One of my student leaders pointed me to an article about how Ryan Reynolds is not a movie star. The article is about who is and isn't famous (and why), but also a commentary about fame. Unfortunately, the article loses steam and the sports analogies are apt but distracting.
Actually, I don't think the rules have changed. Most films are crappy. Being famous is not a guarantee of success. The best actors and actresses are generally given supporting roles (William H. Macy), and only star in indie films. Actors aren't under contract, as they were up until the late forties or early fifties (I think), but still a studio banks big on a name for most movies. The number of theaters a movie opens in, which strongly correlates to box office take, usually depends on the actors involved. Occasionally there's some "buzz" generated.
I no longer have a TV feed, and with Pandora, I never listen to ads on the radio, so I honestly don't know what's playing or coming out. I used to read IMDb news every day, but they switched formats and linked out everything and put stuff behind their paywall, and as a result I lost interest. I'm still a movie fan, but Netflix suggestions are usually pretty on-target (although Netflix thinks I like horror movies and even has that as a category it prompts me to). I have unintentionally insulated myself from most commercial media, but I don't really mind.
