Do you know this face? Or this one? How about this one? Stars:
•Star: Lehman & Luhr do not define the term; its usage and meaning are context dependent; generally the “real” person playing roles •Not all actors are stars and not all stars are actors •John Ratzenberger for example, has “starred” in every Pixar film
•Star System: “A system of casting that privileges stars over ordinary actors. This includes the placing of stars under contract by the major studios from the 1910s to the 1950s and the creation of stars by means of carefully assigned film roles and publicity campaigns” (Marlene Dietrich )
•Star Image: “A set of characteristics that has great popular appeal and that makes an actor a known and desired quantity. Some stars maintain a fixed image, while others are prize for the variety of roles they play.” (Clint Eastwood )
•Star Text: The accumulated media and print images accumulated over a star’s career – their oevre . We do not “know” stars personally; we “know” a text. Film theory: Richard Dyer, Stars (1979) “The work of stars is always ideological. ” [Stars embody personal/political contradiction ] “The primary concern of any attention to Hollywood must be with the dominant ideology of western society. ” [Stars emerge in specific social and historical contexts ] Three Aspects of Star Image Stars are Texts, Commodities, and Social Phenomenon
Star as text: Carrie Fisher… Princess Leia Mark Hamill .. Luke Skywalker
Star as commodity: Billy Dee Williams … Lando Calrissian Mark Hamill … Luke Skywalker
Star as social phenomenon: James Earl Jones … Darth Vader Harrison Ford … Han Solo Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) (Norma Jeane Mortenson) * 29 feature films, no major awards
Three aspects of “star image” a) Stars as Text : Asphalt Jungle (1950) The Seven Year Itch (1955) Some Like it Hot (1959)
b) Stars as Commodity : Paramount Newsreel (1953) Marilyn: The Final Days (2001)
c) Stars as Social Phenomenon : First Issue of Playboy (1953)
Married: James Dougherty (cop) Joe Dimaggio (ballplayer) Arthur Miller (playwright)
JFK Presidential B-Day (1962) Rumored affairs with: John F Kennedy & Robert F Kennedy Playboy Magazine: First Issue December, 1953 Woody Allen (Born Allan Stewart Konigsberg ; December 1, 1935)
Established himself as a stand-up comedian in the 1960s.
Has written and/or directed more than 50 films since 1972.
Life-size statue in Oviedo, Spain.
Woody Allen as Text: Guest Host of The Tonight Show (1971)
Woody Allen as Commodity: Antz (1998)
Woody Allen as Social Phenomenon: Time Magazine Interview (2008) Kal Penn (Born Montclair, New Jersey, 1977) - More than 40 film and television performances since 1998. No major awards as of 2009.
Star as Text : Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (2004) The Namesake (Mira Nair, 2006)
Star as Industrial Product Screen Actors Guild Awards Jimmy Kimble Live
Star as Social Phenomenon Public Service Ad Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006)