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Fifty Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson called out studio heads for refusing to take risks.
Talking at the Cannes Film Festival, via Variety, she said: “Some professionals who run studios don’t feel the desire to make things that are different or risky or scary or dangerous or raw and real and human and messy.”
Describing the resistance from the studios as “really hard” and a “constant fight”, Johnson said that those in charge of green lighting movies aren’t prepared to tell the stories that both actors and audiences are craving. She added: “But we are fighters. We hustle. We really work so hard to tell the stories that we love.”
Six years ago Johnson co-founded production company TeaTime Pictures with her good friend Ro Donnelly.
She is currently at Cannes with her new dark comedy film Splitsville. The film follows a group of friends navigating divorce, open relationships and the aftermath of one friend’s infidelity.
“So much of why I wanted to start a production company and make my own movies is because I want more from this industry,” Johnson told Variety.
She said: “I want more from my experience as an artist. I felt so thirsty for more conversation and more creativity and more collaboration.”
Compared to previous sets she’s worked on, she explained that “the way that we build our sets is really vibe based”, stating that “it’s very much a no a**hole policy”.
Drawing from her own experiences, she explained how on multiple occasions she has shown up to the film premiere for the first viewing only to think: “Woah. That is not what I thought we were making.” She added: “That is such a weird thing to do.”
Through her own production work, Johnson outlined that she wants to ensure that every crew member understands the director’s vision so that there are no surprises and “everybody feels a part of it”.
“Working in movies… the hours are long and it’s gruelling. It’s not comfortable. It’s not nice. When you feel like you’re genuinely invested in something, people are happier and they work better.”
Johnson signed on to produce Splitsville after seeing the surprising lack of success from the writers’ (Covino and Kyle Marvin) previous film The Climb (2019). She wanted to ensure the pair’s next project remained protected and true to their original vision.
Despite the success of TeaTime Pictures, Johnson admitted that “it’s been very challenging to get people to take us seriously”.
She said: “That was very sad and very lame. I think I have glamorised this industry my whole life and have thought it’s pure magic. To see behind the curtain in that way was just shitty. It was hard.”
The Madame Web (2024) star also revealed that she hopes to make her feature directorial debut at some point. Johnson also joked: “I want to direct and I need to grow the fucking balls to do it…. actually no I don’t. I’m not going to grow balls and no one can make me.”
In her 2022 film Cha Cha Real Smooth (which she both produced and starred in), her daughter was played by autistic actress and musician Vanessa Burghardt.
Johnson said: “We have been working with her on developing scripts. She has written a script. It’s really special. It’s about a young woman with autism, and I feel very protective of her and her story and her mind. She is just an unbelievable woman. So that’s kind of the thing I just don’t think I could allow anyone else to direct it. So we will see.”
English (US) ·