EXCLUSIVE: What happened to Ernie Hudson? Forgotten fourth Ghostbuster reveals franchise was 'most painful' part of his career... but he'd love to make another
Hudson, who played Winston Zeddemore, one of four spirit-exterminators who fearlessly take on evil ghosts and ghouls infiltrating Manhattan, said the movie was the 'most painful' of his career after studio bosses cut him out of publicity posters and chopped his character’s role...
'You know Ghostbusters was a lot of fun. The guys were a lot of fun to work with and we laughed a lot,' he said.
'But for me personally the movie was probably the most fun and one of the most painful movies I’ve ever done.
'For me it was a real adjustment because the studio kept making decisions that did not include me. So it was hard for me psychologically to stay positive.
'It’s only been in the last 15 years that I’ve actually started to relax and embrace the whole Ghostbuster idea because basically when the movie came out – I wasn’t on the poster, I wasn’t in the trailer...
'My character was dropped half way through the movie and then didn’t come in until half way through.
'You want to stay positive and you want to show up for work and do your best job but it was hard.
'But then in the second movie they did the exact same thing - they took the character completely out of the first half of the movie. And I’m going: "Why?" That of course has never really been answered.'
His omission from publicity materials has even led some fans to speculate whether - as the only black Ghostbuster – race was an issue in the studio’s decision.
But the actor remains philosophical and believes there could be any number of reasons why he was 'left out'.
'When you’re a black guy you can blame everything on racism,' he said.
'But I don’t go there. I think there are a lot of reason why things happen and race is often the least likely reason.
'When fans come up to me and suggest that race is an issue in the movie I always say at least they included me in the film - they didn’t have to do that.
'But then again I don’t know why - there’s so many things about this business that I don’t know why.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2738009/Ernie-Hudson-reveals-Ghostbusters-painful-career.html#ixzz5DDElNO8E
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Question Ernie, are you a comic genius? No? Hmm...
Ernie Hudson Net Worth: $15 Million
Oh the pain! Make it stop! Make it stop!
Let's hear about his struggle a bit more, I'll make a few internal comments in red, and then we'll get the last part of this puzzle put together.
Ernie Hudson on being the squeezed Ghostbuster: ‘If I blame racism there’s nothing I can learn from it’
I love Ghostbusters but I hate the way they squeezed out your character.
You know, I never bring it up unless someone else does and since you have … I tell people Ghostbusters was the most fun I had, but it was also the most difficult for reasons that I, to this day, do not understand. In the script that I read for the audition, Winston is in the film all the way through the movie. But they changed it just before we shot, so I had to wrap my head around that. I think the studio thought they could sell the guys as they were from Saturday Night Live, and so they wanted to include Winston marginally. But then when we came back five years later for the sequel, they did the same thing! That I didn’t understand. But once you become really angry, it’s all over, so I just kept working and stayed positive.
Did you become a comic genius by the time the second film was being made? No? Hmm...
So you think it was the studio who cut your character down and not Ramis and Aykroyd, who wrote the script?
You know, nobody tells you. I blame the studio because in my mind it’s easier for me to say “some exec” rather than the guy sitting next to me. I don’t think it came from the guys; the guys are great, but what do I know? But what I have come to appreciate over the 30 years is how amazingly loyal the fans are. No matter where I go, fans quote lines from Winston (3). I went to buy a car the other day and the mechanic had a tattoo of Winston’s face on his leg. So that I really appreciate.
If I go to the racial side of it and blame that, it takes all my power away, because if I blame racism there’s nothing I can learn from it, and the message to my sons becomes really blurred. I’m telling my boys, you can step out and grow and be and do – and then all of a sudden I’m saying, I’m being shut down because I’m black. So what I have to do is say, maybe there are other reasons. But yeah, had I been as big a star as Eddie Murphy, I don’t think the part would have been cut.
No, if Eddie Murphy, a comic genius, were in the role he would not have had his part cut. Isn't he black? Hmm...
Is it true they turned you down to voice the Winston character in the cartoon of Ghostbusters (4)?
Yeah, that’s a little weird. They called me up and I said, “Yeah, I wanna do it” because the cartoon could have made a big difference in my life, so they brought me in and the director [of the cartoon] started telling me what “Ernie Hudson in the movie” did and explaining what Ernie Hudson did. It was the weirdest thing! Then I called my agent and they said they thought I was going to be doing something and I’d be too busy or some excuse like that. But I’m telling you, I’d have loved to have done the cartoon and it bothered me that somebody else did Winston, but, once again, Ghostbusters has been a learning and growing experience for me.
The voice actors for Winston in America were both black, so... Less money? Better job/fit for some reason? Not racism certainly.
You sound so zen about all this, Ernie. I’d be spitting feathers.
You know, I have sons, and in this environment black men can be very marginalised and bad things happen and the attitude I take on about my life, they pick up, and I didn’t want them to go out there like that. So I say, listen man, there are a lot of hard things and you gotta keep going. I can’t make that speech if I’m not living it. So I just say, I’ve studied and trained and I’m ready to work, and you hope that someone out there will let me work and someone always has. So maybe that’s the lesson I needed to learn in this life.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/16/ernie-hudson-ghostbusters-winston
The original concept for Winston was younger and hipper. The crew thought of a young black comedian like Eddie Murphy for the role. At one point, Gregory Hines was talked to, but the directors later decided that the crew needed a "straight man," and decided casting a fourth comedian to the film would put too much comedic light in the film. [13]
And there you have it, that's why Ernie wasn't as big of a character as the others. He wasn't a comic genius, he was the straight man. Plain and simple.
Related:
JM Talboo Reviews Ghostbusters - Official Endorsers of Hillary Clinton for President 2016 - A Good Film Gone Bad by Aggressive Agenda-Driven Promotion:
http://911debunkers.blogspot.com/2016/07/jm-talboo-reviews-ghostbusters-official.html
