You can only make so many good ones: Gwyneth on superhero films
Actor Gwyneth Paltrow shared her thoughts on Hollywood’s “big push into superhero movies” and how that is “hindering quality”, at a recent appearance on the talk show Hot Ones,
The actor was speaking in reference to a remark made by filmmaker Cord Jefferson during his recent Oscar speech. While winning his Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the American Fiction (2023) director he made an appeal to industry executives, stating, “Instead of making one $200-million movie, try making 20-$10 million movies.”
“I absolutely understand where he’s coming from,” Paltrow told presenter Sean Evans, adding, “You want to have the best chance of having a strong ROI (return on investment). People put a lot of money into these things and they want them to be profitable. But, I think 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. Yet, they’re still always trying to reach as many people as possible, which sometimes hinders quality or specificity or real point of view.”
Though Paltrow’s most wellknown role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was as Pepper Potts in 2008’s Iron Man, she rose to prominence in the 1990s with roles in Shakespeare in Love (1998) The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), the former of which earned her an Oscar.
“I grew up doing those [midbudget] movies. Sometimes, I lament the fact that I look back at some movies I made in the ’90s and think that just wouldn’t get made now,” she continued, “You get more diversity of art when there is less at stake and people can, sort of, express their true voice and make a film the way they want to make it. And I think those are generally the more resonant ones.”
The actor also starred in two other standalone Iron Man movies and other projects, but her last appearance as Pepper Potts was in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.