They say art imitates life, right? Seems that was the case for Melissa McCarthy. Doing press for Ghostbusters, Melissa and crew are fielding questions about their own ghost stories. Both Melissa and Leslie Jones have weighed in with spooky experiences. Melissa claims to have had a haunted bedroom in Colorado and Leslie had a story of a run in at The Comedy Store in LA.
Considering she stars in the new “Ghostbusters” film, it seemed right to ask Melissa McCarthy is she had ever witnessed a paranormal experience.
The Plainfield native smiled and said, “I did. It was when I was 19 and living in Boulder, Colorado, in an old house with a bunch of pals. There were like a million of us,” quipped the actress laughing at her own exaggeration. “We were back in college. The day we got the house, I stormed upstairs and grabbed the attic [bedroom]— and claimed it for me and a couple of others. I thought I was very clever, because I stole the biggest room, and there were only going to be a couple of us up there.
“Well, this will teach you about being pushy. As each of my friends went up there they each said, ‘Uh, I don’t think so. It’s weird up here. It’s very weird.’ Suddenly, I sensed it, too, and wanted to move back downstairs into one of the other bedrooms, but everyone said, ‘Oh no! You enjoy it up there with all your new friends who are from another realm!’
“What’s funny, is that every time anyone came to visit, they’d sense it too. They felt the strangeness. It wasn’t exactly menacing, but you definitely could sense the presence of some kind of spiritual activity. It was palpable.”
One of McCarthy’s co-stars — “Saturday Night Live” mainstay Leslie Jones — said she remembered her own ghostly experience while filming “Ghostbusters.”
“As you probably know, the Comedy Store [in L.A.] is haunted. One night, I was picking up a friend from work, and suddenly I had this overwhelming feeling. Everyone had left, but I sensed this voice in my head telling me, ‘Get out! Why are you still here?! This is now our place now.’ “It wasn’t mean, but it was a pushing away feeling, making me really want to get out of there!”
I understand that ghostly encounters are up for debate. Personally, I believe in them because I want to believe ghosts exist. In my house growing up, when you listened to any of the four radios we had, the station would suddenly turn to a Baptist radio station. You could actually see the station indicator moving. My wedding reception was at the Hotel del Coronado, which is famously home to the ghost Kate Morgan. The first time my then-fiancé and I went to the hotel together, he pointed to a picture of Kate, having no idea she haunted the hotel, and said that when he had stayed at the hotel with a previous girlfriend, she described seeing “a woman dressed like that” on the balcony.
A few of us at CB plan to see Ghostbusters this weekend. I’m excited and now I have reviews to back up my excitement! Coming in so far at a respectable 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, some of the reviews are very positive:
Manohla Dargis for New York Times: “Sliding into theaters on a river of slime and an endless supply of good vibes, the new, cheerfully silly “Ghostbusters” is that rarest of big-studio offerings – a movie that is a lot of enjoyable, disposable fun.”
Michael Miller for People: “Paul Feig and his undeniably hilarious cast of leading ladies deserve the last laugh.”
Alison Willmore for BuzzFeed: “Jones, McCarthy, McKinnon, and Wiig are so good together – and in ways that are distinctively theirs and not recycled from the past – that their message of not giving a damn resonates better than the movie’s underwhelming climax.”
And to indulge in my Chris Hemworth lust:
Liz Braun for Toronto Sun: “Chris Hemsworth is a wonderful surprise in the movie”
As most of us know by now, the original Ghostbusters – Dan Aykrod, Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray – all have cameos in the film. What I did not know is there also is an homage to Harold Ramis (who passed in 2014) and that his son, daughter and grandson appear in the film. And BuzzFeed had a great article about some little girls dressed as Ghostbusters at the premiere who were so excited to meet the cast.
this is important pic.twitter.com/vktpp4JZqj
— anna (@roonaymara) July 10, 2016
Photo credit: WENN Photos and Getty Images
Can I say I love all the clothes I see in this article?? everyone looks super good
Glad the reviews are good, going next week!
I don’t even know if I’m that interested in seeing this, but I hope it does well. Something about the huge backlash against it before it was even close to being released really pissed me off.
That’s pretty much why I’m going, also because I love the cast. I really hope it’s good!
stop telling lies. ghost busters has been receiving bad reviews from movie critics and film goers. its an all girl cast so every feminist wants the movie to do well at the box office and receive acclaim but this movie is bad. lets call a spade a spade. and Leslie jone’ character was a typical black stereotype.
Yes, lets call a spade a spade. It’s got 75 % on RT, that is normally considered good, not bad reviews. So what are you talking about?
It’s got a bad mark on IMDB, but that was there before the film opened, because some people can’t stomach a reboot, especially an all-female one. Gasp!
I couldn’t care either way, to be honest, I never liked the franchise, but man are the haters working the overtime this week.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghostbusters_2016/
77% positive from movie crticis.
It’s only been out in the UK and Ireland, and only for 2 days, so not sure where this film goer response you’re referencing is coming from.
You’ve been on reddit with all of the other 35 year old virgins living in their mom’s basement crying about the “evil women” right?
Sorry bro. It’s getting good reviews and everyone is happy about it so go throw a tantrum somewhere else.
Hey @Prince, I hear feminists are coming to your house to steal your copy of the original Ghostbusters. Also on Monday no matter the box office we announce that men are no longer allowed to star in movies…ever! Live in fear! 😉
Look folks, if a remake of Ghostbusters (good or bad, hit or bomb) is causing you this much distress, it is time to reexamine your life. Seriously.
Bahahahahahahaha! Seriously!
Also how dare this dude go around calling himself “prince.” The real Prince would have side-eyed that up and down.
I’ve shared my ghost stories. I’m a believer and my mom passed away the day after Christmas last year and now she’s making herself known……😬
@aims, I’m sorry about your mom. I hope her visits aren’t scary or disturbing to you. My dad passed away nearly 2 years ago and I’ve had a couple encounters with him. We weren’t close but I was with him in the weeks leading up to his death, and we made our peace with one another so it’s nice to get an occasional “visit” from him. I’ve had many otherworldly encounters over the years from different spirits and I think it’s because I’m open to it. They seem to gravitate to the believers! I love ghost stories and I hope this post gets lots of them…….
Awww the last tweet. I am so glad girls now have representation in such major franchises and such awesome heroines to look up to. I am in my 20s and literally cried when I saw the scene with Rey and Kylo’s lightsaber because I never though I will ever get to see such badassness by women in Star Wars.
I hope the movie does insane business this weekend. It’s tracking at 40-45mm for the weekend and the entertainment media is already calling it a bomb.
Freaking pisses me off.
I was complaining about that for another movie too – don’t call something a bomb until it actually opens and has a chance to do some business! Wait for the actual numbers and facts to come in. I can’t stand that brand of “journalism”.
Glowing is a bit of a stretch, it’s getting mostly ‘pretty good, not great’ and ‘eh, better than the trailers’ reviews. Which is fine for a summer comedy, we don’t need to pretend it’s a critics darling. 75% on RT and 61% on Metacritic isn’t glowing, it’s average to very slightly above average.
I saw it yesterday. The first half is good, it all starts to fall apart towards the end though. Wiig and McCarthy are pretty much phoning it in but they could play their characters in their sleep so it’s fine. McKinnon is amazing, she needs to be in all the things. I’ve never enjoyed Jones as a performer and I didn’t here either. Her character is fine, and unproblematic, but Jones schtick is just so outdated. She’s not a great film actress either, her line delivery seems tailored to live standup/SNL audiences, not film. So that was a letdown. Cameos were fun but they also grind the film to a halt at certain key moments, it would be a better film without most of them. Hemsworth is pretty good, way better in a comedy than when he’s trying to win an Oscar. The most laughs come in the opening scene, from Zach Woods, who like McKinnon should be in all the things.
Overall it’s a fun summer blockbuster, definitely worth seeing if you just want something light and silly. It’s not a great movie though and it’s got nothing on the original (which isn’t perfect either lest someone think I’m one of those ‘my childhood’ loons). I think some behind the scenes studio interference must have gone on, because Feig’s films are usually put together better, and this one feels a bit haphazard.
I love every single one of these women and can’t wait to see it this weekend.
Me too!
I love Melissa’s yellow floral dress.
She looks gorgeous in it!! And I’m normally not a huge fan of yellow.
78%? Result!!! So looking forward to seeing it!!!
I’m looking forward to seeing this group of women together, in any movie, but this is going to be fun! Thanks for the heads up on all of the cameos.
Roeper’s review was absolutely scathing, but I see now that we have to dismiss all constructive critique of this film as “haters” so we can push the “girl power vanquish over neckbeards” narrative.
A false dichotomy if there ever was one. Fair and objective reviews from some men does not negate the possibility that others might be subconsciously biased against films that do not cater to their expectations and viewpoints.
It’s currently rated a 4 on imdb, but if you look at the ratings breakdown there’s a massive difference between male and female ratings. So many angry boys taking out their hatred of women by downvoting a movie. It’s just pathetic
Will have to wait for the final figures. There are die-hard fans of the original who just don’t like the whole idea of a new version with such a different type of cast, so they were negative about it from long before it arrived in theaters. But it sounds as though it’s being enjoyed by a whole new crop of ghostbuster fans, so time will tell. I’ll have to wait for it to come on tv myself…. Just as I did with the originals!
Melissa looks awesome! Love the dress.
Great to read is doing well. I will catch it on cable.
I hope it bombs. It looks so stupid and is an insult to the original.
I loved the originals when I was a kid, so I’m looking forward to seeing how they reinterpreted it for a new generation. (The old films are SO EIGHTIES and you don’t even realize it until you rewatch them, haha. All that big floofy hair.)
I wish all-female cast movies didn’t have to carry so much performance stress on them. I’d rather just accept that some movies are better than others without having to worry about it casting a pall on the rest of the industry if it fails.
Yep….there are definately ghosts, there are many types, some just energy shells rather than spirits returning. Energy shells are like zombies doing the same thingover and over , often appearing on the same day of traumatic events each year , like battles. Spirits tend to interact or are at least aware of you.
I’ve personally seen 3, a rather misty looking one half way through my ceiling, which was the energy shell of a person who had died of hyperthermia in the old London house I lived in (so said a Catholic Priest who had been called in to deal with it), the second was a lady in a white coat walking up the stairs in front of me (another old London building) she walked straight through the wall on the landing. The third and best of all, I was off to see a lawyer in an old building and this figure got out of the lift I was about to walk into (one of those old steel cage lifts)…..It was a Bishop in full regalia, cope and mitre hat and wreaking of incense, he smiled and nodded to me as he left which inexplicably made me very happy and calm. When I got to the lawyers office I told him what I had just seen and he said…..”Oh that’s our ghost, a nice old chap”. The Bishop was the only one who looked like a solid person, the other two were a bit ethereal