At 74, Jessica Lange is considering retirement, partly citing the business sacrificing art in order to turn a buck at the box office.
With six Oscar nominations (with two wins), well over a dozen Golden Globe nods spanning 40+ years, three Primetime Emmys, and countless other accolades, Jessica Lange has had a fantastic career in Hollywood. But at 74, she thinks it may be time to hang it up – not because she’s older but partly due to comic book movies.
Speaking with The Telegraph, Jessica Lange said that she is concerned at how far creativity has fallen as a priority. And one of the key culprits is the sort of fare that Marvel, DC and more are pushing in theaters multiple times a year. “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.” While Lange didn’t explicitly say that the MCU is to blame for her leaving the business, consider this thought: “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.” This might be a good time to point out that only two of Jessica Lange’s movies have ever topped $100 million at the box office: 1982’s Tootsie and 2012’s The Vow, both supporting roles (although Tootsie did nab her her first Oscar). Lange also cited ageism as a reason for retiring.
But, really, we could have seen Jessica Lange taking on a small role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe if she didn’t have such a negative attitude towards it. After all, A Thousand Acres co-star Michelle Pfeiffer, Neverwas co-star William Hurt and Blue Sky co-star Tommy Lee Jones have all found welcome arms at the studio. And of course King Kong’s Jeff Bridges played Obadiah Stane in the first MCU movie, Iron Man.
After her debut in Kong Kong, Jessica Lange took a unique hiatus right away but soon redirected her focus to the screen, co-starring with Jack Nicholson in The Postman Always Rings Twice and earning two Oscar nominations in 1983 for Tootsie and Frances. While consistent throughout her career, Jessica Lange earned a new fanbase as a mainstay on American Horror Story.
What do you think about Jessica Lange’s comments regarding comic book movies as not fitting her idea of art? Give us your take below!