Jessica Lange Says Some Of The Best Recent Films Were Not From The U.S.: “We’re Living In A Corporate World”

Armando Tinoco
·2 min read
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Jessica Lange is calling out the Hollywood film industry for prioritizing profits over creativity.

In an interview with Vulture, the topic of Warner Bros. Discovery shelving films as tax write-offs like Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme came up. Lange said, “There should be a law against” such practices.

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“We’re living in a corporate world, and it certainly has rolled over into the film industry,” she said in the interview. “So much of the industry now is not about the creative process. I mean, obviously this is not across the board, but there are many instances where I feel like the artistic impulse is overwhelmed by the corporate profit motive.”

She continued, “You look at some of the best films of the past year — what do they have in common? They’re not from America. My favorite was Anatomy of a Fall. How often do we get to see a film like that, where the ambiguity of things is never sewn up?”

With Hollywood focusing on big film franchises, Lange said that “nobody’s ever asked” her to be in one. However, if approached to star in one, she would decline, adding, “I wouldn’t know what to do with parts like that.”

Lange also made note of how the Hollywood industry has drastically changed with technology.

“I remember sitting on a film set waiting for hours for the cinematographer to get the lighting right, and it was worth it because the result was spectacular. But that’s changed,” she recalled. “Cameramen don’t light anymore; they’re shooting on digital. You’re not going to watch dailies. It’s a different ball game.”

“I’m just happy I had the opportunity when I was starting out to actually have those experiences with filmmakers like Sydney Pollack and Costa-Gavras,” she added. “I have to kind of kick myself every time I think, Oh God, it’s not as good as it used to be. Because it’s like the Buddhists say — there are two certainties in life: change and death. You can’t go backward.”

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