Last week Jason Reitman unceremoniously announced that he will making ‘Ghostbusters 3’ and that it will be for the ‘real fans’.
In just a few words Reitman has disregarded ‘Ghostbusters’ that came out in 2016 and the massive misogynist wave of abuse the cast, filmmakers and fans received. He has fallen into the trap of appeasing these ‘real fans’ or at least promising to please them. He has also ignored the fans who did enjoy Paul Feig’s film and the positive critics reviews. He has instead acted as if what he is doing is what everyone wants. There is an arrogance about Reitman thinking that its ok to ‘take back’ the Ghostbusters franchise just because he is the son of Ivan Reitman, director of the original films. This is literally all he is hanging on to in my opinion.
Jason Reitman isn’t a favourite filmmaker of mine, I think it’s fair to state this. I loved ‘Juno’ and actually thought ‘Men, Women and Children’ wasn’t that bad. ‘Labour Day’ was also an interesting watch. But otherwise, he isn’t that great. Plus, ‘Juno’ is really all about the script and the characters, which he didn’t come up with, that was all Diablo Cody.
Right as I type Reitman is trying to back track what he said and claim what he said ‘came out wrong ’. Sure Jason, sure. Paul Feig has defended Reitman disappointingly saying that he can’t wait to see what Jason does. But its not enough to convince us fans that don’t even register on Reitman’s close minded radar. I’m with Leslie Jones, it was ‘dick move’.
This announcement will be in the news a few more days and wind down, but while the iron is hot, I want to strike further. In Reitman and the studio’s eyes, there’s a need to feed the beast that are the ‘real fans’ of Ghostbusters. Why can’t we just have a film and enjoy it or not? Why is there a need to make films just for the fans with no thought for progression or improvement? The only time I can think that fans should be considered is if the project is literally funded by the fans. When Veronica Mars the TV series was cancelled, all the fans came out of the woodwork in protest to the point creator Rob Thomas kickstarted the film. The film is literally made by the fans and so is for the fans. As a fan of the show, I really appreciated this final frothy farewell to the folks of Neptune. The fans got what we wanted. But ‘fanboys/girls’ can turn nasty when they don’t get what they think they deserve. This was painfully apparent during the entire Ghostbusters bitter rollercoaster in 2016.
With the out cry of ‘fans’ who took the internet to voice their opinions after ‘The Last Jedi’ was released was unbelievable. The amount of arrogance that these ‘fans’ had or should I say has, has no bounds, even starting a partition to remove the film from canon was ridiculous and rather pointless. ‘Fans’ were outraged with the way Luke was handled, the way the plot was handled and with everything really, but mostly Luke. The film was a brave step towards the future and in order to have a future, you need to leave the past behind, but the ‘fans’ seemed not think the films were just going to be about Luke, Han and Leia again, which is, again, ridiculous. If they wanted the old Star Wars, they can literally just watch the old Star Wars. Self entitled ‘fans’ think that its all about them and yes to an extend the films are for them, but the creation of story and characters belongs to the filmmakers and in a way George sodding Lucas. The fans, audience are there for the ride, they are there to be entertained not have their every demand pandered to. The ‘fans’ feel as if they are entitled to how a film is made and should dictate to the filmmakers. This pure poison to the film and all the fans watching and enjoying.
This is when films falter. If they make a film just to satisfy the fans, a mediocre film is created and most likely critically panned. If a film is made just for the creators alone, it turns into a self indulgent mess. If a film is make by passionate filmmakers for an audience who appreciate a great story and characters then, we’re all winners. ‘Fanboys’ or fan girls, but to be honest fan girls cause very little trouble are usually championing things rather than bringing them down, but either way, ‘real fans’ ruin the film experience and creation. Wouldn’t it better if they just shut the hell up and let us enjoy the films? Wouldn’t it better is Jason Reitman also shuts the hell up and stops trying to pathetically take back that really idiotic comment? It would be better but I doubt its the last we’ll encounter this sort bullshit.