Ernie Hudson Says GHOSTBUSTERS Script an Marketing Pushed Him Aside and He's "Still Not Trying to Take It Personally"
Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson recently appeared on The Howard Stern Wrap-Up Show, and during the discussion, he talked about his time making the film and his experience on how he was “selectively pushed [him] aside” during the making of the movie and the marketing of the classic supernatural comedy. One of the biggest things that fans notice is that he was not included on the poster alongside Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Dan Aykroyd. Hudson talked about the difficulty of the studio pushing him aside saying:
“The studio wasn’t [inclusive], and the studio continued not to be. So it made it very, very difficult because I was a part of it but then I very selectively was pushed aside… The original script, Winston was in the very beginning of the movie. By the time we got ready to shoot the movie, Winston came in halfway through the movie. All those things… It definitely felt deliberate.”
I remember hearing about that and how Winston had a much bigger role in the film in that first draft of the script. Hudson went on to talk about the poster saying:
“When the posters came out, I’m not on the poster. It took a long time. I went to the 30th anniversary release of the movie and all the posters are three guys. Now I know the fans see it differently, and I’m so thankful for the fans because the fans basically identified with Winston — especially young, I don’t want to say minority kids, but a lot of kids.”
Hudson explains that making Ghostbusters is “the most difficult movie” of his career “from the psychological perspective.” He explained that he’s still not trying to take it personally, but it was still hard:
“I’m still not trying to take it personally. Anything bad, if you’re African American in this country, anything bad happens to you, you can always blame it on [being] Black. You don’t want to go there. That’s the last thing I want to do. I got nothing bad to say about anybody but it was hard. It took me 10 years to get past that and enjoy the movie and just embrace the movie. ‘Ghostbusters’ was really hard to make peace with.”
Hudson reprised his role in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and he is set to appear in that sequel. In fact, Hudson is said to have a decent-sized role to play in the sequel. Producer Jason Reitman previously shared: “The character of Winston Zeddemore and Zeddemore Industries figures strongly into the future of Ghostbusters.” When talking about joining that movie, he said:
“Even now, we’re negotiating a new movie that’s gearing up to start shooting in March, and I’m like, ‘Guys, there’s a place… I’m not an add-on.’ So if I’m going to do it, it has to make sense.”
The film has been previously described as “the next chapter in the Spengler family story.” It will officially be heading back to New York City and it’s also expected to take place in the Firehouse headquarters that has been featured in the first two Ghostbusters films.
Hudson previously talked about the script, saying: "I did read a version. I'm pretty sure they committed to doing another one. I'm very happy with it, but I also know this is early on. Jason has been incredible, and I really just love and appreciate him. I'm so thankful to be able to work with him. So, I'm excited about but... I haven't and I never assume anything. I am happy, though, to have Ghostbusters in my filmography. And I'm just really delighted when I see little kids, two and three years old, singing the song and being happy about it."
The sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife is currently set for a December 20, 2023.
Via IndieWire