Watcher JimmyC understands as well as anyone why the era of the movie star is over.
Pundits can blame actors’ sky-high salaries or the constant exposure from outlets like US Weekly, but JimmyC says it’s all about consistency – and branding.
It used to be that if a certain star was in a movie, you could count on them delivering a good time in the theater, even if the film varied in quality. Stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise, and Mel Gibson went out of their way to make sure that they were consistently delivering what the audience wanted.
One thing that changed is, actors started branching out into edgier, more offbeat roles, which might bring them more critical recognition but also turned off their fans. I remember seeing Punch-Drunk Love in the theater, and while I enjoyed the film, alot of audience members walked out, and it’s hard to blame them. They bought their tickets wanting to see “an Adam Sandler movie,” and their guy wasn’t delivering what they wanted. Likewise, how many Tom Cruise fans wanted to see Lions for Lambs?
Will Smith is one of the few actors who consistently delivers for his fans these days, and even he recently struck out with the dull, moody Seven Pounds. That doesn’t mean that actors aren’t allowed to challenge themselves or try different things, but if no actor can be trusted to first and foremost entertain people, then why should we bother with them?
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
And you summed up in one word- branding- what it took me three paragraphs to say.
I can’t say I really agree. What’s ruined the “movie star” is the type of people they are has been laid bare for everyone to see. That’s not saying they are all bad people, but the mystique is gone.
Factor in the ones whose personal lives really are train wrecks and the huge numbers that have shown their contempt for the majority of their audience over the past 10 years or so and that pretty much did it.
They and their films are no longer given the benefit of the doubt.
I don’t know, Opus. Hollywood has always been ridden by scandal, and the gossip rags have been around since at least the ’50s. The public has always been aware of movie stars doing bad things, but only recently have they been rejecting the movie star as a whole.