Dakota Johnson 'Will Never Do Anything' Like Madame Web Again
06-03-2024
Hey, do you remember "Madame Web?" The latest attempt from Sony to cash in on all-things-Spider-Man opened a few weeks ago -- and promptly flopped at the box office. The reviews were also not kind (although we did give it a slightly more positive review than most others -- read ours here). The fate of "Madame Web", in fact, seemed sealed from the beginning. Dakota Johnson, who starred in the movie and was on the tour of the media leading up to its release, seemed to distance herself from it before anyone had even seen the trailer. Johnson has opened up to the world about her experience in light of the failure of the movie. Her comments are insightful and well said.
Johnson spoke with Bustle about the sad state in which movies such as "Madame Web", are made today. She criticized the fact that superhero movies are made more often by committee than through artistic vision. Johnson stated: "It is so difficult to make movies, but in the big ones that are made -- it has even started to happen to smaller movies, which really freaks me out -- all decisions are made by committees. And art doesn't do well when made by committee." Johnson added:
Films are created by filmmakers and the artists who surround them. Art cannot be created based solely on algorithms and numbers. I've felt for years that audiences are very smart. Executives have begun to think otherwise. The audience will be able sniff out a sham.
I don't understand the world.
Johnson is right. It doesn't seem like "Madame Web," a film with a unique vision, but rather like something that studio executives dreamed of with dollar signs on their faces. It's in the same universe as Spider-Man! They probably believed. What could possibly go wrong? The audience didn't seem to care much about Madame Web. The public loves Spider-Man and the Spider-Man Venom character. This is why Sony’s “Venom” movies were successful at the box-office. People don't care about Marvel second-tier characters such as Morbius or Madame Web. It doesn't mean lesser-known Marvel characters won't be able to inspire the audience to come out. You have to make viewers care, you need to offer them something positive.
Johnson, however, is fairly certain that her days as a superhero film actress are behind her. She told Bustle that:
I had never done something like that before. It's unlikely I will ever do something like that again, because it makes no sense to me in this world. Now I understand that. In this business, sometimes you can sign up for something and when you start making it it turns out to be something completely different. You're left wondering, "Wait, what?" It was an excellent learning experience. Of course, it is not pleasant to have been a part something that has been ripped apart, but it can't be said that I didn't get it."
You're done. Never again will we mention "Madame Web".