how are stars important to audiences and producers

How important are ‘stars’ to audiences and producers?

Hollywood film stars are considered very important to producers as they are what brings money into the box office and are often the element that attracts a broader audience. For audiences, stars are important as they create fan bases which audiences can become involved in and can often help audiences in deciding whether they should spend their money on seeing a film the cinema or not.

The first importance of a star to audiences and producers is their capital value. This is based on how successful a star can make a film be due to being in the media often and always being mentioned because of popularity. Capital value in stars is important for audiences as it means that they can read about their favourite stars in magazines and can watch them in TV interviews as a high capital value is what makes a star appear in this type of media. Furthermore, if the audience’s favourite star is always in the spot light, whether it is for a good reason or bad, the star begins to come a part of the member of the audience’s life and can make a positive impact on them. An example of a Hollywood star considered to have high capital value is Channing Tatum; when Tatum is seen in trailers the target audience (mainly teenage girls) understand that the film is for female gaze due to Tatum often being shown in magazines for this specific target audience showing off his attractiveness. Once the target audience are aware that the film is made for gaze many then have an easy decision and decide to attend the film showing at the cinema.

Capital value is also very important to producers as it makes more money for the studio if their star is regularly shown in the media. Moreover, capital value can add monetary value to a film therefore can reduce possibility of the film making a loss. When stars possess capital value, they bring showbiz, glamour, magazine appearances, television interviews and news coverage which all contribute to their film’s success. Due to Channing Tatum having a large fan base he is mentioned very often; also as he appears in teenage girl’s magazines very often for attractiveness he is almost always in the media. In addition, due to Tatum making regular appearances in girl’s magazines it is almost certain that the majority of the magazine audience will also be the audience for a newly released film that he appears in.

The next important aspect of a film star is their construct, in other words the image that they show which hides their true selves from their audiences. For audiences, construct can often put a star into a certain genre therefore the audience is assured that they’re going to see their favourite star in a genre of film that they know they enjoy. Furthermore, the majority of film audience’s pick their favourite star based on the atmosphere that they create in films and the persona that they deliver therefore the audience would gain pleasure from going to watch their favourite star using their construct to create their character in a film. When Channing Tatum is shown in a trailer, the audience become aware that the film will most likely be within the romance genre and will include a lot of female gaze. Tatum has created these expectations by working to maintain his muscle which keeps audiences watching for the purpose of gaze. Also, this star gives off calm, laid back personality in his performances and in reality which the target audience find attractive and therefore keep watching his films for more.

With regards to producers, they are able to meet audience expectations by picking a star best fitted to the role. For example, Channing Tatum is always picked for the attractive male role, this is very obvious in 21 Jump Street when Tatum is paired up with another police officer who was less attractive and less “popular” person in high school. The contrast in attractiveness is significant in this film as when they go undercover as high school kids there is an accidental identity swap and Tatum becomes the less noticed, “unpopular” kid helping to create the story of the film. Moreover, Tatum is usually picked for the role of a faithful family man as he is in real life, such as in The Vow and Dear John.

Deviance is a very important aspect of a star in the film industry as it does well in getting them noticed. Deviance is a huge positive for the audience as it constantly puts their favourite stars in the press because of their inappropriate behaviour meaning that the audience always has the chance to read about the star or watch programmes or news about them on the television, keeping a constant update on them. As Channing Tatum used to be a stripper, which is quite a daring job that not many would have a part in, this is often seen as his deviant side. Tatum produced the film, Magic Mike, which is based on his story of being a male stripper in Florida starring himself as lead stripper Mike and co-star Alex Pettyfer playing the part of young Tatum himself. As Tatum is often put across as an innocent man in his films, the target audience were interested in seeing his deviant side and therefore this film was a success at the box office.

For Hollywood producers, all press is seen as a positive, even if the press are implying that the star is deviant; this is because any sort of press will increase the profit of the film and the main focus for Hollywood producers is the amount of money they make from their productions. In addition, a star’s deviant characteristics can be put across in films to meet the audience’s expectations and attract more viewers. An example of this is Channing Tatum in Magic Mike. There are many debates in reviews for this film on how Magic Mike doesn’t focus on the story as much as it does on being a “flesh-fest” for the girls. Because of these debates, a large quantity of people wanted to see the film for themselves to make their own judgement which created a wider audiences and portrayed the idea of bad press being good press in the world of film. Also, Channing Tatum showing off his deviant side in Magic Mike was unusual compared to his roles in other films therefore this attracted a larger audience as it was the complete opposite in comparison to usual expectations for a Channing Tatum film. The laid back personality that Channing Tatum shows off in films and in reality can often be seen more as a bad attitude such as his role in Step Up where he ends up doing community service, which demonstrates the deviance of this star and how it can be useful for casting.

The final aspect of Hollywood stars that is important to audiences and producers is cultural value – a star’s possession of a moral or ideology which they like to flaunt in their performances. Cultural value is important for audiences as it can teach them life lessons, also the audience can often relate to a film better when stars represent an ideology. In modern society, particularly in teenagers, men can be seen as disrespecting women therefore teenage girls can easily relate to films starring Tatum as he usually plays the role of a loving, careful husband or boyfriend. Tatum often represents how men should be, not only in his films but in his construct too. An example of this is Step Up when his character changes from a troublesome teenager to a respectable young man in order to please the girl that he falls in love with during his community service time in her performing arts school.

Finally, cultural value is important to film producers because if film producers wish to represent an ideology in their film they can use a star who famously supports this ideology in reality. Channing Tatum stars in The Vow which is based on a true story, Tatum was picked for this role as he puts himself across as an average family man and loving husband in reality therefore he was best suited for playing the role of the husband to a woman who suffers head injuries in a car crash and needs a huge amount of help and support in regaining her memory. Lastly, Tatum plays the part of a soldier in Dear John representing how hard their lives can be; he was best suited to this role as he is seen as an average, innocent man.

In conclusion, I think that stars are of a huge importance to audiences and producers as they make films seem more realistic when necessary and help to gain a huge sum of money in the box office.