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Hollywood Stardom

By Paul McDonald

We live in a society that is fascinated by celebrities.  Soap stars, pop stars and film stars are on the front cover of magazines or in newspapers and continue to promote themselves through blogging, tweeting and a love/hate relationship with the media.  Paul McDonald’s book Hollywood Stardom examines stardom as a feature of the contemporary Hollywood film industry.  The writer is aiming to bring together star studies and industry studies to explain the unique position of the Hollywood film star. 

Previous theory on film stardom has explored the significance of celebrity status in relation to media and communications.  Industry studies explore conditions of film production, distribution and exhibition.  These two areas of study overlap when films are shown at the cinema and received by audiences.  The moment of reception is key to the success or otherwise of a film and to the popularity of its stars. 

The idea of ‘the film star’ was not immediately apparent to early Hollywood filmmakers.  The names of actors or performers were not even included in film credits until around 1909.  By 1913 the notion of film stardom had emerged, with the realization that audiences wanted to know more about the private lives of film stars.  The book takes Richard Dyer’s critical theory of stardom as a starting point.  Dyer defines stars as more than just an image appearing on a screen but as a complex amalgam of all that we see and hear of an actor or actress; verbal and aural readings as well as visual.  Something as simple as a distinguishing facial quality can be a characteristic of an actor, for example chapter 7 of Hollywood Stardom focuses on the smile of Tom Cruise, an event that viewers can recognize in a film.  The fashion magazine In Style recently interviewed the Hollywood star Julia Roberts and ran an article that contemplated her smile – only her smile. 

The book examines the concept of stardom within the post-studio system of Hollywood production.  During the ‘studio system’ period stars were tied to particular film studios through strict performance contracts.  McDonald explains that in the post-studio system stars such as Will Smith represent ‘dependent independence’.  Independent stars are not tied to a particular film studio but still depend on films to maintain their stardom.

One of McDonald’s key concepts in the book is that of a trajectory of stardom whereby an actor is introduced to the market, the audience; becomes popular and successful in films, leading to an increase in trajectory; may increase or decrease in appeal with each subsequent hit or flop film, but eventually decreasing as the star ages and fades away.  Hollywood Stardom clearly identifies the film actor’s lifecycle using several film stars as examples. McDonald’s trajectory of stardom does not, however, take into account the fact that Hollywood does not always rely on movie stars to sell films to audiences.  For the last decade Hollywood has not been producing films such as Saving Private Ryan starring Tom Hanks or Ocean’s Eleven starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt; but has been producing films that are pre-sold, building on audiences’ existing knowledge. 

Owing to affordable and believable special effects and computer-generated imagery, the film industry itself has changed, with the rise in popularity of fantasy and comic book films.  Since 1932 the Quigley Publishing Company has polled US film exhibitors each year to gauge the view as to who are the top ten moneymaking stars of the year.  During the 1990s stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger or Robin Williams would regularly feature in the poll.  Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson, George Clooney and Johnny Depp were popular during the late 90s/early 00s. By contrast, the top-grossing film for each of the last ten years has been fantasy, comic book or animation. Such films have not relied on movie stars for audience appeal.  

In addition to film theory from established film academics such as Richard Dyer, Thomas Austin, Steve Neale and John Sedgwick, the author also includes evidence on stardom from economic scholars.  The effect of a star on the performance of a film has been covered in several economic studies that have remained un-referenced by mainstream film studies until recently.  The important work by Arthur DeVaney and W. David Walls, Uncertainty in the Movie Industry: Does Star Power Reduce the Terror of the Box Office? is given the recognition that it deserves.  Other studies such as Information, Blockbusters and Stars by S. Abraham Ravid and Predicting Box Office Success by Ramesh Sharda and Dursum Delen remain fascinating but are relatively un-acknowledged by critical film studies.  In Hollywood Stardom the relationship between Hollywood modes of production and economic film theory is given the importance that it deserves. 

Film studies have evolved from literary studies, concentrating on text and meaning.  Celebrity studies have centred on media and culture.  McDonald successfully merges these two areas of study in a fascinating and yet easy to read study of Hollywood film stardom.  When concluding their study into Box Office Success and Stardom, DeVaney and Walls quoted the American novelist and screenwriter William Golding who said that ‘in Hollywood nobody knows anything’.  In their study of Risk Strategies and Profitability of Hollywood Films John Sedgwick and Michael Pokorney concluded that in fact ‘somebody in the film business must know something’.  It is clear that Paul McDonald knows a great deal about Hollywood movie stars. 

Hollywood Stardom  by Paul McDonald is published by Wiley-Blackwell 2013.  352pp.,  36 mono illus, £19.99. ISBN 140517983X