Ernie Hudson reflects on the 'disappointing' female-led Ghostbusters movie: 'It wasn't what fans were hoping for'
Back in 2016, Ghostbusters fans militarized YouTube and IMDb to review bomb Paul Feig's female-led reboot of Ivan Reitman's 1984 cinematic classic before it was released.
'Look, I'm a fan of Paul Feig so I have nothing negative about him to say. Other than, I don't quite understand why you do a reboot, you know what I mean? Just make another movie,' Ernie Hudson told The Independent on Sunday.
'Fans were really invested in the story and the characters and I think it was disappointing. I enjoyed the movie but I think it wasn't what fans were hoping for.'
The 78-year-old actor added that the comedian-filled cast - Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, and Leslie Jones - were 'brilliantly funny on their own.'
Ernie had a cameo in Ghostbusters as Patty's (Jones) uncle Bill Jenkins, who works as a mortician, at the end of the movie which earned $229.1M back from its $144M budget at the global box office.
Back in 2016, Ghostbusters fans militarized YouTube and IMDb to review bomb Paul Feig's female-led reboot of Ivan Reitman's 1984 cinematic classic before it was released
Ernie Hudson (pictured last Thursday) told The Independent on Sunday: 'Look, I'm a fan of Paul Feig so I have nothing negative about him to say. Other than, I don't quite understand why you do a reboot, you know what I mean? Just make another movie'
Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd executive produced Ghostbusters - dedicated to the late Harold Ramis - which brought back Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts in different roles.
Surprisingly, the PG-13 reimagined supernatural comedy received a 'certified fresh' 74% critic approval rating (out of 394 reviews), but a dismal 49% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Hudson reprised his breakout role as Winston Zeddemore, yet again, in Gil Kenan's sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which has already earned $61.6M back from its $100M budget since opening last Friday.
Winston has evolved from the marginalized fourth member of the iconic ghoul-fighting quartet to a philanthropist masterminding a new generation of paranormal pest-removers.
'I wanted Winston to be an example of what's possible,' the Quantum Leap star explained.
'Sony is not the same studio it was 40 years ago and they've really stepped up and given some dimension to the character. Credit to Sony for being open to hearing my feelings, because in the first one – they didn't.'
Ernie famously replaced Eddie Murphy in the role of Winston, and the character promptly shrank and was left off a lot of the marketing for the original film.
'We can say it's a racial thing, but I think if Eddie Murphy had played the role I played, he would have been paid very well,' Hudson noted.
The 78-year-old actor continued: 'Fans were really invested in the story and the characters and I think it was disappointing. I enjoyed the movie but I think it wasn't what fans were hoping for'
Ernie added that the comedian-filled cast - Kate McKinnon (2-L), Leslie Jones (M), Kristen Wiig (2-R), and Melissa McCarthy (R) - were 'brilliantly funny on their own'
Hudson had a cameo in Ghostbusters as Patty's (Jones) uncle Bill Jenkins, who works as a mortician, at the end of the movie which earned $229.1M back from its $144M budget at the global box office
Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd executive produced Ghostbusters - dedicated to the late Harold Ramis - which brought back Bill Murray (M), Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts in different roles
Surprisingly, the PG-13 reimagined supernatural comedy received a 'certified fresh' 74% critic approval rating (out of 394 reviews), but a dismal 49% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes
The Quantum Leap star reprised his breakout role as Winston Zeddemore, yet again, in Gil Kenan's sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which has already earned $61.6M back from its $100M budget since opening last Friday
Winston has evolved from the marginalized fourth member of the iconic ghoul-fighting quartet to a philanthropist masterminding a new generation of paranormal pest-removers
Ernie explained: 'Sony is not the same studio it was 40 years ago and they've really stepped up and given some dimension to the character. Credit to Sony for being open to hearing my feelings, because in the first one – they didn't'
Hudson famously replaced Eddie Murphy in the role of Winston, and the character promptly shrank and was left off a lot of the marketing for the original film
The Michigan native noted: 'We can say it's a racial thing, but I think if Eddie Murphy had played the role I played, he would have been paid very well. I think studios are in the business of making money and they pay what they feel they have to'
'I think studios are in the business of making money and they pay what they feel they have to.'
Frozen Empire also stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O'Connor, Logan Kim, Kumail Nanjiani, and Patton Oswalt.
It currently has the worst critic approval rating (43% out of 221 reviews) of the entire Ghostbusters franchise on Rotten Tomatoes, yet still managed to nab an 85% audience score.
On February 13, the Michigan native wrapped his role as 'Sitter 10' in Justine Bateman's emotional avant-garde film FEEL alongside Clancy Brown, Rae Dawn Chong, Erika Christensen, David Duchovny, Robert Patrick, Rain Phoenix, Alan Ruck, and Noah Wyle.
On the personal front, Ernie has fathered four adult sons - Ernie Jr., Ramahan, Andrew, and Ross - from his marriages to ex-wife Jeannie Lou Moore and second wife Linda Louise Kindberg.
