
Dakota Johnson SLAMS Hollywood Bosses, Says They Are 'Remaking Same Things'
Dakota Johnson thinks Hollywood is in a "bit of a mess" because studios want to focus on remakes and sequels instead of offering audiences something "fresh".
Dakota Johnson thinks Hollywood is in a 'bit of a mess" because studios want to focus on remakes and sequels.
The Materialists actress suggested people making decisions in the industry 'don't know anything" about movies and just want to capitalise on the success of one project, rather than taking a risk and offering audiences 'fresh" new stories.
Appearing on YouTube series Hot Ones, host Sean Evans asked her why she feels 'Hollywood is so risk-averse," as someone who has seen the industry 'up close and personal."
She said: '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.
'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?"
Dakota recently insisted her film Madam Web's poor performance wasn't her fault because the film – in which she played Cassie Web, a paramedic who develops psychic abilities following an accident – had 'turned into something else" after she signed up for the project.
She told the Los Angeles Times newspaper: '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 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."
Dakota insisted she doesn't 'have a Band-Aid over it" and isn't too worried about the experience.
She said: 'There's no part of me that's like, 'Oh, I'll never do that again' to anything. I've done even tiny movies that didn't do well. Who cares?"
Dakota previously suggested she wouldn't make another superhero film following her experience on Madame Web.
She told Bustle: 'I had never done anything like it before. I probably will never do anything like it again because I don't make sense in that world. And I know that now.
'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."
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Hindustan Times
16 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Dakota Johnson calls Hollywood ‘a huge mess', slams remakes: ‘Decisions are made by people who don't watch movies'
Actor Dakota Johnson isn't holding back about her thoughts on the current state of Hollywood, calling it a "mess'. In a recent interview, she expressed her frustration with the industry's decision-making process, claiming that key choices are made by "people who don't watch movies or know anything about them'. Also read: Dakota Johnson reveals dating 'non-negotiable' after alleged split with Coldplay singer Chris Martin Dakota shared her views while appearing on Hot Ones during the press tour of her recent film, Materialists. She spoke up about it when the host Sean Evans asked why 'Hollywood is risk-averse", reports Variety. The actor also criticised the trend of remaking the same content, lamenting the lack of originality in many modern projects. '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,' Dakota responded in a blunt way. The actor feels that the whole fascination to make remakes is not working in favour of Hollywood. She added, 'When something does well, studios want to keep that going so they remake 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?' Dakota has candidly discussed her experiences with the film Madame Web in interviews over the past year, describing it as a nightmare. The 2024 Sony comic book movie failed to impress both critics and audiences at the box office. She headlined the film as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic who gains the ability to see the future after a near-death experience. The film earned a dismal $43 million at the domestic box office and 11% on Rotten Tomatoes. She said on Hot Ones that she 'tried' and 'failed' to be a superhero. Dakota is back on the big screen with Celine Song's Materialists, which also features Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal. Starring Dakota as Lucy, a New York City matchmaker, the film delves into themes of love, ambition, and the complexities of modern relationships. Set against the backdrop of New York's elite social scene, Lucy finds herself torn between her charming ex, John (Chris Evans), and a wealthy financier, Harry (Pedro Pascal).


India Today
34 minutes ago
- India Today
Are we living in spoiler-verse? Is pre-release content killing the hype for films?
There was a time - not that long ago - when walking into a theatre felt like stepping into the unknown. You might've caught a poster outside, a teaser that barely gave anything away, or a song you couldn't stop humming without even knowing its place in the story. And then came the film - and with it, like most of us, 'Darlings' director Jasmeet K Reen also enjoys the thrill of watching a film fresh in theatres. Speaking to she shared, 'I try to do that often - watch the trailer, then the film. It helps you create your own experience and form a personal connection with the story and its characters. It's a beautiful and intimate process. Later, if needed, you can read about the making or even rewatch the film to learn more, especially as a filmmaker.'advertisementCut to 2025. It often feels like we've already watched half the movie before it's even released. There's a teaser, a second teaser, then a character teaser, a motion poster, five songs, and a behind-the-scenes featurette. By the time we actually sit in the theatre, the surprise is long TO SPOILER NATION Let's start with the obvious villain in this story: trailers that feel like mini-movies and an overload of content that basically no one asked year, the makers of the magnum opus 'Kalki 2898 AD' didn't just drop a teaser - they dropped an entire rollout calendar. Multiple teasers, two full-blown trailers, character intros, promo clips, and leaked fan footage. Reddit threads were already piecing the plot together weeks in advance. 'Where's the intrigue in that?' asks every moviegoer who once loved the thrill of not knowing. advertisementThis year, 'Housefull 5' took things up (or down?) a notch. The teaser - though later taken down - managed to give away major gags, the vibe of every character, and even flashes of the climax. It wasn't a tease - it was practically a narrated Google Slides guilty too. Remember 'Madame Web'? The trailer gave away the villain, the emotional core, and nearly every twist. By the time the film hit screens, audiences had already memed it to death. The Marvels suffered similarly, with audiences feeling more connected to press junket content than the actual question that arises here is: is this newfound strategy actually working? According to popular Tamil film producer SR Prakashbabu, 'Good content combined with strong publicity works well and bad content and no publicity goes unnoticed.' OVEREXPOSURE: THE NEW MARKETING PLAYBOOK'Hype is great. But we're not building curiosity any more - we're feeding people the whole meal before they even arrive at the table,' says senior marketing executive Vamsi Kaka in an interview with and he's not Vijay Sethupathi once expressed his fear that too much public exposure may disconnect his audience from his on-screen characters. While promoting his film 'Merry Christmas' with the Film Companion, he said, 'I fear too much exposure, talking so much about films and about myself. I fear I may detach my audience from my characters and my films. I don't want to disturb them while watching films.'advertisementHe added, 'Even on my Instagram, I have only a couple of personal photos. Earlier, there were only one or two award shows, and you would get to see actors at very few moments. Now, there is too much exposure, which makes me afraid.''Pushpa 2' was on top trends weeks, months even before its release in December last year. Every move Allu Arjun made on and off set became a reel material. Fan-shot leaks, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and official promos dominated feeds. While fans love the access, where's the sense of discovery when everything is already on your phone? Director Anil Sharma echoed this sentiment while talking to 'Earlier, a poster and a trailer were enough. But now there's OTT, reels, satellite, social media - so much going on that a single trailer or poster risks getting lost. That fear drives filmmakers to overcompensate," he told Tamil cinema, known for its grand reveal style, is slipping. Lokesh Kanagaraj's 'Leo' campaign was massive - but also too revealing. "By the time you sit in the theatre, you're just waiting for the scenes you've already seen in promos," noted one fan on Reen, who directed Alia Bhatt in the Netflix film 'Darlings', shared whether she ever felt pressured by studios or marketing teams to 'give more'?'We wanted to and did reveal that Alia would eventually stand up against violence, and many people who watched the film felt connected and invested in the journey, waiting for when the tables would turn. Sometimes you have to trust your audience this way. Like Hitchcock would bring the audience in before his characters,' she said in the interview with SONGS THE NEW SPOILERS?Remember when film songs offered a vibe without giving away the plot? That era seems to be close to being over, according to moviegoers.'Sitaare Zameen Par's' emotionally packed ballads already hinted at pivotal moments in the protagonist's arc. 'Chandu Champion's' transformation arc? Already charted through motivational songs and clips. It begs the question: what's left for the big screen?Compare that to 'Barfi!' or 'Tumbbad', where the music set the tone but didn't narrate the entire story. That was storytelling. But again, according to director Anil Sharma, overexposure is birthing new the methods adopted by marketing agencies to sell their movie, he noted, "The current obsession is with opening day and weekend numbers. So, producers and actors have become extremely fearful, leading to aggressive promotion.'He explained, 'Audience memory has shortened - show them something today, and they'll forget it by evening, buried under ten more pieces of content. That's why constant visibility is now necessary."THE GREAT DILEMMA: STAY OR SCROLL AWAYBeing chronically online comes with a curse: we love trailers, aesthetic edits, and fan theories - but we also crave surprise. The lines are blurry. Do you avoid social media and risk FOMO, or stay in the loop and get served spoilers every hour?A growing movement called #NoTrailerClub on Reddit and X is choosing to skip trailers altogether. Their goal? Preserve the first-time theatre magic. Because honestly, nothing beats the moment when the lights dim, and you don't know what's coming as the 'Gadar 2' director mentioned, "People are always scrolling - in buses, trains, or even at home. If they miss the poster, they might see the teaser, and if not that, maybe the trailer. One way or another, information has to reach the viewer."advertisementAnd if the overdose of content is helping with an increase in footfall, there's no harm. THE PRESSURE TO PERFORMLet's talk about why this overexposure even exists. The film industry today, or at least post Covid-19, is in performance mode 24x7. With hundreds of films releasing each year and OTT competition surging, filmmakers are afraid of being invisible."Today, it's all about 'out of sight, out of mind'," said explains why every new promo drop has a 'now or never' energy. As viewers, we're part of the problem too - we scroll endlessly, consuming content with such speed that nuance often gets lost in the every pre-release content out there only leads to something great, said Jasmeet Reen. 'We sell dreams, and a trailer is an unfinished dream. If people want to know the whole dream they will go and watch the film. All we can do is stay true to the DNA of the film while marketing,' she TO DRAW THE LINE?Let's be honest. Theatres aren't just competing with other films - they're competing with YouTube thumbnails, OTT banners, Instagram Reels, and AI-generated movie scenes. In this chaos, studios think the only way to win attention is by giving it all the excitement of watching 'Kahaani' or 'Andhadhun' without knowing what twist would hit you? Or the thrill of 'RRR', which, despite its massive promo campaign, kept enough secrets to make theatres erupt with joy?That's the kind of cinematic joy we're Kaka, who has worked on close to 450 films over his career, noted an incident where he was tempted to watch Aamir Khan's 'Dangal' only after watching one of his work-out videos months ahead of its narrated, "At that time, I only knew he was doing a film - I had no clue what it was about. But the moment I saw that video, I decided I would watch the film on the first day, first show in theatres. That was the kind of impact it had - at least on me."Now, according to the people who have associated themselves with films for ever now say that the approach might be tiring once you start applying for every other stated that the problem only arises when "the same level of promotion is done for a film with a budget of just Rs 2–3 crore."He explained, "For example, if you're releasing a teaser, pre-trailer, BTS, and multiple promos for a film like 'Baahubali', 'Pushpa', or 'Ponniyin Selvan' - there's genuine anticipation, and people are invested. There's a lot at stake; big investments, big expectations. So it's the makers' responsibility to reach the right content to the audience. That makes sense." "But doing the same kind of build-up for a Rs 5–10 crore film or a small love story is, in my opinion, overkill. On the other hand, for a film like 'Kalki', 'War 2', or 'Coolie', not doing aggressive promotions would be a mistake," he added.A good marketing campaign builds curiosity. A great one makes you restless with anticipation but reveals nothing substantial. Studios need to trust that less can truly be people love content. But they also love the experience. That moment when you gasp in a theatre, not because you knew it was coming, but because you didn't - that's here's a humble request: Tease us. Intrigue us. But don't overfeed us. Let us feel something again - without deja honestly? The best kind of spoiler is no spoiler at all.


NDTV
41 minutes ago
- NDTV
Dipika Kakkar Gets Discharged From Hospital After Stage 2 Liver Cancer Surgery: "11 Days Of Being Here And Now..."
New Delhi: Dipika Kakkar has shared a health update with her fans on Instagram. The TV actress recently underwent a 14-hour-long surgery for her stage 2 liver cancer. In a long post, Dipika announced that she has been discharged from the hospital after 11 days. She said, '11 Days of being here and now home. Free from the tumour, but this is one part of the treatment done. Remaining will follow in the coming time and mujhe yakeen hai I will sail through that too as I said before. Ye 11 din mushkil the but because of the amazing people we had around, things went smoothly. There was suffering but it was all handled with a lot of warmth by everyone at the Kokilaben Hospital.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dipika (@ Thanking the doctors, Dipika added, 'To start with Dr Somnath Chatopadhyay and his team Dr Kanchan, Dr Neha, Dr Sanket, Dr Manek and Dr Kavita.. not only are they exceptional doctors but even great human beings. Achi treatment… jab itne pyaar aur empathy ke saath ki jaaye toh patient ki recovery fast bhi ho jaati hai and bahut himmat milti hai …' 'Also all the sisters, staff who took care of me, Dr Sharmeela( anaesthetist) , Dr Bushra (ICU Dr), Sister Akshara , Nupur, Pragati and Shasheeka( ICU sisters) , Sister Anupama, Ashna and Sister Jijin (ward sisters), and all the female helping staff, I will be grateful to you all for life. It's because of your love and care that I am able to recover and get back home…' she continued. Dipika concluded the note, ' And my biggest strength has been the love , prayers and blessings that you all have showered on me. Dil se thank you... bahut himmat mili aap sabka pyaar dekhke. Aage bhi yahi pray kijiyega ki my treatment further goes smoothly and I get the strength to go through that as well. Lots of love to all…' Dipika Kakkar's husband, actor Shoaib Ibrahim, has also shared a video of her homecoming on his YouTube vlog. From buying roses for his ladylove to Dipika meeting her son Ruhaan, the video screams love. Dipika Kakkar, who was last seen on the first season of Celebrity MasterChef India, was diagnosed with a tumour in her liver, in May this year.