Fallout against reboot isn't about women: original 'Ghostbusters' Director

With the 'sexism' controversy still swirling over the upcoming female-led 'Ghostbusters' reboot, producer Ivan Reitman, who also produced and directed the original film, is speaking out about the cause of the movie's backlash, explaining that it is simply down to annoyance with the franchise being rebooted at all.

"I think there's way too much talk about gender [when it comes to this film]," he said, reports the Independent.

"I think that many of the people who were complaining were actually lovers of the [original] movie, not haters of women," added Reitman.

Reitman went on to confess that, given the fondness for the 1984 Bill Murray-starring original, a new version was always going to be an uphill struggle.

"I think the lovers of the original movie felt there was some kind of sacrilege to re-do it, because it was a seminal part of their moviegoing experience as a 7- or 8-year-old. That's something that can't be minimized, and I totally respect that love," he said.

Ghostbusters, which stars a new ghostbusting team of Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, opens in UK cinemas on 11 July.