"Actors used to carry films because people would have to actually go to the movies to see them. It was the only place. But now there's none of that mystique, and so there's less of a reason to buy a ticket"
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Mendes is naming the quiet demotion of the movie star from event to option. The old system she’s describing wasn’t just about talent; it was about scarcity. If you wanted that face, that charisma, that larger-than-life presence, you had to submit to the ritual: buy the ticket, sit in the dark, let the screen swallow you whole. The “mystique” wasn’t a personality trait actors generated on Instagram; it was manufactured by distance, gatekeeping, and the fact that cinema literally had a monopoly on seeing them at scale.
Her subtext is almost economic: stars “carried” films because their image was a kind of exclusive product. Today the product is everywhere. Streaming collapses the difference between a theatrical release and a Tuesday night scroll. Social media collapses the difference between a performer’s persona and their morning coffee. When the audience can access you constantly, the aura that once justified the trip out - the premium price, the communal spectacle - evaporates.
There’s also a defensive edge: this isn’t just nostalgia for red carpets, it’s a diagnosis of why traditional box office math feels broken. “Less of a reason to buy a ticket” doesn’t mean people dislike movies; it means the burden of persuasion has shifted. The hook can’t simply be “starring Eva Mendes” anymore. It has to be scale, urgency, originality, or cultural necessity - something that re-creates the old exclusivity without the old monopoly.
Her subtext is almost economic: stars “carried” films because their image was a kind of exclusive product. Today the product is everywhere. Streaming collapses the difference between a theatrical release and a Tuesday night scroll. Social media collapses the difference between a performer’s persona and their morning coffee. When the audience can access you constantly, the aura that once justified the trip out - the premium price, the communal spectacle - evaporates.
There’s also a defensive edge: this isn’t just nostalgia for red carpets, it’s a diagnosis of why traditional box office math feels broken. “Less of a reason to buy a ticket” doesn’t mean people dislike movies; it means the burden of persuasion has shifted. The hook can’t simply be “starring Eva Mendes” anymore. It has to be scale, urgency, originality, or cultural necessity - something that re-creates the old exclusivity without the old monopoly.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
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