Answering the Second Call

I thought I would write about my other side passion which is Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the original films and always will be, but the 2016 reboot gave me that little bit extra. I think it was to do with the female, girl power and fun attitudes shown in the film.  The film also reiterated the fact that you don’t have to have superpowers to be a superhero. For me the film was not only a huge step for women for a huge step for little ladies all around the world to show they can do just was boys do and still succeed.

The film received a lot of hate and negativity before it was even released and once it had its premier and was seen in movie theatres, that hate and disrespect grew. Why? Because people didn’t want to see what they thought was a bad story-line, bad acting and showed no respect for the past films. This was mainly from ‘man-babies’ throwing disregard, shade and negativity towards the movie.

I thought the film was awesome and I adored it, seeing it three times at the cinema and then purchasing the Blu Ray when it was released.

 

One evening I decided to create a fan page on Instagram which featured a boomerang video of the DVD asking people to share their photos of Ghostbusters 2016, I posted this at about 10pm and by the time I woke up the next morning the Instagram account had blown up with positive responses and tags and photos. It really showed there were so many people out there, so many fanatics sharing their love for the film but also their need for a sequel for Holtzmann, Yates, Tolan and Gilbert.

But I also copped a LOT of hate, a LOT of disregard, a LOT of threats and a LOTof negativity and troll comments. People went as far as telling me to hang myself and that I should take my own life.

It was awful.

After a few months things changed, I met people through the Instagram account, made some amazing friends (that I’m yet to meet) and also momentum began to grow for the social media which then required me to create a Facebook Page- Answer The Second Call and also a Twitter account- KateMcKinnonAUS (Answer The Second Call was too long, and who doesn’t love Kate McKinnon?!).

I would personally like to thank Andrè and his team from the Ghostbusters Dutch Division, Chad from Ghostbusters.net, Tom from Ghostbusters New Jersey and Andrew Bayliss, a fellow Melbournite.

I created some merchandise, thanks to some wonderful people that volunteered to make items, as they too loved the film and I also ordered some tees and had stickers and patches made which I began to sell on Etsy, with the money raised paying for promotions on social media.

 

I never backed down or cowered to the haters and I had a beautiful team behind me, backing me up and supporting me.

That was nearly four years ago now and I’ve continued to sell merchandise, post images and videos thanks to those fans using the #AnswerTheSecondCall hashtag and also creating and posting my own sourced photos.

Those clever fans created their own edits and photoshopped images to include the hashtags.

I’d like to quote Hannah, from @Han_Marshy on Twitter:  ‘……Coz you know what? I look damn good as Holtzmann, and that’s where my confidence and inner strength comes from. I wish I had that in every day life, but being Holtzmann makes me feel strong and like a superhero.’  Ghostbusters: Answer The Call has a huge fan following, it’s created a new group of cosplayers and creatives and it’s developed a new group of idols and heroes for girls.

Ghostbusters Fan Fest was then held in Los Angeles (I was unable to attend) and a fellow Ghostbusters friend Andrew advised me that he was hoping to share a surprise with me whilst he was at the event and I was overjoyed when I awoke one morning to find not only a photo of Paul Feig with one of my Ghostbusters #AnswerTheSecondCall buttons  but a video of Paul thanking me for my support and keeping the torch alive for Ghostbusters Answer The Call.

Dead.

I was dead.

I could not believe this had happened and I was so happy I was bursting. I thanked Andrew and as he was online he immediately called through via video call and I got to speak with him and Tom Gebhardt from Ghost Corps New Jersey and who you might know from the Netflix movie Ghostheads.

I shared Andrew’s video message from Paul online and within a couple of hours it was featured in numerous articles online, a YouTube video and even appeared in Google Alerts. You can read the articles online from Epic Stream,  Following the Nerd, Science Fiction.com,  ComicBook, Movie Web, Bloody Disgusting and CBR.

With so many ups and probably equally as many downs I have loved every minute of conversing with new friends, sharing in the fandom of Ghostbusters and loving being able to stand up for what I love and enjoy and not worry about the haters and trolls.

So here’s hoping, that not only the wonderful Ghostbuster ladies, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy will Answer The Second Call and bring us a sequel, but Sony will come to the party and give the fans a new story and follow up on Ghostbusters: Answer The Call.

Thank you so much Paul Feig for an amazing last few years and for bringing us a female team of Ghostbusters.

Thank you so much for reading and I’ll leave you with some snippets of the good times and amazing other Ghostbusters Answer The Call fans.

 

Simply,
Natalie Laura