Dakota Johnson on ‘Madame Web’ Blowback: “I’ll Never Do Anything Like It Again”
Dakota Johnson on ‘Madame Web’ Blowback: “I’ll Never Do Anything Like It Again”
The actress gets candid about her superhero film flopping: "It's not nice to be a part of something that's ripped to shreds, but I can't say that I don't understand."
“It’s so hard to get movies made, and in these big movies that get made — and it’s even starting to happen with the little ones, which is what’s really freaking me out — decisions are being made by committees, and art does not do well when it’s made by committee,” she added. “Films are made by a filmmaker and a team of artists around them. You cannot make art based on numbers and algorithms. My feeling has been for a long time that audiences are extremely smart, and executives have started to believe that they’re not. Audiences will always be able to sniff out bullshit. Even if films start to be made with AI, humans aren’t going to fucking want to see those.”
Well, making a good superhero movie is harder than people think. At the end of the day, studios are risk adverse, and making a woman focused superhero movie is seen as riskier as it is more niche, which means they are more prone to interventions and design by committee, so it is a self perpetuating problem.
Speaking of which, Lemmy plug "Birds of Prey" (also starring some crazy clown woman) here today, in my humble and totally unbiased opinion, it's a pretty fun superhero movie that more people should watch.
I worked on that movie. I can tell you that the crew knew it was going to be a stinker for the entire time it was being made.
It was GREAT money while it lasted even though Sony was unbelievably stingy at times. We (the crew) quickly came to look at it as a box office writeoff.
As we always say,
I don't write em. I just light em.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
As she’s previously hinted during the movie’s publicity tour, Johnson said the project’s script about a paramedic with psychic powers was radically changed from what she originally read.
But sometimes in this industry, you sign on to something, and it’s one thing and then as you’re making it, it becomes a completely different thing, and you’re like, ‘Wait, what?’ But it was a real learning experience, and of course it’s not nice to be a part of something that’s ripped to shreds, but I can’t say that I don’t understand.
My feeling has been for a long time that audiences are extremely smart, and executives have started to believe that they’re not.
Even if films start to be made with AI, humans aren’t going to fucking want to see those.”
“Like, ‘Dakota Johnson Breaks Her Silence On Madame Web’s Fucking Box Office Failure,’” the actress said with a laugh.
Over the weekend, Johnson’s co-star Sydney Sweeney likewise commented about the film’s reaction while hosting NBC’s Saturday Night Live, quipping in her monologue, “You have seen me in Anyone but You and Euphoria.
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Sad to say but she's wrong. The general populace doesn't give a shit about authenticity in film. They want brainless films with lame, repetitive jokes and Minions and/or Groots.
People will trip over eachother to watch a film by their favorite superhero company before even considering whether the last one they saw was worth watching or not.Just like car enthusiasts, keyboard enthusiasts, FOSS enthisiasts, et al. mainstream films are not made for the enthusiasts—they are made for the average consumer to make a profit.