Ryan McNeil
Norma Desmond said she still was big, and that it was the pictures that got small. Maybe she was right…then again, maybe not.
There are a few bumps and bruises along the way in this episode, but I think it still works very well. Truthfully, this sort of four-person, two boys/two girls dynamic was what I wanted to trot out for every IBD episode. Here’s hoping I can do it more often! For this show, the four of us talked about the changing face of movie stars, and what it takes to be one and stay one nowadays.
My guests this week include a podcasting vet, and two rookies. The old hand is Corey Pierce from CriticalMassCast; the newbies are Danielle D’Ornellas and Titania Plant. The four of us got
To recap the concept of this offshoot – expect to see these episodes turning up once a month. My intention is for them to be a bit more raw (there are almost no cuts in this conversation), a bit shorter, with no rules, and less of a pecking order on who sits down at the table.
Enjoy!
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I’ve downloaded the episode and will listen to it as soon as I have the time! Cheers!
The IBD episodes are shorter by Matineecast standards. 35 minutes or so. Hope you enjoy it when you get a chance to listen.
Ryan, I’ll say this again. The In Between Days episodes are some of my favorites, and this one is no exception.
Your topic was very timely after last weekend, when movies from Cruise and Sandler (especially) didn’t get big numbers. I agree with the point that cinephiles are more focused on directors (or up-and-coming actors like Michael Fassbender or Michelle Williams), while many young people are just looking at franchises. It’s sad on one hand, but I also don’t think having a star system is so great either. It’s always evolving, especially now that ticket sales keep dropping.
Interesting point: Part of me worries though that the cinephiles wants are getting increasingly sacrificed for the whimsy of the masses. This is actually a bad thing as many in the masses, regardless of quality, go to the cinema four to six times a year…whereas cinephiles are known to go once a week.
I’ll have to do an IBD about directors at some point – but it won’t be July…I already know what’s coming next month!
Ryan, I do share your concern about those trends for sure. The cinema has already lost a lot of its mid-budget commercial films, which used to be a staple. I read a story the other day that movies are playing a much smaller role in the entertainment lives of younger people. It’s really too bad.
Nothing lasts, right? I think in the very first one of these IBD episodes, Matt Price talked about that very thing and how a few hundred years ago, opera was considered the height of artistic expression.
Great topic, especially for someone whose podcast is focused on the actors. Something you didn’t directly mention, but touched on with tabloids, is how much the onslaught of “reality” tv stars plays a part. I can’t help but think the Kardashians and Snookies of the world have more or less ruined what being famous means when any loser can obtain it with such little class. I feel their presence everywhere has tarnished the good name of celebrity (not to mention the shows for all the D-list celebrities, like Dancing with the Stars and Celebrity Rehab), depsite the fact they’re no where close to the likes of the “Holy Trinity” of today and the stars of yesteryear. And since the reality surge happened around turn of the century, when we our interest in actors started to wane, it has to be more than coincidence, right?
I know I thought about that when fleshing out the discussion in my head, but I must have forgotten to mark it down in my notebook before showtime (yes, even in these discussions, I take my cues from notes).
But you’re right…when I stand in the check-out line at the supermarket and I realize that I don’t recognize half of the faces on the magazines, I realize just how far the bar has been lowered in terms of whose lives people want to know about.
To quote THE INCREDIBLES: “When everybody’s super, nobody will be”