Ghostbusters is an all-time great movie. One of the best movies of the ‘80s, and one of the best comedies of all time. The characters and the actors are truly great, and if any piece of it had been missing, it might not have been the movie that it was. So it’s hard to hear that for a long time, Ernie Hudson didn’t feel like he was part of the Ghostbusters, though things are better now.
Ernie Hudson has spoken before about the frustration he felt making the original Ghostbusters. While his character was part of the team, he’s a comparatively small part of the original movie, and he frequently wasn’t even featured in the film’s marketing, with the focus being on the bigger names of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis. Speaking with Uproxx, Hudson says the studio sent him a very clear message that he was not part of the team, but that has changed in a big way for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Hudson explained…
I felt like the studio… And I have to really take my hat off to Sony because I think they’ve sort of gone above and beyond to try and assure me that I’m part of the Ghostbusters and that I’m included. Because on the first movie, especially, it felt like everything they could do to make sure that I got the message that I wasn’t. And I think when I was doing that interview, I’m not sure if it’s the one you’re thinking about, but I was responding to how I felt. Because who knows what’s happening in this business, but those are my impressions. But I really do feel that it was a learning experience and it forced me to look at things from a different perspective. And I think those lessons I’ve sort of carried with me through my whole career, so I don’t regret anything. But it was difficult. And it is great to be able to now be a part of this. And now know that Winston is definitely a part of this. And that makes me very happy.
Things certainly have changed for the better in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The new movie is arguably Winston’s biggest role in the franchise to date. Winston returned along with the rest of the remaining Ghostbusters in the Ghostbusters: Afterlife ending and we learned that Winston made good. He’s a successful businessman now. In Frozen Empire he's the money behind the new generation of Ghostbusters.
It’s great to hear that things have changed for the better for Ernie Hudson, though that only goes so far to make up for what sounds like a pretty shitty situation for him the first time around. Considering that Hudson’s role was originally written for Eddie Murphy, I can’t imagine Murphy would have been treated quite the same way.
While critics’ response to Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire hasn’t been warm, the movie has a lot that’s worth enjoying about it, and Winston getting a more prominent role is certainly one of those things. Maybe it doesn’t make up for the way things were, but it helps.
