Sony’s Marvel movie Madame Web did not perform to the studio’s liking, nor did it seem to perform to the liking of fans or the film’s cast. Star Dakota Johnson in particular released a very strong statement regarding the outcome of Madame Web. Now Kraven the Hunter actor Russell Crowe has commented on the complaints made by Dakota Johnson and her feelings on Madame Web.
While speaking with UK GQ, the subject of Madame Web came up. Russell Crowe was asked about Johnson’s statements about Madame Web, and how the end result wasn’t what she expected. As for Crowe, it looks like he found humor in the situation.
“I don’t want to make any comments to what anybody else might have said or what their experience is,” he begins, “but… you’re bringing out the impish quality of my humor,” Crowe says with a laugh.
“You’re telling me you signed up for a Marvel movie, and some f—— 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. And you know, I’ve experienced that on the DC side with Man of Steel, Zack Snyder, and I’ve experienced it on the Marvel side via Disney with Thor: Love and Thunder. And I’ve also experienced the Marvel dark universe with Kraven the Hunter.”
He explains that it’s all merely about playing your role for the job you choose to work:
“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.”
Russell Crowe went on to say that he had fun with these different productions, especially Thor: Love and Thunder and Kraven the Hunter. And while he acknowledges “you can have a s— experience on a film,” he doesn’t believe it should be blamed on “the Marvel process” or Sony’s own process.
“It can be challenging, working in a blue-screen world, when you have to convince yourself of a lot more than just the internal machinations of your character. You can’t make this a direct comment on her because I don’t know her and I don’t know what she went through, and the fact that you can have a sh*t experience on a film—yeah, you can. But is that the Marvel process? I’m not sure you can say that. I haven’t had a bad experience.”
For Russell Crowe, then, he seems to be plenty self-aware of what he’s doing. While Dakota Johnson calls Madame Web a learning experience, perhaps she learned that as well. Now we’ll have to see what direction she decides to take her career in next. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any such updates as we have them.