Latest news with #GoldenRaspberry
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Dakota Johnson distances herself from Marvel's Madame Web flop, says ‘It wasn't my fault'
With The Materialists gearing up for its release this month, Dakota Johnson is once again dominating headlines — but not just for her onscreen chemistry with Chris Evans and internet heartthrob Pedro Pascal. The buzz surrounding her latest project has reignited a less flattering conversation: Dakota Johnson's track record at the box office. While the upcoming rom-com might finally give her a commercial win, many are still looking back at Spider-Man spinoff Madame Web, one of 2024's most notorious flops — and Johnson has some pointed thoughts about why it failed. In a recent interview, Johnson addressed the elephant in the room with a laugh, saying bluntly: 'It wasn't my fault.' That line alone has sparked a media frenzy, as the actor shifts the blame from herself to the broader industry dynamics that she believes doomed Madame Web from the start. 'There's this thing that happens now where a lot of creative decisions are made by committee,' she said. '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.' In Madame Web, Johnson starred as Cassandra Webb, a New York City paramedic who discovers she can see the future and must protect three teenage girls — future Spider-Women — from a villainous Ezekiel Sims. Despite a promising premise and a cast that included breakout names, the film bombed both critically and commercially. It went on to collect a trio of Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Awards in early 2025, including Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Actress for Johnson herself — a trifecta no actor dreams of. And yet, Johnson seems unfazed as she brushed off the backlash with a shrug: 'I don't have a Band-Aid over it,' 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?' That devil-may-care attitude may come off as refreshing honesty — or deflection, depending on who you ask. Critics have noted that Johnson, despite her famous lineage as the daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith (and granddaughter of Tippi Hedren), has struggled to find her footing post-Fifty Shades. Films like Persuasion (2022) and The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019) earned praise, but commercially, her record is patchy at best. Naturally, now the stakes are high with The Materialists, a glitzy rom-com that might just mark Johnson's rare win in mainstream cinema.
The Guardian
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I chose to NOT follow the gutless rules': Francis Ford Coppola says he's ‘thrilled' by Golden Raspberry votes
Francis Ford Coppola has said he was 'thrilled' to accept multiple Golden Raspberry nominations for his film Megalopolis, which ended up winning two awards. On Instagram, Coppola said that he was treating the nominations, which are voted for by Razzie members, who pay for the privilege, as a 'distinctive honour … when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary moviemaking!' Megalopolis, his epic sci-fi passion project – which earned largely highly critical reviews and made $14m from a $120m (£95m) outlay, much of which was bankrolled by Coppola selling off assets from his wine business – was up for six awards, including worst picture, director and screenplay. In fact, it won only two – for director, and supporting actor for Jon Voight, although he shares the honour for his work on three other films: Reagan, Shadow Land and Strangers. 'In this wreck of a world today,' continued Coppola, 'where ART is given scores as if it were professional wrestling, I chose to NOT follow the gutless rules laid down by an industry so terrified of risk that despite the enormous pool of young talent at its disposal, may not create pictures that will be relevant and alive 50 years from now. 'What an honor to stand alongside a great and courageous filmmaker like Jacques Tati who impoverished himself completely to make one of cinema's most beloved failures, PLAYTIME! My sincere thanks to all my brilliant colleagues who joined me to make our work of art, MEGALOPOLIS, and let us remind ourselves us that box-office is only about money, and like war, stupidity and politics has no true place in our future.' In interviews for the film, Coppola sought to define his movie as just the latest in a series of classics that went unrecognised as such by contemporary critics. A trailer for Megalopolis took a similar tack, quoting well-known critics' disparaging verdicts of Coppola classics such as Apocalypse Now, The Conversation and the Godfather. However, the trailer was taken down after it emerged that all the quotes were made up.
