Kirsten Dunst has an awe-inspiring filmography that consists of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, The Virgin Suicides, The Power of the Dog, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and more. But just like any actor, she has had her fair share of flops.
Now, everyone knows that a hit film boosts an actor’s confidence, while a poorly received one does the opposite. However, sometimes a flop movie can completely shatter the actor. Something similar happened to Dunst and she almost lost it during Spider-Man 3’s shooting.
Kirsten Dunst Almost Quit Acting Because Of Marie Antoinette’s Reception
Marie Antoinette (2006) was a stylistic take on the titular character’s life leading up to the French Revolution. It was deemed as a very modern-esque adaptation by many. When the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, it was cheered by many, but some detractors booed at the movie.
This rejection of the film at arguably the biggest film festival in the world made Kirsten Dunst, who played Marie Antoinette, spiral into an almost mental breakdown. Coupled with this was the fact that the film grossed $60 million on a $40 million budget.
She said in an interview with Daily Mail that:
“There were no more than six of them, but it was like they s*** on the film. I was so angry about the way people were talking about it and fed up with this business. The movie was personal to me. It felt like everyone was stamping on me.”
The Melancholia actress couldn’t shake off the poor reception of Marie Antoinette even when she was already shooting Spider-Man 3 with Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire. In fact, the situation became much worse and she wanted to quit acting altogether.
The actress said:
“I was in a lot of pain while I was making Spider-Man 3. Afterwards, I was done with acting. I was so sick of giving myself to other people because I had nothing in my life that was all mine.”
Obviously, Dunst didn’t quit acting. She instead went on to make more acclaimed films like The Beguiled and On The Road. Also, thankfully, over the years, the reception towards Marie Antoinette has become more positive, and that relieved director Sophia Coppola.
Marie Antoinette’s Director Was Thankful For The Movie’s Cult Following
Over the years, Marie Antoinette has developed sort of a cult following among cinephiles. The pop music and modern style of the movie were later loved by many. In an interview, Sophia Coppola talked about the newfound warm fan following of her film. She said:
“I’m so happy it has an audience now because at the time it was not successful. People didn’t go see it; they didn’t really know what to make of it. It means a lot to me that it continues to live on.”
As for the negative reception when the film originally premiered, some reviewers theorized that it was because some French journalists weren’t happy that the regime’s decadence wasn’t adequately criticized.
Roger Ebert, a film critic, said that there simply weren’t many people booing the film and that the media had simply sensationalized the event. Whatever the truth may be, at least Marie Antoinette is regarded as a cult classic now.
Marie Antoinette is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Daily Mail
