Rian Johnson, the director of Knives Out and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, says that it’s a mistake to cater to fans when making a movie.
Rian Johnson is certainly no stranger to surprising audiences with his films. His new film Knives Out took a lot of people by surprise and The Last Jedi infamously went away from what some die-hard fans desired.
While this may bug some fans, for Johnson, he says that not giving fans everything they think they want is a good idea when it comes to filmmaking. Speaking to Radio.com [via IndieWire], the director said:
“I think approaching any creative process with [making fans happy] would be a mistake that would lead to probably the exact opposite result. Even my experience as a fan, you know if I’m coming into something, even if it’s something that I think I want, if I see exactly what I think I want on the screen, it’s like ‘Oh, okay,’ it might make me smile and make me feel neutral about the thing and I won’t really think about it afterwards, but that’s not really going to satisfy me.”
What do you think about Johnson’s comments? Should filmmakers put their own creative license to one side and just give fans exactly what they want? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter @flickeringmyth.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sees J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) directing a cast that includes Star Wars veterans Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Greg Grunberg (Snap Wexley), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) and Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa) as well as new additions Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lost), and Keri Russell (The Americans).
Originally published December 18, 2019. Updated January 14, 2020.
