Dakota Johnson Says Hollywood Is a "Mes" and "Decisions Are Made by People Who Don’t Watch Movies"
Dakota Johnson isn’t holding back when it comes to how she sees the current state of Hollywood, and honestly, she’s saying what a lot of creatives and movie fans, like myself, have been thinking.
While promoting her upcoming film Materialists on the latest episode of Hot Ones, Johnson was asked by host Sean Evans why Hollywood has become so risk-averse. Her response was candid and damning:
“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.”
She didn’t stop there. Johnson went on to call out the industry’s endless loop of remakes 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?”
Johnson’s frustrations aren’t new, especially in the wake of Madame Web, which underperformed spectacularly, grossing just $43 million domestically and sitting at a painful 11% on Rotten Tomatoes. Johnson has made it clear that while she tried to bring something to the role, the end result wasn’t exactly in her hands.
“It wasn’t my fault. There’s this thing that happens now where a lot of creative decisions are made by committee. Or made by people who don’t have a creative bone in their body. And it’s really hard to make art that way. Or to make something entertaining that way.”
And while some actors might try to smooth things over or dodge blame, Johnson isn’t playing that game.
“I think unfortunately with Madame Web, it started out as something and turned into something else. And I was just sort of along for the ride at that point. But that happens. Bigger budget movies fail all the time.”
It’s not the first time she’s been vocal about the disconnect between Hollywood executives and actual storytelling. Johnson previously made it clear that she believes the industry is relying too heavily on algorithms and formulas rather than trusting artists and respecting audiences:
“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.”
Johnson’s comments echo a broader frustration across the industry. As studios cling to IPs and safe bets, many creatives are pushing back, demanding something different. Something original. Something human.