Gwyneth Paltrow has criticized Hollywood's push for superhero movies, despite starring in them herself for over a decade.
The 51-year-old actress starred as Pepper Potts alongside Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark in the classic 2008 film Iron Man, which kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Paltrow reprised her role in Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3 and featured in several other successful MCU movies, including Tom Holland's Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
While appearing as the latest guest on First We Feast’s Hot Ones hosted by Sean Evans, the Goop founder was asked about her opinion on director Cord Jefferson’s recent speech at the Academy Awards after he took the trophy for Best Adapted Screenplay, for American Fiction.
During his speech, the 42-year-old writer touched on the "risk" of making both bigger and smaller-budget films, and said: "Instead of making one $200 million dollar movie, try making 50 $10 million dollar movies or 50 $4 million dollar movies.
"I just feel so much joy being here, I felt so much joy making this movie, and I want other people to experience that joy, and they’re out there, I promise you," he added.
Evans asked Paltrow for her opinion on his speech, and she responded: "I absolutely understand where he's coming from. It makes sense, right? You want to have the best chance of having a strong [return on investment]. People put a lot of money into these things and they want them to be profitable."
Watch Paltrow talk about superhero movies below:
The Oscar-winning actress then said there's a "big push into superhero movies," in the industry, and slammed that "you can only make so many good ones that feel truly original".
"Yet there's still, you know, always trying to reach as many people as possible, which sometimes hinders quality or specificity or real point of view," she continued.
Paltrow then reflected on how she "grew up doing" smaller-budget films, adding: "I sometimes lament the fact - like, I look back at some of the movies I made in the '90s and think that just wouldn't get made now.
"I do think that you do get more diversity of art when there's less at stake, and people can sort of express their true voice and make a film the way they want to make it," she added. "And then I think those are generally the more resonant ones."
The actress, whose parents are actress Blythe Danner and film producer-director Bruce Paltrow, gained wider acclaim for her performance as Viola de Lesseps in the historical romance Shakespeare in Love (1998) which won her an Academy Award for Best Actress. She was also praised for her role in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and Shallow Hal (2001).
In a 2019 interview with Variety, Paltrow opened up about why she has shifted her career in Hollywood, stating that the film industry "changed so much in the last 20 years" and stopped making "mid-budget stories targeted to adults".
"I don’t think any of the movies that I’m known for would get made today," she continued. "Would they make The Royal Tenenbaums? Would they make The Talented Mr. Ripley? Would they make Shakespeare in Love?"
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