Dakota Johnson isn’t one to mince words when it comes to the current state of the film industry. That’s why I like her, and despite what her detractors claim, she’s a decent actress as well (go ahead, judge me).
Clearly, Ms. Johnson has been scarred by her experience filming “Madame Web.” The Sony-backed superhero misfire is a project she’s all but distanced herself from since its release. In the aftermath, Johnson has pivoted hard toward indie filmmaking, openly criticizing the dominance of IP-driven blockbusters in interview after interview.
Appearing on Hot Ones to promote her latest project, “Materialists,” Johnson made it clear she’s had enough of Hollywood’s addiction to IP and reboots.
When something does well, studios want to keep that going, so they remake the same things, but humans don’t want that. They want fresh, they want to feel new things, experience new things, see new things, so I don’t know, I guess it’s all just a bit of a mess right now, isn’t it?
The actress, who also produces, pointed to a larger problem behind the scenes: a system where genuine creativity is often drowned out by corporate groupthink.
I think it’s hard when creative decisions are made by committee, and it’s hard when creative decisions are made by people who don’t even really watch movies or know anything about them, and that tends to be what’s occurring a lot.
There’s something about eating hot wings that brings out the rawest takes.
Johnson insists that there’s still a market for the kinds of films she wants to make — thoughtful, original, artistically-driven stories. And sure, maybe there’s a certain truth to it, but how do you reconcile that optimism with the fact that a shot-for-shot remake of “How to Train Your Dragon” is poised to rake in $100 million at the box office? What does that say about where we are, and more importantly, where we’re headed?
There’s a persistent narrative that audiences today are “smarter than ever.” But when you scroll through the most-viewed videos on YouTube — content driven by repetition, simplistic humor, and algorithm-chasing thumbnails — it becomes harder to buy into that claim. The real fear is that the audience, when given a choice, will pick soulless content over substance. And the uncomfortable truth is, they already are.
The deeper issue goes beyond just poor taste — it’s also about education. Visual language isn’t something we’re born with; it’s something we learn, and/or adapt to over time. And what we’re witnessing now is a generation raised not on cinema, but on simplified visual feedback loops — TikToks, vlogs, algorithm-induced optimized dopamine hits.
The tools of interpreting stories — patience, attention, analysis — are being eroded. Not because people are getting dumber, but because we’re no longer teaching them how to watch, how to feel, how to think through a frame. Sorry to be a downer on this Friday afternoon.