The stars of Ghostbusters brushed off critics who complained about the new all-female line-up as they walked the red carpet at the film’s world premiere.
Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones star in the rebooted version of the classic 1980s film franchise, replacing the original quartet of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson.
The announcement of the new female cast was met by criticism online from some Ghostbusters fans, while the film’s trailer has attracted more than 900,000 “dislikes” on YouTube – a record number for a movie trailer on the website.
Melissa McCarthy (Jordan Strauss/AP)
Speaking at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, Melissa said she found the negative reaction “peculiar”, while her fellow Bridesmaids actress Kristen said the film had been made “in the spirit of the first two”.
Melissa told the Press Association: “Any time someone critiques something that has not yet been made, I find peculiar. It’s like giving a book review to an author who’s like ‘I haven’t written it yet’.
“I don’t pay much attention to it. It’s not based in the world.”
Kristen Wiig (Jordan Strauss /AP)
Kristen added: “It’s really sad that people felt that way, in combination with actually not listening to it.
“We knew we were making the movie in the spirit of the first two, with the people who made the first two. People need to stop being so mean.”
Kate, who stars on the US TV comedy show Saturday Night Live, said the backlash from some fans had been “disappointing”.
Kate McKinnon (Jordan Strauss/AP)
“I hope they see it and change their minds,” she said. “I mean it’s disappointing. I just wanted to get on set and do the best job I could and I think we all did that so I’m excited about it.”
Asked whether she was surprised at criticism aimed at the film before its release, Leslie replied: “Yeah because it’s stupid.”
Ghostbusters director Paul Feig said he understood fans were “nervous” about the film and he decided to cast the four women in the lead roles because of their comedic ability.
Leslie Jones (Jordan Strauss/AP)
“I just wanted to make the funniest movie I could and I work with the funniest women on the planet,” he said. “When they came to me…. I thought I’m going to call the funniest people I know and it’s these four ladies.
“I understand people are very passionate about this movie … I get it. People are nervous. If I wasn’t doing the movie, I would have been nervous.
“All I can say is we came to it with such a purity of spirit and so desperate to give a new audience what we all felt 32 years ago when we first saw it in a theatre.”
With @dan_aykroyd at the #Ghostbusters World Premiere! pic.twitter.com/ypXguwG9cz
— Ghostbusters (@Ghostbusters) July 10, 2016
Ivan Reitman, who directed the first two Ghostbusters films and is a producer on the new movie, admitted he was “surprised” at the reaction to the trailer.
“I didn’t realise how protective people were of the first movie and how beloved it was,” he said.
“These people were just having my back really. They wanted to make sure this new movie wasn’t some kind of cheap cash grab and it was an appropriate, joyful experience.
“I’m happy to say now that the movie is finally screening, people are starting to understand what we were trying to do.”
Ghostbusters is released in UK cinemas on Monday.
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