Posted on 11/13/125 by Colin Vassallo
In a new cover story for Variety, Dwayne Johnson, Emily
Blunt, and Benny Safdie speak with Chief Correspondent
Daniel D’Addario on The Smashing Machine.
Johnson discusses how the film allowed him to be vulnerable,
dig deeper than he had in previous roles, and its box office
performance. Safdie talks about the perceived rift with his
brother Josh, Blunt discusses what happens when a film
doesn’t do well at the box office, and more.
Johnson on digging into his “The Smashing Machine”
character:
“I was in a comfort zone for quite some time,” Johnson says.
“Making these big films — they’re hard to do, but they are
comfortable. What I was scared of was exposing myself and
exploring the deepest, darkest traumas.”
Johnson on what he was feeling when he burst into tears
during the film’s standing ovation at the Venice Film
Festival:
“It’s hard to find the language for it, because it’s so
emotional,” he says. “It was just validation of this
seemingly once-in-a-lifetime journey. Not only for us, but
also for the man who actually lived it.”
Johnson on his experience of making the film:
“[It has] completely changed everything,” he says. “In ways
that I could expect, perhaps in ways that I was hoping. But
it completely changed the way I look at stories…From
‘Smashing Machine’ forward,” he says, “I will make movies
for me. Because they’re my dream. Not anyone else’s.”
Safdie on the conjecture that there was a rift between him
and his brother Josh after not thanking him during an
acceptance speech:
“In that moment, I was thinking about this movie…I was
talking about this movie. That’s where that came from.” The
gossip about a rift, he says, “was shocking. Like, Oh, wow,
that’s weird.
“We did great things together, and we learned in that
process, and it just came to a place where it’s like, What
do you want to explore, and what do I want to explore? And
you just do that.”
Blunt on what happens when a movie doesn’t well at the box
office:
“You also know that if the movie doesn’t work, they’re
coming for you, and it is personal — and it hurts that it’s
personal. But there’s a myriad of other reasons why a movie
might not work, but they would come swinging for you.
Exposure to that is not really for the faint of heart.”
Johnson on his relationship with audiences:
“I used to have this motto — ‘Audience first. Emily [Blunt]
said, ‘I love that. It’s worked for you for decades now. But
if you want to take care of the audience, show them a mirror
of yourself. Isn’t that taking care of the audience too?’”
Johnson on how “The Smashing Machine” has allowed Johnson to
be vulnerable:
“What this has allowed me to do — and perhaps I didn’t
realize this in the past — is, when I find something,
whatever it is, I can give my complete heart and soul,” he
says. “And I want and need them to be different from each
other. I’m not looking to deliver more of the same. For
decades, it was audience first. But the thing that sets my
soul first is an idea of audience first as my full self. My
complete self.”
Johnson on how he didn’t think about how “The Smashing
Machine” would do at the box office:
“Opening week. This is opening week. I had not experienced
this until this film — I have not thought about box office
once. Not once.”