You may not have realized it given how much he’s been talking about this upcoming, female-led "Ghostbusters," but Paul Feig actually has a new movie coming out this year, the genre spoof "Spy" starring Melissa McCarthy (read our review). Even at SXSW, where his comedy premiered, the talk still swirled around "Ghostbusters," and Feig shared a couple more details and his take on the reaction his project has received.
First off, it’s hard to imagine a "Ghostbusters" movie without Ray Parker Jr.‘s iconic theme song, but Feig tells E! that though he’s "playing with" the idea of including it, he admits he’s of two minds about the matter. "It’s such an iconic thing that part of you goes, ‘I don’t want to change it,’ but then another part of you wants to update it," he explained. "It’s one of the biggest questions we’re faced with."
While Feig feels free to toy with the franchise and update for a contemporary age, there are many narrow-minded folks who can’t wrap their minds around a movie in which the Ghostbusters are — gasp! — women. And the trolling has infuriated the director. “The first wave when you make an announcement like that is overwhelmingly positive. Everyone’s so happy and you’re like, ‘This is great.’ Then comes the second wave and you’re like, Oh my God. Some of the most vile, misogynistic s— I’ve ever seen in my life,” he told Variety.
“The biggest thing I’ve heard for the last four months is, ‘Thanks for ruining my childhood.’ It’s going to be on my tombstone when I die,” he continued. “It’s so dramatic. Honestly, the only way I could ruin your childhood is if I got into a time machine and went back and made you an orphan.”
Seriously, if you’re clinging to "Ghostbusters" that tightly, perhaps a reality check might be in order — it’s just a movie, or really, just a piece of branded entertainment that a major studio is looking to sell a few different ways (including an all-bro reboot, which Feig said he knows little about).
So chill, and if you’re nice, maybe Feig will include the original theme after all.