The director tells IndieWire he wanted to call the film Blah, Blah, Blah, a jab at how language can bend what people believe is real.
Turns out the oil baron at the centre of Tom Cruise's new film almost shared his movie with a nursery rhyme.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu has told IndieWire that Digger, Warner Bros. And Legendary's $125 million bet on Cruise, was originally meant to be called Blah, Blah, Blah. The name stuck around long enough that it's a small miracle the poster doesn't say it. Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, which is presumably why the studio eventually landed where it did, but Iñárritu's first instinct had nothing to do with oil or Texas or any of it.
"[Blah, Blah, Blah] was a reference to this incredible, terrible, terrifying weapon that we as humans have, which is the tongue," he said. "It can change your perception of the reality that your body is experiencing. It can make you believe in something that you don't see."
That's a lot of philosophy for a title that sounds like someone trailing off mid-sentence. And given how split the reviews have been, you can picture the field day critics would've had if the marquee literally said Blah, Blah, Blah instead of Digger.
A bold bet, a messy reception
Iñárritu was quick to credit the studios for backing a film this strange at this budget. "in fear we are living in, everybody wants certainty," he said. "This film is not any of that. For it to be made and to nail the tone was a big bet. But to their credit, Warner Bros. And Legendary were really bold. They never hesitated. They believed in this film — the urgency, the absurdity, the humanity, the nowness that it has."
The reviews haven't quite matched that confidence, or rather, they've matched it unevenly. Digger sits at 53 percent on Rotten Tomatoes across 113 reviews as of this week, which is about as down-the-middle a split as a film can get. Some critics are calling it a swing worth taking. Others, going by online reaction, aren't nearly as generous, with one newsletter review describing it as closer to a hate letter to cinema than a love one.
Warner Bros. Clearly saw the split coming. On Tuesday, the studio put out an online ad that doesn't dodge the mixed notices so much as lean into them, telling audiences to watch Digger and "decide for yourself." It's an unusual move for a film carrying a nine-figure budget and a star of Cruise's wattage, and it suggests the studio knows word of mouth, not critical consensus, is going to decide how this one plays out.
Whether Blah, Blah, Blah would have changed any of that is anyone's guess. For now, audiences get to make up their own minds about Digger, title and all, starting this weekend.
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