'Ghostbusters' Remake Director Blames 'Trump Supporters' For Film's Failure

Hollywood continues to make the same mistakes: blaming everyone but itself for the failure of its projects. The latest example comes from Paul Feig, the director of the "Ghostbusters" remake starring all-female leads.

The 2016 remake was given generally positive reviews by critics…and panned by audiences. Per Rotten Tomatoes, the critic score was 74 percent positive, while the audience score at just 49 percent. It was also a box office bomb; the film grossed just $128 million domestically and $100 million internationally, with a ~$150 million budget that likely neared $300 million after marketing.

Feig, per The Guardian, said he looked into why the film was criticized and unsuccessful. And what do you know, it was Donald Trump's fault yet again. According to him, "so many" of the film's critics "were Trump supporters." The horror.

"Then Donald Trump came out against us. He was like ... 'They’re making Ghostbusters with only women. What’s going on?’ and got all upset. Everybody went f***ing cannibal. It turned the movie into a political statement, as if to say: ‘If you’re pro-women, you’re going to go see this. If you’re not, then …’ I didn’t think it mattered at all that the main characters were women, but people brought a lot of baggage" 

As always with Hollywood, it's someone else's fault. An especially poor defense considering the film openly made itself political too.

Paul Feig poses in front of a Ghostbusters vehicle, a massive 2016 Hollywood flop thanks to its over-the-top woke messaging. (Photo by Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images)

Paul Feig Ignores Marketing Failures, Poor Quality Work

As the film was heading towards release in 2016, Sony studios and the marketing team behind it didn't attempt to hide their political preferences.

After Hilary Clinton was officially named the Democratic Party nominee for president, the promotional Ghostbusters Twitter account posted an obvious endorsement of her. 

"Boo-yah, we smashed your glass ceiling. There was a ghost behind it. #ImWithHer #BustTheCeiling #Ghostbusters." The tweet read, along with a GIF of Dr. Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) winking, along with a second message: "2016 — The year we busted ghosts and the glass ceiling. #ImWithThem."

Gee, wonder what they were saying there? 

After the film's failure, Feig now says, eight years later, that he "didn’t think it mattered at all that the main characters were women." As his marketing team and studio specifically highlighted that the main characters were women. 

It shouldn't, and doesn't, matter if a movie has an all-female cast of main characters. Some of the best movies ever made focused on a primarily female cast, including "The Women" and "A Letter to Three Wives." The issue that audiences had with the "Ghosbusters" remake is that it brought nothing new to the table, only female actors. 

It was a lazy, cheap attempt at grabbing nostalgia dollars while virtue signaling a progressive approach to filmmaking. More importantly, it was also a very, very bad movie. Deeply, profoundly unfunny. Completely lacking in creativity or originality. Poorly written, and even more poorly acted. A mess all around.

Blame yourself for the failure of bad movies. Don't blame the audience for rejecting a bad product.