"It doesn't seem easy to get things made anymore. At least not the kind of films that interest me," Lange said. She said she has "a couple projects that have been in the works forever that may or may not happen." One long-running effort is a film about the later career of Marlene Dietrich, which she has tried for years to get made and says she is struggling to produce. She also said the technology of modern moviemaking, video playback in particular, puts distance between directors and actors on set.

Her latest film is "Long Day's Journey Into Night," an adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's play that opened in theaters on September 25. Lange plays Mary Tyrone opposite Ed Harris, Ben Foster and Colin Morgan. Reports of the interview describe her as seeing the role as a fitting final one, and she appeared content with it.

It is not the first time she has talked this way. In a 2023 interview with a British newspaper, Lange said she was considering phasing out of filmmaking, and described a film business in which creativity had become secondary to corporate profits. Since then she has returned to Ryan Murphy's "American Horror Story" for its 13th season, reprising four earlier roles. The series has been renewed for a 14th season. After that return, she called FX Networks "f–king cheap," saying she and her co-stars had to drive themselves despite being paid actors.

Lange made her screen debut in the 1976 remake of "King Kong." She has won two Academy Awards, for "Tootsie" and "Blue Sky," from six nominations, along with three Emmys and a Tony Award in 2016. Her directors included Bob Fosse, Bob Rafelson, Costa-Gavras, Tony Richardson and Karel Reisz, and she worked with actors including Dustin Hoffman, Kim Stanley and Jack Nicholson. She called the whole stretch an "extraordinary run." A mother of three, she said balancing work and family was "difficult at times" and that she is grateful for the "great adventure."

Asked how she would like to be remembered, Lange answered: "For some good parts. For some good films. For being an honest actor." She is set to receive a lifetime achievement award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival.