DO MORE CLASSIC MOVIES NEED AN ALL FEMALE CAST MAKEOVER?

Last week we saw the release of the much talked about, all female Ghostbusters reboot. The controversy swirling around this movie has been a PR dream, with hardcore Ghostbusters fans crying out in protest at the prospect of other actors putting on those hefty Proton Packs.





Despite the negative reaction to the early trailers, the movie is receiving 4/5 star reviews, with movie critics stating that ‘it’s not as bad as everyone was afraid it would be’. So with this in mind, Smartmobile Casino wanted to find out what other classic movies the public would like to see turned into a female focused film. They surveyed over 1000 people, with results such as Reservoir Dogs and The Expendables making it into the top 10. But would people have just as much of an issue if those films were remade with a female ensemble cast?

When the very first Ghostbusters trailer was released worldwide, it didn’t receive a huge amount of praise. Some people thought that the slapstick comedy, and near identical story to the original, was taking away from the uniqueness of the franchise. Since then, however, the film has received a huge amount of support, both from others in the film industry and the original Ghostbusters cast.

A lot of media outlets then went on to twist this into an attack on the female casting, but the most disagreed element was that the Ghostbusters franchise didn’t need a remake to begin with. Movie fans have already complained about the endless amount of remakes that Hollywood has churned out over the last few years, and with Ghostbusters being a beloved classic, some people thought this was a step too far. 

It’s important to have female lead movies, and there are more and more being released every year. But that said, lead women, particularly in action movies, are very rare. There will always be a disagreement around remakes, but they could be the key to seeing more female ensemble casts. Having stories that have already been told with a male cast, and have proven to be popular amongst audiences, are a much safer bet at the box office, not to mention will drum up more controversy and even more publicity in the long run. 

From the survey results, movie fans wanted to see more films in which large teams of women work together. For example, some of the top films people voted for were films such as The Expendables, a high octane action thriller with a huge male cast. There were also films such as: Oceans 11, Reservoir Dogs, and The Magnificent 7, all movies in which a large team of male protagonists have to work together for a common good. Kinda!

An Ocean’s 11 reboot is already in the works, with Sandra Bullock slated to play the Danny Ocean role. So with the surprisingly positive reception of the new Ghostbusters film, we are set to see a host of female remakes of classic movies. But the question remains, should Hollywood be making more of an effort to create new and original movies with a larger female ensemble cast instead of rehashing classic movies?