Last month, the most anticipated superhero movie of the year, Madame Web, hit theaters. No one really knew why it was a thing, but the trailer was bonkers and well, it’s been a long four years, so there was some intrigue. Would it be one of those “so bad it’s good” movies? Or would it just be…bad? Sadly, not enough people dragged themselves to the theaters to hate-watch it, so it not only bombed with critics, it bombed at the box office too. It’s currently down to 12% on Rotten Tomatoes, woof.
At some point during the promotion for the movie, every star but Dakota Johnson bailed, as though they were distancing themselves from a trainwreck of a movie. Johnson’s co-star, Sydney Sweeney, is at SXSW promoting her upcoming horror movie, Immaculate. It’s about a virgin nun who ends up pregnant, a “seemingly miraculous event that soon takes a sinister turn.” While talking with the LA Times, Sydney gave some quotes about Madame Web, her acting method, and how she’s handling becoming more famous.
On Madame Web: Such is Sweeney’s current career trajectory that she is unfazed by the severe, mocking response to the recent disappointment “Madame Web,” saying, “I was just hired as an actress in it, so I was just along for the ride for whatever was going to happen.”
On producing: “I am a very hands-on collaborator. I like being able to give ideas, be a part of it, help come up with solutions. It just changes the whole process. It’s so hard for me now to be on a set and not be able to help in any type of way and be able to take action. And being able to actually have a voice and have a valued opinion — it means so much. And I still have a billion things to learn, but I love being able to be a part of the process from the beginning to the end. I’ve always built my characters from the ground up. And so I feel like I’m getting to do that on an entire script-level.”
She’s “dorky” IRL: “I am actually super dorky. I make very sarcastic dry remarks, and everyone close to me knows in real life I’m more of a comedian than a dramatic person.”
No method acting for her: “The number one thing [Andy McPhee, father of Kodi Smit-McPhee] always told me was to make sure that I separated myself as much as possible from my characters. Don’t put any of my own memories, emotions, feelings, people, relationships, anything in the thoughts of my characters, so that I can jump in and out.”
On how she’s handling her growing fame: “I am such a homebody that life kind of stays the same for me. I just hang out with my dog and my family and my close friends. There’s just more people who say hi to me when I go outside. That’s all…Nothing about this industry is normal. And I think it’s really important to remember that.”
I have the most to say about Madame Web, so let me first note that Sydney comes across as someone who is a very hard worker and very ambitious. It’s nice that she acknowledges that she still has a “billion” things to learn when it comes to producing. Also, good on her for being able to separate herself from her characters. That said, in some of her other answers, she gives me the impression that she is also someone who is trying very hard to say all of the “right” things to portray herself as a humble up-and-comer that’s been unchanged by fame.
Okay, so Madame Web. Lordy, the shade of pulling an “I don’t know her” about it. I think all of the actresses involved are missing a big opportunity here, and that’s to make it a cult classic. Do you think Susan Sarandon expected the following and residuals that would come from the The Rocky Horror Picture Show? That movie is crazy bonkers but I love the hella outta it thanks to the rituals that arose around it. Office Space was panned by critics too, but a red stapler, broken copy machine, and 15 pieces of flair made that instantly memorable. The groundwork was laid out for a campy classic when the whole “He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died” line trended on Twitter after the trailer came out. If a movie is laughably bad, there’s always a path to make people love it.
Photos credit: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon, Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon
Is she just hired as an actress in everything she works on?
She is also working as a producer. I think, in the last romantic comedy movie she did that made a lot of money, she was both the lead actress & producer.
She was. Also a producer on Immaculate.
LOL She really just said that out loud , didM’t she. 😂😂
I wish the people who are dressing her learn how to dress someone in her body type. Her tops always look so comfortable.
I think, she is one of the not nepo babies who blew up and worked for years before. It is obvious she is hardworking and smart. I wish her good luck. Also, she just did a financially successful movie. So, probably her team advised her to distance herself from this failure. That kind of thing can stuck on a woman in entertainment business. Men can fail as much as they want, they still get lots of money for their next project if they have one success in their portfolio.
She is SO try hard. I don’t find her genuine. I rarely have a strong reaction to celebs but I get that about her.
LOL She really just said that out loud , didM’t she. 😂😂
Very much in the spirit of Michael Caine, when asked about Jaws: the Revenge. “I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.“
She was horribly miscast in Madame Web and her character was terribly written. I think of all the characters in the film aside from the villain, she was the one I had the most issues with how they were written – and acted.
It was FAR from the most anticipated. People were dumping on it from the start. Deadpool & Wolverine’s first trailer broke records. I think it’s safe to assume IT’S the most anticipated.
I didn’t think MW deserved the shellacking. I thought it was better than several dc movies including WW2. And the much mocked line wasn’t even in the movie! They shot themselves in the foot there. I enjoyed the bonding between Cassandra and the girls. That was the best part.