Paul Feig's new Ghostbusters cast has touched off a firestorm of reaction across the internet, with both sides of the aisle being represented in force. Even Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd have given their blessing and their enthusiasm to the Paul Feig directed, female oriented reboot. Of course, with any reboot, there's the member of the original cast that isn't completely on board. That member was Ernie Hudson, or at least he was until he was reached for further comment this past week, which resulted in a complete 180.
The Wrap reached out to Hudson, one of the original Ghostbusters cast members, and they got him to break his self imposed "no comment" edict he issued through Twitter on Wednesday. Not only did they get a comment, they were witnesses to Ernie Hudson's official reversal of opinion on the whole female Ghostbusters idea. When asked, Hudson responded:
Four fiercely funny, foxy, females busting ghosts … phenomenal."
This is completely on the other side of the coin from Ernie Hudson's previous take on the matter, as he was on record as saying that the Paul Feid/Katie Dipold screenplay was a bad idea that fans didn't want to see. My, how the four months between Hudson's dismissal of the idea and his eventual acceptance have made a huge difference, as it's still a bit difficult to understand just how the man who brought Winston Zeddmore to life could have gone from hating to loving the idea in such a small time.
The answer, perhaps, lies in the cast that's been selected for the new Ghostbusters. After all, Hudson did say that if they were going for an all-female picture, he hoped that the ladies involved would be really funny. With the line up of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Lesile Jones firmly planted in the Feig wheelhouse, there's a good chance that Ernie Hudson saw the names, had to give himself some time to make peace with the fact that Ghostbusters has changed as a franchise, and ultimately grinned and bared it.
Opinions sometimes change as quickly as they form, and Ernie Hudson wouldn't be the first person to have rowed back on a controversial statement they made against the resurrection of a franchise he's held near and dear to his professional heart. Whether the talent involved has truly impressed him, or he continues to hope that he'll be drafted into the new Ghostbusters film after all, Ernie Hudson closes the loop on the original Ghostbusters giving their stamp of approval to the next generation's much scarier effort.
Ghostbusters is rebooting its proton packs for a July 22, 2016 release date. Ernie Hudson better call his agent, if he hopes to make it into the film.
