Posted in: Ghostbusters, Movies, Sony | Tagged: ghostbusters, ghostbusters 2016, ghostbusters: afterlife, ghostbusters: answer the call, jason reitman, Leslie Jones, paul feig, sony

Ghostbusters: Leslie Jones on Jason Reitman's "Unforgivable" Comments

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call star Leslie Jones reflects upon Ghostbusters: Afterlife director Jason Reitman's "unforgivable" comments.

Actor and comedienne Leslie Jones is no stranger to adversity, not only as a female comedian but also having to deal with the ire of toxic Ghostbusters fans who never intended to give the Sony 2016 remake a chance. The female core cast, like the 1984 Ivan Reitman classic before it, features a slew of Saturday Night Live alum with Jones, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon to join Melissa McCarthy. The original was written and starred Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray, both SNL alums, Harold Ramis (who co-wrote), and Ernie Hudson. Following the vitriol of the 2016 film, which has since been rebranded as Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, Ivan's son Jason Reitman directed the official third film of the franchise in 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife and made comments that made Jones feel a little raw, according to her memoir.

In Jones' book, Leslie Fucking Jones, the comedienne looked back at her career. She referenced the younger Reitman's comments promising Afterlife was "not making the 'Juno' of 'Ghostbusters' movies," referencing the 2007 Elliot Page-starred film about teen pregnancy. "We are in every way trying to go back to original technique and hand the movie back to the fans," Reitman told Bill Burr on his Monday Morning Podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter). Reitman backed away from the comments, writing on social media following the backlash, "I have nothing but admiration for Paul and Leslie and Kate and Melissa and Kristen and the bravery with which they made 'Ghostbusters' 2016. They expanded the universe and made an amazing movie!" For Jones, it was too little and too late as "the damage was done," explaining, "Bringing up the idea of giving the movie 'back to the fans' was a pretty clear shout-out to all those losers who went after us for making an all-female [movie]."

For more on Jones' commentary on the misogynistic backlash and the franchise's revisionist history to ignore the Paul Feig film, you can check out the report here. It's not just sour grapes, as the comprehensive franchise box set regulated the 2016 film to a digital release, whereas the 1984 original and the 1989 and 2021 sequels had physical discs and were rich in features.

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