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Guest Essay

By Bruce Handy

Mr. Handy is the author of “Hollywood High: A Totally Epic, Way Opinionated History of Teen Movies.”

So many norms and institutions are broken in these too-often-divided United States. But as we celebrate our nation’s 249th birthday, let’s also salute one thing that still works: Brad Pitt.

Conventional Hollywood wisdom has it that movie stardom is a thing of the past. Of course there are still famous performers who are paid a ton of money to act onscreen, but their hold on audiences has waned. Previous generations of movie fans would turn out for the new Bette Davis picture or the new Clint Eastwood or the new Julia Roberts, the highly paid star serving as a reliable brand, a sexier version of Kellogg’s. Contemporary audiences are thought to be more readily drawn to franchises; it’s the role, the underlying intellectual property, that has currency now, not the actor. As Anthony Mackie, who plays The Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, put it somewhat morosely several years ago: “Anthony Mackie isn’t a movie star; The Falcon is a movie star.”

Or maybe neither is? Mr. Mackie and The Falcon sputtered to a disappointing (by Marvel standards) $200 million gross for their February release of “Captain America: Brave New World.” But the actor’s larger point has been borne out: The two movies with far and away the biggest domestic grosses so far this year, each at well over $400 million, are “A Minecraft Movie,” based on a video game, and “Lilo & Stitch,” a live-action remake of a 23-year-old Disney animated film. The latter picture had a cast largely of unknowns, unless you count voices of Zach........

© The New York Times