James Dean: Doomed, rebellious superstar |
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"Change is the only evidence of life." From Evelyn Waugh's novel, BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, this quote is one of my all-time favorites. It is profound, true, and, in spades, it's relevant to the box-office and its stars.
The power and the reign of even the brightest box-office luminaries are limited. Stars, like dairy products, have a limited shelf life - even though their expiration date isn't clearly tattooed on their celebrated butts.
In truth, many of the legendary stars from Hollywood's Golden Era burned brightly, but very briefly.
James Dean's rise to stardom was meteoric, unprecedented, in 1955 with the release of EAST OF EDEN. His star burned white hot with the debut of his second flick, the iconic, legendary REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. The 24-year-old superstar was dead and buried (literally) months before his third movie, GIANT, hit theaters in 1956. To this day, Dean's stardom was among the most intense in box-office history – as well as the shortest.
Jean Harlow, Hollywood's original platinum-blond supernova, first went into orbit with Howard Hughes's 1930 epic 
Marilyn Monroe: American icon and obsession |
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HELL'S ANGELS, and then became one of that decade's biggest box office attractions. She and her stardom were extinguished when she died of uremic poisoning in 1937, at age 26.
Then there was Marilyn Monroe, the All-Time Number One Blond Box Office Bombshell. In the late 1940s, the former Norma Jean Baker Dougherty was relegated to bit parts and walk-ons in cinematic trifles including THE DANGEROUS YEARS and THE SHOCKING MISS PILGRIM. But, oh, how Marilyn wiggled when she walked on. By 1953, NIAGARA and HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE had made her a superstar, and an American Obsession. Nine years later, on August 5, 1962, she was found dead in her Beverly Hills home.
Still and all, Dean, Harlow, and Monroe are luminaries belonging to your parents, grandparents, or even your great-grandparents', generations. Let turn our gaze to a more recent past.
Ten years ago, the following stars packed opening week at the multiplex for their films – all of them among 1998's Top 20 Box Office hits: Antonio Banderas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mel Gibson, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Tom Hanks, and 
At height of his power, Costner couldn't sell WATERWORLD |
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Julia Roberts. Who among them would almost-certainly put butts in multiplex seats this summer? Probably only Tom Hanks - and maybe Julia Roberts if she were starring in PRETTY MATURE WOMAN, or ERIN BROKOVICH 2. Let's face it, last decade's stellar box office star is likely to be this decade's Pharmaceutical spokesperson.
Not only do the hottest stars burn briefly, their box-office power is limited. Time and again, we see that the stars can't convince us to see flicks in which we have no interest. I could site hundreds of examples, but this is a column, not a book. So, I'll mention a few of the most infamous. Kevin Costner at the height of his public and critical acclaim couldn't get us to the multiplex for WATERWORLD, or any other post-apocalyptic film in which he starred. Ditto for twin supernovas Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman for the big-budget, miniscule-grossing ISHTAR. Even the likes of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, directed by legendary Stanley Kubrick, couldn't persuade us to keep our EYES WIDE SHUT at the box office.
The next time you're tempted to believe 
Will Downey be able to open IRON MAN 6 in Summer of 2018? |
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that your favorite star has this world by the balls, remember their hold on us is tenuous, fleeting. S/he may not even have the clout to convince us to see their latest tepid offering – eyes wide open or SHUT.
SUMMER BOX OFFICE WATCH: Jack Black was back and Number 1 on the Weekend of June 6-8. His KUNG FU PANDA grossed a more than bearable $60 million. Adam Sandler's terrorist turned hairstylist, THE ZOHAN, hair-sprayed a most respectable $40 million to take Second Place. The Babes of Sex and the City have heels and nails but they're short on box office legs, crashing from $57 million on their opening weekend to a sexless, suburban-like $21 million in their second Weekend to nail Third Place.
Over Father's Day Weekend, THE HULK captured the Number 1 spot with a healthy, but less than INCREDIBLE, $54.3 million. The nation's Number 2 attraction, KUNG FU, pandered $34.2 million. And Night Shyamalan's THE HAPPENING opened to a less than apocalyptic $30.5 million. To date, with more than $605 million in worldwide grosses, INDIANA JONES is the Number One Box Office Atrraction of 2008.
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| The Business of Show |
Every other Friday
Does advertising, public taste, or overindulged stars determine a movie's box office fate? Christoper Stone explores what's going on behind the box office.
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| Christopher Stone |
Christopher Stone is the author of the international best seller Re-Creating Your Self. With Mary Sheldon, he co-authored three highly successful hardcover books of guided meditations.
He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West.
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