Just hours after the release of the much-anticipated Ghostbusters trailer, the first look at the reboot of the 1984 classic, social media was in meltdown over the Leslie Jones’ character.
She plays Patty Tolan, a street-smart subway ticket-booth operator, and the only black member among three white, educated scientists, played by Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon.
However, Leslie, herself, says fans are over-reacting by saying the film’s portrayal of her character is racist.
In a Twitter tirade, the actress addressed the criticism head on, asking “Why can’t a regular person be a Ghostbuster?”
Writer Andrew Shaffer, who has a Ghostbusters tie-in novel in the works, was also quick to defend the film on Twitter.
“Some concern online over Leslie Jones’ Ghostbusters character being the “streetwise” one,” he writes.
“That’s understandable from the trailer edit. But she’s also described in marketing material as a ‘municipal historian’. She’s more than just a 4th wheel.”
Leslie’s role is an obvious call back to the much-loved original in which actor Ernie Hudson played Winston Zeddemore, who came on board as a Ghostbuster after answering a wanted ad.
The most unknown of the original line-up today, he admits the role wasn’t the one he signed on for.
“When I originally got the script, the character of Winston was amazing and I thought it would be career-changing,” Ernie wrote recently.
“The character came in right at the very beginning of the movie and had an elaborate background: he was an Air Force major something, a demolitions guy. It was great.”
“The night before filming begins, however, I get this new script and it was shocking. The character was gone. Instead of coming in at the very beginning of the movie, like page eight, the character came in on page 68 after the Ghostbusters were established.
“His elaborate background was all gone, replaced by me walking in and saying, ‘If there’s a steady paycheck in it, I’ll believe anything you say.’ So that was pretty devastating.”
The Ghostbusters reboot is due to hit Australian screens on July 14, 2016.
