Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of Ghostbusters. And while that is cause for celebration for fans of the franchise, it comes with mixed feelings for Ernie Hudson, one of the original Ghostbusters. Via IndieWire, Hudson recently appeared on The Howard Stern Wrap Up Show, and he noted that Winston Zeddemore, was excluded from the theatrical posters for the film. But that was only part of the reason why he felt left out of the film’s marketing campaign.
“The studio wasn’t [inclusive], and the studio continued not to be,” said Hudson. “So it made it very, very difficult because I was a part of it, but then I very selectively was pushed aside.”
“When the posters came out, I’m not on the poster,” recalled Hudson. “It took a long time. I went to the 30th anniversary release of the movie and all the posters are three guys [Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd]. 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.”
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However, the bigger issue for Hudson was the way that Winston’s role in the film was greatly diminished from the initial script to the way he was presented onscreen.
“[In] the original script, Winston was in the very beginning of the movie,” recalled Hudson. “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’m still not trying to take it personally,” continued Hudson. “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.”
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Hudson reprised his role in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which re-envisioned Winston as a successful businessman who has taken it upon himself to keep the team’s legacy alive. During the interview with Stern, Hudson appeared to suggest that he is still in talks to return for the next sequel.
“Even now, we’re negotiating a new movie that’s gearing up to start shooting in March,” said Hudson. “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.”
Assuming there are no delays, the sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife will hit theaters on December 20.
What do you think about Ernie Hudson’s remarks? Let us know in the comment section below!
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