Chapter 2013

"From a historical perspective, looking back to the 100 year history of the film, it is not difficult to find that every actor who can be called a top star has one thing in common, that is, to show their unique charm through the big screen, and resonate with the audience - or yearn for or close to, or marvel or admire, and then develop into a fetter and trust, I always walk into the cinema again and again to feel the beauty of film art.

After entering the Internet age of the 21st century, with the rise of grassroots stars, the popularity of national entertainment and the disappearance of mysterious aura, the sense of distance between the general public and the top actors is gradually weakening; At the same time, the film industry has also stepped down from the altar into ordinary daily life, changing people's consumption habits and cognitive attitudes. As a result, superstars are disappearing and replaced by cartoon adapted superheroes.

There are more similarities between the former and the latter than imagined: a little mystery, a little yearning, a little admiration, a little expectation, and most importantly, the continuation of the strong sense of bondage between the audience and the film - which also keeps the core of the "superstar" consistent, just moving from the real actor to the virtual image, It is intertextual with the fantasy created by cyberspace, and finally creates new superstars in the new century and new era. It also has unparalleled appeal in the box office market.

Once, the audience liked Charlie Chaplin. Now, the audience likes iron man.

Once upon a time, the audience liked Harrison Ford. Now, the audience likes Han Solo.

Subtle changes have led to changes in the entire industry - the audience is willing to go to the cinema for Captain Jack Sparrow, but not for Johnny Depp; Similarly, audiences are willing to go to the cinema for iron man's sake, but they are not necessarily attracted by little Robert Downey. This is the truth of "superstar extinction".

However, in real life, when the barriers between virtual image and real identity are broken by social networks, audiences are often confused, uncertain whether the above theories are applicable or even unable to understand the concept of "separation and independence of the two"; But box office numbers don't lie.

Naturally, the development and planning of film companies have also changed. The series led by Marvel Universe are changing the whole market pattern. The series led by "Star Wars" give the market another choice. However, the core competitiveness of the two choices come from the contemporary evolution of the new definition of superstar, The power of actors and directors is gradually fading, and the overall pattern of the film industry is changing.

Then, Langley hall appeared:

He has all the qualities of a great retro star; At the same time, it also has the characteristics derived from the contemporary virtual superstars, and finally transformed into a brand-new unique superstar image. With one work after another, it has unswervingly opened up a world belonging to lanli. "

The global box office of "Star Trek" has exceeded one billion US dollars, which is also the result of the "edge of tomorrow" in 2012 and the "edge of tomorrow" in 2013. It has undoubtedly become the focus of attention of all news media. Even Nolan's momentum can't be compared, and it seems that all the credit is due to it, The trend of such reports is indeed abnormal, but what is the matter with such a situation?

"New Yorker" magazine has written a special topic. After "there is no superstar in the United States", it has officially determined the aura of "contemporary superstar" of lanli, which has completely changed the market rules. The content of the special topic also explains the important reason why "the media is so excited", which is undoubtedly of great reference value.

"By the end of the summer of 2014, a total of 19 works with global box office exceeding one billion US dollars have been produced worldwide, forming a billion box office club. The members of the club are also a microcosm of the whole film market at present, which can glimpse the development of the film industry.

In the middle of it——

Comic adapted superhero movies, a total of three, 'Avengers alliance', 'Iron Man 3', 'Batman: Dark Knight'.

There are ten movies adapted from the original novel, game or animation, including 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2),'the Lord of the rings 3', 'Transformers 3', '007: the big smash', 'Pirates of the Caribbean 3', 'Pirates of the Caribbean 4', 'Alice in Wonderland', 'Star Wars prequel 1', 'hobbit 1', etc, ’Tomorrow's edge. ".

There are two animated films, Toy Story 3 and ice and snow.

Original film, a total of four, 'Avatar', 'Titanic', 'Jurassic Park', 'gravity'.

After all the above works are added up, 19 Works of the first group of billion club are formed. It is obvious that the adapted films are gaining the absolute upper hand, which has become the core competitiveness of the whole market: the popularity of sequel films can not be reversed.

Among them, the first film or origin film, a total of 10; But there are only three films left: edge of tomorrow, Titanic, and gravity. If we deduct the rumored edge of tomorrow 2, which is still under development, then there are only two.

In other words, the core strength of the global billion club comes from the powerful appeal built up by the series of films. The linkage between works and between roles has become the stepping stone to open the box office market, which has completely changed the operation mode of the film industry

Film production companies do not need to continue to believe in the power of actors, they just need to choose to believe in the accumulation and precipitation of series films, which can achieve success. Compared with the actors, the charm of the work itself is the source of energy, which further creates the unique characteristics of the era of "superstar fall".

Once upon a time, James Cameron had such appeal. The successive success of "Titanic" and "Avatar" made the director occupy a unique position all over the world. However, with the "Avatar" sequel entering a long development stage, his personal charm was also integrated with the series of works, which made it difficult for him to show the brilliance of a superstar again.

Now, there's Langley hall!

The success of "tomorrow's edge" and "gravity" proves Langley's appeal, while the addition of "interstellar crossing" completes the last piece of the puzzle.

It's true that "tomorrow's edge" is a film adaptation of the original novel and is opening sequels, but objectively speaking, the influence of the original novel is almost negligible, and so far there are no rumors of sequels, even slower than the preparation of "ice and snow 2". This also makes the work peel off those remarkable characteristics, even if it is classified as "original film without sequels.", It seems that there is no problem, so all the focus falls on Lan Li.

The absence of original works and sequels also means that the success of a film is more difficult and complicated: the success of a film may be a coincidence, just like "ice and snow"; The success of the two films proves the outstanding strength - just like the miracle created by James Cameron five years ago; The three works are the establishment of the aura of superstars, which truly reproduces the style of superstars in the 1980s and 1990s

Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, no matter what works they play, they only need their names to appear in the leading leading leading position in the list of actors, which is the box office guarantee. They have nothing to do with sequels and adaptations. These actors themselves are the driving force for the audience to enter the cinema, including Kim Carey, Arnold Schwarzenegger Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan can all be regarded as such.

And then there's the present Langley.

There are three billion dollar box office works in the world, which really proves the "superstar appeal" of lenley. There is no sequel, no adaptation, no director, no production. Just a name, "lenley hall", is enough. Like a brand, it has established a unique and beautiful scenery in the film market.

In fact, in addition to the three global box office works with a billion dollars, the global box office works of "crazy love", "cancer fighting me" and "drunken folk songs" are all like this. There is no adaptation, no sequel, or even large investment and production. The light and low-cost independent works can still become the motivation for the audience to enter the cinema!

So far, Lanley's personal cumulative box office has reached a series of new highs: 2.51 billion US dollars in North America and 5.612 billion US dollars in the world. This figure has surpassed Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks and other superstars, and become the fastest actor in film history to reach 2 billion US dollars in North America and 5 billion US dollars in the world. Maybe before the age of 30, Lenley could even complete the unprecedented 10 billion years of North America.

This is a prospect, but it is also the embodiment of lanli's super popularity.

When we look back at the history of the film industry in the next century, the change and development of the concept of superstar is bound to be accompanied by the change and development of the film industry and consumption patterns, among which the name of "Langley hall" is bound to occupy an important position.

Did the superstar fall?

yes. Because the 21st century is not an era of superstars. At least in the first 15 years, the film industry has entered a new stage. The production mode of mature assembly line is giving the "adaptation and sequel" mode the upper hand. This is an era without superstars.

But did the superstar really fall?

no The birth of Langley makes people realize that in the mode of adaptation and sequel, the superstar effect still has its own strong foundation, just like the moral of Don Quixote: everyone thinks those things don't exist, but Don Quixote still believes in them; So what happens when the "adaptation and sequel" model weakens and begins to decline? Can the rise of lanli bring some enlightenment?

Superstar, still exist, but only one: Langley hall

The article of "new Yorker" gives the answer from the industrial law and historical positioning: why has "Star Trek" caused such a heated discussion after the global box office exceeded one billion.