ROTTEN TOMATOES: Dunst Admits Bad Spidey Acting

Dunst Admits Bad Spidey Acting

by Fred Topel | April 30, 2007

Kirsten Dunst is an acclaimed actor having conquered period pieces, character drama and comedy. Can the "Spider-Man" films be her biggest acting challenge to date?

"It gets sticky when you get to the blue-screen stuff," she said during press rounds. "I just forgive myself for bad acting when it comes to those things. If I’m good in that, it’s just incredible, because those things are hard to do. I had no idea what was going to be in the film and some of those lines are hard to pull off too."

Dunst in "Spider-Man 2"

"Spider-Man 3" is her third time in front of the blue soundstages. However, the rest of the film has her character, Mary Jane, deal with real issues like career and communication in a relationship. That's just like any of her dramas.

"After I did 'Marie Antoinette', we did very little talking in that movie. It was a very sensorial way of working. It’s all about the way the fabrics smelled, the food tasted, how the air felt. I never concentrated so intently like that. Afterwards, I realized all these things. While I was doing it, I was aware of it, but you can’t be too aware of yourself. Then, when I started to work on Spider-Man, I realized all these tools I had that I didn’t realize I had before. I learn new things on every movie."

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(1-20 of 71 posts) | Reply

Kid_Ikarus writes:
on Apr 30 2007 09:52 AM

oh wow hahahahahahhahahahahaaha this is choice.

"The Epiphany of A Great American Talent"

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Triplec84 writes:
on Apr 30 2007 10:04 AM

i found this very amusing in that she is admitting that she can't act

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Bridger writes:
on Apr 30 2007 10:15 AM

[b]gee[/b]
lets face it one of the worst moves ever made was to cast her.
Her MJ is a disgrace to any one who was a comic fan. bout time she admitted she mails in her acting.

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Xavier Telouran writes:
on Apr 30 2007 10:25 AM

And above all this on the heels of her comments that making a fourth one without her would be an "insult." Geez...

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Merlin235 writes:
on Apr 30 2007 10:27 AM

In reply to this comment (#863222)
might be a little harsh. I'd say Rosanne Barr would be a worse choice for MJ

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narcissusbleh writes:
on Apr 30 2007 10:37 AM

In reply to this comment (#863221)
Really? I can't find that anywhere in the article.

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digitalsoul68 writes:
on Apr 30 2007 10:42 AM

she wasn't that bad in the first two...but (here's where my comic geek starts to blossom) MJ in the comics was supposed to be a knockout supermodel. Kirsten's pretty, but by no means Adriana Lima hot. But she does have some acting under her belt to merit a better performance than some uber-hot girl. Better a decent actress than a model who can't act (*cough Cindy Crawford, *cough Anna Nicole)

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skasforfags writes:
on Apr 30 2007 10:44 AM

Her boobs hang too low on her chest. That's her problem.

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obsolete8210 writes:
on Apr 30 2007 10:53 AM

In reply to this comment (#863227)
She needs a support bra with extra lift.

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the-russian writes:
on Apr 30 2007 11:08 AM

Wow. I think we've hit an all-time low. We're discussing how Kirsten Dunst's breasts hang on her. Just wow.

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Matanuki writes:
on Apr 30 2007 11:14 AM

In reply to this comment (#863226)
Let's not speak ill of the dead... But yes, your point registers loud and clear. I've been upset about Dunst since the beginning, but I can't decide which is worse; her as MJ, or Anna Paquin as Rogue. But as terrible as it is when they get the casting wrong, its far worse when the casting is a spot on waste. Catwoman and Elektra come crashing to front of mind.

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Matanuki writes:
on Apr 30 2007 11:21 AM

Rachel McAdams keeps popping up as the perfect girl to play so many of these characters. Let's hope that dream finally finds life in the Batman sequel. My only beef so far is Talia being overlooked. And this isn't really off topic since we are talking about female comic book characters. At first they were talking about Talia being in the sequel, seeking revenge for her father Ra's ah Ghul's death. That makes sense, and it sets up something for Bruce and Talia to have in common, a perfect way to forge their reluctant flame for each other. But (sigh).. whatever...

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Triplec84 writes:
on Apr 30 2007 11:27 AM

Rachel McAdams is absolutely gorgeous and would have made a great MJ

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meanstreak writes:
on Apr 30 2007 12:10 PM

In reply to this comment (#863232)
[b]Give it a rest folks![/b]
In order to translate this comic book to screen, they had to make it visually realistic. There's no way in movie hell that an Adriana Lima type would be accepted by the masses these films were directed to. Every nerd that ever got rejected would walk out of the theatre goin' "Yeah right!" never to return or teh sequels. Dunst, for some, is the perfect mix of hot, but not too hot or perfect to be almost out of reach, but approachable. Get with it people! Just based on appearance alone, Jenneifer Love Hewitt is about as hot as you could get, without pissing people off.

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Mudhole writes:
on Apr 30 2007 12:43 PM

"It's like making me choose between Sarah Jessica Parker and Kirsten Dunst in a Hot-Body Weird-Face contest, it just can't be done!"

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Rockslide writes:
on Apr 30 2007 12:51 PM

alright, I know she's not an oscar quality actor but I've always seen Sophia Bush as a great MJ. She seems to have the right "you just hit the jackpot tiger" factor that Dunst is completely missing. I've disliked Dunst for some time but Elizabethtown cemented that dislike into a delicately sculpted statue of loathing. Okay that's a little harsh. I'm sure she's a nice person in real life, but as MJ...not so nice.

(edit) Okay, I have to swallow my pride and publicly apologize in case Kirsten ever actually stumbles across this. I finally got to see Spider-Man 3 and I honestly believe it was her best work as MJ. I finally believed her as Mary Jane. Spidey 2 was the best of the trilogy but Kirsten did her best in 3. I humbly apologize.

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sharpless writes:
on Apr 30 2007 12:53 PM

There were better choices for MJ. Okay? That's settled. Let's not tear the woman apart, for God's sake. I'm not terribly attracted to her myself, but I'm sure she's seen more action than most of us, so let's not get too cocky.

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digitalsoul68 writes:
on Apr 30 2007 12:55 PM

In reply to this comment (#863233)
I don't know, meanstreak. Being a nerd myself (big surprise), that movie would give me hope that I could score a woman like Adriana and keep my ass glued to the seat. That's the whole point of Spiderman in the comics...nerdy guy GETS the hot model.

The comic geeks would have been thrilled if they had an uber-scorching woman playing MJ. Dunst is your opinion on "the perfect mix", but IMO they could've found someone with better...JLH is a good example and (I know the flames are a-comin' for this one) even Lindsay Lohan would've made a better MJ in looks. And she's a NATURAL redhead and a decent actress (public notoriety aside).

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~*Admiral Snowstorm*~ writes:
on Apr 30 2007 01:26 PM

In reply to this comment (#863233)
Yeah, except Jennifer Love Hewitt isn't attractive at all.

Amazing how hard a lot of people are coming down on Dunst. Sure she's a subpar actor, but she fits the role alright, and I thought she's done the role of Mary Jane justice so far.

There just ain't no pleasing people.

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Merlin235 writes:
on Apr 30 2007 01:32 PM

In reply to this comment (#863236)
So, we give her props because she sleeps around?

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