Ernie Hudson reflects on the ‘disappointing’ female-led Ghostbusters movie: ‘It wasn’t what fans were hoping for’

In 2016, Ghostbusters fans militarized YouTube And IMDb to review the female-led reboot of Ivan Reitman’s 1984 film classic before its release.

“Look, I’m a fan of Paul Feig, so I have nothing negative to say about him. Also, I don’t really understand why you’re restarting, you know what I mean? Just make another movie,” Ernie Hudson said The independent on Sunday.

“The fans really invested in the story and the characters and I think it was disappointing. I enjoyed the movie, but I don’t think it was what fans were hoping for.”

The 78-year-old actor added that the comedian-packed cast – Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy and Leslie Jones – was “brilliantly funny in its own right.”

Ernie had a cameo in Ghostbusters as Patty’s (Jones) uncle Bill Jenkins, who works as a funeral director, at the end of the film, which earned back $229.1 million from its $144 million budget at the worldwide box office.

In 2016, Ghostbusters fans militarized YouTube and IMDb to review the female-led reboot of Ivan Reitman’s 1984 film classic before its release.

Ernie Hudson (pictured last Thursday) told The Independent on Sunday: 'Look, I'm a fan of Paul Feig, so I have nothing negative to say about him.  Also, I don't really understand why you're restarting, you know what I mean?  Just make another movie

Ernie Hudson (pictured last Thursday) told The Independent on Sunday: ‘Look, I’m a fan of Paul Feig, so I have nothing negative to say about him. Also, I don’t really understand why you’re restarting, you know what I mean? Just make another movie

Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd produced Ghostbusters – dedicated to the late Harold Ramis – which brought back Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts in various roles.

Surprisingly, the reimagined PG-13 supernatural comedy earned a 74% “Certified Fresh” rating from critics (out of 394 reviews), but a dismal 49% audience score on Rotten tomatoes.

Hudson reprized his breakout role as Winston Zeddemore in Gil Kenan’s sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which has already earned back $61.6 million from its $100 million budget since opening last Friday.

Winston has gone from the marginalized fourth member of the iconic ghost-fighting quartet to a philanthropist who invents a new generation of paranormal pest controllers.

“I wanted Winston to be an example of what is possible,” the Quantum Leap star explained.

‘Sony is no longer the same studio as it was forty years ago and they have really gone a step further and given a dimension to the character. Thanks to Sony for being open to my feelings, because they weren’t the first time around.’

Ernie famously replaced Eddie Murphy in the role of Winston, and the character promptly shrank and was left out of much of the marketing for the original film.

“We can say it’s a racist issue, but I think if Eddie Murphy had played the role I played, he would have been paid very well,” Hudson noted.

The 78-year-old actor continued: “Fans were really invested in the story and the characters and I think it was disappointing.  I enjoyed the movie, but I don't think it was what the fans were hoping for.

The 78-year-old actor continued: “Fans were really invested in the story and the characters and I think it was disappointing. I enjoyed the movie, but I don’t think it was what the fans were hoping for.”

Ernie added that the comedian-packed cast – Kate McKinnon (2-L), Leslie Jones (M), Kristen Wiig (2-R) and Melissa McCarthy (R) – were “brilliantly funny in their own right.”

Ernie added that the comedian-packed cast – Kate McKinnon (2-L), Leslie Jones (M), Kristen Wiig (2-R) and Melissa McCarthy (R) – were “brilliantly funny in their own right.”

Hudson had a cameo in Ghostbusters as Patty's (Jones) uncle Bill Jenkins, who works as a funeral director, at the end of the film, which earned back $229.1 million from its $144 million budget at the worldwide box office.

Hudson had a cameo in Ghostbusters as Patty’s (Jones) uncle Bill Jenkins, who works as a funeral director, at the end of the film, which earned back $229.1 million from its $144 million budget at the worldwide box office.

Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd produced Ghostbusters - dedicated to the late Harold Ramis - which featured Bill Murray (M), Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts in various roles

Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd produced Ghostbusters – dedicated to the late Harold Ramis – which featured Bill Murray (M), Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts in various roles

Surprisingly, the reimagined PG-13 supernatural comedy earned a 74% certified fresh rating from critics (out of 394 reviews), but a dismal 49% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Surprisingly, the reimagined PG-13 supernatural comedy earned a 74% certified fresh rating from critics (out of 394 reviews), but a dismal 49% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Quantum Leap star reprized his breakout role as Winston Zeddemore in Gil Kenan's sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which has already made back $61.6 million from its $100 million budget since opening last Friday.

The Quantum Leap star reprized his breakout role as Winston Zeddemore in Gil Kenan’s sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which has already made back $61.6 million from its $100 million budget since opening last Friday.

Winston has gone from the marginalized fourth member of the iconic ghost-fighting quartet to a philanthropist who invents a new generation of paranormal pest controllers

Winston has gone from the marginalized fourth member of the iconic ghost-fighting quartet to a philanthropist who invents a new generation of paranormal pest controllers

Ernie explains: 'Sony is not the same studio as it was forty years ago and they have really stepped up and added dimension to the character.  Thanks to Sony for being open to hearing my feelings because the first time around they didn't'

Ernie explains: ‘Sony is not the same studio as it was forty years ago and they have really stepped up and added dimension to the character. Thanks to Sony for being open to hearing my feelings because the first time around they didn’t’

Hudson famously replaced Eddie Murphy in the role of Winston, and the character promptly shrank and was left out of much of the marketing for the original film.

Hudson famously replaced Eddie Murphy in the role of Winston, and the character promptly shrank and was left out of much of the marketing for the original film.

The Michigan native noted, “We can say it's a racist issue, but I think if Eddie Murphy had played the role I played, he would have been paid very well.  I think studios want to make money and they pay what they think they should.

The Michigan native noted, “We can say it’s a racist issue, but I think if Eddie Murphy had played the role I played, he would have been paid very well. I think studios want to make money and they pay what they think they should.”

“I think studios want to make money and they pay what they think they should.”

Frozen Empire also stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt.

It currently has the worst critic approval rating (43% from 221 reviews) of the entire Ghostbusters franchise on Rotten tomatoesbut still managed to achieve an audience score of 85%.

On February 13, the Michigan native wrapped up his role as ‘Sitter 10’ in Justine Bateman’s emotional avant-garde film FEEL alongside Clancy Brown, Rae Dawn Chong, Erika Christensen, David Duchovny, Robert Patrick, Rain Phoenix, Alan Ruck and Noah Wyle.

On a personal note, Ernie has fathered four adult sons – Ernie Jr., Ramahan, Andrew and Ross – from his marriage to ex-wife Jeannie Lou Moore and second wife Linda Louise Kindberg.