Are Stars Still Relevant?

In recent years, Hollywood films have seen a shift from star driven films into franchise driven films that sell based on familiar characters, worlds and stories rather than familiar actors. This has led to a decline in film stars, as audiences are simply not interested in seeing different characters played by the same characters. Franchises sell the film through multiple revenue streams the worlds; characters and story of the film are accessible through mediums outside of the film itself. For example, an audience member could watch a film and then play a video game in which they interact with the same character or they may read a novel and learn more about this character. This means that audiences are more interested in characters than the actors who play the character. This is apparent even in recent TV shows such as Doctor Who and Sherlock. Different actors play the same character in the same story and people don’t need to learn a new character each time they go to see a film. Franchises can also offer something to producers that film stars cannot – global appeal. An example of this is Tom Cruise, in American Cinema he is seen as an icon of patriotism and symbolises American values. While this may be suitable for American audiences, the same may not translate into Asian audiences who are not versed in Cruise’s filmography. However, a character like Captain America or the Hulk can have global appeal because their appeal lies within their character rather than the star that plays them. This has led to producers creating franchises in the hopes of achieving global appeal, shown by the fact that ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ has cast Donnie Yen in the film, a famous Asian star.

It is apparent that films can be sold based purely on their inclusion in a franchise, out of the top ten most successful films of 2015; only two were not part of a franchise. This shows that audiences are not as interested in stars now; franchises have placed more importance on familiar character rather than familiar characters. Another example is the fact that both modern renditions of Spider Man have been played by different actors, yet both were very successful. This shows how the audience values characters over stars.

Franchises can now offer the same things that stars once offered audiences. Stars in the 60s through to the late 90s offered and symbolised ideological values. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger (Arnie) was a huge star in the 80s and 90s. Arnie represented American Patriotism and America’s governmental values. In the 1985 film Commando, Arnie fights against South American villains in order to ‘save the day’. This reflects the real life context as the American government at the time viewed the South American government as a threat and as something that could overpower America; this was thusly reflected in the film where South Americans were portrayed as villains and evil. Arnie represented these beliefs, however in the modern day we don’t use stars to represent these beliefs and ideologies. Instead, franchises offer audience these symbolic beliefs. For instance, Captain America is a very obvious symbol of American beliefs and ideologies – this is represented by his costume and name, things that can offer universal appeal.

Another reason for the decline of importance in stars for audiences is the advent of more advanced technologies. During the time in which stars were important for a films success, audiences didn’t have access to televisions or home entertainment systems that were available in cinemas. This meant that the best way to experience a film was by going to the cinema to see the film, however now audiences can view films at home with extremely comparable quality to that of the cinema. This meant that when audiences were going to the cinema and were tasked with choosing a film to watch, they would often watch those with stars that they are familiar with and usually not a franchise or sequel choice. This is mostly because audiences could not continue the world of the story outside of the cinema through mediums such as video games and books, and therefore were less interested in going to see a franchise film.

Social media is something that has brought audience members much closer to film stars. It is even possible to directly communicate with stars. This takes away from the mystique and glamour that celebrities once held. Now, they appear much more like normal people and thus audiences are simply less interested in seeing them perform as a result. The advent of the Internet also makes stars lives more transparent, the audience can now see through the construct of a star. One example of this is Tom Cruise - due to films such as Top Gun and Mission Impossible as well as his own persona in public, Tom Cruise symbolises patriotism and American values. However, the Internet has now opened up his private life and has exposed his secret involvement in the church of Scientology as well as the act of him forcing his wife to go through labour in silence. This means that audiences no longer view Tom Cruise as an American hero and patriot, but rather as a deranged and abusive figure.

Social media also pushes the popularity of franchises in that fans of a film can group together and form fan bases through the Internet. People can now discuss their favourite characters and franchises via this medium and as a result, a new instalment in a franchise may feel like a social event, as many people will share their excitement about it. This makes franchises more relevant as it comes from a sense of community regarding the franchise and builds franchise loyalty which negates star power.

As video games have become more popular, they have grown to value character over stars. One example of this is in the video game series ‘Half-Life’. In this video game, the character plays as a silent protagonist in a literal first person protagonist. We can’t see the face of the character and we can’t hear his voice, this is very typical of games. This places importance on the characters motivations, feelings and goals rather than the star that is playing the character. This means that audiences are more interested in character because of this very reason; especially with characters they are familiar with and has thus reduced the importance of stars. Video games also offer another appeal to audiences over the cinema – value. Whilst a game may be more expensive than a cinema ticket on the surface, a video game can last far longer than the runtime of even much longer films as games have a virtually unlimited playtime. This means that audiences would be less likely to go to the cinema when they can stay at home and get more value for their money.

However, stars are still important for some sections of the audience. Members of the audience that grew up during the prime time of stars are more likely to be sold on a film based on its star appeal. One example of this is ‘The Expendables’ franchise; the film is sold wholly on its star appeal; including stars such as Jet Li, Arnie, Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone. Star appeal is still important to both audiences and producers regarding the older audience. However, it is not as relevant to a younger generation that grew up surrounded by franchises and declining relevance of stars.

Stars can still be relevant to audience members with certain actors. One example of this is the 2016 film ‘The Revenant’.  The film was the first film to knock ‘Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens’ off of the top of the box office and interestingly, it is not a franchise – it is star driven. The film was sold on the star power of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, both of whom are extremely popular actors The film also gained appeal from having a star director, Alejandro Innaritu directed the critically acclaimed and financially successful film ‘Birdman’. This shows how stars can still be relevant to both producers and audiences in an age seemingly dominated by franchises. One possible criticism of this argument is that The Revenant’s success is a result of the films release date. January is typically a time where franchise films lay dormant, waiting for the summer in order to sell more tickets to younger audiences who will be on a break from education. It could well be that if another franchise film such as ‘The Avengers’ was released at the same time as ‘The Revenant’ that it would not do as well as it did. Another possible reason for the films success outside of its star power could be the twelve Academy Awards Nominations it has received, especially during December /January which is typically considered to be ‘Oscar Season’.

Film stars are also relevant in the fact that they are often needed in order to launch a franchise. ‘Maleficent’ is a film that has become a franchise due to its success. However, it may not have been a franchise if it were not for the casting of Angelina Jolie in the film. Angelina Jolie represents strong women, famously standing up to public hate regarding her double mastectomy. The producers of Maleficent knew this and thusly cast her as a strong, powerful female character in the film. This shows how stars are not completely irrelevant as they are often needed in order to launch a franchise and make it familiar with audiences in order to bring the franchise back.