# What is happening in Hollywood? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 30, 2000, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-in-hollywood/17814 "2000-04-30T05:03:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MagicalSilverKey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@MagicalSilverKey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicalSilverKey)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-in-hollywood/17814/1 "2000-04-30T05:03:12Z")
I would like to know what the heck is happening in Hollywood… Is there a lack of actors/actresses in Hollywood at present? I ask this because there have been a wave of movies recently, released near, or at the same times, with a lot of the same actors in them. Examples: (forget whether they were GOOD movies or not) Mission to Mars, Reindeer Games, and Boiler Room were all on screen at the same time. duplicate actors = Gary Sinise, Ben Affleck Sleepy Hollow, The Ninth Gate = Johnny Depp ALMOST ANY MOVIE PLAYING = Samuel L. Jackson WHY NO VARIETY??? I don’t care how many Oscars an actor has, or how hot they are, this is getting ridiculous. Too much of anything (or anyone in this case), can be a bad thing. I am not saying that I don’t like any of the actors who seem to be making multiple films, it is the lack of variety that is ticking me off. Can anyone else name any other recent simultaneous actor/films? But my main question is WHY is this happening? ---
**Author:** ![concrete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbce88/32.png) [@concrete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/concrete)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-in-hollywood/17814/2 "2000-04-30T05:27:12Z")
I blame it all on Steven Spielberg… after E.T …everything went downhill from there…used to be only one big movie every year…now its Joe blow in “blah blah” this week…and the next week …its Joe blow in “blah blah II” Thats why I only go see certain movies once in awhile…preferably without any hollywood actor assholes in it…ruins the whole picture if I see Matt Damon in it or some other goofball. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-in-hollywood/17814/3 "2000-04-30T06:26:11Z")
It seems like just a few people are putting out the lion’s share of big films these days. And they seem to rely on the same casting companies. Heck, this isn’t new. I bet there are a few folks on this board who could be given a couple of names in any '30’s or '40’s film (not the title, mind you) and can tell you the studio it was produced in. ---
**Author:** ![lswote](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lswote/32/5737_2.png) [@lswote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lswote)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-in-hollywood/17814/4 "2000-04-30T07:18:04Z")
I don’t think it just a few actors being used over and over and no one else is working. I think a lot of movies are being made for TV, or going directly to video or overseas markets and they only put the movies with the currently ordained hot actors in the theatres. I spend a lot of time looking up movie stuff at [The Internet Movie Database](http://us.imdb.com/) and I was surprised to see so many actors I can’t recall seeing in a new movie for the longest time consistantly listed with 3 or 4 new movies every year. I think the studios all have this “I have a big movie I just have to have this actor in” mentality and so every studio puts out there own big movie with this “bankable” star in it. Ray Liota (“GoodFellas” and “Field of Dreams”) had 3 movies out last year and 3 this year. Do you remember seeing him in anything lately? Sally Field is in 4 movies this year. Roger Moore (the second James Bond) was in 3 movies last year. Alec Baldwin was in 5 movies last year and only one, “Notting Hill” was on the big screen. The actors are still working, just not getting their movies on the big screen. ---
**Author:** ![Breckinshire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@Breckinshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breckinshire)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-in-hollywood/17814/5 "2000-04-30T20:50:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > I blame it all on Steven Spielberg… \*\* I blame _everything_ on Steven Spielberg. ---
**Author:** ![Baglady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Baglady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baglady)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-in-hollywood/17814/6 "2000-05-01T02:10:37Z")
MagicalSilverKey wrote > [@](#): > > \*\* > I would like to know what the heck is happening in Hollywood… Is there a lack of actors/actresses in Hollywood at present? I ask this because there have been a wave of movies recently, released near, or at the same times, with a lot of the same actors in them. > \*\* The Hollywood movie business is like any other business. That is, if you manufacture a product that makes you a lot of money, you try to repeat the process by using similar ingredients. That means the same actors, similar plots, sequels, etc. When you consider that your average H’wood pic is now costing $100,000,000, you want to hire BANKABLE stars, and you tend to take less risks on unknown talent (or second-tier talent). You might have heard of the “$20mil Club” – Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, etc. They command a lot, but if their starring in your movie helps it make $200mil in domestic gross sales when you might have barely made back your investment with non mega-stars. Keep in mind that a mega-superstar cannot help rescue a sub-par plot, poorly written script and hacked-up editing job… if you want to see examples, go to your local video store and look through the bargain bin. But if it’s a mediocre movie with a stellar cast, it might be enough to turn the profit the studios want. Your best bet, if you don’t want to see the same stars, is to go to independent movie houses. If your city doesn’t have one, check with your local university. It might have an art department that shows artsy or independent movies on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-in-hollywood/17814/7 "2000-05-01T04:19:47Z")
Baglady’s got it right, regarding “bankability.” Ben Affleck is hot, so Hollywood execs try to put him in everything. Gary Sinise is a dependable professional with good references, and he’s got an impressive resume, so he gets a lot of work. Jennifer Love Hewitt, on the other hand, can’t really “open” a movie, but she’s got experience, so she’ll do a smaller number of lower-budget films. There’s another factor to consider: An actor can do many more movies in a year than just about any other film professional, except perhaps producers or writers. A director will do one movie every two years, or eighteen months if they’re lucky. A cinematographer may do two; an editor may do two or three (though they might do piecemeal work on several others). An actor, on the other hand, works on a movie for anything from two weeks to two months, depending on how involved their role and how complicated the film might be. For example, Sean Connery’s bit-part cameo at the end of _Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves_ (an extreme example) took all of two days. Faye Dunaway’s small role in the _Thomas Crown Affair_ remake took maybe a week. On the other end of the scale, Ed Harris worked for four months on _The Abyss_, and Keanu Reeves was involved with _The Matrix_ going on six months (including kung-fu training). On average, though, an actor can discharge his duties on a film much more quickly than anyone else, and move on to the next one. Some actors, Harrison Ford notably, carefully choose their properties. He has lots of input in the production at all phases, so he’s involved from early on, unlike, say, Harvey Keitel, who considers himself strictly an actor, and works on several projects a year. Ford also looks at his alternatives from a marketing standpoint; he wants to keep his appearances limited, so as to avoid saturating the market, and increase demand. (Of course, he also hates the business part of the industry; he’d much rather hang out in Jackson Hole with his kids.) So consider this equation: An actor will appear in more movies each year if two factors coincide: (1) They’re extremely bankable, and (2) they like to work a lot. Put those together, and that’s what you get. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-in-hollywood/17814/8 "2000-05-01T14:05:58Z")
Another factor is that post-production time on a movie varies. In addition, studios may hold back release because they feel the movie will do better in, say, the summer. It all means that an actor can easily appear in two movies released at the same time but filmed a year (or more) apart.