Ghostbusters Star Hated Making The Movies
Ernie Hudson says his Ghostbusters experience with Columbia Pictures did not make him feel welcome.
It’s no mystery to audiences across the globe that Ghostbusters was a highly successful movie that captured the imaginations of millions. But for Ernie Hudson, the experience on set wasn’t all fun and games. In a recent Hollywood Reporter article covering an interview from The Howard Stern Wrap-Up Show, Hudson, who portrayed Winston Zeddemore in the film, stated that he didn’t feel welcome or included by the studio despite the crew’s efforts to make him feel at home. But we have high hopes that the actor will feel included in the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 which is due out in 2023.
It’s one thing to feel like an “add-on” during principal production, but Ernie Hudson elaborated that his lack of inclusion carried on well past the film’s original run, stating “I went to the 30th-anniversary release of the movie and all the posters are three guys.” There were also mentions of how the script changed in the time after Hudson accepted the role of Winston, and this only added to the feelings of being brushed aside by the studio.
In fact, Winston was originally supposed to have a larger role in the film, being introduced in the early scenes, but subsequent revisions left him without screen time until well into the second act.
It goes without saying that “making it” in Hollywood is no easy feat, but Hudson worked relentlessly until he saw his first major studio role in Ghostbusters, which should have helped him secure even more work after the film wrapped up. This wasn’t the case for Ernie Hudson, however, as he continued to work nonstop without seeing another big break for almost three years.
While Hudson seems to now be at peace with how things went down, he does have a thing or two to say about any future iterations of the Ghostbusters franchise.
Simply put, Ghostbusters wouldn’t be the same without Ernie Hudson’s portrayal of Winston, and Hudson went on record stating that in his current negotiations with Columbia Pictures Ghost Corps, he doesn’t want to feel like he’s just being tacked on as an afterthought. While Ghostbusters: Afterlife was more or less a cameo role for the OG Ghostbusters (including a not-so-in-the-flesh hologram of Egon Spangler), we’re led to believe that the sequel-to-be will be inclusive to Hudson doing what he does best as Winston.
Considering how strongly young fans identified with Winston Zeddemore’s willingness to get his hands dirty “as long as there was a steady paycheck in it,” we’re hoping to see a healthy amount of screen time for the Ghostbuster.
The original Ghostbusters had a wildly successful run in the 80s, and we’re seeing a resurgence in enthusiasm with the Afterlife reboots. One of the reasons the original films were beloved by so many was because the Ghostbusters applied a working-class mentality to some real high-brain science and technology that was used to capture evil forces that were running amok in New York City.
Simply put, there’s something about dudes dressed more like plumbers than ghost hunters showing up and getting the job done in a matter-of-fact way that has mass appeal because nobody in the audience is left out. Let’s just hope that Ernie Hudson is included in the mix so the Ghostbusters can do what they do best in the upcoming 2023 release.
You know the old saying, “If there’s something strange in the neighborhood, you better call Ernie Hudson!”
