“I hated it so much”: Scarlett Johansson Had a “Visceral Reaction” To Tom Cruise’s Final Stanley Kubrick Movie, Ended Up Watching it Thrice in the Theatres
Actress Scarlett Johansson is regarded as one of the most gifted and varied performers in the business. She has used her skill to not only win over the public but also build a devoted following, particularly since her portrayal as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actress is one of the rare actresses who is respected by the audience for having a strong viewpoint and giving candid responses to inquiries.
The actress played an unearthly woman who preyed on Scottish men in Jonathan Glazer’s 2013 film Under My Skin. The actress received praise for her portrayal after the film’s premiere, which the director had spent more than ten years creating. During an interview, she opened up about the reviews they received for the movie before moving on to describe her views on Eyes Wide Shut.
Scarlett Johansson says she hated Eyes Wide Shut before she loved it
During an interview with The Guardian back in 2014, Scarlett Johansson who starred in Under My Skin by Jonathan Glazer recalled going to the theatres and witnessing the reactions of the audience members, stating that she didn’t know how to react to those cheering and booing at the same time.
Artistic director Alberto Barbera recalled during the interview the screening of Under My Skin at the Venice Film Festival, noting that it was one of the worst screenings she had attended. Barbera said that it was the only time the audience booed a film and Johansson was almost in tears. She continued that she had tried to say to him that the film would be recognized someday, which is exactly what happened. It’s now a cult movie.
The actress admitted that she would way rather fail in someone’s eyes than be sort of tepid because, according to her, it is the worst thing. She then shared that she went to see Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s Eyes Wide Shut, which premiered in 1999 noting that she watched it three times in theatres. Johansson continued,
“The first time I saw it, I hated it. I had a visceral reaction to it I hated it so much. And then I was like, I have to see that movie again. I hated it so much. And then I loved it. I think in some ways I hated the emotional experience; it’s like a visceral reaction. There’s passion behind it. I can’t ever totally fault a film that I absolutely hate.”
Also read: “I felt super exposed”: Scarlett Johansson Broke Down in Tears After Hostile Reception From Fans
Scarlett Johansson on saying yes to Under My Skin
In a conversation with The Guardian, the actress was asked about why, out of all the scripts she chose to do Under My Skin in which she plays an alien, the cast does not include actors; just regular people. She explained,
“I heard Jonathan was making a film and originally it was a very different story. But I met him, and it was very clear that he was struggling to figure out what he was doing with it, and what had attracted him to it. It wasn’t his passion project, but there was something in the idea of having a character that was an alien that could give him the freedom to be completely observant without any judgment. I think we were both interested in that. I thought it would be incredibly challenging to play a character that’s free of judgment, that has no relationship to any emotion I could relate to.”
The actress continued that, for her, the role seemed interesting as it was something that she hadn’t done and she knew she could play it but didn’t know the outcome. She confessed about regular people being in the movie; they were just cursing the streets to find them and they toyed with the idea of using prosthetics, teeth, and all kinds of things, but that would change her face, but there wasn’t any need to do any of that.
Tom Cruise would love to star with Scarlett Johansson
Ahead of his movie Mission Impossible 7, Tom Cruise shared with ET that he would very much love to make a movie with Scarlett Johansson before adding that he wanted to make a movie with the Marvel star. Cruise said,
“She is enormously talented. So charismatic, versatile. She has great physical ability. “Look, I’ve watched her career her whole life. She’s enormously talented and very charismatic. It’d be fun. She could do anything. She could do comedy, drama, action, suspense. She’s someone that really draws you in on the screen, on camera. So absolutely, it’s going to happen.”
Tom Cruise’s comments come after the actress who, ahead of her movie Asteroid City‘s New York Premiere, said Via THR that despite appearing with big movie stars in Wes Anderson’s movie, she has an actor she had always wanted to work with, which is Tom Cruise.
Source: The Guardian
