FS2: Stars A. What makes an actor a star? In pairs or small groups discuss your favourite film star whose image you have brought to class. Try to uncover reasons why that person has moved from being merely a film actor to being termed a film "star" and present them in a spidergram with their image in the centre. What are their special qualities?
B. Contemporary Stars The construction of stars is essentially an industry led phenomenon. The qualities of the actors become joined with the qualities of the characters that they play. Look at the contemporary stars cards. How does this work with your chosen film star? Create a contemporary star card for your chosen film star.
C. Star Theories According to Richard Dyer, a "star" can be defined from the following elements: PROMOTION: What the producers of a film let be known about the star. Maybe details of where they've come from. This is of course more interesting when a star has apparently been plucked from obscurity. PUBLICITY: What is known about the star from newspaper clippings, magazine articles or interviews in a range of media. A key aspect of Tom Cruise's star status, often referred to in publicity, was his marriage to the Australian actress Nicole Kidman. What does this information contribute to your understanding of him as a star? FILMS: The kind of roles made to draw out the "star" qualities, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger's film roles using his special qualities as a body builder.
CRITICISM & COMMENTARY: This is the "currency" or "value" of the star. To what extent is their work critically acclaimed? How are they debated as a star? As a fantastic actor? As a brilliant screen presence? As a professional stunt person? Other critics have argued that a star is best defined as someone positioned between the ordinary and the extraordinary, representing at the same time the ordinariness of someone we may know and the extraordinariness of someone we would aspire to know. Most of the audience know of film stars in 2 main ways • •
The star made available to the audience via the films they star in. The star made available to the audience via the various publicity in which they appear.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Ex Mr Universe, a muscle bound actor who became a star by playing "musclebound" parts. The potential for humour in this huge man playing more sensitive figures was attempted in films such as "Junior" (1994) and "Twins" (1998), but was it successful?
The audience expects a display of physical prowess from Schwarzenegger. Would it work for him to play a serious role where his strength and physicality were not important?
Tom Hanks Plays the role of the sensitive American man in many different genres of film from "Sleepless In Seattle" (1993) to "Forrest Gump" (1994) to "Saving Private Ryan" (1997) to "The Green Mile" (2000).
In each of these films he plays an essentially good character struggling with questions of morality and the greater good. Could an audience read him as a conventional villain?
Leonardo Di Caprio Made his film debut playing a retarded oy in "what's eating Gilbert Grape" (1993), a low budget film about family and community and went on to play Romeo in William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" (1991) and Jack Dawson in "Titanic" (1999).
Di Caprio is essentially an object of romantic interest for young women. How does this fit with your view of him as a star?
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