Generally speaking, reboots of popular films almost always evoke a negative reaction. The blowback against something like 2012's Total Recall or last year's Terminator: Genisys is nothing compared to the outrage directed at Paul Feig's Ghostbusters reboot though, and star Melissa McCarthy has some strong words for a certain contingent of online critics.
"All those comments – ‘You’re ruining my childhood!’ I mean, really, four women doing any movie on earth will destroy your childhood?", the actress told The Guardian. "I have a visual of those people not having a Ben [Falcone, McCarthy’s husband and occasional director], not having friends, so they’re just sitting there and spewing hate into this fake world of the internet. I just hope they find a friend".
As I've noted before, it's perfectly fine if the various images and trailers for Ghostbusters didn't work for you, but there's a difference between disliking something and hurling abuse at the people involved on social media. It's the latter group whom McCarthy is directing her comments toward, and they are absolutely valid.
Unfortunately, the build-up to Ghostbusters has been the highlight of what has been a pretty terrible year for fandom thus far. With Star Trek, Suicide Squad, Star Wars and more blockbuster films with large fanbases still yet to be released in cinemas, here's hoping the responses to other big 2016 films are more civil.
Directed by Paul Feig and starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth, Ghostbusters opens in UK and US cinemas on July 15, 2016.
Images: Sony Pictures Entertainment
