New Ghostbusters to have an all female cast?

[badlands]

Is that rumor true?

[august]

Yep, it's not even a rumor - it's all over the news.

[Michael]

I'm not so sure about this reboot.

[K.S. Crooks]

It would be nice if the new cast were the children or grandchildren of the originals that way we have a more plausible reason for the cameos/help.

[Space Marshal]

Apparently it's not true. It seems it's only the Ghostbusters team that will be female. There may have been only 1 movey with only females in it, but I don't remember the title, but it may have been something about Army nurses. There may have been only 1 movey with only males in it, which was Ice Station Zebra.

[august]

Pretty sure she meant "all female lead cast," as the various press releases have referred to. It would be pretty hard to depict a New York City with no men.

There actually have been quite a few movies with all male casts though - both versions of Sleuth, for example, Hell in the Pacific, 12 Angry Men, The Great Escape, the remake of The Thing, My Dinner with Andre, American Buffalo, a numbe rof Laurel and Hardy films including Towed in a Hole, Swimming to Cambodia, and countless others.

[august]

And indeed, the director speaks:

I have too much respect for the original one [to do a sequel]," the filmmaker says in the latest issue of Empire Magazine...

"There's also the feeling that once the world knows ghosts and has seen them busted on such a large scale, they run the risk of becoming pedestrian. There's something fun about introducing our world, which has never seen ghosts to the phenomenon of ghosts. I love origin stories and to introduce new characters." As for the (controversial?) decision to go for an all-female cast of characters, Feig added: "A lot of people accused it of being a gimmick. I guess I can see the cynics' view of it, but for me I just love working with funny women. People said, 'Why don't you do a mix?' I'm just more interested in the idea of lady Ghostbusters. It's the way my brain works."

As for how that cast might end up impacting the movie's title, Feig jokingly promised that "It won't be called Lady Ghostbusters! Certainly not...Ghostbustieres is the way to go." There has obviously been a lot of talk about who will end up starring in the reboot, with a number of actresses revealing their interest or that they've met with Feig about the project. The director however isn't committed to locking down anyone one way or the other just yet! "Right now, honestly, there could be 50 Ghostbusters. I'm just waiting to get our first draft of the script together to go, 'Who makes sense in these roles?' If I put the list in front of me of people that have said they want to do it, talk about a Sophie's Choice. When you do a movie like Ghostbusters, people get very interested."

Read the rest here.

[Michael]

It's ironic that Bill Murray, whose career was definitely better served by "Ghostbusters" than many another SNL alumnus' career by their movies, feels that "Groundhog Day" was his best work because it proved to doubters that he could handle a serious role (even though that was a comedic movie). "Ghostbusters" is a much-revered cultural icon of the 1980s. I'm not sure if many critics considered it to be great art. The power of movies to connect with their generations is often mis-diagnosed. For example, "It's a Wonderful Life" really did not take off for decades. But "Star Wars" had a profound impact on our culture even while be reviled and ridiculed (including by one of its own stars).

[FilmGuy]

Paul Feig has revealed that the "Ghostbusters 3" non-sequel will be filmed in New York City and will somehow acknowledge the earlier films.

[badlands]

Melissa McCarthy will be in it. I am thinking more of the cartoon than the movie where Slimer is loved by one character and hated by another. I have a feeling that Melissa will be the Slimer hater.

[Boomstick]

Feig may be more interested in an all-female Ghostbusters, but you know full well the studio went for it because they thought it was a great gimmick. This is a major summer release, so it's highly unlikely the studio is just sitting back and letting him do whatever he wants.

I'm not against the idea, I'm just not sure about the casting. It seems too forced, like they got a bunch of SNL alums as a nod to the guys from the original movie, instead of actually trying to cast the best people. McCarthy and Wiig are experienced and well known, but this is going to be a whole new level of exposure and criticism. Any time an 80s property is revived it's the old "oh, you ruined my childhood" nonsense.

At any rate, Feig is obviously a capable guy with lots of great work to his credit. McCarthy and Wiig seem to be well liked, and are very funny, so it could work well.

[august]

The New Yorker is already on the job....