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Story highlights
- Judy Gold: New Ghostbusters' all-female casting has been controversial. Other productions with all-female casts criticized
- Gold: What's the problem? Could it be men are uncomfortable when women are too perfect at these roles?
Judy Gold is a stand-up comic in New York, actress, writer and winner of two Emmy Awards. She is the host of the podcast "Kill Me Now," available on CBS' play.it and iTunes or at judygold.com/podcast. Follow her on Twitter @JewdyGold. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN)It's here!!
The brand new Ghostbusters movie has finally opened. Many of you probably think it came out months ago, since it's been pre-pre-reviewed so many times.
Why all the scrutiny, you ask? Because it's an all-female cast. Well, not really, there are male characters, but in this version, the four busters all have vaginas, and they didn't change the title! Perhaps we really are breaking the glass ceiling -- of a haunted house.
In the Ghostbusters movie, the women are playing women. They are not pretending to be men. It's not the only new production around with an all-female cast. In the new all-female Takarazura production of "Chicago" at Lincoln Center, with women in the male roles, the talented women are celebrating the centennial of the founding of their all-female Japanese musical revue troupe.
Photos: 'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?
Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones will star in the new "Ghostbusters." What's the original cast up to? Click through the gallery to find out.
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Photos: 'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?
It's been 30 years since the "Ghostbusters" first suited up, strapped on their proton packs and changed pop culture with comedy, special effects and an irresistible theme song.
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Photos: 'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?
As the charming Dr. Peter Venkman, Bill Murray could do no wrong in the eyes of the audience. Not much has changed since then. Most recently Murray acted in "Monuments Men" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel," and this fall stars in the buzzworthy "St. Vincent." In 2015, he'll provide voice work in a movie that would make Venkman proud: the animated comedy "B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations."
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Photos: 'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?
"Ghostbusters" was the brainchild of "Saturday Night Live" veteran Dan Aykroyd, who has a thing for ghosts. The writer/actor/producer, who played Dr. Raymond Stantz, most recently starred in the 2014 James Brown biopic, "Get on Up."
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Photos: 'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?
Harold Ramis was at the heart of the success of "Ghostbusters" -- as both the co-writer and the lovable nerd Dr. Egon Spengler. Ramis died in February 2014, but the legacy of his work lives on: from "Caddyshack" to "Stripes" to Egon's perennial safety tip ("Don't cross the streams!").
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Photos: 'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?
As the fourth addition to the "Ghostbusters" team, Ernie Hudson provided the everyman comic relief. Since "Ghostbusters," Hudson has bounced between movies and TV, including a stint on the well-received HBO series "Oz." Yet he still has a soft spot for Winston Zeddemore; if a third "Ghostbusters" ever happens, he sees himself as "the C.E.O. of the Ghostbusters franchise."
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Photos: 'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?
No one could pull off being possessed while in full '80s glam like Sigourney Weaver. Her Dana Barrett was equal parts alluring and hilariously scary. These days, Weaver is devoting her talents to another huge franchise: She's at work on the sequel to 2009's "Avatar," due out in December 2016.
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Photos: 'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?
Louis Tully was also a demonic force to be reckoned with, but you couldn't help but feel badly for the guy with Rick Moranis playing him. After creating more family-friendly fare with the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" franchise and "The Flintstones," Moranis decided to retire from on-screen acting in 1997 to be a stay-at-home dad after his wife's death.
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Photos: 'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?
Annie Potts' Janine Melnitz may not have fought the ghosts like her employers did, but the secretary was just as tough as the boys. There's much to recommend when Potts is around, from "Ghostbusters" to "Designing Women" to "Pretty In Pink." In November 2014, she starred in the comedy "As Good As You."
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Photos: 'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?
William Atherton has a knack for playing annoying characters -- remember Richard Thornburg in "Die Hard"? -- and he put his talents to good use in "Ghostbusters" as a skeptical government official who kept getting in the way of the team's work. He appeared in the second season of Syfy's "Defiance."
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Photos: 'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?
You can't talk about "Ghostbusters" without mentioning director Ivan Reitman, who also helmed another '80s comedy classic, "Stripes." Reitman's work has been received with more ambivalence since then; neither 2011's rom-com "No Strings Attached" nor 2014's "Draft Day" was as universally liked as "Ghostbusters." The filmmaker has been dancing around a sequel to 1988's "Twins" that would star Arnold Schwarzenegger, Eddie Murphy and Danny DeVito. It would be called "Triplets."
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What are women trying to prove, you might ask? Nothing. We are giving ourselves opportunities to perform, write, direct and produce and giving the public another perspective. Remember, we're talking about art here. There should not be gender boundaries, right?
I have some experience with all-female casts. I just finished playing Gremio in the all-female "Taming of the Shrew" in Central Park for the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park.
This particular play has been considered Shakespeare's most misogynistic, so why do it with all women? Well, one reason might be that for centuries, Shakespeare was performed with all male casts — sans the backlash. It seems that since the beginning of time, audiences have found it much more palatable to watch a man acting feminine than a woman acting masculine.
Movie Pass - "Ghostbusters" 01:38
During rehearsals for "Shrew," we spent an enormous amount of time learning the physicality of men: taking up lots of space, not talking with your hands, leading from the crotch, and conveying that all-knowing sense of entitlement.
It was more than eye-opening, it was fun: no Spanx, no hose, no heels. It was liberating enough to make me only want to wear men's shoes for the rest of my life.
A male reviewer suggested that the women in drag exaggerated stereotypical male behavior, and that he had never seen a staging that made him laugh less. He also said that drag is funny when it's almost too perfect, and cited Brian Bedford, who appeared on Broadway as Lady Blackwell in "The Importance of Being Earnest" a few years ago.
Could it be that perhaps we were also too perfect, that men watching men being objectified isn't funny to them at all?
So why is there such an immediate backlash to a trailer of a remake of a classic movie? There have been lots of remakes that have bombed: "Poltergeist," "The Pink Panther," "Arthur," "Psycho," "Karate Kid," "Fame," to name a few. Was there this amount of vitriol toward the replacement actors? I highly doubt it. Would it have been better if they named it "Ghost Busterettes"?
What would happen if they remade "Eat Pray Love" with Brad Pitt? Would it be more appropriate to change the name to "Eat Pray F***"?
Let's roll with this.
Photos: Top women behind the camera
The directors' branch is still dominated by men, but a number of women have staked their claims to fame, directing some of the top-grossing films in history. Jennifer Lee, right, co-directed "Frozen" (with Chris Buck, left), which became the highest-grossing animated film of all time. It took in over $400 million in the U.S. and nearly $1.3 billion worldwide. "Frozen" went on to win Academy Awards for best animated feature and best original song. Lee will return to write and co-direct a theatrical sequel.
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Photos: Top women behind the camera
Brenda Chapman, right, co-directed 2012's "Brave" -- also an Oscar winner -- with Mark Andrews. The animated film, whose story was inspired by Chapman's daughter, was a different take on the traditional princess tale, and it got audiences rushing to the theater, grossing over $237 million domestically. "I never count on success. I just work damn hard for it," Chapman said. "I think that female directors are fighting to make more opportunities for themselves, which I hope will make Hollywood provide more opportunities."
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Photos: Top women behind the camera
Betty Thomas' movies include 1994's "The Brady Bunch Movie" and 1997's "Private Parts." Her 2009 "Alvin and the Chipmunks" entry, "The Squeakquel," brought in over $219 million in the U.S. alone and became the first female-directed film to gross more than $200 million. She's the highest-grossing female director of all time.
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Photos: Top women behind the camera
Taking on 2008's "Twilight" was a major gamble for director Catherine Hardwicke. She said the project was passed on by numerous studios before finding distribution with Summit Entertainment. The teen vampire drama went on to gross over $192 million in the U.S. and kicked off one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time. Hardwicke says that films directed by women need to be supported. "We've got to get studios, agents, critics and the audiences to think out of the box. Expand our minds about what kinds of films could be interesting and entertaining, then find great ways to market them," she said.
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Elizabeth Banks, left, stole nearly every scene as one of the stars of the hit comedy "Pitch Perfect." But many were surprised when executives announced that the actress would make her feature directorial debut with the 2015 sequel, co-starring Hailee Steinfeld, right. (It helped that she's one of the franchise's producers.) Banks had the last laugh, however, with the sequel grossing over $183 domestically, more than double the original's take. Banks has said she plans on directing the next installment in the musical comedy franchise.
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Spearheading a box office hit is no new task to Nancy Meyers. Her romantic comedy "What Women Want" (starring Mel Gibson, left) brought in $182 million in 2000. Meyers' other successful films include 2003's "Something's Gotta Give," starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, and 2009's "It's Complicated," with Meryl Streep in a leading role.
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"Fifty Shades of Grey" was a huge milestone for English filmmaker and actress Sam Taylor-Johnson, left (with cinematographer Seamus McGarvey). The film version of E.L. James' book grossed $166 million in 2015. Taylor-Johnson called the experience "intense and incredible."
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Photos: Top women behind the camera
For Amy Heckerling, creating a film like 1989's "Look Who's Talking" was a longtime dream. Heckerling had a cinematography professor in college who thought it was funny that women were in the class. "It wasn't that I wanted to challenge anybody," Heckerling said. "I just wanted to make movies." The romantic comedy featuring John Travolta and Kirstie Alley brought in $140 million at the box office; Heckerling is also known for 1982's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and 1995's "Clueless."
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With "Kung Fu Panda 2," Jennifer Yuh became the first woman to solely direct an animated feature from a major Hollywood studio. The 2011 sequel took in over $165 million in the U.S. and spawned 2016's "Kung Fu Panda 3." Yuh, shown with "Panda 3" co-director Alessandro Carloni, admits that she doesn't focus on box office numbers and hopes she can inspire young women trying to direct their own projects. "If you're passionate about it, someone else will be passionate about it," Yuh said.
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Photos: Top women behind the camera
Anne Fletcher, center, found a recipe for success in the 2009 Sandra Bullock hit "The Proposal." Bullock starred alongside Ryan Reynolds, playing a bigwig book editor who poses in a sham marriage to avoid deportation. The rom-com grossed $163 million in 2009, a big win for Fletcher, who had directed only two films prior.
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Vicky Jenson can tell you a thing or two about directing animated films. After she co-directed "Shrek" in 2001, the stakes were high to deliver another family-fun moviegoing experience. Jenson hopped on board as co-director of "Shark Tale" with Bibo Bergeron, left, and Rob Letterman. The film grossed $160 million.
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British director Phyllida Lloyd, center, made a big splash on her first stab at directing a film. "Mamma Mia!" drew $144 million domestically, a rare occurrence for musicals in the world of feature films. Meryl Streep, left, and Julie Walters starred in the film.
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Mimi Leder admits that the biggest challenge she's faced in her directing career is making feature films, but 1998's "Deep Impact" (with Tea Leoni, left) was a box office success, earning $140 million at the box office. "It asked questions that I think we ask ourselves," Leder said.
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Nora Ephron's 2012 death from leukemia was a tremendous loss in Hollywood. The film director and Oscar-nominated screenwriter's works included 1993's "Sleepless in Seattle," starring Tom Hanks, left, which grossed $126 million. "You've Got Mail" brought in $115 million just five years later. "The loss of Nora Ephron is a devastating one for New York City's arts and cultural community," former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
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Angelina Jolie has gone from actress to director with such films as 2014's "Unbroken," the story of Olympian Louis Zamperini, which brought in $115 million at the box office. (The film co-starred Jack O'Connell, center, Domhnall Gleeson and Finn Wittrock.) The most rewarding part: "Sitting at Louie's bedside in the hospital and revisiting chapters of of his life through our film, while witnessing him preparing to leave his life behind," Jolie said.
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Penny Marshall, best remembered for her days as Laverne DeFazio on "Laverne and Shirley," went on to become a successful film director. With box office hits like 1988's "Big" (with Hanks) and 1992's "A League of Their Own" -- each of which brought in more than $100 million -- Marshall became the first female director to have a film break the $100 million mark at the box office. Her secret to success can be found in the Waylon Jennings lyrics framed in her bathroom: "I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane."
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Kathryn Bigelow may not have had a $100 million box office blockbuster, but to many, she's got something more valuable: an Oscar. She won the big prize for 2009's "The Hurt Locker" and remains the only woman to win best director. The film was also named best picture.
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Rising star Ava DuVernay directed 2014's "Selma," which was nominated for an Oscar for best picture and received rave reviews. She's currently at work on two projects: the TV show "Queen Sugar" and the film "Intelligent Life." The latter, from Steven Spielberg's production company, is due out in 2017.
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Why not remake some classic films with women as the stars? In some cases, it could only be an improvement:
"The Godmother": An Italian woman's godson reluctantly joins the mafia and tries to maintain a normal life, but becomes morbidly obese after she keeps feeding him her world famous lasagna.
"Scarface": Antoinette Montana becomes the biggest drug lord in the state of Florida, controlling all the Botox that is trafficked through Miami. She is only stopped after she is unable to move any muscles in her face.
"Lethal Weapon": A woman becomes violent after the death of her husband. She ends up luring men into dark alleys and suffocating them with one of her extremely large breasts.
"Twelve Angry Women": A sequestered jury of all women end up all menstruating at the same time.
"The Blues Sisters": Two sisters decide to save the orphanage they grew up in by getting their old band back together and covering Nina Simone songs.
"The Dear Hunter": A woman joins the army after hunting for a husband, only to find herself on the front lines in the Vietnam War.
You see how easy this is?
I could go on, but I have to run out for my audition. It's for a new movie about a crime duo called "Cool Hand Liz."