Summary

Jessica Lange, despite her successful career, may soon step away from acting due to the changes in the film industry. Lange criticizes the emphasis on corporate profits over creativity in Hollywood and the sacrifice of art for the sake of big franchise films. Other Hollywood legends, including Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, have also expressed concerns about the impact of franchise movies on the industry.

Oscar winner and American Horror Story star Jessica Lange could step away from acting soon, despite going through a great moment in her career over the last few years. And it has nothing to do with her age. Lange, who has been considered a legend in Hollywood for some time, began acting in 1976 in John Guillermin’s King Kong, which turned her into an icon for the time. Just three years later she dazzled the world again with the Bob Fosse musical All That Jazz, and the rest is history.

The actress has stood out in both film and television, and in recent years she has been one of the key stars in Ryan Murphy’s productions, being part of American Horror Story, Feud: Bette and Joan, and The Politician. Most artists usually reach a point in their life where they decide to get away from the cameras and relax, but in Lange’s case it has nothing to do with this or her age (she’s currently 74). Rather, with the changes that the film industry has gone through in recent years.

Speaking with The Telegraph, Lange revealed that she might stop acting soon and explained why while slamming big franchises and a lack of creativity in Hollywood.

“I don’t think I’ll do this too much longer. Creativity is secondary now to corporate profits. The emphasis becomes not on the art or the artist or the storytelling. It becomes about satisfying your stockholders. It diminishes the artist and the art of filmmaking. I’m not interested in these big comic-book franchise films. I think that they’ve sacrificed this art that we’ve been involved in … for the sake of profit. I don’t know if it’s because the filmmakers think that they can’t hold the attention of the audience anymore. That kind of filmmaking drives me crazy.”

Related: Jessica Lange’s 8 Best Performances, Ranked

Jessica Lange Is Not the Only Hollywood Legend Taking Umbrage With Franchise Movies
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Jessica Lange is far from the first Hollywood legend to take umbrage with franchise movie making. There are already several great actors and directors who have spoken out against franchise films and particularly superhero movies. Quentin Tarantino, for example, was heavily criticized after saying that the actors in the MCU or DCU were not movie stars, but that their characters were. Something that, some time later, Chris Evans himself addressed, agreeing with the director.

Lange’s comments come just a couple of days after another acclaimed director also gave a controversial opinion on this type of cinema. Martin Scorsese, who has already been in the eye of the storm years ago for talking about Marvel Studios films, once again talked about comic adaptations, concerned about the impact they have had on the industry:

“There are going to be generations now that think movies are only those — that’s what movies are. They already think that. Which means that we have to then fight back stronger. And it’s got to come from the grassroots level. It’s gotta come from the filmmakers themselves. You’ll have, you know, the Safdie brothers, and you’ll have Chris Nolan, you know what I mean? Hit ’em from all sides, and don’t give up. Let’s see what you got. Go out there and do it. Go reinvent. Don’t complain about it. But it’s true, because we’ve got to save cinema.”

For now, Jessica Lange has several projects in the pipeline, including Long Day’s Journey Into Night alongside Ed Harris and Ben Foster, and Places, Please alongside Lily Rabe and Pierce Brosnan.