{"id":17837,"date":"2026-07-26T13:48:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T08:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17837"},"modified":"2026-07-26T13:48:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T08:48:31","slug":"john-cusack-reveals-why-he-stepped-away-from-hollywood-after-decades-of-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17837","title":{"rendered":"John Cusack reveals why he stepped away from Hollywood after decades of films"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F07%2Fnewspress-collage-8ru6coghh-1785054817857.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>John Cusack opened up about why he\u2019s largely taken a step back from Hollywood. <\/p>\n<p>The \u201cBeing John Malkovich\u201d star, 60, said he wanted to tell stories without studio executives weighing in, prompting him to write his upcoming graphic novel \u201cMomo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always thought [graphic novels] were the closest things to film, really,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Variety\/status\/2080721412663263270?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told Variety<\/a> at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday. \u201cYou\u2019re picking out shots, they\u2019re so cinematic.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>John Cusack speaking to Variety Studio at San Diego Comic-Con in California on July 24, 2026. <span class=\"credit\">Variety via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cusack explained he turned to writing because he \u201cdidn\u2019t [want to] negotiate telling a story.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you ask somebody to put $20 million or $30 million into a bank account [for a film], they want to have an opinion and they\u2019re afraid and all that stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Instead, he teamed up with illustrator Ignacio No\u00e9 to create \u201cMomo\u201d on their own terms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was just like, I wrote it, and I said, \u2018I like the story,\u2019 and then I got this beautiful, wonderful artist, Ignacio No\u00e9, to do the illustrations and so nobody edited anything I wrote or that he drew,\u201d Cusack said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo it\u2019s really a piece of work that was just done by two people. It was just me and Ignacio\u2019s story, and that doesn\u2019t happen today.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Cusack, 60, revealed he\u2019s stepped back from Hollywood to avoid studio meddling and tell stories his way. <span class=\"credit\">Variety via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no bull, and there\u2019s no committee. There\u2019s no computer up in Seattle that\u2019s poll testing it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMomo\u201d \u2014 Cusack\u2019s first graphic novel \u2014 is set to be released on Sept. 29.<\/p>\n<p>The story follows two fugitives in 1972 who set out to recover an ancient artifact for TV icon Jackie Gleason.<\/p>\n<p>The actor spent decades as one of Hollywood\u2019s most recognizable leading men, starring in \u201cGrosse Pointe Blank,\u201d \u201cHigh Fidelity\u201d and \u201cCon Air,\u201d but his acting career has become increasingly selective in recent years.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Cusack as Martin Blank in the 1997 film \u201cGrosse Pointe Blank.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He appeared in the 2025 films \u201cFog of War\u201d and the Mandarin-language film \u201cDetective Chinatown 1900\u201d after starring in the Chinese espionage thriller \u201cDecoded\u201d in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Before that, his only screen credits since 2020 were the action thriller \u201cPursuit\u201d and Amazon\u2019s dystopian series \u201cUtopia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cusack has been outspoken about the state of Hollywood for years.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Cusack as Rob Gordon in \u201cHigh Fidelity\u201d (2000).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cMy friend Joe Roth ran Disney [until 2000],\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2014\/sep\/25\/john-cusack-hollywood-maps-to-the-stars-interview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told the Guardian<\/a> in 2014. \u201cHe made things like \u2018The Rock\u2019 and \u2018Con Air\u2019 to make shareholders happy, but then he also gave six or seven slots to people he liked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got to make \u2018High Fidelity\u2019 and \u2018Grosse Pointe Blank.\u2019 Spike Lee got to make \u2018Summer of Sam.\u2019 Wes Anderson got to make \u2018Rushmore.\u2019 I had that memory of film and that\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow it\u2019s six for them \u2014 with a committee cutting the film who weren\u2019t part of making it \u2013 and maybe one for you,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Joan and John Cusack attend a screening for the film \u201cMax\u201d at the Bubble Lounge in Manhattan on Dec. 19, 2002. <span class=\"credit\">PMc \u2013 Patrick McMullan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cusack isn\u2019t the only member of his family to step away from the spotlight.<\/p>\n<p>His older sister, actress Joan Cusack, 63, <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/28\/celebrity-news\/joan-cusack-makes-first-red-carpet-appearance-in-11-years-at-toy-story-5-premiere\/\">made her first red-carpet appearance since 2015<\/a> in May when she attended the London premiere of \u201cToy Story 5,\u201d ending an 11-year absence from public events.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel so honored to have worked in this industry for a long time,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/06\/10\/entertainment\/joan-cusack-breaks-down-decision-to-ditch-hollywood-before-toy-story-5-return\/\">the actress told Variety in June<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cBut it\u2019s also great to live your life and raise your kids and be in Chicago and be a normal person.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Cusack opened up about why he\u2019s largely taken a step back from Hollywood. The \u201cBeing John Malkovich\u201d star, 60, said he wanted to tell stories without studio executives weighing in, prompting him to write his upcoming graphic novel \u201cMomo.\u201d \u201cI always thought [graphic novels] were the closest things to film, really,\u201d he told Variety&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/newspress-collage-8ru6coghh-1785054817857.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1785040466&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}