Interview: Ernie Hudson Talks Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Connecting With Families

ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson about reprising his role as Winston in the series’ latest entry, Frozen Empire. Hudson discussed the franchise’s longevity, the new stars, and his character development in the latest movie. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is now available to buy or rent now digitally.

“In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level,” says the synopsis. “But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an army of ghosts that casts a death chill upon the city, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.”

This is so rare where I live, but when I went to see the movie, everybody was dressed up. There were whole families dressed up as Ghostbusters. It was incredible to see. What does it mean when you work on a franchise that just holds such a special place in so many people? It’s across generations now, which has to be incredible.

Ernie Hudson: Yeah, it’s amazing. I’m so appreciative that the fans not just discover this movie and love it but realize they can share it with their [loved ones]. I’ve seen people in their nineties sharing it with their great-grandkids, and everyone’s laughing and enjoying the movie. That’s rare. I’ve done a lot of movies over the years, and some are very popular, but rarely do you see one where people can just sit down together and agree on something and laugh at something. So, it means a lot.

Over the years, no matter what country I’ve been in, people will show up with their Ghostbusters jumpsuits and turn their cars into Ectomobiles and they’ll tell me stories of just how the movie has impacted their lives. So it means a lot.

One aspect of this movie I really enjoyed was we got to see what the original Ghostbusters were up to. And Winston’s the real winner here. He is a hugely successful businessman. What was your reaction when you found out that like he’s the one that has his life together out of everybody?

That’s something that Sony, Jason Reitman, and Gil Kenan, we talked about. It was very, very important that Winston just not show up after all these years still looking for a steady paycheck that he has done well in life. That he’d be an example for a lot of kids who loved the character and identify with the character, but to see the possibilities, I think in Afterlife, he says he wants to be an example of what’s possible.

I think that’s what he does here. He’s managed to be successful, extremely successful, but he still holds on to the things that matter. These guys gave him a job when he most needed a job, and he still looks out for them, still loves the ghostbusting, but he still has a place in the community. It matters to him. I’ve seen a lot of examples of people who’ve been successful, but somewhere along the line, they seem to have lost their humanity. Winston is one who hasn’t, and that’s very, very special.

This is not just a cameo for you. You are actively participating in the plot, you’re moving the story forward. What does it mean for you to actually get multiple scenes and have a real role in this film rather than just popping up for a cheap, nostalgic hit? I imagine it means a lot.

It does mean a lot. I think it means a lot to us, me, Bill, Danny, and Annie Potts, but also I think it means a lot to the fans because the fans love the new family, the Spanglers, and all the things that’s going on with them. But I think the fans also love the so-called OGs and want to see us still involved in doing what we do. So I think it sort of went all the way around, and I think the new family appreciates the fact that we’re there as well. So it’s just very important that we not just show up in the very end without having any involvement. I think would’ve been wrong for this movie.

The new family is fantastic, and obviously Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, we know how talented they are. What has really blown me away with these two movies is just how great Mckenna Grace is. How’s it been just seeing her really come into her own as an actress because she’s so talented and so young? It’s incredible to see.

She’s amazing. I love actors. I love watching everybody’s sort of process and get to where they need to get to in their own way. Mckenna just has a way of sort of, one of those rare things that some very few actors have, of being present with everything going on and yet somehow doing nothing. I mean, the screen, the camera loves her and, yeah, she just, just one of those rare talents, I think. But all the young people are just on point and it’s just a joy of watching them. Like I said, I learned from watching them. They’re good.

Ghostbusters 2 has an anniversary later this year, and I was always curious about the moment when you get slimed. How disgusting was that process and how long did it take to get clean?

They had buckets of this… I don’t know if it was a food gel or what, but just gooey crap that they poured over us, which is really awful because it gets into your clothes. It’s just not lying on top. It’s all down your back, and it makes your clothes kind of stick to you. But then, when you’re shooting outside, like we’re shooting in New York, it freezes up, which makes it even worse. I mean, water will dry, but this stuff never dries. It just sticks on, and then, after time, it gets kind of hard, and it just was awful. But that’s kind of what we do. You look back on it, it doesn’t seem so bad, but I remember the night we shot in New York, the temperature dropped down to close to zero, and that stuff was freezing up. As soon as the wind hit it, it was just terrible.

You were on the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! I don’t know if you remember this, but you were a Slimebuster. Do you have any memories of working with Captain Lou Albano?

I just remember having fun. All that stuff seemed really kind of silly, but I had a great time doing it. Somebody sent me the clip a couple of days ago. I just remember it was silly and fun.

Thanks to Ernie Hudson for taking time to talk about Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

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