Movie star Tobey Maguire greets fans at the Spider-Man 3 premiere in Queens

A movie star (cinema star or film star) is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is a Canadian Actor. For the video game based on the film see Spider-Man 3 (video game. A celebrity is a widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity, that is to say, a celebrity whose name is used to promote a film in ads such as trailers and posters.

Origin

Lillian Gish was one of the first female movie stars, working from 1912 to 1987

In the early days of silent movies the names of the actors and actresses appearing in movies were not publicized or credited as they are now. Lillian Diana Gish ( October 14 1893 – February 27 1993) was an American stage screen and television actress whose An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Some of these performers had to help build the sets, do clean up and other chores around the film studio. As the movie-going public became more interested in the performers who attracted their attention, however, the curiosity to know more about them made the movie studios and producers rethink their policy.

As the demand increased, they began publicizing the names of their leading women and men, and bill them in the credits of their movies, such as Florence Lawrence, referred to as "the first movie star," who was previously known only as the "Biograph Girl" because she worked for Biograph Studios, and Mary Pickford, who was previously known as "Little Mary. Florence Lawrence ( January 2, 1890 &ndash December 28, 1938) was a Canadian inventor and Silent film actress who Biograph Studios was a studio facility and film laboratory complex built in 1912 by the Biograph Company, formerly American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, at 807 Mary Pickford ( April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979) was an Academy Award -winning Canadian motion picture "

Movie studios employed performers under long-term contracts. A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law They developed a star system as a means of promoting and selling their movies. "Star vehicles" were filmed to display the particular talents and appeal of the most popular movie stars of the studio.

Perks

Traditionally, those who achieve "star" status in the movie industry are given special treatment, perks and high salaries. Some have become extremely wealthy, such as Marilyn Monroe who is said to have been one of the biggest movie stars in history. Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson, June 1 1926 &ndash August 5 1962 baptized Norma

Other than those movie stars who began forming their own production companies to make more money and those who received a percentage of the profits to star in a movie, such as Lana Turner for Imitation of Life (1959), reaping millions of dollars, the first movie star to be paid a fee of $1,000,000 to star in a movie was Elizabeth Taylor for Cleopatra (1963). Lana Turner ( February 8, 1921 &ndash June 29, 1995) was an Academy Award -nominated American Film Imitation of Life is a 1959 film directed by Douglas Sirk, adapted from Fannie Hurst 's novel Imitation of Life, produced The year 1959 in film involved some significant events Events The Three Stooges make their 180th and last short film Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE (born 27 February 1932) is a two-time Academy Award -winning English-American actress Cleopatra is a 1963 Film directed by Joseph L Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, The year 1963 in film involved some significant events Events January 28 - Filming begins on Dr For his appearance in the 1978 movie Superman, movie star Marlon Brando received almost $4,000,000 for eight minutes of screen time as Superman's father, Jor-El. The year 1978 in film involved some significant events Top grossing films (U Superman (also known as Superman The Movie) is a 1978 Superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the Marlon Brando Jr (April 3 1924 – July 1 2004 was an Academy Award -winning American Actor, whose body of work spanned over half a century Jor-El is a Fictional character from the Superman Comic books, published by DC Comics. The highest paid Hollywood actress is Julia Roberts, who received $25,000,000 for her role in Mona Lisa Smile. Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28 1967 is an American - Academy Award winning Film actress and former Fashion model. Mona Lisa Smile is a 2003 American Film that was produced by Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures, directed by The highest flat fee paid to any actor was $30,000,000 to Mel Gibson for reprising his role in Lethal Weapon 4. Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, AO (born January 3 1956 Lethal Weapon 4 is a 1998 buddy cop action - Comedy film directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson,

Usually, a star receives the most earnings when they agree to forgo part of their usual payment in exchange for a certain percentage of the gross takings of a particularly successful film). The most prominent example of this concession is the $185 million paycheck that Keanu Reeves received for his participation in the Matrix sequels (The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions). Keanu Charles Reeves (kiːˈɑːnuː born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian Actor. The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 Film, the second installment in ''The Matrix'' trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers The Matrix Revolutions is a 2003 Film and the third and final Film in ''The Matrix'' trilogy. Reeves accepted an up-front salary of $20,000,000 for the project, plus an additional 15% of the movies' gross revenue. Furthermore, a movie star's popularity can allow for more artistic accommodation such as personal projects or supporting collaborators or friends that otherwise would not have support from the studios.

Movie stars also receive what is known as "celebrity swag" when attending award ceremonies, winning an award and presenting awards. This "swag" comes in the form of gift bags or baskets containing items worth up to $30,000. Companies provide the movie stars these items for free in hopes that they will receive free publicity for their products.

Downsides

Personal privacy is often a major issue as well; the individual can rarely appear in public for long without being surrounded and often harassed by strangers and/or the paparazzi. Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively Paparazzi is a plural term ( paparazzo being the singular form for Photographers who take unstaged and/or candid photographs of Celebrities

Movie stars often are required by movie producers to appear on TV, to newspapers etc to publicize their movies. They often stipulate that they will not talk about their private lives but only about acting and movies.

Modern Decline

The common consensus both within and outside of Hollywood is that movie stars in the past decade have been unable to match the universal appeal of "classic" movie stars (e. g. Charlie Chaplin, Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, Steve McQueen, Jack Nicholson, Claudette Colbert, Cary Grant). To explain this phenomenon, some point to the growing trend of "niche marketing" Hollywood movies, producing stars with strong, but limited appeal to specific demographics. Others point to the unappealing public conduct of modern stars, or to Hollywood's tendency to hire career actors who possess little life experience.

Treatment outside the West

Movie stars in other regions too have their own star value. For instance, in Asian film industries, many movies often run on the weight of the star's crowd pulling power more than any other intrinsic aspect of film making. Asian cinema refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Asia.

Indian movie stars

The Indian film industry has its own set of rules in this aspect and there are often superstars in this region, who often command premium pay commensurate with their box office appeal. The Indian film industry is the largest in the world in terms of ticket sales and number of films produced annually (877 feature films and 1177 short films were released in the year 2003 "Super Star" redirects here for the Sibel Tüzün song see Süper Star. Among them, Shahrukh Khan, Chiranjeevi, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Salman Khan Kamal Hassan, Aamir Khan, and Aishwarya Rai, are arguably the most popular movie stars in Southern Asia. Chiranjeevi (చిరంజీవి born as Konidela Siva Shankara Vara Prasad on August 22, 1955, also known as Mega Star is a three-time Rajinikanth (ರಜನೀಕಾಂತ್ रजनीकांत ரஜினிகாந்த் (born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad on December 12, 1950 Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan ( Hindi: सलमान ख़ान Urdu: سلمان خان səlˈmɑːn ˈxɑːn born December 27, 1965) Kamal Haasan (born November 7, 1954 in Paramakudi, India is an Indian Film actor and director, considered among Aamir redirects here For the Indian movie see Aamir (2008 film. Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan or Aishwarya Bachchan (Birthname Aishwarya Rai; Tulu: ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯಾ ರೈ born 1 November 1973 is an internationally

Chinese movie stars

Chinese movie stars well-known in the West include Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, and the late Bruce Lee, who are also some of the most popular movie stars in Eastern Asia. The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE (born Chan Kong Sang, 陳港生 on 7 April 1954 is an Actor, action choreographer, Film director Li Lianjie (born April 26 1963 better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese martial artist (Kung fu Actor, Wushu champion Chow Yun-Fat SBS ( born May 18, 1955) is a Chinese Actor. He is one of the most famous actors in Asia and a Gong Li ( (born December 31, 1965) is a Chinese-American two-time Golden Rooster, two-time Hundred Flowers Award, Berlinale Zhang Ziyi (born February 9, 1979, in Beijing) is one of the best-known Golden Globe -nominated Chinese Film Actresses Bruce Lee ( November 27 1940 – July 20 1973 was an American-born Martial artist, Philosopher, instructor, Martial arts actor and the A few movie stars from Hong Kong have global audiences, such as Jackie Chan, while others have a limited overseas audience but a more devoted following, such as Stephen Chow, though he has become more known in the West after Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the Cinema of China Stephen Chow Sing-Chi, born June 22 1962 is a Hong Kong Scriptwriter, Film director, producer and actor Shaolin Soccer ( is a 2001 Hong Kong comedy Film co-written and directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the film Kung Fu Hustle ( is a 2004 Hong Kong martial arts Comedy film co-written co-produced directed by and starring Stephen Chow

See also

• Celebrity
• Character actor
• Charisma
• Hollywood
• Leading lady
• List of movie actors
• List of movie actresses
• Matinée idol
• Sex symbol
• Superstar
• Typecasting
• Voice actor

References