‘Ghostbusters’ Cast, News: Melissa McCarthy Gushes Over Chris Hemsworth; Original Film’s Director Says Casting Controversy isn’t Really Sexism

‘Ghostbusters’ actress Melissa McCarthy expressed her admiration for co-star Chris Hemsworth calling him funny and talented. She admitted that it was fun working with him on the new film. Meanwhile, Ivan Reitman said that he didn’t think the casting backlash was a case of sexism.

According to Business Standard, McCarthy was all praises for co-star Chris Hemsworth saying that he was quite talented and had a great sense of humor. When asked what it was like filming the reboot with the 32-year old Australian hunk, McCarthy replied, "You do some talking before he comes in. You get yourself centered and you're like 'Let's be respectful'. And then he walks in and you're like, 'Oh, my God. And that's just pretty to look at'.”

She added, "But that strangely goes away very quickly because he is... And I knew he was going to be nice. Everybody said 'Oh, he's such a great guy. He's so nice. You're going to love him.' No one mentioned that he was bizarrely funny." 

McCarthy went on to commend Hemsworth for his great improvisation skills. She said, He just kind of blew us all away. And we had such a fun time with him… I'm proud of all of us that eventually he just became Chris and we stopped being creepy.”

The comedienne joins fellow funny girls Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones in Paul Feig’s upcoming reboot of the original 1984 supernatural comedy film of the same name. The actresses will play the lead protagonists, mirroring the original ‘Ghostbusters’ cast members Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson. The female casting fell into much controversy among fans following the announcement.

Ivan Reitman, director  and producer of the original 1984 film, admitted that he didn’t think the casting backlash was a product of sexism. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Reitman suggested that fan reaction for the upcoming all-female reboot stemmed from emotional attachment with the first film.

The 69-year old filmmaker said, "It surprised me a little bit, but then I realized many of the people who are writing were about eight or nine years old when the 1984 Ghostbusters movie came out. It was kind of a seminal moment in their lives… Look, it's a nice compliment to me, that the film has sort of held up for them as an important cinematic experience in their lives."

He added, "I wouldn't put it at that as much as some sense of disappointment for people who went through this experience themselves. Reitman is serving as producer in the new film.

‘Ghostbusters’ is an action-comedy and supernatural film scheduled to be released on July 15, 2016. It is a reboot of Reitman’s 1984 cult favorite of the same name. Reitman’s film earned $295.2 million worldwide against a $30 million production budget.