WHET Jessica Lange?

She was so awful in Hush it killed her career for a decade. Ryan Murphy resurrected it.

DUMB ASS ANNOYING TROLL OP

She’s a loner.

I still fangirl.

Hardly, douchebag.

Miss Lange has been talking about retiring since the 1980s. I don't think she enjoys moviemaking much, and she certainly doesn't like playing the Hollywood game. It's amazing she's had a movie career this long considering she's been so ambivalent about it.

Seriously. The bitch has under 50 film credits and is a legend.

Alex fangirling over Lange is too cute!

I'm not a troll, R2. For some reason, the movie Tootsie came to my mind yesterday and I remembered Jessica Lange's role and started thinking about her. I was serious about my question...

R9 Well, I’m assuming you have all of the answers at your fingertips in her wiki.

I get her confused with Faye Dunaway, Elizabeth McGovern, Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow and Glenn Close. I cannot tell them apart.

R1, she worked steadily after "Hush," in smaller projects. She was raising a family and didn't want to be away from them too long on location shoots that drag on for weeks. Plus, she was pushing 50 and roles for middle aged women were drying up. When the kids were all grown and out of the house is when she returned to the spotlight.

Thanks, R12

Lange has done incredibly well for an actress with a reputation for being moody, openly criticizing her directors (she reviled what Taylor Hackford did to 'Everybody's All-American'), and never having much box office power.

She was super lucky that Orion's bankruptcy forced 'Blue Sky' onto the shelves for three years. She would not have won Best Actress at the Oscars for that film in any year other than super weak 1994.

Her recent renaissance is almost entirely due to Ryan Murphy; he was even responsible for her Tony-winning revival of 'Long Day's Journey Into Night.' Without him, she would have gone the way of many other 1980s/early 90s prestige actresses who disappeared in the new millennium.

R14 Lange made her comeback two years before Murphy was even on her radar with “Grey Gardens,” which won all of the top Emmys, including Best Actress - her first Emmy - and was a huge success for HBO. I presume that’s why she was even on [italic]his[/italic] radar, though he has admitted to being a longtime fan and wanting to “bring her work to a new generation.”

However, it is true that she would not have experienced the massive level of exposure she did with AHS. Then again, much of the success of the show can be credited to her. She got the children, as they say, to tune in and won most of the show’s awards. This is evidenced by the fact that the series never reached the ratings highs nor levels of popularity and awards love it enjoyed while she was the lead. Once she departed, the ratings took a hit and dropped quite noticeably and everyone else sort of moved on.

In the end, Lange has done quite well because when she’s on her A game, nobody can compete with her. Even Meryl admits this; that’s why she adores her so. You see, Meryl knows she can outact and outshine EVERYONE - men and women included - except for Lange, and that’s what fascinates her about this moody, mercurial, and quite humble icon. It’s also why she had continued to praise her publicly for the last 30+ years.

*she [italic]has[/italic] continued

R15, 'Grey Gardens' alone would not have been enough to fuel a full-on Lange comeback. Many older actresses can luck out with one successful TV movie; Lange's peers Diane Keaton and Sissy Spacek actually had successful *theatrical* releases in their fifties that earned them both Oscar nominations and renewed critical acclaim, but experienced no long-term boost to their careers.

Lange is a good actress, but to act like her success is because "no one can compete with her" is silly. The industry is not a meritocracy--there are better, less mannered actresses than Lange, but she had more luck on her side, as well as longtime fan Ryan Murphy to serve as the architect of her renaissance.

She’s forgettable.

[quote] This is evidenced by the fact that the series never reached the ratings highs nor levels of popularity

Huh??! The show broke ratings records and was the most popular series worldwide. Are you on crack??!

What world are you queens in? No one saw her in Feud playing Joan Crawford? She was amazing. And she was hysterical in the politician. And every season of AHS that she was Jn. Yes she owes a LIC ic that to Ryan Murphy but he owes A LOT to her.

I just wish he’d resurrect Kim Basinger - another highly underrated beautiful actress.

Be Kind, Please Rewind has a great video on the topic on youtube.

R20 She was good in every Ryan Murphy show BUT Feud in my opinion. She was miscast and after someone like Faye played Joan and looked so much like her, it is hard to accept anyone else who doesn’t.

That’s exactly it R22. Faye Dunaway played a campy caricature of Joan Crawford. And for most people FD’s version is all they know about Joan. Jessica was able to portray a human being while still maintaining certain camp aspects. Like how she hated Joan so much she campaigned for Anne Bancroft to win the Oscar while simultaneously convincing Anne to allow Joan to accept the award for her.

I think she could work more if she wanted to but she’s at an age where she may want to work less and enjoy life more. Even Meryl and Glenn don’t work as much. Diane Keaton, on the other hand, always seems to be working. God Bless Her.

All I know is that there was a time period where Jessica was working out at David Barton gym here in NYC with a trainer. She might have been doing something on Broadway then. But I passed her and smiled and she gave me the biggest smile back. Usually stars are so far up their own asses they can only see themselves or someone who can help them. This was just a simple sweet interaction between two human beings. She seems like a real, genuine person.

R23 The problem was she looked nothing like Joan. And she had so much work done that she looks so harsh in comparison.

Even back 10 years ago during Grey Gardens, Jessica Lange didn't bother to work that much. She just continued to be in the spotlight because there are people kept throwing role to her. None of the roles after Grey Gardens were actively sought after by her. Almost all are handed by her with the producers begging her to take it. And she kept winning awards without her wanting it in the first place. That's what happens when you were a true talent.

I’d rather have some become a person and deliver an amazing performance than someone who just looks like them and hits three notes.