossible to have a discussion with you, because you're not playing the same game as everyone else.

It's (arguably) fine to say, 'My wife can't drive'.

It's something entirely different to say 'My wife can't drive, therefore there is something inherently weaker about women when it comes to driving, and they shouldn't be allowed to drive.'

And that is exactly what you're doing.

"Funny to me." Therefore it is impossible to make a movie with four women comedians (because women comedian is a contradiction in terms) and the movie is doomed to failure.

That is sexism.

If all you'd said was, 'I don't find women funny, so I won't be going to see this movie', nobody would have cared. And that is ALL your 'truth' amounts to. 'Women aren't funny, so this movie will fail' - that's complete nonsense.

Believing yourself to be some crusader of hard truths that no-one wants to hear is nonsense. You are not a hero for failing to understand the difference between fact and opinion.

You want to make a fact-based argument about women and humour? Find some scientific evidence, probably neurological, which finds that women actually have a different part of their brain stimulated through humour, and that male humour fails to trigger the necessary response in female brains, and that women are unable to even mimic male humour because they scientifically do not understand male humour. Do that and then we'll have some facts, although we can still debate the validity of the study.

All you have is glorified, jumped up opinions masquerading as facts. No facts. That's what pi**es everyone off, and that's why it's sexism.

Yes, I'm saying the same thing over and over again. I'm hoping that one of them will get through.

 

[Product Placement]

Eh. I'd much prefer a spin-off, where another branch is opened somewhere, rather than rebooting the whole thing.

 

[RicoADF]

Seems like a fun idea. The all-male team was enjoyable, why not give the women a shot at it?

Why not just have a mixed cast? Having only woman is just asking for trouble just as only having guys would be unacceptable.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I just hope they don't make it all about the sex appeal. Keep the baggy coveralls, they work. No cleavage either. And since it is going to have one member of the team be non-white, please don't conform to racial stereotypes.

Oh what am I saying, of course they are going to.

 

[elvor0]

my interest has just gone from -2 to 10

Heck, they could have pitched that idea as Ghostbusters 3 without needlessly canning the original two first films *facedesks*

because one of them is dead and they're past it by this point....

I could see a Tina Fey/ Amy Pohler/ Melissa McCarthy/ Kirsten Wiig Ghostbusters working out pretty well.

for some reason I can see Sandra Bullock being in there too (for better or worse)

Eh it can work but now you have the impossible task of finding four, not one, two or three. FOUR female leads that can both act and be funny at the same time. It's just not done. The last time I laughed at a female comic was when she had a wardrobe malfunction and I thought I was getting food. I was 4 months old.
"

this myth really needs to fucking die

In his defence, I think he was saying have it follow on from the first two films, not have the original cast.

It's not a myth, there /are/ some good female comics, but even the funniest ones I've seen don't make me laugh as much as some middle of the road male comedians, if you want the "myth" to be "dispelled", more female comics need to write better jokes. There's a reason the notion exists, and it ain't sexism. Most of my female friends don't even find most of the female comics we've seen to be funny at all either, so it ain't a gender issue.

And whole "myth" thing aside, he's right, finding FOUR good female comics, with reasonable acting talent and most importantly, great chemistry with each other? Hard enough with men, but at least you have a wide range to choose from, with women, that list is short, shorter still with comic actors that are actually funny. Then once you have those four people, do they have chemistry, do they bounce off of each other? Can they lead each other in jokes, will their egos clash and blow up the whole movie? Maybe some of them don't work in a group environment like that. There's so many things that can go wrong with an ensemble cast like this, and unfortunetly to choose from, the list is so meager that it dimishes the chances of success even further.

 

[1337mokro]

YAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWN

Basically that says it all.

You bored me to death with the "To me it does!" argument. Here's the real facts. The creators of the show casted two main characters who were mail. About 4 women also as a main. However that's a 2/1 ratio of comedic burden.

Even playing the straight man or source of the comedy sometimes falls to the men in that show. I will accept a background character. I will not accept a character being male in a comedy series that gets at least 2-5 minutes of screen time in almost every episode. That is not a background character.

 

[1337mokro]

strawman

I never said women aren't funny.

What I actually said before you had to strawman me so that you could be the hero towards all the females on this forum is that I don't know a single female comedian actor who is funny.

I then asked for the affirmative that there is a female comedian actor who is funny and then show me 4 of them as would be required for a Ghostbuster reboot. Nobody has stepped up to that challenge. Sure some people named series. TV. Not movie material. Nor was that show based solely around the antics of 4 female leads. It was based around about 3-4 female leads and 2 other men. Ineligible for admission because of the two men involved.

Four women. Carrying a comedic movie. ALL I ASK FOR IS ONE MOVIE from the past!

Come on! I named 3 movies with 4 male leads that were funny. I named about a dozen with 3 or less! How is it that of the top of my head I can name a dozen of a dozen of movies that were funny comedies centred around men and their antics without female leads, but when I ask the opposite of women with no main lead male participation I get a dry well or television reverences?

The facts are not on your side and unless you are a druid stop building strawmen.

I have no knowledge of a funny comedic actress. Show me one, then show me three more and at least ONE funny movie that I can laugh at where four women, who do not have to be the ones mentioned before, carrying a movie on their own.

I will immediately concede my point, though I will hold on to the "this movie will suck" argument because it's a cash in Hollywood reboot.

 

[Vault101]

Basically that says it all.

You bored me to death with the "To me it does!" argument.

isn't that kind of what you're doing when saying that nothing YOU have found by a female comedian has made you laugh? but I digress


[quote/]Here's the real facts. The creators of the show casted two main characters who were mail. About 4 women also as a main. However that's a 2/1 ratio of comedic burden. Even playing the straight man or source of the comedy sometimes falls to the men in that show. I will accept a background character. I will not accept a character being male in a comedy series that gets at least 2-5 minutes of screen time in almost every episode. That is not a background character.[/quote]
your definition of "lead" is arbitrary, I mean if you wanna go there Larry isn't even on the front of the DVD....

the writers of OITNB had the main character of Piper go into prison so they could tell the stories of the WOMEN characters, THAT aside from piper was the focus

and how exactly does Larry take the focus away from the female characters? you could replace his actor...you could write him out of the show and no one would care because no one gives a flying fuck about Larry because he DOES NOT MATTER

the series is driven by piper and how she relates to the female inmates, did you even watch the show?

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

Four women. Carrying a comedic movie. ALL I ASK FOR IS ONE MOVIE from the past!

There was one in this very news article: Bridesmaids. There you go.

I have no knowledge of a funny comedic actress. Show me one, then show me three more and at least ONE funny movie that I can laugh at where four women, who do not have to be the ones mentioned before, carrying a movie on their own.

In no particular order: Cobie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan, Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey, Lena Dunham, Jenny Slate, Gillian Jacobs, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie. And once again: Bridesmaids. I could have gone into my equally long list of Swedish female comedians, but I stuck with mainstream American TV/movie celebrities so that everyone has a chance of knowing the names.

So, how about you give up this entire "appeal from ignorance"-schtick you have going, like you've promised? The very simply, utterly obvious point is that just because you apparently have managed to not remember the name or appearance of a single female comedian that doesn't mean none exist. Just like me never having seen a real, un-domesticated elephant doesn't mean there aren't wild elephants somewhere in the world.

 

[Frostbyte666]

Ok so they want to reboot it...why? others have said why not have different branches. Another question though why must it be an all female cast, what's wrong with having the group as mixed genders. Hell I could see one scene with a mixed gender group where 1 woman gets slimed the male pervert opens his mouth to say something to get a glare in return with a response "1 word and I'll shove this positron rifle where the sun don't shine and open fire.

 

[Casual Shinji]

My problem with this is not that it's an all women crew, but that it's an all women crew to distract us from the fact that it's not the original crew.

For me there's no other Ghostbusters but Venkman, Stanz, and Spengler (r.i.p.). And maybe Winston. Not that I want a new movie with them either.

This just feels like another attempt to raid one of the last great 80's franchises no matter what. How about you make an original movie with an all female team of what-have-you's?

 

[Nazulu]

*sigh* I hate Hollywood. They are so shit now. They used to amaze me with the original idea's and concepts and just general high quality films I saw every month. Now it just seems they only rely on remaking everything.

I've seen many new idea's (not completely original) from all these young artists over the net, and they all end up getting forgotten. It's really sad. We should all be ignoring Hollywood till they stop this pathetic habit.

And the whole putting females in male original roles thing is just a shit head trick to distract many from the issue. An original idea with an all female cast would mean 10 times more any way. Then again, Hollywood is just fucked in general. I don't believe they doing anything right but know how to milk money now.

 

[Bonecrusher]

Anchorman. Has Will Ferrel in it. Disqualified automatically because what that man does can't really be described as comedy. Also you said in your terms that YOU had to find them funny. I don't find Will Ferrel funny. Therefore it doesn't count by your own logic.

Monty Python. I find their humor to be a little too dry for my taste. Got all the way through Life of Brian and I can count the number of times they made me laugh on my fingers. It got REALLY boring towards the end.

Blasphemy...

OK, Will Ferrel has the fame (or the infamy) for playing in "boring" movies. However, he still has many quality and funny movies, especially Stranger Than Fiction and Anchorman. These are really good and comedic movies. Its just your prejudice against Will Ferrel...

Monty Python. That team is legend. Monty Python's Flying Circus. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Life of Brian. John Cleese, his sarcasm. Terry Gilliam, Brazil. Eric Idle, his voice... The team did many interesting works over the years.

I partially support 1337mokro.
It is really really hard to make a "Full female comedy". It can easily turn to a boring feminist romance movie and not a "Ghostbusters movie". Hell, even marketing the new reboot as "FULL FEMALE LEDS!" just a ploy to appeal Feminist and White Knight groups.

In worst case scenario, it will be an unfunny train wreck. In best case scenario, it will be just another "Desperate Housewives".

There are some female actresses I like:
Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie series, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, Tomcats)
Anna Faris (FAQ About Time Travel, Mom, The House Bunny)
Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy, Eurotrip, Inspector Gadget)
Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl, Not Another Teen Movie, Dead Or Alive)
Aubrey Plaza (Parks And Recreation, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Safety Not Guaranteed)
Lucy Liu (Charlie's Angels series, Lucky Number Slevin, Elementary)
Tina Fey (30 Rock, SNL, Date Night)

(example cast: Peter Venkman - Aubrey Plaza, Ray Stantz - Tina Fey, Egon Spengler - Lucy Liu, Winston Zeddemore - Anna Faris, Louis Tully - Shannon Elizabeth, Janine Melnitz - Michelle Trachentberg, Walter Peck - Jaime Pressly ... just an example cast, don't take it too seriously)

but, I guess they will make the movie like Bridesmaids 2, and just use that cast for Ghostbusters reboot.