— Jayson Evans (@JaysonEvans1971) May 17, 2016
I found that via the NYT, which reports that Sony Pictures is unhappy that Hillary is horning in on their long-scheduled publicity for a movie that it really needs men not to hate:
“Get your Woman Cards ready,” Ms. DeGeneres wrote on Twitter to her 60 million followers, a reference to the Republican contender Donald J. Trump’s criticism that Mrs. Clinton had relied on playing “the woman’s card.” The show’s website added, “This Wednesday, Ellen’s sitting down with some powerful women!”But Sony's "marketing team has been fighting to tamp down what it sees as a misogynistic, Internet-based assault on the movie."
In the best of circumstances, film studios are reluctant to let a big-budget film — “Ghostbusters” cost more than $150 million to make — become identified with a political candidate. Mr. Trump, who must overcome major weaknesses among female voters, has also shown a willingness to fuel the unwanted “Ghostbusters” gender debate:
I don't think too many men watch Ellen DeGeneres, so what's the real problem for Sony? The NYT is trying to weave this into the usual gender politics, but I think the real problem for Sony is that it wants to sell the movie to women — that's the point of going on Ellen DeGeneres — and putting Hillary on the same show saps the fun out of something that absolutely needs to be very, very fun.
Anyway, for Donald Trump, this looks like more evidence that everything ends up working for him. I hadn't seen that Instagram before. It's from last January, and now it's getting a boost. Some people may argue that it's sexist, but he's only asking a question: "What’s going on?" He has a way of stirring up your thoughts, not exactly telling you what to think, but making your mind feel activated. The thoughts that result feel like your own.
That image at the top of this post casts Trump as the villain and Hillary as the hero, but damned if he doesn't come out ahead again. She of the eternal pantsuit has been reenvisioned in the worst pantsuit ever — a beige jumpsuit. And he's looking cute as a little green monster — with the Ellen show logo looking like a halo. So unfair! But everything bounces to his favor, it seems. How does he do that?
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98 comments:
Day time TV. -or- the loser contingent.
He is the beneficiary of the enemies he makes.
They can't help it. They hate men and it shows.
I kind of doubt that HRC's appearance with a female cast of a movie remake on a female-centric show will convince anyone not already firmly in the I-have-a-woman-card camp.
This "Females who don't support Hillary will burn in Hell" stuff strikes me as kind of insulting, but then, I'm a guy, so....
But Sony's "marketing team has been fighting to tamp down what it sees as a misogynistic, Internet-based assault on the movie."
The marketing team is full of idiots. Little of the criticism is due to it being female. It is largely that it is pointless, looks incredibly unfunny, and they've made the black member of the group even LESS of a priority than the original films did.
I don't think too many men watch Ellen DeGeneres, so what's the real problem for Sony? The NYT is trying to weave this into the usual gender politics, but I think the real problem for Sony is that it wants to sell the movie to women — that's the point of going on Ellen DeGeneres — and putting Hillary on the same show saps the fun out of something that absolutely needs to be very, very fun.
That ship sailed. It's the most hated movie video on YouTube ever. It isn't going to recover. Sony has a massive turkey and the people behind the movie aren't helping.
Sort of brilliant by Sony to get their new movie involved in the "gender wars"--all this talk about whether the Ghostbusters should be women, or that it's identified with Hillary, only skirts past the more damning point--an unnecessary remake of what was an original and winning film. Now, if it fails it's because of misogyny, and they have already set expectations in such a way (and gotten free publicity) that even a middling audience will be seen as a win.
Hollywood may not produce great art anymore, but they are shrewd money-makers.
By the by, happy 25th anniversary, "Thelma & Louise."
Maybe the Female Team will spend time chatting about Vince Foster's fishy death investigation. Hillary can certainly add something to that discussion.
That picture reminds me about Gennifer Flowers' remark about the size of Hillary's backside.
Sony recognizes it's bad to appeal only to women. Evidence suggests Hillary doesn't understand this.
"Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown" - Dr Peter Venkman
Ellen is likable.
Hillary is not.
This is basic hollywood propaganda. Ellen is cute, funny and likeable, and she supports Hillary - you should too.
How does Trump do that?
1. He has an over-the-top personality. He's part game show host, part clown, part car salesman, part sitcom character. You expect weird and wonderful things to happen to him and it does not seem strange when it does. This also mutes when he does bad/dumb things, because, hahaha, that's our Trump!
2. Hillary Clinton is a terrible candidate and, worse, a terrible person. We take pleasure in her misfortune because, frankly, she deserves it. She's a villain. It is much easier to find her misfortunes because we want to see her misfortunes. The fact that she is so incompetent as a candidate manages to create more of these moments than normal, too.
Now consider what would happen if the media was not in the bag for Hillary. Also, consider what would become of Trump if the media was not desperate for his ratings.
Ellen DeGeneres has 60 million twitter followers? I'm not knocking Ellen DeGeneres, I like her just fine, but 60 MILLION?!?
And, seriously, how could anyone think they can turn "women card" into something to be proud of? It can't be anything but an insult. They are declaring that they are stupid.
He's the trickster, like Bill, but not a serial sex offender.
Could it be ... SATAN?
Also, do note that Hillary is highly disliked, as polls continually show. Even people who are going to vote for her do not like her. Associating a comedy with something unfunny is typically not recommended.
Trump is also disliked, but it is the more "I love him at parties but I wouldn't want him to babysit my kids" dislike as opposed to the Wicked Witch of the West dislike that Hillary generates.
The optics are terrible: Hillary retreats into "safe space" instead of facing real challenges of wooing Sanders voters.
The thoughts that result feel like your own.
@Althouse, I suppose there's some way you can say that the thoughts are not our own, but this mathematician doesn't see it.
How does Trump do it? If you stand back a little, it's easy to see that most political theater is absurd. As a true outsider, Trump is just inviting us to stand back and laugh at the absurdity. Sanders is running as an outsider, but despite the head start a degree from the University of Chicago should have given him he's actually never successfully held a job outside of politics. And for that matter neither has Hillary Clinton.
As for the "Ghostbusters" remake, go look at the trailer. In the trailer I watched, nearly all of the funny bits involved the white guy. That's g-u-y, as in male. And there weren't very many truly funny bits in that trailer. Back when they were shooting the, did it not cross anyone's mind that this really wasn't very funny? If they can't find enough funny bits to make a decent trailer, that bodes poorly for the film itself, no?
In an election season that features so much anti-insider and anti-DC anger and disgust The Donald has appeared as an outsider, non-politician. Just NOT being a poll-tested focus-grouped consultant-scripted robot seems to be working in his favor.
Oh and he benefits from running against stereotypical politicians held in the lowest public esteem since polling began.
The Guy Who Drives the White Van With No Windows In The Back Says:
"it's OK, I'm allowed to be here in the bathroom with you. Even President Obama says its OK."
"Yeah, I like President Obama, too."
"Do you like 'Ghostbusters'"?
"You do?"
"Me too! Did you know I have "Ghostbusters" uniforms in my van? They're real and everything!"
"Oh, yeah, they're real, alright. I even have one in a size especially for you! Do you want to be a Ghostbuster?'
"You're parents say you shouldn't talk to strangers? I'm not a stranger, I'm a Ghostbuster!"
"A Ghostbuster wouldn't lie."
"Yeah! We'll put on our uniforms and drive around, looking for ghosts!"
"How do we know when we found a ghost?"
"Well, we get in the back of the van with the Ghost-Busting Equipment."
"There's lots of lights on the Ghostbusting equipment -- it's FUN to watch it work! You can work the handles, too!"
"Now, when we go to the van I need you to be very quiet: we don't want to alert any ghosts that we are on to them!"
"They're everywhere! But you'll be safe with me, your Ghostbusting Friend! Now: ssshhhhhh...."
I am Laslo.
Let's face it, doing the remake was misandry. Let's remake Butch and Sundance as women. Slapshot is another great choice. OK, Thelma and Louise was a remake of Butch and Sundance, so it can be done artfully.
In the cartoon version of the Ghost Busters Slimer (the name given to the little green ghost) is a good guy. Kind of a pet to the team. Think Scooby Doo.
"And, seriously, how could anyone think they can turn "women card" into something to be proud of? It can't be anything but an insult. They are declaring that they are stupid."
What happened is someone in Team Hillary suggested trying to turn the "women card" insult into a positive, and rather than thinking through how to actually do that Hillary just said "got it" and greenlit an ad that turned it into a credit card and listed a bunch of federal freebies to bribe women into voting for her.
Team Hillary makes Gore 2000 look brilliant by comparison.
That beige jumpsuit makes her look as broad in the beam as an Iowa-class battleship.
Good look for an Iowa-class battleship; not so much for Hillary.
'Ghostbusters, The Remake' This time with women!
'President Clinton, The Remake' This time with a woman!
Remakes almost always suck.
By the way "Ghostbusters 2" was already made with a good cast and it still didn't have the magic of the first one. "Ghostbusters" was original and charming and look how thin old Dan Akroyd was then! Not one of the chicks in the new version is half as funny as Rick Moranis alone. Watch that painful first trailer. Then watch the second one Sony made to help wash the first one from our eyes.
NOT FUNNY.
If you can't take the best bits of 105 minutes and make a funny 2-MINUTE trailer then you got a big stinky POS on your hands. Gee how to market a big POS? Go full SJW and pretend the movie is a "woman thing" that men just don't get.
Sorry. STILL NOT FUNNY.
But everything bounces to his favor, it seems. How does he do that?
He's a super man!
Althouse is starting to talk about Donnie like Glenn Reynolds talks about bacon.
Is there nothing it can't do?!
Ham, bacon, what's the difference. No difference! It's all pig and it's good.
Or is it?
I'm going to enjoy watching this SJW mess tank at the box office. I may even help.
It also does not help that the new Ghostbusters movie is notorious, rightly or wrongly, as an unnecessary sequel that was given an all female cast out of some bizarre politically correct feminist motivation, and then link that film up with a mediocre politician with no real accomplishments outside of her husband whose main selling point for the Presidency is she's a woman. The optics are awful from both directions.
There is something to be said for Ace's opinion that Ghostbusters is a ludicrous concept for a movie that never should have worked except for the genius of its cast. I'm not sure I agree - Ghostbusters 2 was disappointing but not bad by any stretch and the spin-off cartoon was generally excellent - but if there is any movie franchise that should have just been left alone unless they came up with the perfect movie, this franchise is it. The trailers indicate that this is not the perfect movie or anything remotely close. Why?
gotta admire sony: they knew the movie would be a disaster.
they either play up the feminazi angle and make more men into legit misogynists, or they downplay it and the movie sinks as the most unnecessary remake in history.
I do sometimes almost feel sorry for Hillary. Her people probably worked hard getting her on Ellen. And she made herself look silly by wearing that stupid outfit on TV to make her look game and fun. Then Trump comes along and blows it up with a 30 second video pointing out the rediculousness of the ghostbusters remake. Movie isn't going to succeed, and that will partly be tied to Trump's brain. He recognized it was a dog, and pounded another stake in it, because it had been associated with Hillary. And she is left picking up the pieces.
After looking at that Photoshop, it occurred to me that switching the heads works just as well...but that would be sexist wouldn't it.
I agree that the reason that the original Ghostbusters did decently was the casting. Ackroid and Murray were at their comedic peak there (ok, I probably liked the latter best in Caddyshack). Most anything you put a couple of the original SNL crew together in was probably going to be funny. The lack of top tier comedians is probably going to doom the remake.
The creme de la creme will be on Nov. 9 when she will squeal, "He slimed me!"
Bill Maher had a funny quote to the effect that if Hollywood didn't keep trying to force this crap down our throats, the audience would win.
He said it better.
How does Trump do it? I think you answered your own question, Dr. Althouse: he says what every normal person is thinking, but he frames it as a (rhetorical) question. The question-framing makes it seem, at least, like he's having a conversation with us, even if we know The Art of the Deal and that he's using the most outrageous, exaggerated position so when he "compromises" and "gives something up" he still gets exactly what he really wanted.
He's also benefiting from the descent of the Democrats into increasingly transparent totalitarianism over social issues, on which even most rock-ribbed Republicans are actually very moderate. Just as people who have never dreamt of owning a gun before reconsider every time some OCD Democrat talks about what a great idea gun control legislation is, people who would never refuse to rent an apartment to, bake a pizza for, hire, or basically anything else, a transsexual, now have to worry about their, or loved ones', private spaces no longer being private. Or, to pick another recent example, Harvard is moving to end sex-specific organizations in the name of equality... but of course, women's groups are fighting being disbanded, because it's not about equality; it's about power.
The average person is tired of the BS and just wants to be left alone. To the extent they care about politics, they want someone to focus on jobs and America as she is, rather than as some hard-left Chicago Machine demagogue would like it to be. Hence the appeal of Trump's brand of center-right populism: if we're going to have an autocratic presidency, let's at least have one who seems pro-American, and if he seems a little rough around the edges, well, Americans are a little rough around the edges.
I'm not happy about this. We had our chance to get behind the only guy to filibuster over the use of drones to surveil American citizens, talk about sound money, and express skepticism over continuous warfare, all out of consistency with the Constitution. But the electorate sees the Constitution as a dead letter (and with a legislate-from-the-bench court and a supine Congress, it's far from obvious they're wrong). When the model is an authoritarian president with an army of unelected bureaucrats in the administrative state rubber-stamped by a Supreme Court that sees its role as "deference to the legislative," people get the message, and you get populist strongman candidates like Trump and Sanders. Clinton represents a kind of bizarre continuity. We think she's a known quantity thanks to Bill. But it may finally have gotten to the point where no one buys what Clinton is selling, some 15 years after Christopher Hitchens wrote "No One Left to Lie To," and 18 years after "Primary Colors."
We may, that is, be ready for the devil we don't know. God help us.
If Hillary had a sense of humor and her team had game they would have reversed it.
"How does he do that?" 1.Clueless opponents. 2. Eager followers. 3. Fearless guy who won't turn other cheek and is willing to play dirty.
Clinton III will be just as funny as Ghostbusters III.
General question: is there anything men have made that women have remade better?
This post needs an "Old Ho" tag.
Blogger Bob Boyd said...
"Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown" - Dr Peter Venkman
Great line, Bob. Trump, being from "downtown" should put this in constant rotation.
Another great Venkman (Murray) line from the original is:
"We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xMGRA_FePw
Trump might contrast this with Hilary's rather bloodthirsty line about Osama:
We came, we saw, he died! (Followed by an obscene giggle)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmIRYvJQeHM
I think Ghostbusters might be a goldmine for Trump.
John Henry
It sounds as if the female Ghostbusters will be a crowning achievement, and I mean that in the most vaginal of ways.
Agree with tim maguire. That Ellen tweet was terrible.
And Vagina Ghostbusters is going to lose. A. Lot. Of. Money. Sony has figured it out and knows that attaching Hillary! to the flick is only going to make the hole that much deeper.
"There is no Hillary, only Zuul!"
Women don't watch this kind of film. Men won't want to watch this one. Winner!
@John Henry "I think Ghostbusters might be a goldmine for Trump."
Yup.
Hillary is much more like an old ghost than a Ghostbuster. Negative, vengeful energy left over from a bygone time willing itself into our lives, demanding it's own idea of justice for itself without regard for the horrified victims in it's wake.
BTW, I think it was Moamar Qaddafi she was cackling about, not Osama.
I've been suckered into many a flick by a funny trailer. Usually I am dismayed to find the ONLY funny bits in the movie were already covered in the trailer.
But the new Ghost Busters...... yikes! Not even remotely funny and I'm a fan of Melisa Maccarthy.
Per the tweet, as noted above, Slimer is on the Ghost Buster team in the cartoons. You know, the ones that today's young voters grew up with.....
Ghostbusters, the original worked because everyone involved wasn't taking themselves so seriously. They were funny, irreverent, sometimes seemingly unscripted. There were no political messages or SJW messages implied. It was just good fun and completely unrealistic.
The new "all female" Ghostbusters is not funny, is hammering a subliminal message at you...therefore making it NOT subliminal anymore. People are sick of being preached at. Sick of messaging. The movie is taking itself much to seriously. There was no reason to make this movie other than a political/SJW point of view.
Women don't watch this kind of film
Well I won't watch this one, but my guilty pleasure is really bad Sci Fi movies. I forced my husband to watch Star Ship Troopers the other night and he was not greatly amused, while I am laughing my rear off at the bad acting, absurdity, crazy aliens and so on. Like a good sport, though, he watched the whole thing. When he goes out of town, I spool up (there is an old term) a Vin Diesel movie like Riddick, make some popcorn, get a glass of wine and just enjoy the unreality and action. I told him.....see.....this is what I watch when you are out of town. Riddick....not When Harry Met Sally (yuck)
So, maybe don't generalize about what women watch or what women want....hmmmmm?
@Fritz
Yeah, first thing I thought of when I heard "All female cast Ghostbusters" was who the hell are they marketing that movie to?
Women will go to and watch comedy/adventure/paranatural movies with their boyfriends, but absent that not that many women are interested in them in my experience. Of course, I'm getting old and perhaps I'm out of touch with the youfs.
It seems to me that having a mix of men and women in the Ghostbusters crew would have worked and there is no rule saying you have to have four and only four. And making the one black Ghostbuster a transit worker while all the rest are brilliant white scientists tells me that people from Hollywood have no business lecturing anyone on racism. That and "slap the devil out of you."
This movie is going to go over like the proverbial turd in a punch bowl.
How is it empowering to women to remake a successful movie and just change the gender of the cast? That's just me-too-ism. Seems weak, and a complete lack of originality. The movie will suck.
Maybe some other scripts and remakes with recast genders would be more interesting.
Deliverance
The Longest Yard
Cool Hand Luke (You could call it Cool Hand Lucy)
@Dust Bunny Queen
I apologize for the generalization, but in my experience, given a choice, most women would prefer the new My Fat Greek Wedding movie to the new Ghostbusters, by a wide margin. But as I said, I am getting old.
By the way, huge fan of the Starship Troopers novel, so I cannot watch the movie, even as an exercise in "so bad its good."
Though I did pick up a Special Edition DVD of Dune for a dollar at a garage sale and am watching the release directed by Alan Smithee. As a film adaptation it fails miserably, but as an artifact of the 80s where they were still trying to figure out how to do this "serious science fiction on film thing" it is fascinating.
In the cartoon version of the Ghost Busters Slimer (the name given to the little green ghost) is a good guy. Kind of a pet to the team. Think Scooby Doo.
That was the first thing I noticed as well (having seen the movies and watched the cartoons as a child). Slimer was the breakout character from the series, appeared in pretty much every iteration of the franchise, and was used to successfully market a wide variety of merchandise. It wasn’t long after the cartoon that fans associated Slimer (rather than the ghost in the red circle with a slash through it) as the face and symbol of the series.
Mrs. Clinton on the other hand is just appearing as a generic “Ghostbuster” and reminds me of the awful and failed attempts to introduce a new cast of characters that never connected with the audience the way that the original did despite trying to ride on their coattails. Sort of like how she is trying to do now with her husband.
There were no political messages or SJW messages implied. It was just good fun and completely unrealistic.
Rather the opposite actually. Remember Walter Peck?
Dickless Scene
It's ironic, because the Real Ghostbusters cartoon featured another presidential candidate.
Why choose the lesser of two evils?
@ Ron
I'm old too :-)
Although the movie, Star Ship Troopers wasn't academy award material, it did sort of capture the central theme of the book. The difference between being a Civilian and becoming a Citizen as well as the team building that the troops go through to build the Citizenry.
Interspersed throughout the book are other flashbacks to Rico's History and Moral Philosophy course, which reveal that the rights of a full Citizen (to vote and hold public office) must be earned through voluntary Federal service. Those who do not perform this Service retain the rights of free speech, assembly, etc., but cannot vote or hold public office. This structure arose ad hoc after the collapse of the "20th century Western democracies", brought on by social failures at home (among which appear to be poor handling of juvenile delinquency) and military defeat by the Chinese Hegemony overseas.
Sounds kind of familiar doesn't it? Perhaps some of these old Sci Fi tomes are more relevant than we imagine.
Ghostbusters II sucked. What makes then think this one will be any good?
I remember seeing the original in the Movie Theater in 8th Grade. The audience was cracking up. It's has just been on TV recently and my 7th grade son loved it.
Are women really sucked in by this?
It's going to flop.
The RiffTrax guys had a lot of fun with Starship Troopers as part of a live show. Alas, they cannot release the show on DVD because of rights issues (as in they cannot afford it). The audio riffing is available for purchase though you'll have to sync up the audio to the movie. Recommended. Their web site is www.rifftrax.com. There is plenty more bad sci-fi there too.
What would have been amusing is to make the black female Ghostbuster have the same personality, but actually be a scientist and make one of the really smart ones working at the mundane job for some odd reason. That might ruin the suspension of disbelief, but then again this is a movie about capturing ghosts with nuclear powered beam weapons so I'm pretty sure it would be safe regardless.
Ellen selling her soul for the Clintons is a bad move.
Embarrassing.
General question: is there anything men have made that women have remade better?
Yes, men
which were remade into women when women were made from Adam's rib. And we did a better job on the remake because to see how a man would have made a woman, see how Caitlyn did a remake.
Then too I think that cloning which is men remaking how to make a baby will turn out to be better in the original version.
Not that women thought the original version up.
Ellen selling her soul for the Clintons is a bad move.
Yeah, Bill's signature achievements when it comes to gay rights is "Don't ask don't tell" and signing the "Defense of Marriage Act." And Hillary stated that marriage was a "sacred bond between a man and a woman" in 2004. She didn't come to support gay marriage until 2013. She claims her views changed as the nation changed, which may be true, but that doesn't exactly make her a leader in civil rights for gays does it.
I'm looking forward to a Ghostbuster where the women's story is done over by female impersonators. And we all have to go and cheer because whoever is President is making a list and checking it twice.
"She claims her views changed as the nation changed, which may be true, but that doesn't exactly make her a leader in civil rights for gays does it."
If you look at the video "Hillary lying for 13 minutes", you will see that she is claiming she never changed, she always supported gay marriage. Just another lie. I have a penny jar, I drop in pennies and forget them; she has a lie jar.
By the way, another reason this movie will bomb, Chris Hemsworth's character is supposed to be really dumb. Why? Apparently because good looking women are stereotyped as being dumb in action/adventure movies so ju-jistu or something.
Of course that isn't true.
For instance, there are two women who are given considerable screen time in the original Ghostbusters movie, the secretary, Janine I think, and Sigourney Weaver's character. Are either portrayed as dumb?
No. Janine is acerbic and takes no crap, Sigourney Weaver's character is a musician in a symphony orchestra. I think a cellist, but I could be mistaken.
Neither character, in their interactions with others, is shown to be anything other than capable and intelligent.
You know why? Because they are supposed to be sympathetic characters. We are supposed to like them because we are meant to imagine ourselves interacting with people like that and holding our own.
So apparently part of the message of this "empowering women" movie is that highly intelligent hyper-educated women like big, dumb men.
I saw the original "Ghostbusters" in the theatre when it was first released. I laughed myself stupid the first time, and just as hard the second when I conned my dad into going with me. He loved it. It's in the queue for go-to watching on a Saturday afternoon along with "Caddyshack", "Stripes", and "Spies Like Us". Guess that gives you a clue to my entertainment level, eh?
I'll take inane 80s films for $500, Alex. (ok, technically "Caddyshack" was made in 1979, but close enough.)
When I heard about the film's PC reboot with a bunch of chicks I groaned. I knew without even hearing a speck of dialogue that it was going to be preachy, politically motivated and generally unpleasant.
I finally saw the latest "Star Wars" installment this weekend. Finally, a return to what I loved in the original three. Bringing the oldsters in was a bit much but it was tolerable.
Back when they were shooting the, did it not cross anyone's mind that this really wasn't very funny? If they can't find enough funny bits to make a decent trailer, that bodes poorly for the film itself, no?
Hell, the first TRAILER was so bad they rebooted IT.
And now they're hitching HILLARY to it? No wonder Sony is having vapors.
Kelly Maenpaa said...
When I heard about the film's PC reboot with a bunch of chicks I groaned.
I heard of the remake without hearing about the female cast. My first thought was 'Why?'. Sure, plenty of action/superhero movies have success with remakes. But how many comedies do?
My second thought was 'How'd that work out for the Steve Martin version of the Pink Panther?' Another movie that made me ask 'Why?'. What was wrong with the original? What could you possibly do better than the original?
NOW I get it! Hillary is to Bill as Feminazi Ghostbusters is to the original Ghostbusters. That's what Ellen is saying, right?
Hell, the first TRAILER was so bad they rebooted IT.
You know what the original Ghostbusters movie didn't spend a lot of time on? Stressing how intelligent and educated the protagonists were!
It was just kind of a given because they worked at a college and because of the equipment they created that they were well educated and that Egon was really brilliant, but not so much the others. Sure the rest were smart, but not Egon level smart.
In fact, Venkman did see science as a kind of dodge to avoid actual work. And he wanted to start the Ghostbusters as a way to get rich, not help anyone. He is actually kind of a shady character. A lovable rogue.
So what does the first trailer do? Show the part where all the (white) girls are validated as being "super scientist" types.
So why do all the (white) girls have to be "super scientists?"
Empowerment.
Sure, plenty of action/superhero movies have success with remakes. But how many comedies do?
Exactly. What makes a comedy successful is the comedians in it. Are they going to remake Caddy Shack? Back To School? Animal House? Stripes?
Well maybe Stripes. It pretty much fell apart after they finished basic.
DBQ: Well I won't watch this one, but my guilty pleasure is really bad Sci Fi movies.
We do this too. Our own version of MST3K. Over 10 years, there were only 2 movies that were so awful that we had to stop. I forget the name of one, but the actress had to reach and grab the monster's tentacle and wrap it around herself so it was "grabbing" her.
I'm a bit worried about the Chris Hemsworth character too.
The only "dumb" character in the original GB movie was Rick Moranis's character. And he was tax accountant that was socially awkward and afflicted with supernatural bad luck.
The EPA guy was just a bullying assh*le who didn't believe in ghosts.
It definitely looks like the Reddit spoiler-gripe about the movie is right. Hemsworth's character ends up possessed by the "bad guy". You can piece that together from the two trailers.
Fen,
Was the other movie "Salt"?
But the new Ghost Busters...... yikes! Not even remotely funny and I'm a fan of Melisa Maccarthy.
My main beef is the black character. Ernie Hudson came across as a pointless add-on to the original, but he ended up as being clearly competent and a worthy addition from the word go.
The black woman here is every negative black woman stereotype rolled up into an obnoxious package.
Well I won't watch this one, but my guilty pleasure is really bad Sci Fi movies. I forced my husband to watch Star Ship Troopers the other night and he was not greatly amused, while I am laughing my rear off at the bad acting, absurdity, crazy aliens and so on. Like a good sport, though, he watched the whole thing. When he goes out of town, I spool up (there is an old term) a Vin Diesel movie like Riddick, make some popcorn, get a glass of wine and just enjoy the unreality and action. I told him.....see.....this is what I watch when you are out of town. Riddick....not When Harry Met Sally (yuck)
How can one hate Starship Troopers? It's perfectly hokey schlock.
Now Battlefield Earth --- yeah, I can get some hate there.
In the cartoon version of the Ghost Busters Slimer (the name given to the little green ghost) is a good guy. Kind of a pet to the team. Think Scooby Doo.
It was also drawn and animated so poorly that they had to make Ramis' character blond so you could tell them apart. Korean animation studios didn't churn out quality.
Ellen selling her soul for the Clintons is a bad move.
Oprah selling hers for Obama was a poor move as well.
No. Janine is acerbic and takes no crap, Sigourney Weaver's character is a musician in a symphony orchestra. I think a cellist, but I could be mistaken.
Janine was the realist who didn't buy into this. It was just another job until weird stuff happened. She was not treated as an imbecile. Sigourney was nice (tolerated her nerdy and intrusive neighbor) and shot down Venkman's pick up lines with gusto.
@ Ignorance in Bliss:
You're right. When I heard a reboot was in the offing I did scratch my head and wonder why. Not exactly fertile ground there. Then I found out that it was an all female cast and I groaned. From bad to worse.
How can one hate Starship Troopers? It's perfectly hokey schlock.
Yeah, but it totally butchers the book and I really like that book.
The book was a serious attempt to address issues concerning who gets the franchise and what political systems are most viable. In fact, a good portion of the book is set in classroom settings were such issues are discussed.
The movie basically just took all that and reduced it to "this society is fascist."
Proving, by the way, that they have no idea what fascism actually is.
@ Damikesc
Starship Troopers. Husband didn't hate the movie. Just thought it was stupid. Well, that was one of the points of my watching it DUH!! It's perfectly hokey schlock. I know! Great.
Agreed, the message of the book got lost in the movie. The part in the movie that I especially hated was the teenage love angst message. We were both rooting for Denise Richards to just get killed already. What a bitch.
We haven't seen Ender's Game yet. I'm afraid that it won't translate well into a movie as there are so many parts to the book. Ah well.
I just wonder they decided to make Ghostbusters all female and potentially alienate young men. Its a decent idea- but investing $150 million in it seems crazy. They could have made it 50/50 and still used it deflect the Hollywood-misogyny rep.
Also, there was no power armor.
And the "elite" troopers ran around in gaggles in the battle sequences and could have been wiped out in about five minutes by two guys with M60s setting up a crossfire.
Having been in the army that kind of stuff (stupid tactics) really takes me out of my suspension of disbelief.
The main tactic seemed to be:
"Lets all run over that way in a crowd so that the people in the middle and back can't fire their weapons without shooting the people in the front."
"Lets all run over that way in a crowd so that the people in the middle and back can't fire their weapons without shooting the people in the front."
This was common French infantry tactics 1792-1815. There was more to it than that of course.
@buwaya
They didn't have rifles that could shoot lots and lots of bullets real fast without having to reload. Nor were hand grenades much of an issue. And while they did have to worry about artillery, modern portable mortars were not a concern.
“If you want to send a message, use Western Union.”
Sam Goldwyn
Perhaps he's right and the people want a reconciliation, not pro-choice, and the factions who are left are losing their momentum.
How can one hate Starship Troopers? It's perfectly hokey schlock.
I really loved hating Starship Troopers, but my all-time fave MSFT3K is "Space Mutiny". It lacked continuity - a character was murdered and then was in the following scene back on the ship's bridge doing her job. It also featured a spaceship with a concrete basement.
An all-female Ghostbusters? I loved Ghostbusters. I loved Murray, Aykroyd and Ramis.
Am I supposed to love an all-female Ghostbusters? Color me skeptical.
Next up: Animalette House -- the story of a raucous sorority house in the 60s, where the girls drink beer, smoke cigarettes, sleep with guys, flunk out of school, and cause rip-roaring mayhem on campus.
damikesc: My main beef is the black character. Ernie Hudson came across as a pointless add-on to the original...
The role was supposed to be played by Eddie Murphy, who declined. The script was then re-written to reduce Winston's role. I still liked Winston though.
Fen: I forget the name of one, but the actress had to reach and grab the monster's tentacle and wrap it around herself so it was "grabbing" her.
I see you that and raise you The Creeping Terror, which required the actors to crawl into the monster's mouth so they could be "eaten."
The Doomsday Machine is also a classic of the genre: the spaceship is a different size and shape in each establishing shot, the writers completely fail to grasp the strategic use of a doomsday device (Chairman Mao destroys the Earth without telling anyone else because... reasons???), the inside of the ship barely looks like a spaceship at all, various scientific howlers including one of the actors climbing on top of the spaceship in space as if there was gravity, and an ending that was tacked on years later to the unfinished movie that makes absolutely no sense. Also, Casey Kasem in a bit role. Cinematic Titanic did this one good.
Saw the distaff GB trailer a couple of months ago. Hee--that gobbler and its attendant losses are going to set back the cause of feminism in Hollywood by 50 years.
Starship Troopers, on the other hand, starred Denise Richards in her prime, and she showed how to be a woman in a movie.
"It also featured a spaceship with a concrete basement."
Not to lessen the lameness of that particular film, but its not as silly as it sounds.
This actually makes sense for a spaceship in interplanetary space.
You want a shelter from solar flares and the like. Many ideas for spaceships include such shelters. Some designs use water jackets, etc. Mass is a problem of course, but if spaceships are constructed in space from asteroidal materials its much less of an issue.
Some Science Fictional spaceships incorporate asteroids, or are constructed from asteroids.
...the real problem for Sony is that it wants to sell the movie to women — that's the point of going on Ellen DeGeneres — and putting Hillary on the same show saps the fun out of something that absolutely needs to be very, very fun.
Fun. A word that has no place in the same galaxy as either "Hillary Clinton" or "gender re-assigned Ghostbusters re-boot".
It is now a point of honor to not watch it.
It seems to me that having a mix of men and women in the Ghostbusters crew would have worked and there is no rule saying you have to have four and only four. And making the one black Ghostbuster a transit worker while all the rest are brilliant white scientists tells me that people from Hollywood have no business lecturing anyone on racism. That and "slap the devil out of you."
Those are good ideas if you're making a real movie. But if you watch the trailers, it's clear they just did a gender switch on the already existing characters. Ironically, Hemsworth is the only person in the trailer who looks like he brought any comic energy to the role, and he's playing a total himbo.
It was just kind of a given because they worked at a college and because of the equipment they created that they were well educated and that Egon was really brilliant, but not so much the others. Sure the rest were smart, but not Egon level smart.
Agreed, and the movie actually presents them to you as being kind of disreputable. Egon and Dan Ackroyd get kicked out of the college, Bill Murray is memorably introduced as reminding Sigourney Weaver as a gameshow host, Winston is just some guy they hire because they need a fourth. They show slackjawed people watching their cheesy ad on local TV. The second movie starts with them entertaining at kids' birthday parties.
It's ironic. Bridesmaids was obviously a major influence on the casting of this movie, and Bridesmaids wasn't afraid to let its characters look bad or foolish. But all that goes out the window when you're making a big budget blockbuster.
Haven't you heard? Google has redefined 'fascism' to mean 'right-wing, nationalist, intolerant'.
The role was supposed to be played by Eddie Murphy, who declined. The script was then re-written to reduce Winston's role. I still liked Winston though.
Yeah. He didn't come across as dumb. Just hard-working and needing a job. In the trailer --- which is supposed to sell you on watching --- the black woman is just grating and seems like a total moron.
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