What is Ivan Reitman, the director and producer of the original Ghostbusters and producer of the upcoming reboot, most excited to hear from fans about?

The movie's four stars: Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Kristen Wiig.

"How wonderful those four women are together," Reitman told Mashable, in an interview at the ribbon-cutting for the new Madame Tussauds New York attraction, Ghostbusters: Dimension.

"Individually and together, they're as unique as Bill Murray and Aykroyd and Ramis and Hudson were," he said. "They look like they should be together. You can't explain it until you see them moving and talking."

The Ghostbusters reboot has received criticism questioning the need for a reboot, as well as the decision to cast four women as the ghostbusting stars.

Image: Sony Pictures

For his part, Reitman thinks the backlash has more to do with nostalgia than anger over a perception that political correctness influenced creative choices.

"I think there's way too much talk about gender [when it comes to this film]," he said. "I think that many of the people who were complaining were actually lovers of the [original] movie, not haters of women."

Reitman also isn't a fan of the way the reboot's critics have been lumped together by the movie's defenders under the catch-all banner of "internet trolls."

"Everybody is my audience. Whether they like what I did or didn't like it," he said. "I've certainly had my experience with things that did not work. This movie works, [but] no one's really seen it."

"I think there's way too much talk about gender."

Reitman admits that the reboot's original reveal trailer was also a problem. Among other things, that first look didn't make it clear that the new movie is not a remake but a reboot, set in a fictional universe that stands apart from the original movies.

"I think we got off to a bad start," Reitman said. "It wasn't so much that the trailer was bad or terrible. In its minute and a half, it couldn't represent what the movie actually is."

He respects the fans who have formed around the series he helped create. The original Ghostbusters has held a special meaning for lots of people for decades.

"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," Reitman said. "That's something that can't be minimized, and I totally respect that love."

Image: Sony Pictures

There's no denying that part of the backlash against the new movie is fueled by misogyny, but there's merit to his belief that some concerned fans are creating a lot of noise out of nostalgia, as well.

And for those fans, Reitman has a simple request.

"All I am asking is that they give the film a shot," he said. "I think it is a very satisfying and wonderful experience on its own [and] I think most people are going to go with it."

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