We have 24 movie stars

Query:

Why do I give a shit if Paul Blart Mall Cop makes money?

 

At some point in recent years, I had successfully forgotten Battlefield Earth. Thanks a million.

 

Well, you certainly don't have to care, big boy.

But it IS an indicator of an actor's box-office draw.

 

I don't care for Kevin James either, but I was driving by a big billboard for his new movie Zookeeper, and the billboard consisted of nothing more than a huge photo of Kevin James and some words. I thought that it was amazing that you could just put a photo of Kevin James on a billboard and count on that to communicate to an audience "go to this movie and you will see a broad entertainment that, if nothing else, will go down easy."

James is to me more a successful brand than a star, because he can only do a certain stripe of movie at this point. He's not like, say, a Clooney or a Denzel who can carry all different kinds of vehicles, which is to me the sign of a true star.

 

Yes, but that's not Simmons' definition in making the list.

He says a movie star can carry a movie in his genre.

 

It's funny but when Paul Blart Mall Cop came out and I saw the TV and print ads I thought - man I've never heard of Paul Blart, he sure looks a lot like Kevin James.

 

No love for Kevin Costner? Harrison Ford?

 

Other than the God-awful Indy 4, Ford's movies have all bombed lately.

I can't remember the last time Costner had a hit, but I'm guessing I was probably still in college.

 

I agree with critics who say that Ford plays the same character all the time, the aggrieved good guy whose inherent competence wins out in the end. At some point, your star loses its luster when you keep repeating yourself like that.

 

Right. But typically, "at some point" means after they've made gazillions of dollars. I think Harrison Ford sleeps well at night, despite losing his "luster."

 

I don't even know if it's that. What's his last good movie? I know Indy IV made a shitload of money, but it was horrible. What Lies Beneath was in 2000. Air Force One was 1997.

He's one of the all-time biggest movie stars. You could argue he's the biggest movie star of all-time, but he's pushing 70 and he has far more bombs than successful films in the last 10-12 years.

 

It's funny that you note that he's pushing 70, yet he has never taken on the role of an "old man." Think about it. Even in Indy IV, his character seems to be in his early 50s. Ford was actually older in Indy IV than Connery was when he played Indy's father in The Last Crusade.

I think that's part of the problem with some of his recent roles. He can no longer convincingly pull off the fights in his movies without some editing and it's become fairly obvious.