The Post-Movie-Star Era

Richard Corliss suggested that we may be in Hollywood's first poststar era – Top stars, who were the surest guarantee of a return of investment, are no longer earning big bucks for a picture. Now, no matter how appealing the movie stars are, what draw the crowds are the story and attitude. Meanwhile, star vehicles keep tanking as being in a string of hits no longer matters much to many stars. In addition, with Hollywood getting most of its revenue from no-name epics and nonstar animated features like Ratatouille and Alvin and the Chipmunks, it seems like big names no longer mean big grosses.

I disagree with Richard Corliss that we may be in Hollywood's first poststar era. Perhaps, the significance of a movie star has declined but it has not dropped to the extent that we can take it off our checklist in the movie industry.

To an extent, Richard Corliss could be right in saying that the story and the attitude of the movie that draw crowds and that is why movie stars are earning less – they now have to share the credit of their success with the producers of the movie. Still, without the movie stars, the producer would not be able to convey the movie's story and attitude to the audience nor win their support. Movie stars exist because they have made heads turn with their exceptional performances and we need these exceptional performances to bring out the flavor of a movie. If what draw the crowds to a movie are the story and attitude, as according to Richard Corliss, then movies stars, equipped with their exceptional skills, are important to deliver the movie in the right way.

In addition, it is impossible for no-name epics and nonstar animated features to take over the "movie-star era". Firstly, it takes a lot of talent to produce successful no-names epics. So unless the world has enough talented producers who can constantly produce excellent epics and dedicated directors who are always willing to sacrifice their precious time to develop actor wannabes, having no-name epibcs to overrule big-names movies is out of the question. Secondly, the reason why nonstar animated features like Ratatouille and Alvin and the Chipmunks are so successful is because they add new flavor to the movie industry. However, if everyone starts producing such nonstar animated features, they will no longer be considered unique and at the same time, lose its attractiveness. Therefore, neither would nonstar animated features be able to take over the movie industry.

However, having less significance on movie stars is something worth looking forward to. Firstly, the fact that more people are paying more attention at the movies' story and attitude shows that people are getting less superficial. The audience is no longer just paying attention at the facial features of the actors, but more of the expressions that they give. This would motivate directors to produce better pictures instead of simply relying on the appeal of movie stars, hence upping the standard of the movie industry. Secondly, the increasing success rate of nonstar animated features would encourage development of integrated technology to produce better animation. Perhaps, future animation would have their own voice and less haste would be involved in recording voices to suit the animation.

In conclusion, the post-movie-star-era is not plausible. However, the drop in significance of movie stars promise developments in the standards of the movie industry.