Because if we're talking acting, then the quality of the movie is really sort of moot.
He's great in horrible movies AND classics.

>Is it easier to put in good work in straight-to-video, shitty
>movies where there is no pressure or scrutiny or bright
>spotlights?

Not neccessarily. Good acting is hard to do no matter what the quality of the film is. People are going to see you act in it, whether they gotta get the movie direct-to-video or on the big screen. You still gotta make it work.

>I can't believe this is a situation of Liotta not being able
>to get work in high-profile movies - he probably wants the
>no-pressure, easy-payday route even if it's to the determent
>of his prestige. I can't even say I'd knock him. It's like
>the athlete who'd rather get a big payday with a mediocre team
>then take a paycut to play for a contender; it's not just the
>money, it's the added stress and pressure to perform at a high
>level night in and night out.

It's more about the work. There's more work for an actor willing to take less pay and play smaller roles than there is for an actor to go from big budget flick to big budget flick. It's sort of why you haven't seen Jamie Foxx in more than 10 minutes of a movie in five years but Don Cheadle gets steady work.
As for acting pressure, I'm hard pressed to believe he's not taking big name projects because of "acting pressure." The man's in GOODFELLAS, you want to talk about acting pressure? Try looking more natural than Robert De Niro. Try pulling the spotlight from Joe Pesci. Try working for one of the biggest directors of all time. Try delivering in a movie with voice-over narration, as the main character, who falls heavy in the third act, with an ending that makes you despise him, all while trying to stand out amongst an all star cast. THAT'S pressure. And we all see how that turned out - Liotta gave an amazing performance.

>I think it might be more impressive to do something like
>DiCaprio is doing - maybe his performances aren't universally
>acclaimed, but there is something to be said about taking
>massively visible roles in major movies with (for the sake of
>this discussion) elite directors and not shying away from the
>pressures of the spotlight.

Two things cats forget when it comes to Leonardo DiCaprio.
*He can AFFORD to go from big budget movie to big budget movie. He made enough money off TITANIC to never have to work again. His grandchildren won't have to work because of that boat movie.
*He had five years where he made nothing noteworthy. Pull up his IMDB page and see for yourself. Cat had 2 years of "best new kid doing it" to FIVE YEARS of boring movies. He was written off until Scorcese pulled a Lazarus (remember, nobody was really checking for Scorcese when he made GANGS OF NEW YORK in 2002).


"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams