Concerning the Comment Section on Last Week’s “Ghostbusters” Piece

, by Dan Bachman, Opinion Editor

Last week, The Argus published an Opinion piece (which I, as an Opinion editor, edited) entitled “On Ghostbusters and the Way We See Women in Media.” It was a new piece, by a new writer, and I was impressed by how compact, thorough, and compelling it was. It articulates many explicit and latent issues pertaining to the film industry’s representation of women, provides a few avenues by which we could move forward, and expresses a sincere, emotional response to seeing a film (and a pretty good one at that) in which the role of women is central and essential.

Then, a few days later, I read the comments. This is my response. I address this directly to you, the specific commenters on this specific Argus article.

Stop it.

Just, stop it.

Please, stop it.

So much ink has been spilled by and about you. Your mechanical, relentless search for any piece of writing on the Internet that contains the words “new” and “Ghostbusters.” The pages and pages of comments you write on such articles. The way you are overwhelmingly, if not exclusively, male. The angry YouTube videos. The targeted harassment.

I am not here to argue. I am here to tell you to stop it.

You have had your piece. You have had your say. Over the voices of thousands of women that you have trampled, threatened, scared, silenced because you could not wrap your head around a film not being made for you (and rest assured This. Was. Not. Made. For. You.). You made yourself unable to be ignored. The world knows what you think. The world knows that your “childhood,” as you so call it, is so fragile, that something as inoffensive as a comedy about women hunting ghosts has “ruined” it. I understand. You’ve been coddled all your life. You’re not used to things that don’t directly pander to you, and you think this movie should. But it doesn’t. I’m sorry. But you’ve had your piece, you’ve had your say on every corner of the Internet. And now it’s time to stop it.

Just, stop it.

It’s absolutely exhausting. Usually, a temper tantrum wanes, it tires itself out. But this one hasn’t. It hasn’t, because you are wrong. You know you are wrong. There’s nothing more infuriating than being wrong. You may think this is discourse. It is not. You are shouting over everything and anything. Aren’t your throats tired? Isn’t there something more valuable to rage against? Do you sleep soundly at night? Or do you scream to yourself, knowing that a piece of pop culture isn’t made for you? Surely, this relentlessness hurts you, too.

But you still refuse to stop. You call feminism the cancer, but nothing in this movie, or in feminist ideology, is as harmful or scary or tiring as you are. In fact, there is nothing, in feminism or in this movie harmful or scary at all, except for having to face you and your violence-as-conversation. These are not counterarguments. Your remarks are far from discourse. They are toxic. They are corroding, and corrosive.

No, it is not a perfect movie. But if it were, would that matter to you? You know it wouldn’t. You don’t hate the thing. You hate the idea. This is terrifying.

You might not be the harassers, the people who spent so much time and effort crafting the most horrifying images and sentences and sending them to Leslie Jones, and when that was no longer acceptable, hacked her website and published her personal photos. You might not be the person directly enacting deafening, silencing violence on a person because she had the wherewithal to be black, female, excellent, and in a film that you didn’t care for.

You might not be the harassers, but your words have caused harm. Constant, consistent harm. There are people in this world who saw women on screen and felt like the world was a little bit more for them than it was before. And then they saw what you read. How you poisoned that filming. This is monstrous, and you need to just stop it.

Stop it.

You cheered when the film didn’t make money. You wept with joy when you maintained order and snuffed out the light of people trying to make the world a more friendly place.

I am not trying to reason with you. I am not looking to be engaged with you. I am angry, and you have been awful, and this has to stop, and this has to stop now.

After I write this, and it is edited, this piece will be published, and a few days after that, it will be rife with your anger, your bile, your evil. You will have proven my point. Congratulations. Celebrate your righteous anger!

Then stop.

Please stop.

Stop.

  • Jeremy

    Lmao. This is ridiculous. You could care less. I mean rather than you checking into actual FACTS about what actually happened. But as you and others like you… just turn a blind eye on.
    And would you read these FACTS? Of course not lol.

    Fact – Paul Feig attacked fans. Nonstop actually. He played the sexist card so much that it became a joke pretty much. Just like when Angry Video Game Nerd was attacked by people saying he was sexist because he said he didn’t want to see the movie, and gave the most well thought out reason as to why this was a bad idea, and never mentioned once that they were women. BUT oh wouldn’t you know it… Comic Book Girl 19 said she hated that this was being made as well, and said this was a terrible idea, but she was left alone lmao. She even made a follow up on how ridiculous the attacks were on him, and that she was left alone.

    Fact – Sony deleted all legitimate negative comments on the Ghostbusters YouTube trailer, and kept the sexist troll comments up to make it look like it was all about sexism.

    Fact – In the Sony emails it shows Dan Aykroyd was on a “warpath” when he heard about the Ghostbusters movie was being rebooted. The news leaked earlier than planned and kept Dan out of the loop.

    Fact – Amy Pascal wanted to find a loop hole to kick Ivan Reitman off Ghostbusters completely. She didn’t even want him as a producer. From Sony emails

    Fact – Amy Pascal lied constantly to Ivan Reitman, and had secret dinner parties to have discussions for Ghostbusters behind his back. From the Sony emails

    Fact – Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd fought for this movie to be a sequel because they believed it was important to the Ghostbusters universe and fans. Amy Pascal, Paul Feig, and others at Sony were getting annoyed that Dan Aykroyd and Ivan Reitman believed they were trying to be protectors of the franchise. From the Sony emails

    Fact – Sony was considering to threaten Bill Murray with a law suit if he said no to helping them with this Ghostbusters movie. Again from the Sony emails.

    I could go on and on but you never even finished reading so good day sir…. I SAID GOOD DAY!

    • Calum Sanderson

      “Couldn’t” care less. “Could” care means you, um, could care less. I stopped reading after that because if there’s a mistake in your first sentence…

      • Jeremy

        Lmao well have you ever heard of auto correct? I’m typing on a tablet, and I’m sorry that I didn’t notice it. God has forsaken me by a typo! DAMN YOU!

    • Alex

      Just stop already. From a GB fan since 1984.

      • MrValderviche

        When you can’t argue with facts, just tell people to stop and make up some arbitrary reason for why what you say is more important. Brilliant.

      • ND

        Um, that’s the exact opposite of an arbitrary reason. And there were no “facts” in that first post. The idea of Sony censoring comments is pure conspiracy theory. And those emails are always taken out of context by people who don’t understand the business.

      • MrValderviche

        It is a very arbitrary reason. Especially considering most people who are detractors of GB16 are probably Ghostbusters fans.
        Jeremy seems to have a good understanding of the emails. And there’s really no way to misinterpret Pascal saying they were going to threaten Murray with litigation or saying that she wanted Reitman away from the project. Also, saying “You don’t understand. It doesn’t mean what it says,” has got to be one of the dumbest and over-used arguments ever.
        And while it cannot proven that Sony deleted comments, there were so many accounts of it happening that it’s ridiculous to just dismiss it as “pure conspiracy theory.”
        So, that leaves us with 6 facts and one thing that might or might not have happened.

      • ND

        No. That was in reference to the sequel and it was only something they considered. They even say they knew it would be bad publicity. Do you see actors in the news constantly being sued because they don’t do a movie? It’s called a frivolous lawsuit. These things are always settled out of court in some way. Think, people. And don’t read emails that don’t belong to you like some entitled brat. And “accounts” from random butt hurt brats online aren’t evidence. Again, think.

      • MrValderviche

        They threatened him with litigation. No one is saying they were actually planning to go through with it.
        Okay, I’m confused by the second part of your comment. See, the first part implies you know enough about the emails to learn me on ’em, but the second part of your comment implies you think it’s morally wrong to read them.
        Pay attention and you would see people are thinking far more than you.

      • ND

        Lol, no actually A LOT of “fans” have said “they were actually planning to go through with it” because they listened to other “fans” who were spreading misinformation. Thanks for proving my point. And I didn’t go hunting for the emails (again, like some entitled brat). “Fans” posted screen shots of the individual emails we’re talking about on message boards. I responded to their paranoid misinterpretations and then moved on. Learn the difference, kiddo.

      • MrValderviche

        But no one said that here and we’re discussing what was said here.
        Furthermore, you’re accusing me of seeking out the emails and then, when I turn that around, you act all defensive and superior because you saw the emails accidentally, but the same thing could have easily happened to me, which means you’re the one who started the baseless accusations.
        Also, why put “fans” in quotes? A racist, sexist, murderous troll who likes Ghostbusters is a Ghostbusters fan. By implying people who don’t agree with aren’t really fans, you’re bringing a no true Scotsman fallacy into your already unstable argument.

      • ND

        Relax, friend. I was talking more about the OP likely hunting for the emails. (Like I said, don’t be offend for others). Anyway, I’m tried of movies I happen to love being constantly associated with fighting. It’s so silly and such a waste of time. So I’ll end it there and wish you well.

      • Jeremy

        Yes, I was the one who found many of the emails and gave them to Midnight’s Edge. But the argument saying I just happen to come across them is like saying hey I happen to found proof on a murderer LUCKY YOU.

        This was an email I’m pasting here showing how annoyed Amy and Sony were getting at Ivan Reitman, and Dan Aykroyd for trying to save the franchise

        From pascal, amy
        To belgrad, dougdeluca, michael
        Email Body
        Raw Email
        Yeah it’s like whackamole
        And we are gonna have to keep doing this

        Sent from my Sony Xperia Z2

        > On Sep 14, 2014, at 11:23 AM, “Belgrad, Doug” wrote:
        >
        > Got a mildly annoying call from Ivan this morning. He has been thinking since our conversation yesterday and says that he’s realizing how important the mythology is to our property. Therefore, he thinks Paul’s story should exist in a world where Ghostbuster events of the 80’s are known. We talked about it for a while, but it just made me worry that now he and Danny think they have more creative control as protectors of the franchise than they even had before.
        > Anyway, I told him we really need to do a brand study to learn what people expect or care about from a movie and what they don’t.
        > But there you go…

        _________

        Here’s the email on them thinking about threatening Bill Murray
        _________

        Ghostbusters/Murray – Litigation Counsel [CONFIDENTIAL]
        Email-ID 110289
        Date 2013-10-29 22:06:29
        Raw Email

        Ghostbusters/Murray – Litigation Counsel [CONFIDENTIAL]

        In order to more fully evaluate our position if Bill Murray again declines to engage on “Ghostbusters”, AG requested that we identify “aggressive” litigation counsel with whom we can consult to evaluate our alternatives and strategize. [Harkening back to his prior employer, of course, raised the name of David Boies.]

        Personally, while I’m fine with aggressive, I think we are in much worse shape if this goes public so seems to me we should look for someone who isn’t seeking the spotlight.

        Can we discuss at some point soon to provide a suggestion or two?

        Thanks.

        __________

        Here’s Dan Aykroyd’s reaction when he learned it was rebooted

        ___________

        From pascal, amy
        To belgrad, dougdeluca, michael, ireitman
        Email Body
        Raw Email
        yes just off with ivan
        On Aug 7, 2014, at 4:20 PM, Belgrad, Doug wrote:
        Yes we should see him when we’re in Toronto for the festival. Should we call him now too?
        On Aug 7, 2014, at 6:03 PM, “Pascal, Amy” wrote:

        yep for sure
        On Aug 7, 2014, at 3:57 PM, DeLuca, Michael wrote:
        Amy I have to fill you in on dans reaction to the leak that ran on Saturday, it opened the well with dan who’s on a warpath now, ivan has been dealing with it a little bit but is there any way you can meet with dan in toronto? We think just a studio love session will make it go away. That leaked really fucked us at a sensitive time
        Anyway call me or ivan for details

      • Tyler Foster

        The big thing here is that you don’t seem to understand dates.

        In 2013, the new movie was still a sequel. Murray was probably not going to be in it, but he was a rights holder on Ghostbusters following the deal for the sequel, which said that Reitman, Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis all had to sign off on (but not participate in, just approve) a new Ghostbusters movie, and Reitman had to be given the chance to direct. Murray was refusing to say yay or nay and holding up Reitman / Aykroyd / Ramis who were willing to make Etan Cohen’s draft without him. Thus, the Murray email has nothing to do with Ghostbusters (2016), which is literally not even an idea yet.

        In early 2014, Harold Ramis passed away, and Reitman made the decision to produce instead of direct. In the Reitman email you posted, he’s mad that Pascal is soliciting pitches for Ghostbusters instead of just using the Cohen draft full stop, and maybe making decisions without him. However, his question is answered: They wait for Lord and Miller, who pass, and you can find interviews from them on why they passed. Pascal does indeed go out to Feig with Cohen’s draft of Alive Again, and Feig also passes.

        The last email is not necessarily about the reboot in and of itself. It’s just about a leak. “That leak really fucked us at a sensitive time.” Studios want to coordinate press and shit. If you can actually find an email where he said he hated the idea then go for it, but I doubt it.

      • Jeremy

        And I was still typing the last comment, and didn’t get to this comment until afterwards. So I wasn’t ignoring your argument on the one email you discusssd

      • Jeremy

        Here’s a goodie I forgot to add. “Sorry I know I’m a brat!”

        ________
        Email-ID 45177
        Date 2014-03-20 01:35:12 UTC
        From ireitman
        To amy_pascal
        Email Body
        Raw Email
        disturbing calls….
        We’ve been getting some unsettling calls from some agents today.
        Sharon Jackson said you were soliciting new takes from her clients; CAA said you were out to Paul Feig.
        Are we not still waiting for Lord and Miller?
        I thought we were going to make the Etan Coen draft? And that I was producing the film?
        It sure feels weird to hear about this the day after I resign publicly from directing.
        Ivan
        ______

      • DickJonesOCP

        Whatever you are smoking, please share it with the class.

      • Robocop

        DICK JONES IS WANTED FOR MURDER

      • DickJonesOCP

        This is absurd! That…thing…is a violent, mechanical psychopath!

      • Robocop

        MY PROGRAM WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO ACT AGAINST AN OFFICER OF THIS COMPANY

    • Michael Darer

      YOU GUYS CALL OFF THE DOGS A GIRL AGREES W HIM&HIS UNCITED FACTS ESPECIALLY THE ONE ABOUT DAN AKROYD WHO HAS NEVER EXPRESSED INTEREST IN REBOOTING GHOSTBUSTERS OR CONTINUING THE FRANCHISE IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM SOUND PRETTY LEGIT

      • MrValderviche

        He actually cited specific YouTube videos and leaked emails. Your facts, however, are uncited.

      • Sky Commander

        When the SJW or Feminist is confronted with facts their first instinct is to blindly ignore them saying that your just a racist or a sexist or some such bullsh!t because deep down they know they don’t have a leg to stand on

      • Tyler Foster

        A YouTube video someone else created is not “proof” of anything.

      • MrValderviche

        First, the videos cited show that women could criticize the movie and be ignored while men would get crucified by the media for saying the exact same thing. Second, we’re not discussing whether it counts as proof. I was pointing out that Jeremy’s facts were cited when someone said they weren’t.

      • Jeremy

        HEY GUYS A TROLL WHO DOESN’T READ! :)

    • Tyler Foster

      Many of these things are not facts.

      You can find many interviews in print and online where Feig explicitly outlined that he had a problem with trolls saying outright racist and sexist garbage and not the people who disliked that it was a reboot. Really unambigiously.

      Pretty much everything you have from the emails is misunderstood or conveniently selective. Feig talked in Den of Geek about the concept of a backseat driver — it doesn’t matter how much you respect someone, the filmmaker directing a movie has to be the one calling the shots. There is an email late in the leaks where Feig and Reitman have lunch, after Reitman expresses his concerns, and Feig and Reitman both come away from the meeting so happy Pascal jokes it’s almost terrifying.

      What Reitman got out of the negotiations was Ghost Corps, which produced the new movie, and is now in control of all Ghostbusters-related endeavors. They ARE the protectors of the franchise — including being producers and participants in the new movie.

      And no, the one outright falsehood is that Murray was not threatened with a lawsuit over participating in the new Ghostbusters. He was threatened with a lawsuit over not signing off on a sequel that did not get made, as he was a rights holder. The only email in question on this is from 2013 — at least six months, minimum, before a reboot was even CONCEIVED of — it’s literally not an idea when the email is sent — AND they don’t even do it, because Murray comes in and willingly signs his rights over to Ivan and Dan so they can create Ghost Corps.

      • Jeremy

        Hm… did I say Bill WAS threatened? Nope. I said they were considering it.
        And yes, this was prior to the reboot idea, but it doesn’t really change the fact that is how they are assholes, and probably would of considered it even more with this reboot. Where this was going tto be the beginning of there own “marvel like universe”.

        Sony does too many sketchy things. They’ve been caught before with a fake critic as well.

        One person being an asshole you say? One person out of how many people on earth? Did I say it wasn’t sexism at all? Yes, sexism occurred, but not to the extent Sony tried making it out to be. They insulted fans constantly up to the point where Sony started laughing at them asking for more hate because it was great PR for them. They said this movie just happens to have women, and it wasn’t about girl power, and later on posted a picture with a bunch of women saying girl power lol.
        And asking for more haters and saying sexism is wrong… kinda contradicts itself.

        And I saw the email you are speaking about a long time ago with them having lunch. But prior to that lunch…

        ______

        Re:
        Email-ID 22451
        Date 2014-10-14 20:06:49 UTC
        From belgrad, doug
        To pascal, amydeluca, michael
        Email Body
        Raw Email
        We’ll manage Paul and what he shares with Ivan.
        I just hope we can trust Glickman who you cc’d by mistake instead of Kadin!

        On Oct 14, 2014, at 12:55 PM, “Pascal, Amy” wrote:

        > IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WHEN PAUL HAS HIS LUNCH WTH IVAN
        > HE SAY THAT HE AND I HAD DINNER ….AT MY HOUSE
        > I DIDNT MENTION TO IVAN THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY A DINNER PARTY WITH
        > EVERYONE AND ALL OF HIS PEEPS ANDIVAN WAS THE ONLY ONE NOT INVITED
        > I ALSO TOLD IVAN THAT HE WOEULD BE REALLY HAPPY AND THAT ALTHOUGH
        > GHOSTS HAVE NEVER BEEN IN NY CITY AND IT IS A REAL REBOOT…..THERE WILL
        > BE ALL SORTS OF NODS TO THE ORIGINAL FILM….LOGO, SONG, VECHICAL….IT WONT
        > BE A LITERAL CONNECTION BUT METHAPHORICAL META KID OF CONNECTION AND THAT
        > HE HAS TO KEEP AN OPRN MIND BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT PAUL IS DOING
        > A
        ________

        After that reply she went oh shit lol.

        And I’ve seen the comments on youtube, and they did keep the sexist ones up. They’ve deleted so many legitimate ones I’ve seen. I noticed it before it was even starting to be reported.

        Also you don’t think this email isn’t sketchy at all???
        _____________
        Email-ID 153820
        Date 2014-03-20 01:36:14 UTC
        From mailer-daemon
        To ivan
        Email Body
        Raw Email
        Re: disturbing calls….
        I’m getting in inning calls
        They are agents
        Of course we are waiting for chris and Phil
        Do u think I’m nut
        Amy

        > On Mar 19, 2014, at 6:35 PM, “Ivan Reitman” wrote:
        >
        > We’ve been getting some unsettling calls from some agents today.
        > Sharon Jackson said you were soliciting new takes from her clients; CAA said you were out to Paul Feig.
        > Are we not still waiting for Lord and Miller?
        > I thought we were going to make the Etan Coen draft? And that I was producing the film?
        > It sure feels weird to hear about this the day after I resign publicly from directing.
        > Ivan
        ___________

        Or this one?

        ____________

        Or this one???

        ____________

        Email-ID 65374
        Date 2014-02-22 00:02:18 UTC
        From andrew_gumpert
        To amy_pascal
        Email Body
        Raw Email
        RE: ghostbusters
        Yes I looked at it gain….. We can’t unilaterally force him out as director because the way the original deal was set up, he (and the other guys) have individual functional blocking rights because they have pre-set financial deals that don’t work in today’s world. So we need him and the others to greatly modify their deals. If we toss him as director, we risk him not willing to modify out of spite etc.

        Glenn Meredith and Harold Brown have been the folks doing his deal. I don’t think it’ll play well if I call them on this issue. I wish there were a better way, but like all things :-) it may have to be a you/Ivan sit down where Ivan “on his own, for the good and welfare” agrees to step down as director and plays the role of godfather producer.

        —–Original Message—–
        From: Pascal, Amy
        Sent: Friday, February 21, 2014 3:44 PM
        To: Gumpert, Andrew
        Subject:

        Did you look at ghostbusters situation what can we do about Ivan can we really not make him an producer

        ____________

        She was constantly a dick to him.

        Paul Feig said it was sexism… Ivan said it wasn’t all sexism. After he said that… news articles attacked him with lines like “why Ivan Reitman respects the haters” Did Feig back him up? Nah still ranted sexism.

      • Tyler Foster

        It’s harsh but it is business. In the first email here, while Pascal says Feig should word his talk about the party carefully, she also says she told Reitman exactly what he was gonna get, a new universe with plenty of nods (nods which detract from the new movie, IMO), and there’s a sense that he’s reticent but not angry about it. Then they have the lunch, and Ivan’s super happy with what Feig tells him. So what? If the only dishonesty in the Feig / Reitman lunch was that Pascal threw a party without Ivan, that seems like a pretty insignificant thing to get upset over, because what Ivan was won over by, in the end, was meeting with Feig face-to-face and hearing Feig’s ideas. It’s clear that nobody lied about this being a hard reboot, so the complaint seems meaningless.

        As for the other email involving Ivan and the gang’s deals, I can’t really argue with Sony’s point of view on that either. The deals were the very gridlock that prevented this movie from being made as a sequel for almost 15 years. You’d think anyone chomping at the bit for a sequel would be just as invested in seeing those deals go away.

        The movie business is political. Pascal kept Reitman and Feig apart until she knew she could bring them together, and it worked — they both walked away from a lunch together really happy with the working arrangement.

        The other thing about the leaks that is convenient for the reboot haters is that they end. You have no idea what emails occurred through the rest of 2014. They could be reams of emails where Ivan’s furious…or he could have actually been really happy with the way things worked out for him and Danny with Ghost Corps. Not only is digging through this trash sort of scummy to begin with, it’s also disrespectful to assume how Reitman really feels. I get the impression some of you guys could ask him to his face how he felt and you would find some way to interpret his reaction as hinting at whatever.

      • Tyler Foster

        The idea that you guys feel it’s courting controversy for women to celebrate the fact that there are a ton of women working on one movie with a “girl power” picture for Ellen is pretty much the whole story, and it’s pretty sad. It’s a great picture and if you guys really aren’t sexists, you’d understand it’s asinine to be upset about it.

      • Jeremy

        Still love that people say it was “scummy and so convenient” to have the emails at my disposal to go through. As I’ve said before your argument is like saying you conveniently found proof on the murderer, and it was scummy to go through there stuff to find it.

        Not the same scale point sure, but if an opportunity to expose the stupidity and the wrong doings that a company does, then grab it while you can I say.

        Let’s say I never found those emails…. Yes, less proof, and more speculation yes…
        Still Sony insulted fans…

        Asked for more haters and laughing about it.

        Paul Feig making sure if anyone who said they hated this idea was sexist.

        Made sure people who had a voice who said they hated it “AVGN” was attacked.

        Paul Feig making fun of fans with screwed up jokes, saying the only way he could ruin your childhood would be going back in time and murder our parents.

        And etc.

        In the major part of everything most emails were ignored by all media. The only ones mentioned by any media… was the consideration of threatening Bill, and Paul Feig’s odd ideas for the Ghostbusters universe.

        Many knew about the emails, but not to the extent where it was all over social networks. So they did little harm to an already doomed movie. And don’t say it was because they wouldn’t go into the emails themselves because they are better people, or whatever else you might say… They kept going on and on about Amy Pascal being racist in many of the emails.

        These “convenient” emails showing actual proof as to what happened, helps show us more into detail of these ludicrous ideas they wanted to do for movies… — which is actually kinda funny how people say these emails were taken out of context, but still saying it’s convenient for haters of the Ghostbusters Reboot to have —

        Another thing no one has ever bashed anything about them supporting girl power…
        It’s stupid to say that.
        All I ever said was that they were contradicting everything they said about it not being girl power, but then posting a pic of “Girl Power” poster to make it look like it was just hate from men. I support women, and believe women should be treated 100% equally, and not being seen as anything else than human.
        And also for the fact they said sexism is wrong, and should end, but then say hey at the same time we love all the sexist hate you’re giving us so keep it up!” Is just outrageous and incredibly wrong.

        Do I know how Ivan feels now about this movie? No I do not. Fair point. But considering how many emails were there with him being pissed “yup going back to the emails” and them saying he will be pissed about everything they’ve decided, and how Ivan felt like he was being seen as the bad guy in all this, and also how he tried standing up for the fans by saying what everyone else has said for MONTHS, but ignored by Paul Feig, and he gets bashed for it, and no back up from Feig…
        OH AND LET’S NOT FORGET THIS ONE

        Ivan did a Q&A on twitter, and someone asked him what other films of yours would you like to see be rebooted he replied with one word “None”

        Kinda safe to assume he isn’t happy, but you’re right I can’t be 100% sure.

        And it’s extremely annoying when anyone who argues about these things only chooses which part of the complaints he or she should challenge, and never acknowledge everything.someone talks about.

        I’m done with this, and I just can’t wait for the snarky comeback. You’re just a self centered contrarian, who feels like he’s better than everyone else, and there is no reason to go on lol. I’m not replying anymore. I’m sure your next comment will be a headache to read, and include stuff saying I’m the self centered one or how I’m scummy for releasing the emails to Midnight’s Edge, or even a Trump supporter lmao. I loved that stupid nonsense attack.

        Take care

      • Tyler Foster

        Actually, what I said is, if you’re going to go through the emails, then you — the guy complaining “anyone who argues about these things only chooses which parts of the complaints he or she should challenge” — have to acknowledge the ones that illustrate Ivan ended up very happy. I also said it was convenient because you have no idea what transpired in emails that occurred after the hack was over. If the hack occurred over the entire period of production on Ghostbusters, it’d be a pretty complete picture, but basically the final email about his opinion in the leak says he was so happy it was shocking to Pascal, and his behavior during the press tour doesn’t illustrate any reason to believe he changed his mind. I also don’t follow why Feig would be obligated to back up Reitman’s opinion about why people were upset, which I certainly don’t agree with.

        Meanwhile, there are literally hundreds of interviews Feig gave where he EXPLICITLY, for an entire PARAGRAPH at times, states that he does not believe all fans are sexists.

        People hated on AVGN of their own free will. I like the AVGN and I thought it was a pretty blatantly hypocritical video in which he said he wasn’t going to see the movie to pile on, and then piled on WITHOUT seeing the movie, and made several arguments against it that I thought were completely worthless.

        It is factually true that your childhood is exactly as it occurred and is not ruined by the existence of this movie. I may have thought Ghostbusters was decent, but that’s not the only thing they’ve remade from my childhood. I also loved Inspector Gadget, for example, and they made that ridiculous Matthew Broderick movie. I love RoboCop, they made the underwhelming RoboCop remake. Point Break, The Omen, The Thing (well, sort of a remake), etc. They came, they went, I don’t have to care. Hasn’t changed my relationship to the originals. My other childhood pillar besides Ghostbusters was Back to the Future. I know Zemeckis and Gale have set it up so Universal can’t remake it, but if they did, there’s no progress to be made getting angry about it. It’ll be good or it won’t. I’ll stick with the originals and not think about it if it’s bad, or I’ll have a new thing to enjoy if it’s any good.

        There’s no contradiction in the “Girl Power” poster. It was a picture taken for Ellen showing the PRODUCTION CREW OF THE MOVIE HAD A TON OF WOMEN ON IT. That’s 100% of the reason it exists. Wasn’t related to the controversy, and in fact hardly related to the movie at all. It was for a TV talk show, and if Feig had been shooting a different movie, she probably would’ve gotten the same photo with that crew.

  • Brad Davis

    Poor pitiful Dan. Demands we sit back and listen to his opinion and not have opinions of our own, especially if they don’t jive with his. Calls those who don’t think like him evil and we should “stop it” (the it to be stopped, of course, is us exercising our right to be heard the same as him).

    We are no more evil than you, Dan… we just aren’t being paid to be opinionated, close minded individuals with an overinflated sense of self worth like you.

    • Alex

      I, and I am sure most of those who also loved and supported the new movie, am tired of the constant rant by the haters and fact-dispensers (see above) wherever there is a post about the reboot. Specially the positive ones. They can’t avoid crashing the party. It started with bashing the cast for visiting sick kids in a hospital and the first kid (a little girl!) to wear the new uniform and it hasn’t stopped since then. It is relentless. Every positive post on facebook about the GB2016 has to have the angry emoji by the people that simple can’t stop eating their own bitterness. Stop it already.

      • MrValderviche

        Why do I have to stop first? Why do they gotta keep writing articles championing the film as a victory for equality? I’ll stop explaining why they’re wrong when they stop explaining why I’m wrong.

      • Alex

        Because championing a film as a victory for equality, or as the worse piece of cinematographic history ever, both stand on the level of opinion. Everyone’s entitled to them without having to engage in a fight everytime they express them.

      • MrValderviche

        Actually, the quality of the film is opinion. What’s in a film, however, is not. In the film, men are not treated equally, so there is no equality.

      • Alex

        What, can’t you deal with that? Women still aren’t treated equally in our “modern” society (ex, equal jobs, unequal pay).

        The equality is in the big picture – women doing stuff and behaving like only men do in other movies.

      • MrValderviche

        There has not been a film in a long time that has been as sexist to women as GB16 is to men. Second, the concept that getting revenge by not treating a group equally supports equality is ridiculous. And why choose Ghostbusters to get their revenge? In the original, women were underrepresented (which has been fixed by the tv shows and comics that GB2016 also deleted from continuity), but they weren’t all bad people or stupid. Lastly, good for you, I guess. We’re not really discussing your opinion of the film. Though, if you can share your like why can’t others share their dislike?

    • Dan Maxx Bachman

      I don’t get paid ;)

  • Frank

    I love the idea of the all woman cast. But this movie was a sin,lol!!

    • Sky Commander

      Want a good female ghostbuster team? Read the New Ghostbusters arc in the IDW comic series and best part is it’s canon to the original films and Stars Janine Meltniz, Kylie Griffin and new member Melanie Ortiz

  • ND

    Very, very good article. After this year, my geek card is in the shredder. So ashamed at how “fans” have been acting.

    • Brad Davis

      How is this a good article? He is acting with a much “righteous anger” and bad behavior as those he is claiming are evil? Not insulting you or anything, just want your honest opinion on what makes you think this guy’s opinion/rant is any better than the ones he is deriding?

      • ND

        You think we haven’t tried being polite to the angry fans? It never stops.

      • Brad Davis

        And the fans of the new one are just as angry and impolite. It’s not just one side or the other.

      • ND

        Oh, yes it is. “Fans” were hating on this movie before it was even written. Either “because women” or because they literally thought their precious childhoods was being “erased.” They attacked anyone who didn’t hate the trailer and made it their mission in life to ruin anyone’s remote enjoyment of this movie. And when we had the nerve to stand up to them, suddenly they cried victim. They complained the original movie wasn’t being “respected,” and then proceeded to attack even the original actors for being “traitors.” Not to mention what was done to Leslie Jones. Those “fans” don’t know the meaning of respect. I’m not lumping you in with them, I don’t know you, but there’s plenty for the “fans” to answer for.

  • MrValderviche

    Wow. I’m a monster because I didn’t like Ghostbusters 2016 and I comment on articles that spread misinformation (like this one). I honestly thought that insult was reserved for truly evil people like Hitler, but apparently it now can mean anyone who has a different opinion than Dan Bachman.

    I do have a question, if I’m wrong and I know I’m wrong, why are none of my wrong points brought up here? Seriously, there are a lot of good points in the comment section Bachman is writing about that he could directly respond to. However, he chooses to accuse people of thinking their childhood was ruined, something that was not said in that comment section at all (or in any comment section at all that I’ve been a part of).

    Oh and people weren’t mad because the movie wasn’t made for them. It was kinda irritating that lifelong fans had been waiting for a 3rd film and got one that wasn’t for them, but they got angry when they started getting insulted by the director, cast, and every new-age feminist with a keyboard for not wanting to see it.

    Also, the current popular version of feminism is very harmful because, as GB16 shows, it values hatred of men over equality.

    • ND

      If you weren’t trolling public figures on Twitter, then you weren’t the one being insulted. Why are you feeling insulted on behalf of idiot trolls? And the movie isn’t about “hatred of men.” Stay off YouTube, lol.

      • MrValderviche

        Read the article. It lumps all detractors into one group (and specifies those who commented on the earlier article) and then constantly degrades that group.

      • ND

        No, it really doesn’t. Again, you’re going out of your way to get offended.

      • MrValderviche

        It does and it’s quite obvious that it does.

      • ND

        It’s a tricky thing, those different points of view. Anyway, man, let me tell you something. I love you. ;D

      • Sky Commander

        Watch the movie and I dare you to point out a single male character that wasn’t either a huge A$$HOLE or a complete idiot or both because I sure as hell couldn’t find one.

  • “We demand free speech! But NOT FOR YOU!”

    Hypocritical demands from hypocritical pseudo-journalists. Can’t stand the heat? Get out of the kitchen.

    • ND

      The government isn’t even remotely involved in this. And calling trolls nonsense “heat” is giving it far too much credit.

      • MrValderviche

        I think you’re confused. Mr. Cypert is simply pointing out that this writer is sharing his opinion while calling people evil monsters for sharing their opinions. Also, the part about heat and kitchens is a commonly used expression. You probably thought it was sexist.

      • ND

        Trolling and harassing for months on end isn’t “sharing their opinions.” And I’m not some hardcore feminist. Just a life long fan who doesn’t like seeing “fans” creating another river of slime. Think about it.

      • MrValderviche

        That’s not what most people are doing. Just because you deny the facts people share doesn’t mean they’re just trolling.

      • ND

        Agree to disagree, majorly, on that one. When “fans” aren’t trolling, they’re turning a blind eye to it. And stop misusing the word “facts,” please.

      • MrValderviche

        Who on here or the very specific comment section section mentioned in the article is trolling besides you? They are sharing their opinions and facts that support those opinions.
        Also, facts are statements that can be proven true or false (something I learned in elementary school). Therefore, everything I have claimed is a fact is a fact whether you believe it’s true or not. They are true, though.

      • “Stop it. Just stop. Stop it, now. You stop, you bully. Stop it!”

    • J. Jason Groschopf

      Shouting over someone else’s ability to converse doesn’t make you a advocate for open dialogue.

      Trolling for a year is free speech in the same way that being a drunk, bellicose idiot in a bar is a free speech. Don’t cry “1st Amendment!” when the bouncer shows you the door.

      • “Stop it. Just stop. Stop it, now. You stop, you bully. Stop.”

  • Michael Darer

    i just want to salute the bravery of all those standing up for their right to demean others through self-righteous misunderstanding of the constitution. with history so dominated by men not getting their way, especially in media it’s so heartening to see such a courageous coalition of man-baby misogynists let the world know: “women, we will not let you avoid abuse. we will not stand by while an 80s artifact about a mesopotamian demon who tries to kill new york with a giant marshmallow be anything but a reinforcement of the fact that women are good for sex and nothing else.” to go against the grain so thoroughly, to finally give vile shallow abuse the center stage in american culture it deserves: that’s true heroism.

    you’re right! women don’t deserve movies! and that girl who wouldn’t date you in eighth grade definitely underestimated your capacity for chivalry. when you finally finish asserting your overlooked right to make all women feel like shit, those silly ladies will finally see what a nice guy you really were.

    NB: your mom says your hot pockets will be out in a minute. she just needs to throw your league of legends sheets in the dryer.

    • Sky Commander

      ……….Star Wars the Force Awakens starred a woman in the lead and was the 3rd highest grossing film of all time, the Alien series starred a female protagonist and is one of the most beloved franchises in the world of nerd culture and the examples are too numerous to count for horror films that star a female lead who saves the day.

      Ghostbusters 2016 was a bad film in general the fact that it stars women is a non issue. It wasn’t funny and was poorly written and essentially spat on the fans who kept the franchise alive for over 30 years. Enough with making this the feminist hill to die on because it isn’t worth it if it was a actually good film like Aliens or Star War VII I’d say sure fight to the bitter end but this wasn’t just accept it.

      • Michael Darer

        any hill that provides the opportunity to make america and its media a safer, more welcoming place for women is a hill worth dying on. but keep at it.

      • Sky Commander

        Because women are so helpless they need the metaphorical door held open for them and be pandered to like a bunch of brain dead, helpless, buffoons instead of standing on their own two feet and earning their seat at the table like everyone else does right?

        I don’t give a f#@k who you are, if you didn’t earn that seat at the table you don’t deserve to sit at it. I don’t give a damn who you are or what walk of life you come from you have to work hard to be there like everyone does man or woman. No one is holding them back in the western world but themselves you can be a victim or step up and take personal accountability the choice is yours but don’t blame anyone else for your personal failures.

      • Michael Darer

        these words in my mouth…how did they get there

        try harder

      • Sky Commander

        You first

      • Tyler Foster

        Cool, so, film invented in the late 1800s, and then Alien in 1979, some horror movies in the 1980s, and Episode 7 in 2015, plus any and all sequels to those things. Great! Feminism in movies accomplished!

        If you can easily make a finite list of your examples then you don’t have enough examples.

      • Sky Commander

        I just wanted to give a couple of example for time’s sake but if you want a longer list okay here it’s gonna be a long one I’ll even do it alphabetically. Here’s my comprehensive list of films with a female protagonist(s)….

        Annie (1982)
        Annie (1999)
        Annie (2014)
        Alien
        Aliens
        Alien 3
        Alien Resurrection
        Aliens Vs Predator
        Anaconda
        Basic Instinct
        Basic Instinct 2
        Black Swan
        Bridesmaids
        Beauty and the Beast
        Bridget Jones Diary
        Bridget Jones the Edge of Reason
        Bridget Jones Baby
        Carrie (Original)
        Carrie 2 The Rage
        Carrie (Remake)
        Catwoman
        Cinderella (Animated Movie)
        Cinderella (Live Action)
        Elektra
        Enough
        The Exorcist
        Evil Dead (Remake)
        Elvira Mistress of the Dark
        Frozen
        Friday the 13th (Original)
        Friday the 13th Part 2
        Friday the 13th Part 7
        Friday the 13th Part 8
        Jason X
        Freddy Vs Jason
        The Grudge
        The Haunting (Original)
        The Haunting (Remake)
        Halloween
        Halloween 2
        Halloween 4
        Halloween 5
        Halloween H20
        Halloween Resurrection
        Halloween (Remake)
        Halloween 2 (Remake)
        Hellraiser
        Hellraiser 2
        The Heat
        The Howling
        Hunger Games
        Hunger Games Catching Fire
        Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1
        Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2
        Jaws 4 The Revenge
        Kill Bill Vol. 1
        Kill Bill Vol. 2
        Labyinth
        The Little Mermaid
        The Little Mermaid 2
        The Lion King 2 Simba’s Pride
        Maleficent
        Mama Mia
        Mary Poppins
        Mad Max Fury Road
        Miss Congeniality
        Miss Congeniality 2
        My Big Fat Greek Wedding
        My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
        A Nightmare on Elm Street
        A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors
        A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 Dream Master
        A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 Dream Child
        A Nightmare on Elm Street 6 Freddy’s Dead
        Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
        Piranha 3D
        Piranha 3DD
        Prometheus
        Resident Evil
        Resident Evil Apocalypse
        Resident Evil Extinction
        Resident Evil Afterlife
        Resident Evil Retribution
        Resident Evil The Final Chapter
        The Ring
        The Ring 2
        Romancing the Stone
        Saving Mr. Banks
        Scream
        Scream 2
        Scream 3
        Scream 4
        Scary Movie
        Scary Movie 2
        Scary Movie 3
        Scary Movie 4
        Scary Movie 5
        Star Wars The Force Awakens
        Star Wars Rogue One
        Stan Lee Presents Mosaic
        Steel Magnolias
        Supergirl
        Tammy
        Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original)
        Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Remake)
        Texas Chainsaw
        Terminator
        Terminator 2 Judgement Day
        Terminator Gensys
        Titanic
        The Thing (Prequel)
        Tomb Raider
        Tomb Raider Cradle of Life
        Telma and Louise
        Underworld
        Underworld Evolution
        Underworld Awakening
        Underworld Blood Wars
        The Wild Thornberry’s Movie
        Wonder Woman (Live Action Film)
        Wonder Woman (Animated film)
        Zootopia

        Do you want more examples because I maybe crazy here but this sounds like mission accomplished for feminism in media to me.

        Hell, I’ll even throw in a couple of TV shows just for kicks…

        30 Rock
        The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
        AKA Jessica Jones
        Supergirl

      • Jeremy

        So wait you’re saying Aliens hate women!!!! :P

      • Tyler Foster

        Even aside from several of these being a real big stretch (the Scary Movie franchise?) you clearly didn’t understand my point about a finite list being too short of a list.

      • Sky Commander

        Any movie list is finite because an infinite number of films will never exist I could give you a list of over a million films and you’d still say it was too short. Also I said female protagonist, Anna Faris was the female protagonist for the first 4 Scary Movies and whoever the hell played in part 5 was as well. I never said it had to be some Oscar worthy film series I just said female protagonist.

      • Tyler Foster

        Yes, but you look at a list of 25 series as satisfactory, and it really feels like you had to stretch. There is a sense that you would run out.

        I could probably make a list of that many memorable film characters played by men for every year for the last 30 years, and still have plenty more I could list for each one, whereas I bet you couldn’t do that without resorting to television or drastically shortening it to maybe 3 a year, if that.

      • Sky Commander

        Actually they were completely off the top of my head. Now, just for shits and giggles because I know you’ll still be pulling that whole “women aren’t represented in media” victim narrative here’s a few more examples in no particular order and these, about half I admit I actually did look up.

        Psycho
        Paranormal Activity
        Paranormal Activity 2
        Paranormal Activity 4
        Gone With the Wind
        Misery
        Monster
        A Streetcar name Desire
        Changeling
        Gravity
        Juno
        The Help
        Barb Wire
        V for Vendetta
        Room
        The Babadook
        The Boy
        The Iron Lady
        Precious
        Rosemary’s Baby
        King Kong (1933)
        King Kong (2005)
        When a Stranger Calls
        The Strangers
        Karate Kid: The Next Karate Kid
        Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
        Amelie
        May
        All About Eve
        Cake
        9 to 5
        Case 39
        Suffragette
        Whip it
        Girl, Interrupted
        Brooklyn
        Run Lola Run
        Sisters
        Black Christmas
        Black Christmas (Remake)
        The Descent
        The Descent 2
        Easy A
        The Blair Witch Project
        The Lovely Bones
        The Wizard of Oz
        The Wiz
        Spirited Away
        Brave
        The Birds
        Salt
        Aeon Flux
        The Diary of Anne Frank
        Mystic Pizza
        Beasts of the Southern Wild
        Joy
        G.I. Jane
        The Color Purple
        28 Days
        28 Weeks Later
        Under the Skin
        The Bling Ring
        3 Women
        Snowwhite and the seven Dwarfs
        Snowwhite and the Huntsman
        Boys Don’t Cry
        Breakfast at Triffany’s
        The Passion of Joan of Arc
        Tiny Furniture
        Charlie’s Angels
        Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle
        Lucy
        Foxy Brown
        Coffy
        Tank Girl
        Smart Blonde
        Fly Away Baby
        The Adventurous Blonde
        Blondes at Work
        Torchy Blane in Panahma
        Torchy Blane in Chinatown
        Torchy Gets Her Man
        Torchy Runs for Mayor
        Lady Snowblood
        Lady Snowblood 2
        Legally Blonde
        Legally Blonde 2 Red, White and Blonde
        Hannibal
        Ghostbusters (2016) “Cause what the hell right?”
        Haywire
        Sucker Punch
        Buffy the Vampire Slayer
        I Know What You Did Last Summer
        I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
        Jackie Brown
        The Quick and the Dead
        Columbiana
        Mulan
        Mulan 2
        Princess and the Frog
        Quest for Camelot
        Sin City A Dame to Kill For
        The Swan Princess
        The Swan Princess 2 Escape from Castle Mountain
        The Swan Princess 3 The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom
        The Swan Princess Christmas
        The Princess Diaries
        The Princess Diaries 2 Royal Engagement
        Tangled
        Pocahontas
        Alice in Wonderland (Animated)
        Alice In Wonderland (Live Action)
        Alice in Wonderland Through the Looking Glass
        Lilo and Stitch
        Lilo and Stitch 2 Stitch has a Glitch
        Lady and the Tramp
        Home on the Range
        Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True
        Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time
        Jennifer’s Body
        Pitch Perfect
        Pitch Perfect 2
        Matilda
        Miracle on 34th Street (Original)
        Miracle on 34th Street (Remake)
        View from the Top
        Dawn of the Dead (Remake)
        Thumbelina
        Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants
        Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2
        Sister Act
        Sister Act 2
        Demons
        Night of the Demons
        Night of the Demons 2
        Night of the Demons 3
        Night of the Demons (Remak)
        It Follows
        The Others
        High Tension
        The Witch
        Drag Me To Hell
        Silent Hill
        Don’t Breathe
        Ginger Snaps
        Ginger Snaps 2
        Ginger Snaps 3
        Red Eye
        The Eyes
        You’re Next
        Wrong Turn
        The Uninvited
        The Neon Demon
        Hush
        Orphan
        American Mary
        Oculus
        Mama
        Crimson Peak
        Funny Games
        The Exorcism of Emily Rose
        I Spit on your Grave
        I Spit on your Grave (remake)
        I Spit on your Grave 2
        Halloweentown
        Halloweentown 2: Kalabar’s Revenge
        Halloweentown High
        Return to Halloweentown
        Aquamarie
        Sleepaway
        Sleepaway Camp 2
        Sleepaway Camp 3
        Sleepaway Camp 4 The Survivor
        Bug
        Shark Night
        The Shallows
        Eat Pray Love
        Hope Floats
        The House Bunny
        Peace Love and Misunderstanding
        Sex in the City the Movie
        Sex in the City 2
        The Devil Wears Prada
        Practical Magic
        Enchanted
        Arrival
        Doubt
        Julia
        Julie and Julia
        Georgia Rule
        The Brave One
        Maid in Mahattan
        Monster in Law
        Poor Little Rich Girl
        Dimples
        Heidi
        Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
        The Little Princess
        Little Miss Marker
        The Invisible Woman

        I could list more but I’m feeling a touch lazy and I already know you’ll say more of the victim narrative involving female representation in media. To which I respond there are films in this list dating back to the 1930’s starring women in the lead role at a time when women got the short end of the stick and you know what? They kept getting more and more starring roles as time progresses into the present that should tell you that women are being represented and are getting their fair shake in the media but, I know that it won’t and you’ll still say there isn’t enough women in film.

      • Tyler Foster

        Mulan 2? The Torchy series? Starship Troopers 2?

        I think the fact that your really weird list naming great female characters in media contains Barb Wire kind of speaks for itself.

      • Sky Commander

        I never said great female characters I just said films starring a female protagonist. You keep using examples of lesser films on the list despite the fact the merit of the film is not apart of this conversation. Which tells me you don’t have Jack SH!T for a rebuttal because you’re wrong,you know you’re wrong and you don’t have the balls to admit it.

      • Tyler Foster

        “Enough with making this the feminist hill to die on because it isn’t worth it if it was a actually good film like Aliens or Star War VII I’d say sure fight to the bitter end”

        Don’t lose track of your own argument.

      • Sky Commander

        Haven’t lost track of anything but you seem to have because that is a seperate arguement from the one we’re having we’re talking about female representation in media which merit of the films/shows presented does not come into play.

        That quote is from an arguement detailing how people keep saying Ghostbusters 2016 is a good film because it stars women despite it being the polar opposite and defending it despite it being not worth defending unlike those 2 films I mention which are good films that happen to star women.

      • MrValderviche

        Exactly how many movies do you think there are?

      • Sky Commander

        I know right, I already pointed that out and honestly that was a pretty big ass list that I gave and it still wasn’t good enough…Huh that’s kinda the entire SJW and 3rd Wave Feminist mentality isn’t it? No matter how much you give they always want more.

      • Tyler Foster

        In history?

      • MrValderviche

        Yes. Because right now, you keep asking for an infinite list. A list of movies with straight, white, male main characters would also be finite. Does that mean they’re underrepresented in film?

      • Tyler Foster

        The point is, you’re willing to try. You think you can make a list that summarizes why this doesn’t matter. With guy characters, it’d be infinite. As I said before, you could probably find ten a year. I’m sure you’d have no trouble listing 200 iconic male characters from movies just between 1990 and 2016. I bet you’d struggle to come up with 50 over that period without picking a a few that are extremely subjective.

      • MrValderviche

        Nearly two weeks later and you haven’t taken the time to look up “infinite” in the dictionary.

      • Tyler Foster

        I know what it means.

        Theoretically, the number of great male characters IS measurable or calculable, but can it actually be done? I think given that doing so is beyond the realm of reasonable possibility, the difference is negligible.

      • Jeremy

        Let’s not forget some of the most iconic classic television shows were lead by women
        I love Lucy
        Bewitched
        I dream of Genie
        The carol burnett show
        Laverne & Shirley

      • Alex

        You really think so? That’s nice. I thought it was funny. I laughed, many times. And I also loved seeing a ghostbusters team being formed all over again, after 32 of watching the first time being born. If you didn’t like it, I feel your pain. An opportunity lost. Maybe they’ll make more GB movies? Oh wait… Half the internet bashed it, perhaps now that’s not possible…

      • Sky Commander

        Well, I guess there’s no accounting for taste. You know what would have been better that seeing the same damn thing we’ve already seen? ANYTHING NEW THAT PROGRESSES THE ORIGINAL FILMS!!! You know their are certain things that don’t need to be remade Ghostbusters is one of them. They could have made a soft reboot that kept everything canon and satisfied the fans. Star Trek did it, Star Wars did it, hell even Jurassic Park did it. But no, because Paul Feig was too much of an idiot to conceive this as a sequel and everything has to be retreaded right down to Slimer and F#@KING ZUUL.

      • ND

        Canon isn’t real. And Jurassic World and Force Awakens were reboots very thinly disguised as sequels.

      • MrValderviche

        Of course canon isn’t real. That’s why it’s called canon and not real life. But it still matters to people who care about the story (aka fans).
        And Jurassic World and TFA are continuations with different main characters. A reboot is a complete restart, like Amazing Spider-Man is to Raimi’s Spider-Man.

      • ND

        The female lead in Force Awakens was a warrior princess. They tend to get a pass.

  • Sky Commander

    OH MY F@#KING GOD HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?!?!? THIS MOVIE SUCKED BECAUSE IT WAS BAD!!! DO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU!? B, A, D, BAD!!! I don’t give a crap that it stars women or are you too foolish to remember that there were female Ghostbusters long before this abomination hit the screen Janine Meltiz (Both film, The Real Ghostbusters, Extreme Ghostbusters and the phenominal IDW comic series) Kylie Griffin (Both the Extreme Ghostbuster and IDW Comic series) and Melanie Ortiz (IDW Comic series) and do you know what the difference is between them and the reboot?…..THEY ARE WELL WRITTEN, FUNNY, KICKASS CHARACTERS not cookie cutter stereotypes that bring shame to the legacy.

    Also as for all your horse s#!t about how all the nerds hate woman I’m going to leave you with some of the names of some of the most beloved characters of the genre….

    Ellen Ripley
    Leia Organa
    Black Widow
    Wonder Woman
    Laurie Strode
    Lt. Uhura

    Lastly have you forgotten that the 3rd highest grossing film of all time stared a woman and do you know what that movie was? STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS

    • Michael Darer

      look sweetheart (like that? guess who i learned it from) no one is telling you to like this movie. this article isn’t about people who dislike this movie. it is clearly and specifically about people who use the movie to be openly and violently misogynistic. if that’s not you, guess what? THIS FUCKING ARTICLE ISNT ADDRESSING YOU. if you didn’t like ghostbusters for reasons of plot, structure, mise en scene, that’s fine. congratulations. you didn’t like a movie. you fucking champion.

      but reading your comment, idk. still methinks the lady doth protest too much.

      • Sky Commander

        Oh poor baby did my comment offend you, you special snowflake you?

      • Michael Darer

        nope.

        but i find it pretty cute that a bunch of dudes who threw a hissy fit over a people liking a movie they dont want to talk about over-sensitivity.

        see here’s something i’ve realized: you don’t matter. you don’t. years will go by, and you still won’t matter. the most you might ever amount to is being able to hurt someone on the internet, and omg that gets you so fucking hard. because that’s all your ever gonna be. when in 60, 70, 80 years you’re gone, you’ll live on as a string of petty ugly unclever comments. you’ll live on as the memory of a group of people who made such hilarious fools of themselves trying to get the moral high ground by insulting women, and then pretending they didn’t. and here’s the kicker (and this is what I love the most): despite how brave you probably tell yourself you are, you don’t even have the guts to outright admit what you’re doing. you want to be ugly without ever owning it. and then you want to pretend that ugliness will endure.

        look, I don’t care if you believe me or not. that doesn’t matter to me. and I’m sure you’ll read this and come up with something flippant or self-righteous to say. but save yourself the trouble. because while I am 100 if not 1000% invested in making sure people like you don’t get to continue doing the shit you do, I am not at all invested in you. no one is. and deep down you know it.

      • Sky Commander

        You really are a sad strange little man aren’t you?

      • Mitch Connor

        Mysogonists are a minority most hate it because it killed the ghostbusters 3 we should have gotten instead of a pointless reboot if a sacred classic that should have been untouched

      • Sky Commander

        Not going to lie at least half of the hate I have for Ghostbusters 2016 would be gone if it was a legit Ghostbusters 3

      • Painted Pagliacci Of Perfidy

        If the cameos were from the real characters, it would have my total blessing. They didn’t have to go so far as deliberately EXCLUDING the original fans(it. was. not. for. YOU. hmmph…), but that’s how people like the author of this piece want it. They want to enjoy their movie to the EXCLUSION of all others, just like how they lead most of their lives, which somehow is progressive and gets us to a better place as a society. I guess. Why couldn’t we ALL have fun? Men, women, young, old? Why couldn’t there be something for everyone instead of queef jokes and the bad guy gets shot in the dick for liking the old Ghostbusters? That’s just so immature and pathetic. It was like watching a $150 million legbeard student film(from Wesleyan) burn money on the screen while it tried to piss off everyone on earth except The Mary Sue. You’d think Sony spending $150 million on them would make them happy, but no. Everyone has to love it, too.

      • Tyler Foster

        Of all the opinions about the reboot, this is the most exasperating. I love the original Ghostbusters, but Ghostbusters II is not a very good movie, and The Video Game isn’t much better. The odds of a Ghostbusters 3 being any good are, at best, the same as a reboot, if not lower — did you guys enjoy Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull? Die Hard 4 and 5? Tron: Legacy? Terminator: Genisys? Independence Day: Resurgence? Even Jurassic World, despite its massive success, seems to be regarded by many as shitty. The idea that the movie would AUTOMATICALLY be improved if they were their original characters is ridiculous.

        People progressively boil down how easy it would be, to, some going as far as “just five minutes with the guys!” To me, saying, “Shoehorn in five minutes of material with the two guys who would be willing/alive to cameo in a Ghostbusters pass-the-torch sequel just because I would automatically like it” is way more disrespectful to fans of the original than just doing something different that those fans can choose to take or leave totally separate from the original timeline.

        Also, just as an anecdotal thing, I can’t remember a time between 2009 and 2013 where Dan Aykroyd continually promising Ghostbusters 3 wasn’t met with a strong air of “yeah, right” — a far cry from “EVERYBODY wanted it!”

  • Fisterbottom

    Somebody call a wambulance.

  • Vinz Clortho

    What is the point of this piece? There are two types that have had it in for this movie from the beginning. First, the people that are fans of the original from way back and are tired of Hollywood remaking/rebooting movies that are always inferior to the originals. Myself, my wife, guys like James Rolfe (The Angry Video Game Nerd) fall into this category. I can go into detail where the film fails, and how the entire production of the movie reaffirms my cynical view of business in modern Hollywood. Then there are the troll types that just want to get a rise out of people.
    Writing a piece like this just shows how much they’ve succeeded in getting to you.

  • DickJonesOCP

    I had to kill Sony for making a mistake…

    The movie was a complete and utter cinematic abortion. To pretend otherwise is to be foolish. Has nothing to do with the new Ghostbusters being female.

    • Sky Commander

      Dead or Alive Sony’s coming with me…

      Seriously though you’re exactly right the film was crap but the SJW crowd will do anything to say we hate it cause we’re sexist despite there already being female Ghostbusters that the fans love like Janine Meltniz, Kylie Griffin and Melanie Ortiz.

  • Michael_Ponder_JR

    It’s funny, i just looked back at the comment section on that opinion piece, and I do not see much if any misogyny or sexism.. i see mainly the same level headed comments i have seen everywhere, the movie was bad, women are fine, we just wanted better.
    I don’t see much in the way of what you’re claiming.
    I get the feeling this is just more of the sort of stuff that’s BEEN going on, minority say stupid crap, and all the sudden everyone is grouped together cause you just dislike people having an opinion.
    Look, you can’t claim freedom of speech one second, then get ticked off the next and tell people to stop cause you don’t like what they’re saying.
    And even though you say who it’s pointed at, you can’t expect to keep having echo chambers where all you get is people who totally agree with you on something.
    Freedom of speech is the right, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to express beliefs and ideas without unwarranted government restriction.
    Beliefs and ideas, and that’s mainly what I have seen… i won’t say NO ONE was sexist, but the majority were not.
    Just like below, i see people making it clear, no the movie was just bad, and really that’s what the majority were saying in the last piece.
    People won’t stop either way cause you’re tired of it.
    Do i agree with the sexism? Hell no.
    But that seems to be the knee jerk reaction and the claim being made anytime people express how they personally felt it was bad, and others not agreeing.

    • ND

      When it’s not about women, it’s about fans whining about some fictional canon being “erased.” Either way, the mean spirited overreaction has been truly frightening. And this has nothing at all to do with the First Amendment, the government isn’t involved here.

      • MrValderviche

        A lot of people want to see the things they’re fans of continue, not restart. How is it wrong to voice that opinion? Or to defend yourself when people say that opinion is a lie and you really just hate women? I’ll give you an answer. It’s not.
        Also, by bringing the right to free speech into this, people aren’t necessarily bringing in the government. They’re pointing out the hypocrisy of the writer of this article who exercises his right to free speech by insulting those who voice their dislike for GB2016 and then tells them to stop spreading their hateful opinion. And the worst part is the detractors who have been anywhere near as hateful as him are a minority and exactly 0 of them commented on the article mentioned.

  • Ben Wasserman

    And yet… 73% on Rotten Tomatoes and 60% on Metacritic. Both higher critical scores than Ghostbusters 2. For the old fans, that’s still gotta hurt ;)

  • Ontsokxd

    What a terrible piece, why bother running such ego nonsense.

  • Oddball Freeman

    You know how to make people stop commenting about it? Stop writing about it. By writing an article that basically antagonizes the haters, you become part of the problem, not the solution. You refer to the ordeal as a tantrum. Well that’s how tantrums work. If you leave the child alone the tantrum subsides…otherwise it just goes on and on…but hey, it gets you clicks on your website, doesn’t it? And that’s what really matters to an editor, right?

    • Jeremy

      People like this asshole who wrote this, did it for clickbait. See that’s another reason why Ghostbusters 2016 failed. They love writing articles about the ones who hated it, and say please please oh please stop, but continue writing stuff about it to get people to click on it lol. He’s just another asshole trying to get a moral high.

  • Painted Pagliacci Of Perfidy

    This is really pathetic. Is everyone on the internet a grown baby? I was linked here on a Reddit sub mocking you for being such an isolated grown child, not for being a woman. Asking others with an opposing opinion to “please stop” is just so sad and childish I want to cry for you myself. Can you handle eye contact? Can you handle human contact outside your protective, enabling, parent-like bubble? Probably not.

    You’re a grown 9 year old, please stop.
    Please stop being immature.
    Just stop it.
    Learn to deal with others.

  • disqus_LJH92ylDNO

    Waiting for the next Ghostbusters which I understand from my Hollywood sources is under production now. Apparently, all the leading protagonists will be played by handicapped Lesbians of color.

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