Jessica Lange Considering Stepping Away from Acting as Films Prioritize Profits Over True Artistry

Jessica Lange Considers Retirement

Oscar-winner Jessica Lange is on the verge of retirement as comic book type films seem to be the chief concern of many working on movies in the industry today.

Jessica Lange has considered bowing out of the film business due to the lack of artistic integrity found in the industry today. Though Lange has a long history of successful cinematic parts, she has also thrived in television by appearing in the likes of the hugely successful “American Horror Story.”

Lange won her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for 1982’s Tootsie and her second Academy Award was for Best Actress in 1994’s Blue Sky. As one of the most prolific and talented actresses of the 1980’s and 1990’s, she eventually started to take on a couple of less Oscar worthy roles as she soon steered her way into television. She left behind a slew of great roles for her fans to cherish such as her work in 1976’s King Kong. Lange always seemed to prefer story-driven films to action-driven ones, however. Lately, she seems distraught over the lack of intelligent roles out there.

It’s interesting to note Lange is not alone in her thoughts about the film industry and the lack of quality available roles. Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese have also expressed disappointment in the way Hollywood movies prioritize special effects over story-driven films. It seemingly has become more about profits than about story-telling. Lange thinks the filmmakers do these effects driven pictures as a way to hold the audience’s attention. Scorsese seems to have hopes that some modern filmmakers can keep the artistry in cinema, however.

It’s a complicated issue. Lange is now 74-years old and has won many new fans thanks to her work in “American Horror Story.” She could continue down a path of taking roles that she is less than enthusiastic about or simply bow out of acting entirely. It’s anybody’s guess what she’ll ultimately do but she still has a couple of projects which are in the works so her fans will still be able to see her perform for now.

It was almost always a matter of low box-office numbers for some of Lange’s best dramatic films from the 1990’s. Blue Sky, Losing Isaiah and A Thousand Acres all earned under $10 million each at the domestic box-office. Even when she appeared opposite a big box-office draw like Mark Wahlberg in 2014’s The Gambler, the results were not strong at the box-office. That film only made $33 million which was on the lower end for a Wahlberg film. Audiences just seem to love special effects and superhero driven films more than deep drama.

Lange has always brought the focus on big box-office receipts into view ever since I can remember. In 1997, she did an interview for New York Newsday for A Thousand Acres and in that piece, she pondered how much her film would have to make at the box-office to allow her to get more respect. Whatever one of Lange’s films has made at the box-office is almost irrelevant as she has always selected pictures with high quality ideas whether they were financially successful or not. Let’s hope Lange doesn’t retire just because of her idea that quality movies can’t compete at the box-office against superheroes. Lange, herself, is a super actress whose work has stood the test of time. She would be greatly missed if she steps away from her craft.

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