The past decade witnessed Hollywood heavily leaning into IP-driven movies, shifting away from original ideas, apart from some notable exceptions, often with a major name on board. Dakota Johnson, who is set to make her Marvel debut with the upcoming Madame Web, touched on the gravity of the situation as she delved into Hollywood’s business model that is killing original movies.
What originally started as a niche for the industry has now consumed mainstream Hollywood, which has now led to major production studios being hesitant towards original films.
Dakota Johnson Gives an Insight of How Hollywood Has Distanced Itself From Original Ideas
Speaking with L’Officiel, Dakota Johnson gave an insight into the bleak state of the film industry, stating that studios aren’t inclined to distribute low-budget original Indie movies. She stressed that streaming platforms are afraid of taking risks with original ideas and often try to play the game safely, leading to more uninspiring and dull products. Johnson expressed that it’s disheartening that studios don’t trust creative people anymore, which has made movies of her interest that are unique and different really difficult to make.
“I am discovering that it’s really f-cking bleak in this industry.” She continued, “It is majorly disheartening. The people who run streaming platforms don’t trust creative people or artists to know what’s going to work, and that is just going to make us implode. It’s really heartbreaking. It’s just fucking so hard. It’s so hard to get anything made. All of the stuff I’m interested in making is really different, and it’s unique and it’s very forward in whatever it is.”
In order to combat this issue, Dakota Johnson founded her own production house, TeaTime Pictures, which gave a home to films such as Cha Cha Real Smooth and Am I OK.
Dakota Johnson Initially Signed up for a Very Different Version of Fifty Shades of Grey
Prior to making statements against the recent Hollywood practices, Dakota Johnson gave an elaborate answer on why she decided to star in the Fifty Shades franchise. Penned by author EL James, the adaptations of the erotic novels skyrocketed Johnson to notable success, but the production was far from easy for the actor. While she decided to star in the movie because she is a s-xual person and was interested in the initial draft that was sent to her, the movie they ended up creating was far from what she signed up for. She told Vanity Fair:
“I’m a s-xual person, and when I’m interested in something, I want to know so much about it. That’s why I did those big naked movies. I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making… It just became something crazy,” she continued. “There were a lot of different disagreements. I haven’t been able to talk about this truthfully ever, because you want to promote a movie the right way, and I’m proud of what we made ultimately and everything turns out the way it’s supposed to, but it was tricky.”
Johnson was also honest about her experience in the upcoming Sony release, stating she had no idea how things turned out as acting in front of a blue screen was a whole new ball game for her.
Madame Web will hit theatres on 16 February 2024.
