When news broke about a 2016 remake of Ghostbusters starring an all-female cast, fans of the 1984 classic were overwhelmed with mixed emotions. The new twist put on the film, which originally featured an all-male cast, has already generated a series of backlash. Saturday Night Live alum and star of the Ghostbusters remake, Kristen Wiig, revealed she's sick of people reacting so negatively about the film's new premise, according to a recent interview in the Los Angeles Times.
The 42-year-old Academy Award nominee will play Erin Gilbert in the forthcoming 2016 release, alongside Melissa McCarthy, SNL's Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, as well as, 1984 Ghostbusters alum Sigourney Weaver. Despite the high profile cast of the new film, critics can't seem to get past the gender differences.
Wiig expressed her surprise about how much outrage the film was generating solely based on the cast's sex. Although director Paul Feig addressed the harsh comments on numerous occasions, Wiig decided to open up about how the critics have been affecting her.
"The fact there was so much controversy because we were women was surprising to me," Wiig told the Los Angeles Times. "Some people said some really not nice things about the fact that there were women. It didn't make me mad, it just really bummed me out. We're really honoring those movies."
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With remarks like, "thanks for ruining my childhood," Feig was not afraid to fight back. While he didn't expect everyone to jump on board with his idea for the new film, he believes the harsh comments associated with it are "vile and misogynistic," according to an interview with Variety.
The Bridesmaids star, Wiig, also spoke candidly about women in comedy and why she doesn't believe these comedians are offered as many opportunities as males, despite the long history of female talent in movies and television.
Wiig touched on the controversial issue surrounding the advancements made from women in Hollywood, especially female comedians, and how their anatomy clouds their careers.
"I think the fact that people keep asking it implies that it's something we need to explain or defend. If [people] would watch movies or look at comedy and see how many talented, funny women are out there and have been since the beginning of time, people would stop asking that. The other side of it is we're still not there as far as opportunities. But, people are doing the work," she said.
