It’s hard to believe that Cameron Diaz has been “retired” -- as she herself puts it -- for six years now. The former actress, entrepreneur and mom of one has kept busy in the time since and yet she’s still widely considered to be a movie star. Likely helping matters is the fact that her movies have cropped up on Netflix’s Top 10 list, including Bad Teacher, which enjoyed a second run of popularity on the subscription streamer this fall, much to Diaz’s amusement.
Netflix has become a bit of a purveyor of forgotten, underwatched and sometimes memorable comedies from film history, and Bad Teacher is no exception. The flick was the #1 movie on Netflix at the beginning of October, a milestone that Cameron Diaz admits caused her to crack up.
I laugh every time I see it come up on our [Netflix] feed. It’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I used to make movies!' When I first started acting, I would hear this saying during production: ‘Celluloid lives forever.’ It’s a little different now because everything is digital, but the fact that movies remain in people’s lives is still true. As for Bad Teacher, listen, I’m glad everyone on Netflix liked it, but all I can think about is how that movie is over a decade old now! Which is crazy for all of us.
I don’t know if it’s more difficult to digest the fact that Cameron Diaz is retired or if it’s more difficult to digest the fact that Bad Teacher came out nearly a decade ago in 2011. The film stars Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel (who recently transitioned back into television with Dispatches From Elsewhere). Meanwhile, the fact that a dated Cameron Diaz movie is keeping her in the conversation does have a hint of humor to it, as she related to Elle.
Though, it may simply be that Cameron Diaz was at a very different period in her life when Bad Teacher came out. Still, it’s also worth pointing out that Netflix has helped a lot of movies gain new audiences and get a second shelf life; in fact, Cameron Diaz is not the first actor or actress this has happened to. Patriot’s Day, a Mark Wahlberg movie, enjoyed a nice, cozy run on the subscription streamer around the Fourth of July, for example.
These days Cameron Diaz is in her late forties and enjoying a quiet life cooking and taking care of her family at home. She’s still active on social media and has been busy pushing out information about her new wine brand in 2020. Like her pal Gwyneth Paltrow, she’s seemingly transitioned into a new part of her Hollywood career following her last acting gig in 2014’s Annie.
We’ll have to wait and see what she does next, but if I have to venture a guess, I’m going to say it’s not going to be a Netflix movie. You can see what new content the streamer has coming with our full schedule.
