Have big, expensive movie stars lost their appeal?

Check out this article in the Hollywood Reporter. In a sentence, it's about how movies like District 9 and Twilight have been dominating the box office at low price-points, with no big stars to be seen.

"Nobody says that a big wonderful movie needs to be expensive, it's just that that's been the trend, and perhaps the trend is misguided," said USC professor Jason Squire in the article.

Bob Iger makes a great point by bringing up the gradual decline of DVD as a big reason for studios to be more frugal. All the same, I'm not sure what we're seeing is a shift in how the studios do business, so much as the rise of new and different business models. Inside the studios, shareholders rely on company management to find the trends that most often yield success, and to stuff as much of their money as possible in the places where it's likely to grow. At the end of the day, an audience is what makes a movie successful. Can an actor have an audience? Obviously. Can a preexisting piece of content like a video game or comic book have an audience? Again, clearly. Anything or anyone who has been well liked by crowds mitigates risk, and the studios will continue doing everything they can to pack as much risk-mitigation as possible into their filmmaking slates.

What's more, District 9, Paranormal Activity, and Twilight don't make great examples of a changing studio system. District 9 was financed by a shrewdly risk-taking Peter Jackson, who saw value in Neill Blomkamp's vision. Paranormal Activity is famously independent, and Summit, the company behind the Twilight Saga, is self-owned and self-controlled.

Finding and taking the kinds of risks that change our industry will continue to be an independent endeavor. That's as true for casting as it is for any other kind of risk. Yes, big-name actors will continue to get most of the studio gigs. What's more, they continue to dominate the foreign sales market.

At the same time, this article does highlight the viability of using unknown talent, and the audience's willingness to watch actors they don't know - so long as a film has the means to grab their attention.

That's a very important point, and it's one independent filmmakers sometimes forget.

For my part, it's a fact I've made integral to everything we're building at 8 Sided Films. If you'd like to get to know the stars of Heartsgaard and Sam Bailey, please join us at the 8 Sided Forum!