For some time now, we’ve been hearing that there are no movie stars anymore, to the point where it’s become trite to suggest such a thing. Still, now that the monoculture that defined the pre-Internet years is a distant memory, talk of the death of the movie star is really just a way to point out the changing cultural landscape, one of which Hollywood is no longer the vanguard. .
Culture is now fragmented like never before. Audiences no longer look primarily to Hollywood to shape their cultural ideals, but it would be foolish to argue that actors like Zendaya or her “Dune” co-star Timothée Chalamet don’t possess star power. These are names that will be of great help to any production. The thing is, being a movie star was never just about that one thing. For those in the business, being a star was about more than being able to generate buzz and ultimately generate box office revenue based solely on your name.
Upon receiving your honor OscarAlec Guinness recalled something he learned during his training as an actor. “If I was really going to have a career in film,” he said, “the smart thing to do was to do absolutely nothing, and that’s pretty much what I’ve done since.” It’s the same thing that Alfred Hitchcock valued in his stars. The director maintained that James Stewart’s job in Rear Window was to “do nothing right,” which might seem like an oversimplified rhetorical flourish, but this idea of ”doing nothing right” has been a consistent concept throughout. throughout Hollywood history, a concept that links Guinness, Hitchcock and Stewart with director James Cameron, his “Titanic” star Leonardo DiCaprio and the living screen legend that is Jack Nicholson.
Acting is easy, doing nothing is difficult.
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In an interview with GQJames Cameron once recalled casting Leonardo DiCaprio in his 1997 epic “Titanic.” As the director recalled, Leo was pushing for his character, Jack, to have some kind of physical ailment. It seems that the actor had gotten it into his head that something like this would guarantee him success at the awards, but for Cameron it was all nonsense. The director recalled telling Leo: “You have to learn to stay centered and not have all that stuff. This is not ‘Richard III.’ When you can do what Jimmy Stewart or Gregory Peck did, they just stood there, they didn’t. limp or lisp or anything, then you’ll be ready for this.” For Cameron, having some sort of past grief or trauma was an easy way to bring drama out of a role. “Those are props, they’re crutches,” he said, adding, “What I’m talking about is much more difficult.”
What he was talking about was exactly what Alfred Hitchcock had implied when talking about Stewart and his ability to “do nothing right.” For both directors, an essential part of being a movie star was that ineffable magnetism that would radiate regardless of what the individual was physically doing. It’s this that links these greats to another Hollywood legend: Jack Nicholson, who apparently had it all figured out long before Cameron and Leo.
In a 1985 Chicago Grandstand In the interview, Nicholson said: “Doing nothing in front of the camera is the key. The ability to do nothing is the main ingredient. The camera makes most people want to act. But you have to come up with nothing before to be able to do something.”
Jack Nicholson can’t do anything right
Warner Bros.
It may sound strange to hear Jack Nicholson talk about doing nothing on camera. The man built a career delivering some of the most expressive performances ever committed to film, from Jack Torrance’s malevolent rampage in “The Shining” to Jack Napier’s transformation from an underrated mob soldier to a twisted mass-murdering clown. in Tim Burton’s “Batman.” The fact is, Nicholson has been known to swing for the fences. But there’s a reason “The Shining” director Stanley Kubrick said Nicholson brought the “unactionable” quality of intelligence to his roles. He could see that his star’s appeal was much more than the way she played twistedly too convincingly.
Nicholson’s best-known roles are, of course, not his only roles. The low-key Nicholson is just as appealing as the over-the-top Nicholson: just look at his portrayal of Warren Schmidt in “About Schmidt,” for which he earned an Oscar nomination and remains one of Nicholson’s most iconic roles. That aside, even in his most expressive performances, Nicholson can be seen doing nothing well. In the aforementioned “Batman”, his Jack Napier exudes a menacing aura before his great transformation into The Joker. The man doesn’t really have to do much in those early scenes to convey his character’s commanding presence, which when combined with his delightfully flamboyant performance as the Clown Prince of Crime, makes that film a true Nicholson masterclass.
Sadly, Jack Nicholson disappeared from Hollywood about a decade ago, and one can’t help but feel that he took the true movie star’s age with him. It’s not that there isn’t anyone who can “do anything right” anymore, it’s just that this kind of quality seems to have less value in an age driven by the rapid cultural paces of social media and streaming. So maybe that’s the reality behind the idea of there being no more movie stars. In an age where everything is designed to grab and hold your attention, it’s simply harder to notice those who are, as James Cameron would say, “just standing there.”
