Hollywood Hasn’t Been the Same Since Gene Hackman and Jack Nicholson Retired

They already played comic book villains. Been there, done dat!

I agree, OP.

I wish Hackman would come out of retirement to do one more decent movie so the final film of his career isn’t “Welcome to Mooseport.”

More importantly, Liza hasn't made a movie in 11 years.

I still miss Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.

[QUOTE] They already played comic book villains. Been there, done dat!

And that was back when comic book movies were actually rare and special.

R3: I've just seen Mr. Hackman in, "I Never Sang For My Father", (my second time). Wow! A subtle and yet a perfect performance. R5: And Mr. Lemmon in "The Apartment", need I say more?

Jack Nicholson hung around too long. I agree with R3 that it's too bad Gene Hackman retired after that awful movie but he's created another successful career as a writer. The Conversation will always be in my top 5 favorite movies.

I’M SHTILL HERE DAMMIT!

Hackman hasn't published a novel since 2013, so he may now be truly retired.

Things haven't been the same, since you came ... into my life.

It’s time to move on. Out with the old, in with the new.

“The old” just won an Academy Award for Best Actor, R12.

The movies they used to make are now becoming limited series on streaming services.

I'm HAPPY that they retired because they were too old to continue. Nicholson particularly milked everything out of his career before leaving. If he and Hackman were still working, we wouldn't be getting another As Good as it Gets or Mississippi Burning, we'd get Geezer at the Gas Station and Great Grampa Dies of Food Poisoning.

Back in the days when we all kept our distaste for other people inside the house.

[quote]Hackman hasn't published a novel since 2013, so he may now be truly retired.

Hackman is 91 YEARS OLD. He's probably not up to working on anything.

Those who are talking about Liza, she's 75, cannot walk, probably can't pass an insurance physical. There will be no more films or TV work.

I'd have accepted another Gene Hackman film ONLY if he kept fully dressed

I always found Hackman oddly sexy.

Nicholson is repulsive.

I think Nicholson and Hackman both have dementia.

If I could have only one actor's body of work to watch on a deserted island it would be Gene Hackman's.

I miss Abbott and Costello.

Yes, Hackman is old now but if he kept going we could’ve had two more decades of movies from him.

And hell, even at 91 I bet he could do a film now if he really wanted to.

R23 = age 24

I felt Nicholson was turning in the same performance year after year. Hackman was much more versatile an actor, and I felt more compelling. I hope they can continue to enjoy their well earned retirements.

They were only actors so I doubt they would have changed anything about the industry if they worked longer. It was already in motion to become more vapid and commercial. Nicholson actually contributed to this with his deal for Batman.

Both can barely stand up anymore . What movie would they make? “Two Heads on a Pillow “?

R23 Hackman has said the only way he would do another film is if it could be filmed around his house. Funny actually.

The last interesting thing Nicholson did was About Schmidt, which was a rich, character part and eons better than As Good As It Gets. If he wouldn’t have won the Oscar for AGAIG, they would’ve gave it to him for AS.

Nicholson probably has Alzheimer’s or dementia. They both earned their retirement and I wish them well.

[quote]I wish Hackman would come out of retirement to do one more decent movie so the final film of his career isn’t “Welcome to Mooseport.”

I liked “Welcome to Mooseport” but I think I could watch Christine Baranski in anything.

[quote]Nicholson probably has Alzheimer’s or dementia.

OR enough money not to give a shit

He’s late 80s and has “put on weight” and he doesn’t want to be seen, I recently read. But this site doesn’t really care for him so I’ll let people here believe he has dementia. Makes them happy.

Can we get rid of Pacino and DeNiro next? Please.

Pacino, yes, throw in Hoffman. De Niro, with no plastic surgery or wig like the others, could have a couple of good performances left in him.

When someone is in their late 80s or early 90s and hasn't been seen in public in some time, it's not unusual to think they are no longer compos mentis.

R31 Hackman is 91 and Nicholson 84.

Agree that Hackman was sexy in his own way. He never had a youthful look.

Didn't Nicholson call into some politics show last year? He sounded perfectly coherent.

There’s nothing wrong with either one of them. They just got tired of the game.

[quote]Those who are talking about Liza, she's 75, cannot walk, probably can't pass an insurance physical. There will be no more films or TV work.

She looked better than I expected her to a couple weeks ago at Feinstein's birthday but she does clearly have some health problems.

Hackman had a terrible reputation for being difficult and fighting with directors, the latter probably because he never got to direct himself. Russell Crowe of all people commented on Hackman after they did that western with Sharon Stone. Russell said do you want someone who is easy to get along with who gives you an ordinary performance or do you want someone who is a SOB but gives you a great one?

R39, Liza has lost a considerable amount of weight in the past year or two, not a good health sign for someone her age. She didn't lose it in Pilates class.

R40, how would any actor of Hackman's stature act if they had to work with Sharon Stone?

I don't think Hackman resented Sharon Stone. He was just a pain in the ass because he always thought he knew better and didn't like being directed.

I’m guessing directors toward the end of Hackman’s career were not as adept at the acting aspect of filmmaking as they were with the technical aspect of movie making, hence his being thought of as difficult just because he had no interest in arbitrary solutions.

Flame away.

[quote]I don't think Hackman resented Sharon Stone

Hackman was just exasperated having to deal with Stone's entitled faux Mensa-soaked pretentious star bullshit.

They're all just old. Same with Pacino, De Niro, and Hoffman who are OCTOGENARIANS. People don't often write good roles or movies for older people especially nowadays, Hopkins in The Father was a big exception. I will say Hackman has been the best at preserving his image because he chose to retire rather than do glurgy nonsense like De Niro, dear god.

I think Jack Nicholson is fabulous, but peak years (70s) I strongly preferred Al Pacino. Pacino's best ever performance (Dog Day Afternoon) just trumps pretty much any male performance of that decade for me, Nicholson comes close with Five Easy Pieces.

The ranking for me of the New Hollywood core five (again, in their peak years) would go something like Pacino > Nicholson > Hackman > De Niro > Hoffman.

I also find it funny how the "biggest" leading men of the time like Robert Redford and Warren Beatty aren't seen as the great actors the above 5 are. They were kind of just pretty faces for the audience to look at while less conventionally hot men did the acting heavy stuff.

R45, Redford and Beatty were never in the same league as the others. They were post-method modern actors who were better that the other pretty boys - that's their claim to fame and it isn't saying much. Redford was lucky enough to be in three huge successes, Butch Cassidy, The Sting, and the romantic lead in The Way We Were. TWWW made Redford a mega sex symbol in the 70s. Beatty was far less commercially successful.

R45 Hackman did his share of paycheck shit films, just like Pacino and DeNiro. I think it has a lot to do with financially how well you are off. DeNiro is still paying out money to that gold digger he was with. Pacino is recently divorced, but probably likes to work a lot to avoid boredom, and maybe has expenses we don’t know about (an ex and twins can be expensive). Hackman probably just said fuck it I’m old, tired and well off enough to live comfortably until I die.

[quote] Russell Crowe of all people commented on Hackman after they did that western with Sharon Stone. Russell said do you want someone who is easy to get along with who gives you an ordinary performance or do you want someone who is a SOB but gives you a great one?

That was "The Quick and the Dead." It's one of my favorite movies. Hackman was really good in it, very sexy in his own way. Tons of really good character actors.

R47, Al Pacino has never been married.

If you're financially secure and tired of industry bullshit, then you say I'm done and retire.

That's what Joan Crawford did. Not everyone wants to work until they drop like Bette Davis. But she really enjoyed acting so that's another part of it.

Joan Crawford retired because she was past her expiration date and couldn't get hired, R50.

Bette Davis did love to work, but she also never stopped working because she always needed money. Most of her money was spent on her mother, sister and ungrateful little bitch of a daughter, BD. She supported a lot of people for decades. A star of her stature should've been quite wealthy, but she had a lot of people to support during her lifetime.

Is Barbra Streisand still working because she needs money or because her ego can't handle retirement? If it's because her deadbeat/never had a job 54 year old son needs to be supported, I know you guys will let her off.

[quote]The last interesting thing Nicholson did was About Schmidt, which was a rich, character part and eons better than As Good As It Gets.

R28 "Eons" refers to time. Please clarify.

Barbra takes long breaks between projects, she's been doing this for many years now.

I love Gene Hackman. One of my favorite movies is Mississippi Burning. He’s great with Willem Dafoe in the leading roles.

I’ve read such nasty stuff about Jack Nickerson and how he treated women, I can’t like him anymore. Same with Woody Allen

Jack Nicholson is 84. Hackman is 91. They're dinosaurs.

Gene Hackman, Cpl, USMC.

Busted three times in four years for leaving his post without permission.

Is that supposed to make him less interesting, R58?

[quote]I’ve read such nasty stuff about Jack Nickerson

Me too, Nickerson was an SOB

[quote]Joan Crawford retired because she was past her expiration date and couldn't get hired, [R50].

Not really. Joan started accepting tv jobs in the late 50s through 1974, but I think she lost her nerve like many older actors and though she continued to get mostly tv and a some film offers until she died (including a big inquiry for her services the week she died) she instructed her agents to turn them down, she was done.

R49 my bad he broke up with his female partner.

Isn't Al supposed to be gay which is why he has never married? Maybe there was more to this relationship with Martin Bregman than we knew.

[quote]Bravo to Hackman for his service – he left home at age 16 and lied about his age to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. He served four and a half years as a field radio operator, and Hackman ended up a Corporal in The Marine Corps.

Corporal is a minor rank.

What does this have to do with Hackman's acting career?

Get over it, R61. Crawford left because she was no getting work and because she looked like the Wrath of God. She knew it and retreated, well known story.

^ Words from director of Joan Crawford's last film, Freddie Francis:

I did it because of Joan Crawford, and poor Joan by this time was a very sad old lady. We had to have idiot cards all over the place because she couldn't remember her lines. It was the last thing she ever did and she shouldn’t have done it. Neither should I... She had no friends, and she kept writing sad letters to my wife and I until she died.

The film was Trog (1970)

The scenes in "FEUD" about her filming Trog are heartbreaking.

I'm sure Streisand's Malibu compound costs a fortune to run with all its houses, taxes, staff, insurance.... And then she's an art collector whose last tour where she was croaking her greatest hits was just to buy one Modigliani. She's also a benefactor. Her life ain't cheap.

And then there's that mall which has no revenue.

Liza could be fitted up in an antigravity suit and be the Baroness Harkonnen for DUNE 2.

Joan's last role should have been BABY JANE. Everything she did after that was an embarrassment. Had she stopped there, sghe would have been able to lift her head high. I guess he still needed money, though.

It's an interesting thing, though: almost no actor ends his or her career on a high note if they live long. The only one I can think of off the top of my head who did was Lillian Gish with THE WHALES OF AUGUST. Almost always the last film they do before they retire is terrible (which is usually why they finally throw in the towel).

R68 Eek that was sad

I can't even imagine how much it must cost to keep Barbra's Malibu compound running. The bills and expenses have to be astronomical.

Maybe Babs should put Jason to work, R75. First she'll have to teach him how to mop floors and scrub toilets. Then make blintzes.

Although the film is gentle and minor, Lillian Gish's performance is "The Whales of August" is remarkable.

Gish makes mincemeat out of Bette Davis who is off her game.

Bette Davis should've retired when she had the stroke that paralyzed half her face. It was uncomfortable to watch her after that. She looked awful and it seemed like just talking took all of her energy, she was so decrepit.

You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a movie with Gene Hackman in it. And, if you've seen one Jack Nicholson movie, you've seen them all.

There are plenty of middle aged actors who fill their shoes.

These two were DICKS. Do they exist anymore? Men who could be obnoxious, overbearing, thuggish....that kind of masculinity does't exist anymore, and that's why we miss them. I mean....Leonardo? Bradley? Benedict Cumberbatch? Jack and Gene could be horrible AND sexy. Those kind of men are gone, gone.

I believe "New Hollywood" actors in the 70s had a certain raw sex appeal to them - they're not male models who'd garner 50000 DL threads, but they look like they'd be a great fuck. It's the charisma and talent.

[QUOTE] There are plenty of middle aged actors who fill their shoes.

Start naming them, R79.

[quote]You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a movie with Gene Hackman in it.

What a HORRIBLE IMAGE.

Add Robert Duvall and Hoffman to the list .

I’m still around

R73 Paul Newman ended her career with dignity.

LOL whoops

In "Postcards From the Edge", Hackman's character, who was only briefly in the film, was so sincerely nice and sweet, it was almost jarring. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but his character really was a nice guy.

Love him in that film.

And I know his Lex Luthor, from the 78 "Superman" gets mixed reactions, but he's just so hilarious, I can't resist him.

Hackman needed to retire, so unhappy. nicholson was genuinely past his prime.

I thought "Strait Jacket" (64) and "I Saw What You Did" (65) were lame thrillers but not train wrecks, and Joan was OK in both. "Berserk" and "Trog" were shit hitting the fan.

Joan was a 24/7 alcoholic by that time in her life and her judgement was impaired. She was really delusional and bonkers by then.

Hackman's character in Woody Allen's "Another Woman" is also one of the only endearing good-hearted characters in the film. He's wonderful in his small role.

[quote] "Berserk" and "Trog" were shit hitting the fan.

That reminded me that Crawford friend Barbara Stanwyck had a movie called Roustabout in the 1960s, where she owned a carnival and wore jeans and boots. In Berserk, where Joan's a circus owner, she sashays through the manure in heels and chiffon.

Joan is great in "Berserk", wtf are you talking about! She looks really good, too!

People keep saying Crawford needed the money near the end of her career, that's why she did Baby jane and all of the other final films she made during the 60s.

I don't by that. Anyone who can just retire and never work ever again in the final remaining near decade of their life because they didn't like the way they looked in the newspapers. Isn't someone who needs money. I believe Joan was better with money than most people think. Crawford didn't grow up rich like katherine Hepburn did, so she was probably more money conscious as most people who grew poor are.

Besides, she left behind a $2 million estate in 1977. That was still real money at the time. No one can just say fuck it and retire and become a recluse and just stay in their apartment and not work ever again if they needed money. Crawford had plenty and probably saved well throughout her career.

Anyone who doesn't retire from showbiz with a fortune after decades of earning power. Is just stupid! That's the one profession you should always be careful financially in. That business is unpredictable.

Crawford had a stash, and she didn't die broke desperate or destitute as haten ass Ryan Murphy would have everyone believe. He knew Bette Davis so he had an axe to grind where Crawford was concerned.

Crawford was wise to cut off her ungrateful children. She died with some money in the bank. $2 million was a significant amount of money in the 1970s.

Bette Davis supported her leeching daughter BD and BD's useless husband in comfortable surroundings for many years and if she hadn't cut BD off when she did she would've died broke. A star of Davis's stature should've been a very wealthy woman.

R96 Agreed.

Bette should've been really comfortable living in a nice apartment somewhere with help. I've always thought, great Stars should retire after a certain point and retreat from the public. Live the rest of your life quiet dignity and don't tarnish your image by starring in bad films. Once you hit a certain age, maybe step back and be more picky about what you star in, especially if you can afford to say no to bad paycheck movies.

But some people just want the money, so there's that too.

[quote] And I know his Lex Luthor, from the 78 "Superman" gets mixed reactions, but he's just so hilarious, I can't resist him.

I preferred Miss Teschmacher

Oh, for sure, r98.

Hackman's Lex Luthor benefitted immensely from the performances of both Valerie Perrine and Ned Neatty.

[quote]I believe Joan was better with money than most people think.

At that time, women weren't good with money because money was a "man's job." Women notoriously lost fortunes trusting the wrong man/husband managing their money. Joan must have had a good business manager.

I thought Garbo retired early and lived an extraordinary retirement in high style. She must have handled money very well.

Yes, lots of female stars back then trusted their husband du jour with money (Judy Garland, Debbie Reynolds, Doris Day, among many others) and the husbands pissed it all away and the women ended up in financial straits. Later generations of female stars were much smarter with their money and left it in the hands of competent financial professionals. You don't hear about them going broke like you did in the old days.

You better have competent people handling your money. Money is freedom and if you don't have it, your screwed.

How many more films from them? Zero. That's what retirement means. You're an idiot OP.

Just watched Gene Hackman in Night Moves on TCM on Demand. He was great in the 1970s / 80s.

[QUOTE] Due to the poor performance of his final film (Mooseport only took in $14.6 million at the box office), fans often speculated that Hackman's retirement involved fatigue with the film industry overall. However, in a 2009 interview with Empire, Hackman clarified his reasoning: "The straw that broke the camel's back was actually a stress test that I took in New York." He continued, saying, "The doctor advised me that my heart wasn't in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress." Considering Hackman's age at retirement (74), this was par for the course. Sean Connery also retired roughly around the same time and age, after finishing The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003).

r45 Does Robert Redford still organise the sundance film festival or is he completely retired?

r75 Does she own the royalties to her songs?If so I imagine she gets some money annually from people playing her songs on jukeboxes in public venues like bars,pubs etc.

Davis is like an audio-animatronic cadaver in those talk shows she did after her stroke. She did a lot of crap just to be in front of a camera. She was like Madonna. Anything to be in the public eye.

She didn't have anything else going on r109 and it was important for her to still get out and do things. I agree that it was hard to watch her after the stroke. She was so frail and it seemed like it took all of her energy just to speak. She still drank and smoked, of course.

Erm, Streisand’s net worth is upwards of 300 million dollars. Money is NOT a problem.

R107, Redford never organized the Sundance Film Festival.

[quote]Does she own the royalties to her songs?

Do you mean publishing? NO.

Hackman never gave a bad performance whether comedy or drama. Wonderful actor.

His role as Captain Ramsey in Crimson Tide is one of the finest I’ve ever seen. I watch that movie at least once a year.

r112 Are you sure? I thought it was his baby.

r113 Well if she sold those rights she probably got a lot of money for them.

I wish Clint Eastwood would join them. He keeps making these movies about ancient codgers who can still fuck young women. It's unseemly.

[quote] His role as Captain Ramsey in Crimson Tide is one of the finest I’ve ever seen.

At 65 he was far too old for the role but his performance was so powerful you never thought about it

He looked great for 65. Thank God they didn’t allow ageism to keep him from the part.

Hackman I don't believe ever returned to the stage after his success in the Broadway hit Any Wednesday. He should have. Pacino did from a young age after he hit major stardom,

R116, Robert Redford FOUNDED the Sundance Film Fest, and is/was involved to a point. He certainly never "ran" it, and at age 85, isn't going to start.

R117, what are you talking about? By songs do you mean the sheet music or the recordings of the songs? Barbra Streisand is essentially not a songwriter, and would not "own" the songs (sheet music) unless she bought someone else's catalog. She hasn't. If you mean records of songs, she should get royalty payments based on sales from her record company. I'm sure there is income there, but it's not one-one thousandth of what Carole King makes from the songs she's written. And if Carole owns publishing rights to the songs she's written, she's a zillionaire.

I love them both. They had genuine presence.

Hackman is suffering from advanced COPD and is on oxygen full time.

R124 ...and you know this, how?

Streisand is I think known to be a very smart investor.

R124 is a liar.

Streisand was a "smart" investor on eTrade 20 years ago. That means it was a lot like throwing darts.

r122 Royalties are divided or split between performers /artists and songwriter. It's not either or. If a song is played in a bar on a digital jukebox the money garnered is split between the venue, the jukebox company and whoever owns the songwriting rights and the performance rights or royalties. I say whoever owns because some artists and songwriters sell their rights .

Ugh. Now we've evolved into a Streisand thread.

Streisand thread? YAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Buck would NEVER have retired!

Nicholson was one sick puppy based on his ideas for “Departed” rewrites, as told by Matt Damon.

[quote]Welcome back, Jack. It wasn't the same without you. - Los Angeles Lakers

I miss Jack at the Oscars.

Thanks, R134. Good to see Jack is still kicking.

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