Word: hollywood
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...tale of two movies. On the first weekend in June, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End led the North American box office with $44 million. In second place was the no-star comedy Knocked Up, at $30 million. Which number made Hollywood happier? The second, because the budget of the Judd Apatow comedy was also in the $30 million range, about a tenth that of Pirates. And as word of mouth goosed Knocked Up's weekday grosses past Pirates, the film also certified its leading man, Seth Rogen, as a new comedy star. First law of movie economics...
...Keaton and Harold Lloyd. Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Vince Vaughn and their jolly colleagues aren't of Chaplin's artistic stature, but they are something the industry loves (moneymakers) and the public needs (pleasure givers). Fronting hit after hit, comedy stars have taken the place of those Hollywood stalwarts, the action stars...
...summer, the year and maybe the decade--comedy has become the most reliable source of Hollywood profits. Moguls love to hit the home run of a Pirates or a Lord of the Rings, but they live on the bloop doubles of Talladega Nights and Meet the Fockers. A top comedy star may earn the same as an action star, $20 million to $25 million a picture, but that could be nearly half of a comedy film's budget; everything else (script and director, supporting cast, production cost) is cut-rate. "You can make three comedies for every action movie," says...
...more popular talent contests and reality shows. Movies have stepped into that gap. There's a connection with TV, of course: nearly all of today's movie-comedy stars (Carell, Stiller, Ferrell) started on the small screen. The biggest hits also depend on two of the oldest, most productive Hollywood combustions: first between script and star, then between star and audience...
Even further back, in Hollywood's golden age, stars--including comedy stars--radiated glamour. Cary Grant could whinny, do a pratfall and wear a dress, but he was still one of the handsomest, most seductive men on the planet. Comedy audiences today are not looking for gorgeous people with cute problems; anyway, they're not finding them (with the exception of that pearly, Grant-like anachronism, George Clooney). The movement has been from class to mass and, in some cases, to jackass...