Russell Crowe is no stranger to comic book/superhero movies, having previously appeared in Man of Steel and Thor: Love and Thunder. He also has a role in Sony Pictures' upcoming Kraven the Hunter, and it seems the Academy Award-winner doesn't have much time for other actors who sign on for those type of films and then complain that they didn't reach a certain standard.
While chatting to GQ, Crowe was asked about his experience making superhero projects, specifically in light of Madame Web star Dakota Johnson saying she felt like the movie was art “made by a committee” in a recent interview.
"You cannot make art based on numbers and algorithms," said the actress. "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 bullsh*t. Even if films start to be made with AI, humans aren’t going to f*cking want to see those."
Many agreed with Johnson's comments and praised her for her honesty after Madame Web was brutally lambasted, but it sounds like Crowe may feel she's taking the whole thing a bit too seriously.
“I don’t want to make any comments to what anybody else might have said or what their experience is, but… you’re bringing out the impish quality of my humor. [Laughs.] You’re telling me you signed up for a Marvel movie, and some [frick]ing universe for cartoon characters… and you didn’t get enough pathos? Not quite sure how I can make this better for you. It’s a gigantic machine, and they make movies at a certain size…these are jobs. You know: here’s your role, play the role. If you’re expecting this to be some kind of life-changing event, I just think you’re here for the wrong reasons.”
Crowe did clarify that he wasn't making "this a direct comment on her because I don’t know her and I don’t know what she went through," acknowledging that "you can have a shit experience on a film… Yeah, you can.”
“But is that the Marvel process? I’m not sure you can say that,” he added. “I haven’t had a bad experience. I mean [on ‘Thor’], ok, it’s a Marvel movie, but it’s Taika Waititi’s world, and it was just a gas every day, being silly. And then, with JC Chandor on ‘Kraven,’ I’m just bringing a little weight to the circumstances, so the young actors have got an actor they can bounce off. Going to work with JC was fun. You know, so many of these directors have a certain skill level – freaking genius people.”
Crowe does make some valid points, but is it really too much to expect a movie - no matter the genre - to achieve a certain level of quality?
Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section.