Heart-shaped film reel
Dakota Johnson rules the VDay box office
• Dakota Johnson seems to have her heart set on locking up Valentine’s Day for the release of her movies.
Last year, Johnson’s erotic Fifty Shades of Grey revealed itself on the same day as Cupid’s celebration. Next year, the sequel Fifty Shades Darker is aiming for the same stretch. So is the third film, Fifty Shades Freed, in 2018.
More immediately, Johnson fans will satisfy themselves with the between-the-sheets dating comedy How to Be Single, which features the actress in an ensemble.
So the question, excluding the Valentine’s Day coincidence, is apparent to the actress who also happens to be the daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith.
“Do I only like to do movies about sex? Am I a raging pervert?,” says the 26- yearold promoting How to Be Single. “Yes, if it doesn’t have sex scenes in it, I won’t do it.”
She’s joking, of course. More seriously, she’s thrilled about the “Single” story.
In the movie, Johnson plays Alice who breaks up with her longtime boyfriend to experience dating life in New York. Helping her navigate the complications of one-night stands is Robin ( Rebel Wilson), a paralegal co-worker and party girl who serves as her guide.
“I was attracted to the positive outlook on women, especially, exploring relationships with different people and being confident, and comfortable and strong,” Johnson says.
The detailed narrative “is real and honest, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of, because that’s what single women do.”
Johnson is single and lives in New York, but she’s not necessarily learning about herself the way Alice is.
“I love that I’m alone all the time,” she says of her current status. “I love sleeping next to no one. I really don’t want to be cuddled. I love to have dinner by myself.”
In other words, she is a practising introvert. “I cherish my time alone, and I like solitude. But then being single also sucks sometimes because, you know, you’re single.”
However, Johnson has always been sure about her career path.
“I was nine when I did my first job,” she says. “I played my mother’s daughter in a movie called Crazy in Alabama. I had a dialect coach and I had this Southern accent, and I was really good at it.
“I became obsessed with ( acting), but my ( parents) wouldn’t let me until I graduated high school,” Johnson says. “I’m grateful that they made me stay in school.”