If Jennifer Lawrence Can’t Open a Movie, Who Can?
The A-list actress’ recent stumbles with ‘Red Sparrow,’ ‘mother!’ and ‘Passengers’ are no reason to gloat. The death of the movie star is bad news for everyone in Hollywood
By Stephen Galloway
In 1993, John Travolta’s career was teetering on the brink. The actor, who’d become a superstar with Saturday Night Fever and then added to his luster with Grease, had all but ceased to matter as a cultural force. True, he could still deliver the occasional hit, such as Look Who’s Talking, but at the domestic and foreign box office he was a has-been, someone largely remembered for a white sharkskin suit and a few fabulous dance moves.
Hollywood had effectively written him off, perhaps unconvinced he was all that big a star to begin with. But one director, who was just beginning to make his name, had faith, and when he came to make his second feature, he chose Travolta for the most important role. That director, of course, was Quentin Tarantino; the feature was 1994’s Pulp Fiction; and with it, Travolta was back on top, raking in $20 million per movie and sealing his place in the pantheon.
It isn’t easy being a star, as Jennifer Lawrence must have thought when Red Sparrow opened to…
