Margot Robbie shared her confusion over the ‘Babylon’ reception on the Talking Pictures podcast.
“I am still saying that,” the actress responded when host Ben Mankiewicz said he was confused about why people disliked ‘Babylon.’ “I love it. I don’t get it either.”
She continued, “I know I am biased because I am very close to the project and I obviously believe in it, but I still can’t figure out why people hated it.”
“I wonder if in 20 years people are going to be like, ‘Wait, ‘Babylon’ didn’t do well at the time?’ Like when you hear that ‘Shawshank Redemption’ was a failure at the time and you’re like like, ‘How is that possible?'” Robbie added.
‘Babylon’ arrived in 2022 with Brad Pitt. Directed by Damian Chazelle, it showed silent film stars struggling to adjust to talkies in the 1920s. The movie cost about $80 million but earned only $15 million in the U.S. and $63 million worldwide.
Robbie played Nellie LaRoy, a rising star inspired by Clara Bow, in the film. She has fond memories of making the film, especially working with director Damian Chazelle.
After ‘Babylon’ struggled at the box office and Damien Chazelle worried about his next movie, fans defended him. They argued earlier this year that the movie’s poor earnings don’t reflect its quality. One fan wrote, “When a filmmaker gets that blank check, I will always prefer them making something like ‘Babylon’ as opposed to whatever milquetoast idea they think will help them continue getting that check.”
“I loved ‘Babylon.’ It was Chazelle’s most ambitious go for broke film took big balls to make. Told with ferocious conviction, Chazelle doesn’t have to apologize to anyone. He’s a gifted filmmaker that hopefully keeps swinging for the fences,” another one added.
“In financial terms, ‘Babylon’ didn’t work at all. You try to not have that effect what you’re doing creatively, but, at some level, it can’t help but affect it. But maybe that’s OK? I have a very mixed mind about it. Who knows,” Chazelle also said of the film.
The director went on, “Maybe I won’t be able to get this one made. I have no idea. We’ll have to wait and see. I’ve been head in the sand… I’ve been sort of busy writing… I’m in a sort of trepidatious state of mind, but I have no illusions. I won’t get a budget of ‘Babylon’ size any time soon, or at least not on this next one.”
It was recently announced that Margot will star in Oscar-winning director Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of ‘Wuthering Heights.’
