All posts tagged: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Ghostbusters Star Ernie Hudson on Pay Disparity, Racism, New Movie

Ghostbusters Star Ernie Hudson on Pay Disparity, Racism, New Movie

Published by Sam

Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson is opening up about the beloved franchise, the female-led reboot and the inequitable treatment he received during the ’80s on the original films. Hudson has appeared in five Ghostbusters films, starting with 1984’s original, the 1989 sequel, 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which hit theaters on Friday. The actor also appeared in the female-led Ghostbusters reboot in 2016, albeit playing a different character. His role as Winston Zeddemore was first offered to Eddie Murphy before Hudson came on board. Reportedly, the role was reduced significantly before filming began (Winston doesn’t even show up until about halfway through the film). The character also wasn’t featured on the theatrical poster. But Hudson says it’s more complicated than chalking it up to racism alone. “You know, being a person of African descent anywhere in the world, we’re all just learning how to live together and get along together and realize that we’re all connected,” he said in an interview with U.K. newspaper The Independent. “And it’s very tempting, sometimes, to blame anything …

Frozen Empire Opening to Tepid M-Plus at Box Office

Frozen Empire Opening to Tepid $41M-Plus at Box Office

Published by Sam

Sony’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will have no trouble winning a relatively quiet weekend at the box office but opinion is divided as to whether it can reach $42 million to $44 million in its domestic opening. Sony remains bullish that it will indeed hit that mark after earning $16 million on Friday, including $4.7 million in Thursday previews. Rival studios, however, show Frozen Empire coming in at around $41 million, behind the $44 million launch of the pandemic-challenged Ghostbusters: Afterlife in 2021. Nearly 40 percent of Friday’s gross came from premium-format screens, including select Imax locations. (Dune: Part Two still has a large Imax footprint.) The newest Ghostbusters entry is challenged by middling reviews and a B+ CinemaScore from audiences, compared to an A- for Afterlife. Another challenge is bad weather along the east coast. Frozen Empire is a direct sequel to Afterlife, which succeeded in restoring the luster to the classic franchise created by the late Ivan Reitman. His son, Jason Reitman, directed Afterlife, but this time turned over helming duties to series co-scribe …

Every ‘Ghostbusters’ Movie, Ranked

Every ‘Ghostbusters’ Movie, Ranked

Published by Sam

No one expected Ghostbusters to become the phenomenon it has over the past 40 years. In 1984, Columbia Pictures was just hoping the Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis-penned high-concept film could break even and, at the very least, turn a small profit, despite director Ivan Reitman’s prior success. No one expected it to become the blockbuster of the summer, or that it would go on to create a demand for more adventures with the unconventional scientists, Dr. Ray Stantz (Aykroyd), Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Dr. Egon Spengler (Ramis), and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson). Yet somehow, unlike most franchises, Ghostbusters managed to sustain itself after a negatively received sequel through its unique concept. Animated series, video games, comic books, merchandise and cosplay carried the brand into the 21st century, where Ghostbusters has been revitalized. Now comes the big-screen release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the fifth film in the movie franchise. Although, like most things from the ’80s brought into the present, not without its share of controversy. It’s pretty amazing, looking back now, how one …

Frozen Empire’s Carrie Coon Talks Paul Rudd, Cast

Frozen Empire’s Carrie Coon Talks Paul Rudd, Cast

Published by Sam

Before Carrie Coon busted ghosts with a proton pack in the Ghostbusters franchise, she battled the ghostly figures of the Guilty Remnant with a garden hose on The Leftovers. Of course, both projects are wildly different in genre and tone, but they’re two of several examples where Coon has added a welcome complexity to mother characters that is not as common as it should be. In Gil Kenan’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the sequel to Jason Reitman’s 2021 franchise revival, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Coon picks up right where she left off. Her Callie Spengler character, along with boyfriend Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) and her teenage children, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), are now full-fledged Ghostbusters, operating out of the famous firehouse in New York City. “Callie feels like a very real mom who’s maybe not always great at the job, and makes mistakes and has to make repairs. That, to me, feels really grounded in reality in a way that movie moms aren’t always, especially when they’re serving a function in a story like Callie kind of …

Jason Reitman Talks Honoring Late Father Ivan Reitman in New ‘Ghostbusters’ Film (Exclusive)

Jason Reitman Talks Honoring Late Father Ivan Reitman in New ‘Ghostbusters’ Film (Exclusive)

Published by Sam

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will be the first film in the Ghostbusters franchise to be released following the death of Ivan Reitman — who directed the original 1984 film. The director’s son, Jason Reitman, took over the franchise with the 2021 revival, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and while he doesn’t direct the upcoming installment — handing the reins over to Gil Kenan — Jason told ET’s Rachel Smith that he knew he had a duty to honor his father’s legacy in co-writing the latest film. “I mean, I was thinking of my father every day,” Jason shared at the Frozen Empire New York City premiere this week. “But he was with us. My father passed the proton pack to me and now I’m thrilled to pass it to Gil Kenan.” Jason, who can recall being seven years old on the set of the first Ghostbusters film, said the cast and crew of Frozen Empire — which includes returning OG cast members Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson — “felt my dad smiling on this film the whole way.” …

Finn Wolfhard Talks Ghostbusters and Stranger Things 5

Finn Wolfhard Talks Ghostbusters and Stranger Things 5

Published by Sam

Finn Wolfhard’s second collaboration with Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, hits theaters in less than ten days, but the young actor has already reunited with the writing duo for a third time on the set of their highly anticipated drama, SNL 1975. If that wasn’t enough, the Canadian performer is also hard at work on Stranger Things 5, the final season of Netflix’s most beloved series to date. After the tragic death of Ghostbusters co-creator Ivan Reitman in February 2022, Jason Reitman eventually relinquished Frozen Empire’s directorial duties to his writing partner on these two most recent Ghostbusters films, Kenan. After all, 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife was a personal experience for the filmmaker, as Ivan was by his side for most of its production as well as its release. The 2021 sequel to Ghostbusters II (1989), which is about the family of Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) coming to terms with the legacy they’ve inherited from the deceased Ghostbuster, also allowed Reitman to confront his own complicated relationship with his father’s franchise. For Wolfhard, …