The press tour for the A24 romantic comedy Materialists has provided plenty of fun and viral moments for fans to enjoy on social media, but it’s also offered some compelling conversations and opinions from the talented cast behind the film. This time around, it was Dakota Johnson, an actor who hasn’t been afraid to share her opinion on the current state of Hollywood and the film industry. While discussing her newest film, the actor criticized the people who make the decisions about which films get made, citing a lack of awareness about what stories moviegoers actually want to see on the big screen.
In her appearance on the online show Hot Ones, Johnson was asked by host Sean Evans why Hollywood is “risk-averse”, to which she provided a candid response:
“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?”
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If you’re not into training dragons, this one is a good alternative this coming weekend.
It’s hard to argue against Johnson’s point, especially given that you don’t have to look too far to see the signs of Hollywood’s over-reliance on remakes and sequels. Just looking at the box office projections for the Father’s Day weekend is enough to see her point, with two remakes, How to Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch, poised to dominate the weekend and multiple theater screens.
Dakota Johnson Has Experienced The Pitfalls of “Committee Filmmaking” Firsthand
It’s hard to blame Dakota Johnson for her cynical view on Hollywood, especially because of how she was recently privy to the process of tentpole blockbusters with the 2024 film Madame Web. The Sony Spider-Man spin-off films have been infamously poor in quality, and Johnson’s take on the character of Cassandra Webb was no different. Johnson told Evans on Hot Ones that she “tried and failed” to be a superhero, as the film received poor reviews and failed at the box office.
In another interview, Johnson said (regarding Madame Web) that “It wasn’t my fault. There’s this thing that happens now where a lot of creative decisions are made by a 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.”
Thankfully, Johnson backs up her comments and advocacy for more original stories with her impressive filmography. With releases over the years like The Peanut Butter Falcon, Cha Cha Real Smooth, Am I OK?, and now Materialists, the talented actor has showcased that she is more than willing to tell fresh and original mid-budget stories.
Source: Hot Ones
- Release Date
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June 25, 2025
- Director
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Celine Song
- Writers
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Celine Song
- Producers
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Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler
