Jennifer Lawrence was Warned Not to Star in Passengers

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Jennifer Lawrence was Warned Not to Star in Passengers

Summary

  • Listen to your friends – even superstar Adele warned Jennifer Lawrence off starring in the film Passengers.
  • Despite initial critical panning, Passengers found new life on Prime Video, resonating with viewers in unexpected ways.
  • Lawrence, reflecting on negative movie reviews, cited Passengers as a regretful choice, showing growth in her career decisions.

As a devoted fan of Jennifer Lawrence and her illustrious career, I must admit that I found myself both surprised and intrigued by the recent resurgence of the 2016 sci-fi romance “Passengers” on Prime Video. The film, which initially faced critical panning upon its release, has managed to captivate viewers in ways that were certainly unexpected.

Singer Adele advised Jennifer Lawrence against taking on the role in the 2016 sci-fi romance “Passengers.” Despite initial negative reviews, the film has experienced a surprising revival on Prime Video, currently ranking second in their movie chart. Given the film’s rocky critical reception at its release, this resurgence on streaming platforms is quite unexpected. It’s likely that Lawrence herself would be taken aback by this renewed interest in “Passengers,” as she doesn’t seem to have positive feelings towards the movie.

The story, titled “Passengers,” unfolds aboard a spacecraft destined for a far-off colony planet, carrying sleepy passengers in cargo. An unexpected glitch prematurely awakens one of the “passengers” – Pratt. Finding himself awake ahead of schedule, he faces the dilemma of either spending his remaining years isolated or waking another passenger. In the end, he concludes that solitude isn’t a life worth living and chooses to rouse Aurora (Lawrence).

Reflecting on the movie “Passengers,” in a 2022 interview with The New York Times, Lawrence openly discussed her encounters with critical feedback regarding her films. As an Academy Award recipient, she expressed her feelings about unfavorable reviews in this manner:

It struck me, ‘Uh-oh, it seems you’ve all come because I’m here, and I’m here because you’re here. Now, I wonder, who among us thought this film was a great choice?’

In response to the question about which film evoked those feelings, she said, “Probably Passengers.”

At this point, Lawrence had recently come back to Hollywood after a brief break, which seemed to have given her a moment to reflect on her career and life within the industry. Following her Academy Award win for Silver Linings Playbook and the massive cultural impact of The Hunger Games, she encountered a period of stagnation. One of the films during this slump, Passengers, was a project she might have chosen to decline had she heeded advice from an unanticipated advisor.

Jennifer Lawrence Should Have Listened to Adele

Jennifer Lawrence was Warned Not to Star in PassengersJennifer Lawrence was Warned Not to Star in PassengersJennifer Lawrence was Warned Not to Star in PassengersJennifer Lawrence was Warned Not to Star in PassengersJennifer Lawrence was Warned Not to Star in Passengers

Despite Passengers not being a total cinematic catastrophe, Lawrence might change her mind about playing that role if given another chance. She could have skipped the movie entirely had she heeded the counsel she received from British singer Adele. In the same conversation, Lawrence also mentioned:

“Adele advised me against it and I wish I had heeded her words. She essentially said that space films are the latest trend, akin to vampire movies. Looking back, it seems everything spiraled out of control. Instead of thinking things through, I was acting impulsively. The whole situation made me feel like a celebrity rather than an artist, stifling my creativity and imagination.”

As a cinephile, I found that the sci-fi movie “Passengers” managed to rake in a decent amount at the box office, earning over $303 million against its production budget of $150 million. However, the critical response was less than favorable, with a dismal 30% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. Contrastingly, audiences seemed to enjoy it more, bestowing upon the film a Popcornmeter score of 63%.

If the reception towards Passengers was less than favorable, it paled in comparison to Jennifer Lawrence’s last appearance in a major franchise – the X-Men. In 2019, she revisited the Marvel universe for Dark Phoenix, a film that received intense criticism and garnered only a 20% approval rating from critics. Despite her regret over Passengers, many believe that Dark Phoenix was even more disappointing. After this string of underperforming films, Lawrence decided to step away from acting. However, upon her return to Hollywood post-break, she’s been thriving once again, gracing the screens in Netflix’s Don’t Look Up, Darren Aronofsky’s Mother, and the comedic film No Hard Feelings.

The success of the film among Prime Video viewers, following an eight-year run, has made it accessible to a broader audience. Opinions about the movie have remained divided, and while it may not become a frequent choice for rewatching, its sustained popularity suggests that one characteristic of streaming audiences – their tendency to watch movies regardless of public opinion – holds true. Typically, they seem less concerned with others’ views on a film, and given the opportunity to stream it on a service they are already subscribed to, they will often do so.

You can find
Passengers
streaming now on Prime Video.

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2024-08-25 15:01