By integrating star studies and film industry studies,Hollywood Stardom reveals the inextricable bonds between culture and commerce in contemporary notions of film stardom.

Integrates the traditions of star studies and industry studies to establish an original and innovative mode of analysis whereby the star image is replaced with the star brandOffers the first extensive analysis of stardom in the post-studio eraCombines genre, narrative, acting, and discourse analysis with aspects of marketing theory and the economic analysis of the film marketDraws on an extensive body of research data not previously deployed in film scholarshipA wide range of star examples are explored including George Clooney, Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks, Will Smith, and Julia Roberts

Paul McDonald is Chair of Creative Industries at the University of Nottingham. He is the author ofThe Star System: Hollywoods Production of Popular Identities (2000) andVideo and DVD Industries (2007), and co-editor ofThe Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry (2008).

List of Figures vii

List of Tables ix

Acknowledgments x

Introduction 1

Part One: Star Business 9

1 The Symbolic Commerce of Hollywood Stardom 11

2 Star-as-Brand 41

3 The Extraordinary Ordinariness of Tom Hanks 65

Part Two: Star System 85

4 Post-Studio Stardom 87

5 Money and Talent 123

6 The Will Smith Business 155

Part Three: Star Performance 179

7 Spectacular Acts 181

8 Prestige Stardom and the Awards System 215

9 Starring Julia Roberts 254

10 Conclusion 281

Appendix: Academy Award Nominees and Winners in the Actress and Actor in a Leading Role Categories, 19902009 285

References 291

Index 315