Afterlife’s Jason Reitman Over One Comment

The comments Leslie Jones calls out in her memoir were made on February 18, 2019, when Jason Reitman — son of Ivan Reitman, who directed the first two «Ghostbusters» movies — joined comic Bill Burr for an episode of his «Monday Morning Podcast.» While discussing his new directorial project, «Ghostbusters: Afterlife,» Reitman said, «I’m not making the ‘Juno’ of ‘Ghostbusters’ movies,» a reference to his 2007 coming-of-age indie. He added, «I want to make a movie for my fellow ‘Ghostbusters’ fans.»

Reitman’s remarks drew ire from people who felt he was dismissing the work done in the 2016 film. Two days later, Reitman took to X to clarify, writing, «I have nothing but admiration for Paul [Feig] and Leslie [Jones] and Kate [McKinnon] and Melissa [McCarthy] and Kristen [Wiig] and the bravery with which they made Ghostbusters 2016. They expanded the universe and made an amazing movie!»

Reitman might have enjoyed the 2016 version of the film, but «Afterlife,» which stars Mckenna Grace, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and Paul Rudd, completely ignores the events in Feig’s version. Instead, «Afterlife» acts as an extension of the stories told in the 1984 and 1989 movies. Jones says she was unable to accept Reitman’s social media apology, writing in her book that «the damage was done.» She adds that Reitman’s comments were «a pretty clear shout-out to all those losers who went after us for making an all-female [movie].»