SSC Film Studies

How important are 'Stars' to audiences and producers?

Stars are to both producers and the audiences extremely important.  Professor Gledhill came up with a theory stating four important elements that stars have, I will apply this to Daniel Day Lewis in order to see how he with his acting contributes to the success of films. The first element starts have according to Gledhill is capital value; this means that the star alone brings monetary value to the film. This is a necessity for producers as it adds to the security of making profit; this is only possible due to stars having big fan bases. And in this case Daniel Day Lewis is known for doing successful off beat films such as There Will Be Blood, he is also known for being the only actor to win 3 Oscar’s for the best actor in the leading role. This then boosts his fan base and keeps him in the public consciousness.  Resulting in more hype for the film thus benefiting producers

The second element of a star is a star as a construct, which asks how much of the star’s personality is real and how much is constructed? Film stars are very much involved in creating their own personality and image, as audiences want to know the real person, as well as the star, so the star has to create an admirable image for the public. However with Daniel Day Lewis he is a well-respected in the industry and is popular with audiences. Stars will usually choose to do adverts reflecting their desired perception they want to produce, for example George Clooney comes across as a ‘smooth gentleman’ in Oceans 11 and in a advert for espresso he literally comes across the same.

The third element to a star is a star as a deviant, which asks if the star has a wild side to them. Because film stars are famous for their hedonistic life styles, it makes them seem more desirable when they go against the normal rules and behaviour expected in society. But, if a star is consistently in the news for too much bad behaviour, it can disrupt their idyllic image, often seen in their films. For example Daniel Day Lewis was recently headlined in the papers; "Get a F***ing Life": Last Words Daniel Day-Lewis Spoke To Half-Brother. However for producers bad press is good press as it means that the film will be talked about in the media and once again the hype will result in more viewers wanting to so him acting.

The fourth element is cultural value, as some stars signify social, moral and ideological values. They can tell the public how to behave, how to act and how to construct their own identity. In their films they can represent their own ideology and help society to become better people. I think Daniel Day Lewis does this in the movie Lincoln were he plays one of Americas most beloved presidents Abraham Lincoln and sets out very important principles for audiences.