Gwyneth Paltrow Says ‘You Can Only Make So Many Good’ Superhero Movies ‘That Feel Truly Original’: Trying to Appeal to Everyone Can ‘Hinder Quality’

Gwyneth Paltrow was the latest guest on “Hot Ones” and waxed poetic on Hollywood’s push into superhero movies when asked by host Sean Evans about Cord Jefferson’s recent Oscar speech. The “American Fiction” director won best adapted screenplay this year and made a plea to Hollywood during his acceptance speech, saying: “Instead of making one $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies.”

“I absolutely understand where he’s coming from,” Paltrow said in response. “You want the best chance to have a strong ROI. People put a lot of money into these things and they want them to be profitable. But if I look at the industry as a whole, this big push into superhero movies … you can only make so many good ones that feel truly original, and yet they’re still always trying to reach as many people as possible, which sometimes hinders quality or specificity or real point of view.”

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“I grew up doing [mid-budget movies] and sometimes lament the fact … I look back at some movies I made in the 1990s and think that just would not get made now,” she continued. “You get more diversity of art when there is less at stake and people can express their true voice and make a film the way they want to make it. Those are generally the more resonant ones.”

While Paltrow became a household name as the star of several Miramax films in the 1990s, from “The Talented Mr. Ripley” to her Oscar-winning performance in “Shakespeare in Love,” she’ll forever be associated with superhero movies due to her role as Pepper Potts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Paltrow kicked off the MCU alongside Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in 2008’s “Iron Man.” She reprised the role in two more standalone “Iron Man” movies and other Marvel movies, including “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Avengers: Endgame.”

Both Paltrow and Downey last appeared in the MCU in 2019’s “Endgame,” which notably featured the death of Downey’s Iron Man. During a Q&A with fans on Instagram last year, Paltrow said her time with Marvel was probably over because “why do you need Pepper Potts without Iron Man?”

Watch Paltrow’s full appearance on “Hot Ones” in the video below.

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