Social Media Killed the Movie Star (2026) Movie Script
1
(frantic music)
- Two million followers.
- What did you see on Instagram? Uh-oh.
- What about this picture? Can I post it?
- I don't mind showing myself
when I'm not at all attractive. (laughs)
- It's like I'm having
lots and lots of friends.
- It's a new world.
- It's smoke and mirrors, my friend.
- A YouTuber. That's what's famous?
- A great blocked.
- What can I do about it?
I can't change it now.
(upbeat intro music)
- For celebrities, a star
here on the sidewalk used
to be the ultimate marker of success,
but things have changed.
Today you can almost wonder if
a big social media following
is more important than a star
at the iconic walk of
fame here in Hollywood.
My name is Kjersti Flaa,
and over the last eight
years as a journalist,
I've interviewed countless A-listers
about their relationship to social media.
- I pictured Twitter on a pager,
which I know is also antiquated.
I don't know where you Twitter, but-
- A lot of these actors
used to avoid the paparazzi,
but today they're sharing
their most intimate
moments on social media.
- I get to be vocal, outspoken.
I get to show my gratitude,
but also I get to post pictures of my dog.
- It allows me to be able
to communicate with fans
very quickly without a
publicist's, you know, involvement.
- But really what it is,
is this kind of strange
social awareness that you
kind of have to have as,
as an actor now.
- But what are the real consequences
when you invite the public
into your private life?
- Daddy, do you like social media?
- What happens when the
magic and the mystery
is stripped off and the
stars become just like us?
- I think the relationship
between the fans and the stars
has become much more intimate
than it was in decades past.
I think that there used
to be a fourth wall.
I think that there was this feeling maybe
that celebrities were inaccessible,
much like the Queen of England,
where they lived this fabulous
life of the rich and famous,
but that wasn't really a life that
related to ours in a day-to-day basis.
But I always like to use the example
of Us Weekly's feature "Stars
- They're Just Like Us!"
And I feel like that's
something that social media
has amplified on a level
that even the magazine
couldn't have predicted 10 years ago.
- I like that it kind of
gives you an opportunity
to take back your own
narrative a bit you know,
and not let other people kind of tell
your life story for you.
You can kind of go, "Yeah,
I'm just going to like,
I'll share with you what
I want to share with you."
And that's probably more authentic.
- Social media is a tool that you can use
to really speak for yourself,
to represent yourself
much better than anybody else can.
- Well I really fought it for a long time,
but then once I realised that you get
to create whatever it's
going to be, it's your thing.
- You're looking good, girl.
- That's before people had,
they got all their information about me
and what I'm really passionate about,
what I'm interested in, through
the lens of another person.
And now it's just me
talking directly to fans
and I...I like that.
- I think with other
vehicles of social media
that I'm not that skilled at,
I think things can be taken the wrong way.
I think things spin
out or are so negative,
but I do think there's
something about Instagram
where it's like, it's just a funny moment.
I think it stays to the positive.
- Now in the golden age of Hollywood,
stars are carefully, carefully managed.
And this is probably
the biggest difference
from what we have in terms of
stardom and celebrity today.
They all had morality
clauses in their contract,
and they wanted a very tight grip.
They wanted to arrange
their personal lives.
Say that you're dating this other star
who's also under contract.
Of course, now it's a much looser system.
- We just came out of the shower?
That's what I suggested, young lady.
- In this day and age with social media,
celebrities can very much take control
of their own narrative
by addressing rumours
and addressing gossip on their own accord.
And they can do this without
going through a publicist,
without going through any
sort of representation.
Whether or not this is
always done the right way
is up for debate, but
certainly it gives them
the control and the power
back that a lot of the media,
particularly celebrity gossip magazines,
held in the 80s and the 90s.
- Babe, what's happening? What's going on?
- It's over between us.
- It's over between us?
- Yeah.
- Oh my God, what are we going to do?
- I felt suffocated.
- You felt suffocated by me?
- Thanks, Melissa.
- Thanks.
- But you have to rise above it.
You have to distance
yourself as a celebrity.
You have to just be willing to know
that not everyone's going to
like every picture you post,
everything that you say,
every opinion that you have.
- Oh, I try to have a bit of fun.
It's actually, I was
nervous to get into it,
and I actually enjoy it now.
And it's sort of weirdly
that the bonus of it
has been that the
paparazzi has dropped down,
because you can go over
there with a long lens
and sit behind a car,
and then I just go bloop,
and I get a closer shot
than any of them can get,
you know, and it's just easier.
And they're like, waiting for three hours.
I can't sell this photo anymore.
He's just put it up for free.
(laughing)
- Seriously, I tell them
not to post something.
Five seconds later, I see it on Instagram
over like 200 views.
- Hey, I know it's better.
It's like medicine.
Sometimes it tastes bad,
but in the end it'll
make you a better person.
- You have two million
followers on Facebook?
- You know what, you know what?
- Do you send them all birthday presents?
- Selena Gomez has got-
- You have to send them
all birthday cards?
- Sure. But it's fun.
We're all over the world.
- That a nightmare.
- Yeah. Read the comments.
- This, this is my idea of
social media about this.
- I think when celebrities
use social media as a tool
to make announcements
about significant changes
in their lives, and that would
be things like pregnancies,
engagements, weddings or even deaths,
I think that by using social
media as a way to do that,
there's an intimacy
there that the fans feel
that they don't necessarily
get when they see
their favourite celebrities
on the cover of a magazine
making a very similar announcement.
You see Jennifer Lopez's
engagement littered amongst
a bunch of personal photos
from your friends and family,
I think it almost makes you
feel like she's also too
a part of your life in a
way that she's actually not.
- I love sharing things with the fans
that I'm doing from my
life, from, you know,
even with me and Alex and the kids.
I just, it's fun. You
know, I'm proud of it.
I'm proud of it all. So I
love, I love sharing it.
(upbeat music)
- When I was working on "The
Departed" with Jack Nicholson
and Leonardo DiCaprio,
those are two people
that both spoke about how
they don't share very much.
That way the audience
has a greater ability
to suspend their belief in the character
that they're playing.
I think that there is something to be said
for keeping a mystery about who you are.
A Kardashian really
wouldn't be able to play
a role without you going,
"that's a Kardashian."
- I share a lot, which is bizarre
because I've always been
kind of the thought that,
you know, an actor shouldn't,
should keep his personal
life as separate as possible
so that you're able to
enjoy the characters
that you see on film.
- Celebrities and actors
specifically are having to learn
how to meld their world of, you know,
this is who I am in the real world,
and this is who I am on screen,
and they're having to
actually bring it together.
- It's really important to make
your Instagram an accurate,
an accurate representation
of who you are as a person.
You see lots of Instagram
accounts and you're like,
there's no way you're
like that in real life.
Like this is the fake you
that you want people to see.
And I just have really
enjoyed the last couple years
kind of shaping my social profile
to just be an extension of me.
And then I can feel like
I can connect with my fans
on a more personal level
rather than this kind of
silly hierarchy thing that
Instagram often kind of makes.
- How is it to put out
a post when you know
so many people see what you're up to?
- That's a strange thing to
comprehend that, you know,
that's a lot of people.
I don't want things to
be planned or contrived.
I'd like them to be a thought or a moment
or like life, I suppose.
- I think if anything, like I
try to use my platform in a,
in the best way I can and
especially for, you know,
the work that I've been able to do
that touches on mental health
or LGBTQ rights or equality.
Those are all really
dear and important to me.
And if I can be a positive platform
in that kind of that atmosphere,
which can sometimes be
negative for people,
then that's, you know, I guess
that's what I'd like to be.
- I'm not too bright on the
technology part. I get help.
- There's a lot about social media
that I actually don't understand.
Like I still don't know what DM is.
- My dog has his own Instagram.
- He does?
- And yes.
And so it goes to show how
much I love social media.
- Twitter has, it does feel a little bit
like it's just turned into a bunch of
12-year-olds shouting at each other.
(upbeat music plays)
- Dwayne Johnson is a phenomenal
example of a celebrity
who has harnessed the
power of social media.
He not only engages with his
fan base on a daily basis,
he has created and crafted a entire
marketing machine around himself.
So he has massive platform follower base.
He also has a production company,
where he's creating his own content now,
and he's added on his own
advertising agency component
to that production company.
- Yeah. You have the
sexiest daddy in the world.
You know what it is? It's rewarding, sure.
And yes, in a way it's freeing.
What I like about Facebook,
what I especially like
about Twitter and Instagram,
is that the feedback is instant.
So if I say something right
away, I'm getting feedback back.
I, I love it. A lot,
oftentimes with Facebook,
it could become a one-way conversation
where someone is just
saying one thing (laughs)
fans comment, but it's
not like it doesn't happen
live a lot.
- If we go back to the
very beginnings of cinema,
the producers were smart enough
that they never wanted to name the stars.
They wanted to keep them anonymous.
They would be independent
if they knew their names.
So famously in 1909, Carl
Lemley acquires you know,
Florence Lawrence and he spreads
a rumour that she's died.
So then he can take out ads
saying, "No, she hasn't died.
You know, here she is."
And that was the beginning
of escalating star salaries,
the beginning of stars themselves
having the power to ask for more money.
Since they were what
was driving attendance
and love for the movies,
people wanted to see
them over and over again.
People wanted to get to
know as much as they could.
Where are they from?
Where are their parents,
you know, what's their romantic life?
And so then we see
gossip magazines take off
and then that whole start.
- I think the mystery around celebrity
and the business of celebrity
has certainly gone away in a big way.
I think that a lot of, you know
when we look at what's
making headlines now
with regards to gossip and
tabloids and entertainment media,
a lot of those headlines
aren't necessarily driven
by pregnancies and births
and weddings and divorces.
A lot of it is actually
internal business drama,
which are topics that I don't think that
the mainstream entertainment
media would've touched
in the way that they are in
2019, 10 or 15 years ago.
- Social media hasn't just increased
the access we have to celebrities.
It's also redefined the fan experience,
and made it more intimate.
The autograph is dead.
It's all about the selfie.
So how does this really affect the dynamic
between the stars and fans?
I went to the Toronto
Film Festival to find out.
(rock music plays)
- Oh, the autograph is gone, pretty much.
It's like people want selfies.
- On any given day, I'll be
stopped in the street anytime
from 20 to 100 times with
people asking me for selfies.
And usually people are pretty nice
and it's a quick interaction.
They say, "Can I have a
picture?" Say, "Yeah, sure."
We take a picture and then we
both go about our business.
- It's become the new,
nobody wants autographs now.
They want your picture
for their Facebook page.
- I find that cell phone
cameras have created
an incredibly rude, unconscious
behaviour in people.
And it's just, it's shocking.
I find myself pretty shocked
by how much those things
seem to have obliterated
people's sense of just respect
for each other on a
person-to-person basis.
- When I run into people
on the street recently
more and more, they'll say,
"Oh, hey, can we take a picture?"
I'm like, "Oh, not right
now, but you want to talk?"
And they're like, "No, not really."
So people don't really
want to get to know you.
They basically just
want to take a picture,
which is something I'm learning as well.
- Can we take a selfie?
It's more about being
able to send that away
to other people going, look
who I just got a photo with.
It's not so much about
I'm a big fan of yours.
It's more become like a
trading card in a way.
- Lost my job because of you.
I literally- 'cause you
wouldn't let me come see you.
Oh my gosh. Can I have a hug?
- I think definitely the
bragging rights. I met so-and-so.
I mean, I'm just happy to
say I saw so-and-so. I met-
And if I meet them or get
the autograph or picture,
it's even better.
- I'm trying to get Johnny
Depp, I waited for four hours.
Unsuccessful, but getting to see him,
at least that was pretty cool.
- I don't need to get selfies with them,
but it's nice to get up
and close and personal.
- [Interviewer] You would ask
for a picture if they come up.
- Oh, if they come up, yes. Yeah.
I would ask for a picture for sure
if they come to approach me.
- [Interviewer] And what
would you do with a photo?
- Probably just post it on Instagram.
- I think everybody
through social media now
they can be a little bit famous.
So it's sort of like it's
not just celebrities.
They can attach themselves to a celebrity,
and then that can go viral.
And I think people like
that, and I think that's
sort of what's happened
in the last 10 years.
- We do it because we like people.
We don't want to disappoint
them, but we hate it.
- It's our age.
I mean, this is the internet
age. What can you do?
- I don't think I would
like as a celebrity
having everyone watch selfies with me,
but I appreciate the ones
that do come out and do it
because I think it's nice for the fans.
- I bet a lot of them don't,
but I think they're kind
of required nowadays.
I don't think they can
have a successful career
unless there's somebody, I
think Joaquin Phoenix I saw,
he just sort of walked by
all the press yesterday.
So I think if you have a
certain amount of disrespect
for your public, maybe
they don't care as much.
I think you're like a brand, right?
So I think you have to put
your face on everything
and the more public you are,
probably it's going to help your career.
And with social media,
you're plastered all over
the place anyways, so.
- Most of the times it's great.
But there are people
who would just be like,
"Sorry, excuse me, can I have a selfie?"
And sometimes when you're
like, "Sorry, no thank you"
you're an asshole.
- A selfie's probably one
of the worst inventions
of all time, certainly in my
lifetime in the last 15 years.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Why? Because people come up to you
and they are getting close
to you, or just like-
- No, it's not really
the, "Hey, how are you"
engaging with somebody,
it's like kind of like,
"Hey, get over here." Click
and they look at the picture,
not even, you know, they're
not engaging with you. So.
- So they're not talking.
- It's a bit impersonal.
Maybe a tad bit evasive.
- Yeah, because what social
media really has done
for celebrities, it
has made their fan base
even closer to them.
So now they feel like they're
friends with that celebrity.
- I'm absolutely pumped.
In the old days, when
pre-social media, you had to,
if you liked somebody,
you're a fan of somebody,
you had to write them a fan letter.
And the chance of them ever
seeing it or you seeing them
was you knew that it was like
sending a message in a bottle
and throwing it to the ocean.
Whereas now you can tweet
or Instagram or whatever,
you can have a direct
relationship with somebody
in a way that I think is, I
think that's a good thing.
- I think having a conversation
with an audience is so,
for me, fulfilling.
I enjoy communicating
with people and knowing
how they really feel about
things and they will tell you.
And it's great to be able to
pull the curtain back a little bit,
let them into my life, see a
little bit behind the scenes.
It's like I'm having
lots and lots of friends.
- I think it's interesting
that you have someone
like a Will Smith who
is a huge A-list actor
essentially commenting on this
shift towards social media,
and saying that that's
now going to play a role
in the fact that we can't quote
create movie stars anymore.
And I think that there
is a lot of accuracy
to what he's saying when
we look at big celebrities
like George Clooney, like Brad
Pitt, like Jennifer Aniston,
like Johnny Depp.
I think that this level of
fame that has been achieved
by what we call sort of this
Hollywood golden setter,
this Hollywood A-list is shifting in a way
that fandom is becoming more piecemeal.
Happy Birthday to you
And I think specifically on the example
of Will Smith and his family,
you now have two A-list
celebrities who the wife,
Jada Pinkett Smith, is
now hosting a talk show,
Red Table Talk, which is
literally in the living room
of the Smith family home.
It almost doesn't even
feel like you're watching
a produced talk show because
it does really feel like
you've just stepped into
the Smith living room
for 20 minutes of your day.
- Definitely think we're
sharing a lot more,
but I think it has a lot to do
with the age of transparency
and people trying to search and gravitate
more to authenticity.
So it's really about how you're sharing,
if that makes any sense.
- Do you use Argano? I though
you used the Dr. Bronish.
- My mission is to improve lives,
so I want to do things that put positivity
and positive energy and
love into the world.
- People won't connect to
you in a certain manner
if they don't feel like there's
an offering of some kind.
I will say that.
And so as a artist, you
just have to think about
what that offering is,
whether it's just beautiful
pictures on Instagram,
that's great too, you know what I mean?
But there has to be some kind of peep,
a little peek into behind the curtain.
- It's however I feel at that moment.
I used to put on the
bottom my treasure chest,
and that's kind of what it is.
It's like what I put
in my box in my attic,
that stuff that I think is fun
and that I get to look
back on once in a while
and I'm with my wife, I go,
"Oh, remember that? Remember that?"
It's kind of like its own photo
album, but we do it for us.
We don't really do it for anybody else,
but people appreciate it and I like it
because it's authentic.
- It was important to me
years ago to do my best,
hopefully to establish a
presence around the world
as myself where it was just me,
because I felt like if I
could work hard over the years
and create a presence around the world
that people felt very
comfortable and trusting of me,
that they were going to pay
money to come see my movies,
then I felt like I had a
shot at having a career
that had longevity in a lot of years.
- [Fan] Sandra, please, just one picture.
- [Sandra] Can you grab anything?
Somehow I'm still here,
which is shocking to me.
You know, and I think Billy's in the same,
like we just entered at a time when
there wasn't the same
pressures that are here now.
We both agree we would never
make it if we started now.
Never.
- Don't have the backbone for that.
- I don't have the stomach for it.
- No.
- I don't.
Who knows? By next year we
both might bail out going,
"We can't even make it now."
- I know, right?
- I'm not a social media person,
but if you're not, but I read about it.
I'm really interested. It's curious to me.
If you're not part of that
in a really weird way,
you literally don't exist.
I mean, there's going to be this point
we reach where you kind of don't exist.
It's not just an expression
of you don't exist.
You kind of really literally don't exist.
- Hi guys. I just was working out,
and I found out that we
hit a hundred million
followers on Instagram.
I am so blown away.
- The stars who have decided
to go on Instagram, you know,
YouTube, et cetera, are allowing
fans to have a deeper level
of connection to them, a
kind of direct immediacy.
And that's what younger
fans are going to want.
That's what they're going to demand now
that they've experienced
this sort of connection
and intimate view of
everyday domestic life
and things like that.
So it is there, in some
ways, they're reducing their,
the traditional star
greater than us, you know,
different than us kind of
thing, the extraordinary part.
They've emphasised the ordinary part,
and they're getting more loyalty
from the fans because of that.
(laughing)
- What are you doing on that bus?
(indistinct talking)
Huh? I haven't got my
hair and makeup done yet.
- One of the really interesting
things is if you were
to look at the top 10 most
searched people in the world,
like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie,
they're not even in the top 50.
So even though they might be
seen as like the A-plus list
stars or George Clooney,
it's people like David Dobrik
that you've probably never heard of
who are more searched
than anybody in the world.
- Most people out there
don't even know who a lot
of the people are who are
walking the red carpets.
And that didn't used to be the case.
Everybody across the world,
you'd see the Academy Awards
and you'd know everybody.
And now there's a lot of people
that don't know half the people.
So it's just different.
It's just a different time.
- In the social media age,
literally every day
there's more famous people
getting manufactured every single day.
So somebody is one viral video away
from becoming the next Justin Bieber.
So we believe two things.
Number one, there are
more famous people today
than there've ever been in history.
And number two, people
today are more famous
than they've ever been.
- Today, lots of celebrities are willing
to give up their privacy without blinking.
But what are the risks
if you invite people
into your personal life on a daily basis?
- Well, it used to be the
first time you've heard about
an actor doing a movie is when you saw
the trailer in a theatre.
Now you see a million
paparazzi photos from the set,
and people are posting on their Instagram.
I think the, the separation
between the actor
and the audience has diminished a lot
because of social media.
So some of the older actors
who don't do social media,
I think still have an air of mystery,
but I think some of the
younger actors today,
you can kind of get to know who they are
very easily by the way
they choose to share.
- I think there's a giant
risk now to the future
of movie stars as far as
having too many people
know what's going on in your life.
We're seeing this all over
the place where anything
that happens, they have,
people have insight into it
immediately on social media.
And it's very hard for a
celebrity to keep that mystery,
to keep that pedestal, to keep
the privacy of their life,
which really up to this
point of social media
has been very different
from their onscreen life.
- Excuse my no makeup and dark circles.
(indistinct talking)
- I need, I need some answers.
- Nothing like a little
moment or two. (laughs)
- Thank you, Dr. Hirsch. Okay.
Feel great. Look great. Bye.
- Giving up your, your privacy
seems very weird to me.
I don't know why anybody
would want to do that.
And we live in this world
now where everyone wants
to share everything always,
and there's an expectation that you're,
you want to participate in that.
And whether or not you're,
you're a celebrity or famous or,
or recognisable in any way,
it's just that the
expectation is there and,
and you feel like, well,
do I get a choice in that?
Like because I, I used to, used
to be able to say like when
and where I had to
participate in any of that.
- I think it's because
it's very unknown to me.
I don't know. I'm not very techie.
And I don't want, I just feels like
it would be an added
pressure that I don't want.
And it feels very time-consuming.
And who needs, who wants
the stress of you're going
to get a like or you don't get a like.
I don't know. I'm, I'm, trust
me, I'm grappling with it.
I think about it. I've been told to do it.
I've been told not to do it. And I'm-
So I'm trying to sort of
understand my relationship
with social media.
(lively music)
- Jennifer Aniston's had
an extraordinary career
because of the massive, you
know, popularity of "Friends".
And, and when "Friends" was on,
she was a total style fashion icon.
I think it's kind of a unique case
because of "Friends" being so popular.
So her star images has
managed to be attractive,
you know, over time, over
a course of generations.
But I think that's the unusual case.
I think there won't be a lot of
Jennifer Aniston's in the future.
- Not everyone is cut out to
be hands-on with social media.
As we witnessed with some
stars, it can go terribly wrong.
With millions of followers
at a touch of a button,
one bad tweet can have
colossal consequences.
- Today, celebrities can ruin their career
before it's even started,
or their career can be ruined
based off some behaviour
that they did through social
media a decade before.
- So do you guys have a limit
for what you can make fun of,
or should we be able to
make fun of everything?
- Should be able to
make fun of everything.
Should be able to laugh at everything.
There is a positive in every negative.
I don't care how bad it is.
There's something funny in the situation.
I don't care how bad it is.
- In 2018, Kevin Hart was
announced to be the host
of the Oscars for the following year,
and he had, you know, of course,
active social media accounts
throughout the years
that he has been a comedian
and has been famous.
And all it took was one nosy
person to go through all
of his old tweets and find something
that appeared to be homophobic
that then put his hosting
gig into jeopardy,
and he ultimately did not end
up hosting the Oscars in 2019,
and it turned into a huge public scandal.
- The same energy that went
into finding those old tweets
could be the same energy put into finding
the response to the questions
that have been asked
years after years after years.
We feed in the internet
trolls and we reward them.
I'm not going to do it, man.
- One thing social media
does to celebrities
is make them more available for
public opinion and scrutiny.
This means that they need
to develop a thicker skin
to deal with haters and
trolls on a whole new level.
- I only went on Twitter
because My comrades
in my political campaign
said this is a very good way
to get our message out.
And I said, "Yeah, but if I go on Twitter,
I'm going to read all
these horrible trolls."
And they said, "Just don't
read them. Don't read them."
But of course, you have
a few beers one night
and you're feeling low
and you have a look.
And it's terrible.
- You're not great.
- Blocked.
- Yeah.
- Do you block people ever?
- No. I've muted some people.
Now that it's a function
on Twitter and Instagram,
there's, there's a couple
people that I have muted.
- The way I look at it is like maybe one
out of the five million
responses you might get
would actually say that to you in person.
The thing is like when you
hide behind a keyboard,
it's very easy to say what,
what you think you believe in.
- Do you read comments? Do
you ever sit down and like-
- Sometimes. Sometimes.
I'm not one of those
people who does it like
every time my post,
I look at the comments
and blah, blah, blah.
No. Sometimes I just go back
and I go, "Oh, that was nice.
They said that. Oh, they liked it."
You'll get a general feel for
it, but I don't obsess on it.
- What this whole world
of social media has done
is opened up the world of trolls.
And trolls are there. They lay in wait.
They are just waiting
to grab on to anything
that a celebrity says that might be able
to be taken in a different way.
- I tend not to now look at comments,
and especially if I do,
it's hard to read something that if,
if it is really about you
and it's your worst fear of yourself,
of course you're going
to take it to heart.
It's hard to have a very
thick skin about everything.
- I'm not sensitive about that stuff.
I am, however, when it comes to my kids.
Like that's definitely changed for me.
But outside of that, it's, it's fair game.
I'm an adult and I can handle
it. It's, it's all good.
- I think it's really tough
for young celebrities now,
the younger kids, because
of the social media stuff
and these cell phones, the cameras,
it's very easy to make a
mistake, a little mistake,
and to get totally exploded
out of proportions,
you know, which is
something I did not have to
deal with when I was growing up.
- Let me post something on social media.
Do you think about it a lot?
Do you feel there's responsibility there?
- I mean, I think about it to the degree
that I won't post any
naked pictures of myself.
But other than that, I
will, for the most part,
I'm just trying to be the most
genuine version of myself.
Whether it's five or three million,
it doesn't really matter.
You're still putting it
out there in the world,
so you have to be aware of what
you put out into the world.
- I mean, you need a copywriter,
and that's why you would
have someone come on board
to help make sure that what you're writing
is actually accurate.
- Unless I'm educated about something,
then I generally don't
give my opinion about it,
because that can be
irresponsible, you know?
And, and sometimes people do listen to you
if you're in the public eye.
- Politics has led me to like stop posting
because I said to myself, "Oh my God,
all I'm thinking about is politics.
Then stop posting until you
have something else to say."
And I was like, "I have
nothing else to say.
This is consuming my mind."
So I just stopped posting.
- What I find interesting is
that there's almost a forced
social awareness now onto celebrities
that if they don't speak
out about certain things,
that they're almost not relevant,
which I find makes a lot of
people say a lot of things
that they don't really believe in
and do a lot of things
that are not realistic and,
and not relevant.
So I think there's a very
strange thing happening
with a lot of celebrities right now
where they feel this need
to be very socially aware,
but they don't believe
anything that they're saying.
- It's, it's grown into a necessity now.
Facebook has changed considerably.
When I started Facebook,
the only person that had a
million fans was Barack Obama,
and he had just been elected.
And then I was the only one
on Facebook that passed him.
It was just surreal on a lot of levels,
because then you start to
think what responsibility
is associated with this.
Like if you look at my Facebook page,
there's always this theme of love.
There's always this theme
of multiculturalism.
There's always this theme of this,
this little hashtag LeadWithLove
that I guess has its place in the world.
- Yo, what's up y'all?
I'm here to tell you
about my brand new movie.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait,
don't give away too much, man.
- Yeah. Okay.
- You know, in a post Instagram
story world, you know,
your fans want to see what
you're doing all the time.
And if you're not giving
them that content, you know,
they're going to go get
it from somebody else.
And ultimately, the more content
that you're putting out there today,
the more relevant you're becoming,
and ultimately the more people are going
to come to your shows or
buy your movie tickets
or buy your merch or come
to your meet and greets
or do any of the other things
that people have traditionally done.
- Hey guys, Chris Pratt here,
backstage at The Masked Singer.
It's a bit of a show, but
I guess that is what it is.
It's show business, you know?
You get, you get people
will give you nice clothes
and watches, like for
instance, this watch.
Boom, it's on my wrist.
I'm going to walk around and be like,
"Hey, Chris Pratt here.
Check out this watch."
Yeah, I have watches like this.
I don't. It's smoke
and mirrors, my friend.
- Brands nowadays, they don't
want to hire a celebrity
just to be the face of their
campaign in most cases.
They're looking for a celebrity
who can actually share,
either create content or share the content
through their own social channels.
And if you are a celebrity
who has no social channels,
you're going to lose money.
And when I say lose money,
you can lose tens of
millions of dollars of deals,
which is not anything to blink at.
- Lastly.
- The wait is finally over.
Performance inspired nutrition products
in all the HEB stores.
- Got my selfie stick,
got myself a nice suit,
got my surfboard.
What else do you want?
Pumped. Getting out of there.
- Another great example of
a celebrity that is using,
you know, a lifestyle
brand to push herself ahead
is Kate Hudson with
Fabletics and, you know,
doing what she's doing in that space
where it kind of seems like
that's her primary focus
right now instead of acting.
(bright music)
- Social media has become
nothing but a promotion.
Honestly, it's only used now
in my world for promotions.
- Celebrities are also using
their personal social media
channels as a way to brand
themselves in relation
to whatever movie might be coming out.
So a great example of this
would be Chris Hemsworth,
who we all love as the Thor,
the Thor character in the Marvel films,
and he's sharing personal
videos of his workouts
and his workout routines
on his social media.
And that kind of becomes
a way that he has been
cross-promoting the Marvel films.
- Sometimes fear is a little
good, keeps you alive.
So Chris, I know you are
the most fearless guy
in the history of the world.
- You had this idea that
selfies were the new autograph.
When you see somebody famous today,
you pull your phone out
and you take a selfie,
you don't pull out the Sharpie
anymore like people used to.
Today we have over 18,000
different talent on the platform.
(laughing)
Every time they create
this piece of content,
they're getting shared on social,
and other people are watching it.
They're getting disseminated
through their fans
social media accounts.
And if you receive a cameo from
Charlie Sheen or Snoop Dogg,
you become a bigger fan of
Charlie Sheen and Snoop Dogg
or anybody else on our site.
(laughing)
- It seems like the
biggest celebrities today
are Instagrammers and YouTubers.
So what does this mean for
the original movie star
when they have to compete
with the influencers
to get attention,
and what does it actually
mean for their acting careers?
- Today, the biggest celebrities in a way
are produced by YouTube and Instagram.
They've got numbers,
they've got a rapid increase in followers
that's unlike anything
that we've ever seen.
They're the lane to celebrity,
the social media channels.
And it's a celebrity that can come fast.
It's a celebrity that
requires constant maintenance.
I mean, the thing that's
interesting about those celebrities
is they have a way of
speaking to the camera,
doing the vlogging that is very effective.
And so they have loyal fans,
their numbers can multiply very rapidly.
They don't have a traditional skill,
except being comfortable on camera.
A lot of them, it isn't that
they can act or they can dance
or they can sing or whatever.
And that's part of the rise
of the ordinary celebrity.
- I recently was producing
a movie for a studio
and we were deciding upon which
actor should play this part.
It ended up choosing one actress based on
how many followers she had on Facebook.
- [Interviewer] I've heard that.
- Because marketing and everything else,
the studios for marketing,
they find it much easier if
you have a large follower
on Facebook, you can use their,
your Facebook followers
as to market the picture,
which was an eye-opener for me.
- Yes. I can't, there are
people that have said,
we're going to hire this actress
because she has eight million, you know,
20 million followers.
And you're like, that's what,
what defines being able to get a job?
Hiring acting coaches so that
these people can learn how
to act just to live up to
their 20 million followers.
It's not right.
- Yeah. I mean, look, I don't
think filmmakers or studios
are going to hire people to star in films
because they have a bunch
of Instagram followers.
I think it would come down to talent,
but popularity is certainly
an important part of it, so.
- Who doesn't love The Rock?
The Rock, I think, is one
of the most popular people
ever on social media.
But if I can have a
better actor who has a,
a smaller social media
footprint than The Rock,
I think that's where the casting director
or the producers have to decide.
Is The Rock going to
bring in people because
he can just tweet once or twice and say,
"Come see my movie this weekend."
Or do I want a really, really
great actor to play the role?
I think that most casting directors
will prefer the better actor.
I think a lot of the
producers would prefer
the better social media present.
- I feel like a broken
record just steady on repeat
when I say thank you guys so, so much
for the incredible love
and the incredible support.
- When I first sat down with
A-listers like Julia Roberts,
Anne Hathaway and Natalie Portman,
they were really reluctant
to take part in this new digital trend.
But at some point or another,
they all changed their minds.
So has social media become
an unavoidable part of fame?
- Well, I haven't chosen
to not be a part of it.
I kind of don't, I just don't get it.
- But you don't have a Twitter, do you?
- No. No. Practically.
I guess there's a directness that I miss
in the idea of the internet or Twitter.
I picture Twitter on a pager,
which I know is also antiquated.
I don't know where you Twitter, but,
but I just, there's a lack of
human connection to all of it
that, that I, that doesn't appeal to me.
I was getting ready for bed
and we were laying there
together and I was like,
"Look at this picture.
What about this picture?
Can I post it?"
- I personally just,
I think because I started my
life and my career so much
before social media existed that it's not,
it's not natural to me in any way.
Like I don't feel the need to
share anything with strangers.
- For me I've just always adopted a,
the less you know about the
actor, the better approach.
I think it works really well for comedians
and certain personalities,
but I don't want people to
feel like they actually know me
or, or know that much about my life.
I, I, so that way when
they see me on screen,
they can forget me more easily.
- I have been like, I've
had definitely been on press
those in the past where
like studios have said,
"Hey, would you consider setting
up a social media account?"
And I've been like, "No,
because it's, I will go insane."
But yeah, I'm lucky generally.
I don't get pushed to,
to do too much of that.
- Another great example
of this is Eddie Redmayne.
He's now fronting a, an
entire Harry Potter franchise.
He is the star of the
Fantastic Beasts franchise.
Harry Potter is one of the
biggest entertainment brands
in the world,
and yet you have a guy who
is fronting these films
and is not personally on
any social media platform.
It's fascinating from a
marketing perspective,
and I assume it must
drive the studios crazy.
- These are for good reasons.
- I think what's interesting
is like sometimes they,
like studios or things will say,
"Have you thought about something?"
But you can always tell
those people who it's just,
they're using it to promote something
and it doesn't feel authentic.
Got to see opening day.
- Super excited.
- Super psyched emoji, new emoji.
- Hashtag plus.
- You're not on social media, are you?
- No.
- Why not?
- Well, A, I'm a grown man.
- A lot of grown men aren't saying that.
- It's too noisy.
It's just noise.
And the fact that our
media now points to twe-
it's, it's.
I don't know of a lot of good things
that have come of social media.
Human beings acting anonymously...
is a bad, that's a bad start.
- You, what you're seeing
is a compounded need
to be beautiful with all of social media
because all social media is about, I mean,
a great deal of it is look
at me, how pretty am I,
how many people like me for being pretty.
- Oh, you're on Instagram now, Morgan.
- You saw me where?
- On Instagram.
- Oh yeah?
- You joined Instagram, right?
- What was I doing on an Instagram?
- You have an account
and I'm following it.
Are you not putting out stuff there?
- No. No, I don't do, I don't do...
what do you call it?
- Social media.
- ...Social media at all.
- Why not?
- I'm 82 years old, smarter than that.
We received so much fan mail
supporting this renewal,
and we thank you.
- Thinking about what's
ahead for celebrity,
I do think that the
kind of Hollywood career
that came out of the golden age is over.
It's a relic.
Nobody can exist anymore
just having a movie,
doing publicity for the movie.
They can't exist in the realm
of keeping a continuing fan base going.
- I think it's a different world
and I don't think we live
in a world that's, you know,
it's like when people invented the car,
and some people still
wanted to ride a bike.
It's fine. It's still a
great mode of transportation.
It's charming, but everybody
else is going other places
and doing other things.
And that's what I sort of
equate it to in my mind.
The whole world changed and it's like
we're all going to be having
different conversations.
- If we think about a group
of actors like George Clooney,
Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie,
the sort of success that they attained
from being primarily in feature films,
doing good performances, you know,
staying in front of the public eye,
I think that kind of career is over
because the celebrity
landscape is just too crowded.
- I'm really not one to question my path.
It's just how do you
keep the path interesting
and meaningful is more what I think about.
And you know, we're always doing our best.
So it just, it feels like continuation of,
of when I started 30 years ago really.
- Probably no one who's just coming up now
could sustain or have that kind of career.
It's a bygone era,
the sort of celebrity
that they've enjoyed,
and social media's changed the
whole landscape of celebrity.
(upbeat music)
- As the digital age continues to grow,
will the stars here in
Hollywood walk of fame
be filled with names of
Instagrammers and YouTubers?
And will the original stars
survive the age of transparency,
and will this be the star of tomorrow?
- The internet has destroyed
the mystery with movie star.
I think because people are famous
just before being an internet
sensation, a YouTuber,
that's what is becoming,
or that's what's famous.
It's just a different time. I do sort of,
I really do miss the days
without the internet.
- The dichotomy of this is
you have the influencers
who are very much trying to appear
like the celebrities on the red carpet.
And it seems to be sort
of this never ending cycle
between the two worlds where, you know,
I think you had sort of the
Hollywood realm over here
and the influencer realm over here.
They seem to be coming
closer and closer together.
- I was making breakfast for my daughter
right before going to school
and she asked me something so simple.
She said, "Daddy, do
you like social media?"
And I was just stumped.
I just couldn't even answer that question.
I was like, "What a brilliant
question. Do I like it?"
- The actor of tomorrow,
the one that's going
to rise to the stardom,
who's going to be starring
in the Warner Brothers
and Marvel films,
they're the ones that
are going to actually
have to take a stance on right and wrong.
They're going to have to be advocates,
and that's what they're
going to be measured by,
by the Gen Z and the
millennial demographics
of who actually has a passion
and shares their passion,
and who helps make the
world a better place.
- Social media's changed
the rules of publicity
and fan connection.
And in that sense, I don't
think we're going to ever
have Hollywood stars like we did before.
It hasn't killed the stardom,
but it's killed that brand
of special Hollywood stardom
that came out of feature films,
that came out of people with
real performing talents,
real acting chops.
They are now thrown into a sea of people
who are celebrities for a
whole variety of reasons.
It's a bigger ocean full of
competition for the spotlight.
And yeah, so I would say
social media has killed
the Hollywood star.
We're not going to see the same kind
of stardom happen again.
(dramatic music)
(frantic music)
- Two million followers.
- What did you see on Instagram? Uh-oh.
- What about this picture? Can I post it?
- I don't mind showing myself
when I'm not at all attractive. (laughs)
- It's like I'm having
lots and lots of friends.
- It's a new world.
- It's smoke and mirrors, my friend.
- A YouTuber. That's what's famous?
- A great blocked.
- What can I do about it?
I can't change it now.
(upbeat intro music)
- For celebrities, a star
here on the sidewalk used
to be the ultimate marker of success,
but things have changed.
Today you can almost wonder if
a big social media following
is more important than a star
at the iconic walk of
fame here in Hollywood.
My name is Kjersti Flaa,
and over the last eight
years as a journalist,
I've interviewed countless A-listers
about their relationship to social media.
- I pictured Twitter on a pager,
which I know is also antiquated.
I don't know where you Twitter, but-
- A lot of these actors
used to avoid the paparazzi,
but today they're sharing
their most intimate
moments on social media.
- I get to be vocal, outspoken.
I get to show my gratitude,
but also I get to post pictures of my dog.
- It allows me to be able
to communicate with fans
very quickly without a
publicist's, you know, involvement.
- But really what it is,
is this kind of strange
social awareness that you
kind of have to have as,
as an actor now.
- But what are the real consequences
when you invite the public
into your private life?
- Daddy, do you like social media?
- What happens when the
magic and the mystery
is stripped off and the
stars become just like us?
- I think the relationship
between the fans and the stars
has become much more intimate
than it was in decades past.
I think that there used
to be a fourth wall.
I think that there was this feeling maybe
that celebrities were inaccessible,
much like the Queen of England,
where they lived this fabulous
life of the rich and famous,
but that wasn't really a life that
related to ours in a day-to-day basis.
But I always like to use the example
of Us Weekly's feature "Stars
- They're Just Like Us!"
And I feel like that's
something that social media
has amplified on a level
that even the magazine
couldn't have predicted 10 years ago.
- I like that it kind of
gives you an opportunity
to take back your own
narrative a bit you know,
and not let other people kind of tell
your life story for you.
You can kind of go, "Yeah,
I'm just going to like,
I'll share with you what
I want to share with you."
And that's probably more authentic.
- Social media is a tool that you can use
to really speak for yourself,
to represent yourself
much better than anybody else can.
- Well I really fought it for a long time,
but then once I realised that you get
to create whatever it's
going to be, it's your thing.
- You're looking good, girl.
- That's before people had,
they got all their information about me
and what I'm really passionate about,
what I'm interested in, through
the lens of another person.
And now it's just me
talking directly to fans
and I...I like that.
- I think with other
vehicles of social media
that I'm not that skilled at,
I think things can be taken the wrong way.
I think things spin
out or are so negative,
but I do think there's
something about Instagram
where it's like, it's just a funny moment.
I think it stays to the positive.
- Now in the golden age of Hollywood,
stars are carefully, carefully managed.
And this is probably
the biggest difference
from what we have in terms of
stardom and celebrity today.
They all had morality
clauses in their contract,
and they wanted a very tight grip.
They wanted to arrange
their personal lives.
Say that you're dating this other star
who's also under contract.
Of course, now it's a much looser system.
- We just came out of the shower?
That's what I suggested, young lady.
- In this day and age with social media,
celebrities can very much take control
of their own narrative
by addressing rumours
and addressing gossip on their own accord.
And they can do this without
going through a publicist,
without going through any
sort of representation.
Whether or not this is
always done the right way
is up for debate, but
certainly it gives them
the control and the power
back that a lot of the media,
particularly celebrity gossip magazines,
held in the 80s and the 90s.
- Babe, what's happening? What's going on?
- It's over between us.
- It's over between us?
- Yeah.
- Oh my God, what are we going to do?
- I felt suffocated.
- You felt suffocated by me?
- Thanks, Melissa.
- Thanks.
- But you have to rise above it.
You have to distance
yourself as a celebrity.
You have to just be willing to know
that not everyone's going to
like every picture you post,
everything that you say,
every opinion that you have.
- Oh, I try to have a bit of fun.
It's actually, I was
nervous to get into it,
and I actually enjoy it now.
And it's sort of weirdly
that the bonus of it
has been that the
paparazzi has dropped down,
because you can go over
there with a long lens
and sit behind a car,
and then I just go bloop,
and I get a closer shot
than any of them can get,
you know, and it's just easier.
And they're like, waiting for three hours.
I can't sell this photo anymore.
He's just put it up for free.
(laughing)
- Seriously, I tell them
not to post something.
Five seconds later, I see it on Instagram
over like 200 views.
- Hey, I know it's better.
It's like medicine.
Sometimes it tastes bad,
but in the end it'll
make you a better person.
- You have two million
followers on Facebook?
- You know what, you know what?
- Do you send them all birthday presents?
- Selena Gomez has got-
- You have to send them
all birthday cards?
- Sure. But it's fun.
We're all over the world.
- That a nightmare.
- Yeah. Read the comments.
- This, this is my idea of
social media about this.
- I think when celebrities
use social media as a tool
to make announcements
about significant changes
in their lives, and that would
be things like pregnancies,
engagements, weddings or even deaths,
I think that by using social
media as a way to do that,
there's an intimacy
there that the fans feel
that they don't necessarily
get when they see
their favourite celebrities
on the cover of a magazine
making a very similar announcement.
You see Jennifer Lopez's
engagement littered amongst
a bunch of personal photos
from your friends and family,
I think it almost makes you
feel like she's also too
a part of your life in a
way that she's actually not.
- I love sharing things with the fans
that I'm doing from my
life, from, you know,
even with me and Alex and the kids.
I just, it's fun. You
know, I'm proud of it.
I'm proud of it all. So I
love, I love sharing it.
(upbeat music)
- When I was working on "The
Departed" with Jack Nicholson
and Leonardo DiCaprio,
those are two people
that both spoke about how
they don't share very much.
That way the audience
has a greater ability
to suspend their belief in the character
that they're playing.
I think that there is something to be said
for keeping a mystery about who you are.
A Kardashian really
wouldn't be able to play
a role without you going,
"that's a Kardashian."
- I share a lot, which is bizarre
because I've always been
kind of the thought that,
you know, an actor shouldn't,
should keep his personal
life as separate as possible
so that you're able to
enjoy the characters
that you see on film.
- Celebrities and actors
specifically are having to learn
how to meld their world of, you know,
this is who I am in the real world,
and this is who I am on screen,
and they're having to
actually bring it together.
- It's really important to make
your Instagram an accurate,
an accurate representation
of who you are as a person.
You see lots of Instagram
accounts and you're like,
there's no way you're
like that in real life.
Like this is the fake you
that you want people to see.
And I just have really
enjoyed the last couple years
kind of shaping my social profile
to just be an extension of me.
And then I can feel like
I can connect with my fans
on a more personal level
rather than this kind of
silly hierarchy thing that
Instagram often kind of makes.
- How is it to put out
a post when you know
so many people see what you're up to?
- That's a strange thing to
comprehend that, you know,
that's a lot of people.
I don't want things to
be planned or contrived.
I'd like them to be a thought or a moment
or like life, I suppose.
- I think if anything, like I
try to use my platform in a,
in the best way I can and
especially for, you know,
the work that I've been able to do
that touches on mental health
or LGBTQ rights or equality.
Those are all really
dear and important to me.
And if I can be a positive platform
in that kind of that atmosphere,
which can sometimes be
negative for people,
then that's, you know, I guess
that's what I'd like to be.
- I'm not too bright on the
technology part. I get help.
- There's a lot about social media
that I actually don't understand.
Like I still don't know what DM is.
- My dog has his own Instagram.
- He does?
- And yes.
And so it goes to show how
much I love social media.
- Twitter has, it does feel a little bit
like it's just turned into a bunch of
12-year-olds shouting at each other.
(upbeat music plays)
- Dwayne Johnson is a phenomenal
example of a celebrity
who has harnessed the
power of social media.
He not only engages with his
fan base on a daily basis,
he has created and crafted a entire
marketing machine around himself.
So he has massive platform follower base.
He also has a production company,
where he's creating his own content now,
and he's added on his own
advertising agency component
to that production company.
- Yeah. You have the
sexiest daddy in the world.
You know what it is? It's rewarding, sure.
And yes, in a way it's freeing.
What I like about Facebook,
what I especially like
about Twitter and Instagram,
is that the feedback is instant.
So if I say something right
away, I'm getting feedback back.
I, I love it. A lot,
oftentimes with Facebook,
it could become a one-way conversation
where someone is just
saying one thing (laughs)
fans comment, but it's
not like it doesn't happen
live a lot.
- If we go back to the
very beginnings of cinema,
the producers were smart enough
that they never wanted to name the stars.
They wanted to keep them anonymous.
They would be independent
if they knew their names.
So famously in 1909, Carl
Lemley acquires you know,
Florence Lawrence and he spreads
a rumour that she's died.
So then he can take out ads
saying, "No, she hasn't died.
You know, here she is."
And that was the beginning
of escalating star salaries,
the beginning of stars themselves
having the power to ask for more money.
Since they were what
was driving attendance
and love for the movies,
people wanted to see
them over and over again.
People wanted to get to
know as much as they could.
Where are they from?
Where are their parents,
you know, what's their romantic life?
And so then we see
gossip magazines take off
and then that whole start.
- I think the mystery around celebrity
and the business of celebrity
has certainly gone away in a big way.
I think that a lot of, you know
when we look at what's
making headlines now
with regards to gossip and
tabloids and entertainment media,
a lot of those headlines
aren't necessarily driven
by pregnancies and births
and weddings and divorces.
A lot of it is actually
internal business drama,
which are topics that I don't think that
the mainstream entertainment
media would've touched
in the way that they are in
2019, 10 or 15 years ago.
- Social media hasn't just increased
the access we have to celebrities.
It's also redefined the fan experience,
and made it more intimate.
The autograph is dead.
It's all about the selfie.
So how does this really affect the dynamic
between the stars and fans?
I went to the Toronto
Film Festival to find out.
(rock music plays)
- Oh, the autograph is gone, pretty much.
It's like people want selfies.
- On any given day, I'll be
stopped in the street anytime
from 20 to 100 times with
people asking me for selfies.
And usually people are pretty nice
and it's a quick interaction.
They say, "Can I have a
picture?" Say, "Yeah, sure."
We take a picture and then we
both go about our business.
- It's become the new,
nobody wants autographs now.
They want your picture
for their Facebook page.
- I find that cell phone
cameras have created
an incredibly rude, unconscious
behaviour in people.
And it's just, it's shocking.
I find myself pretty shocked
by how much those things
seem to have obliterated
people's sense of just respect
for each other on a
person-to-person basis.
- When I run into people
on the street recently
more and more, they'll say,
"Oh, hey, can we take a picture?"
I'm like, "Oh, not right
now, but you want to talk?"
And they're like, "No, not really."
So people don't really
want to get to know you.
They basically just
want to take a picture,
which is something I'm learning as well.
- Can we take a selfie?
It's more about being
able to send that away
to other people going, look
who I just got a photo with.
It's not so much about
I'm a big fan of yours.
It's more become like a
trading card in a way.
- Lost my job because of you.
I literally- 'cause you
wouldn't let me come see you.
Oh my gosh. Can I have a hug?
- I think definitely the
bragging rights. I met so-and-so.
I mean, I'm just happy to
say I saw so-and-so. I met-
And if I meet them or get
the autograph or picture,
it's even better.
- I'm trying to get Johnny
Depp, I waited for four hours.
Unsuccessful, but getting to see him,
at least that was pretty cool.
- I don't need to get selfies with them,
but it's nice to get up
and close and personal.
- [Interviewer] You would ask
for a picture if they come up.
- Oh, if they come up, yes. Yeah.
I would ask for a picture for sure
if they come to approach me.
- [Interviewer] And what
would you do with a photo?
- Probably just post it on Instagram.
- I think everybody
through social media now
they can be a little bit famous.
So it's sort of like it's
not just celebrities.
They can attach themselves to a celebrity,
and then that can go viral.
And I think people like
that, and I think that's
sort of what's happened
in the last 10 years.
- We do it because we like people.
We don't want to disappoint
them, but we hate it.
- It's our age.
I mean, this is the internet
age. What can you do?
- I don't think I would
like as a celebrity
having everyone watch selfies with me,
but I appreciate the ones
that do come out and do it
because I think it's nice for the fans.
- I bet a lot of them don't,
but I think they're kind
of required nowadays.
I don't think they can
have a successful career
unless there's somebody, I
think Joaquin Phoenix I saw,
he just sort of walked by
all the press yesterday.
So I think if you have a
certain amount of disrespect
for your public, maybe
they don't care as much.
I think you're like a brand, right?
So I think you have to put
your face on everything
and the more public you are,
probably it's going to help your career.
And with social media,
you're plastered all over
the place anyways, so.
- Most of the times it's great.
But there are people
who would just be like,
"Sorry, excuse me, can I have a selfie?"
And sometimes when you're
like, "Sorry, no thank you"
you're an asshole.
- A selfie's probably one
of the worst inventions
of all time, certainly in my
lifetime in the last 15 years.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Why? Because people come up to you
and they are getting close
to you, or just like-
- No, it's not really
the, "Hey, how are you"
engaging with somebody,
it's like kind of like,
"Hey, get over here." Click
and they look at the picture,
not even, you know, they're
not engaging with you. So.
- So they're not talking.
- It's a bit impersonal.
Maybe a tad bit evasive.
- Yeah, because what social
media really has done
for celebrities, it
has made their fan base
even closer to them.
So now they feel like they're
friends with that celebrity.
- I'm absolutely pumped.
In the old days, when
pre-social media, you had to,
if you liked somebody,
you're a fan of somebody,
you had to write them a fan letter.
And the chance of them ever
seeing it or you seeing them
was you knew that it was like
sending a message in a bottle
and throwing it to the ocean.
Whereas now you can tweet
or Instagram or whatever,
you can have a direct
relationship with somebody
in a way that I think is, I
think that's a good thing.
- I think having a conversation
with an audience is so,
for me, fulfilling.
I enjoy communicating
with people and knowing
how they really feel about
things and they will tell you.
And it's great to be able to
pull the curtain back a little bit,
let them into my life, see a
little bit behind the scenes.
It's like I'm having
lots and lots of friends.
- I think it's interesting
that you have someone
like a Will Smith who
is a huge A-list actor
essentially commenting on this
shift towards social media,
and saying that that's
now going to play a role
in the fact that we can't quote
create movie stars anymore.
And I think that there
is a lot of accuracy
to what he's saying when
we look at big celebrities
like George Clooney, like Brad
Pitt, like Jennifer Aniston,
like Johnny Depp.
I think that this level of
fame that has been achieved
by what we call sort of this
Hollywood golden setter,
this Hollywood A-list is shifting in a way
that fandom is becoming more piecemeal.
Happy Birthday to you
And I think specifically on the example
of Will Smith and his family,
you now have two A-list
celebrities who the wife,
Jada Pinkett Smith, is
now hosting a talk show,
Red Table Talk, which is
literally in the living room
of the Smith family home.
It almost doesn't even
feel like you're watching
a produced talk show because
it does really feel like
you've just stepped into
the Smith living room
for 20 minutes of your day.
- Definitely think we're
sharing a lot more,
but I think it has a lot to do
with the age of transparency
and people trying to search and gravitate
more to authenticity.
So it's really about how you're sharing,
if that makes any sense.
- Do you use Argano? I though
you used the Dr. Bronish.
- My mission is to improve lives,
so I want to do things that put positivity
and positive energy and
love into the world.
- People won't connect to
you in a certain manner
if they don't feel like there's
an offering of some kind.
I will say that.
And so as a artist, you
just have to think about
what that offering is,
whether it's just beautiful
pictures on Instagram,
that's great too, you know what I mean?
But there has to be some kind of peep,
a little peek into behind the curtain.
- It's however I feel at that moment.
I used to put on the
bottom my treasure chest,
and that's kind of what it is.
It's like what I put
in my box in my attic,
that stuff that I think is fun
and that I get to look
back on once in a while
and I'm with my wife, I go,
"Oh, remember that? Remember that?"
It's kind of like its own photo
album, but we do it for us.
We don't really do it for anybody else,
but people appreciate it and I like it
because it's authentic.
- It was important to me
years ago to do my best,
hopefully to establish a
presence around the world
as myself where it was just me,
because I felt like if I
could work hard over the years
and create a presence around the world
that people felt very
comfortable and trusting of me,
that they were going to pay
money to come see my movies,
then I felt like I had a
shot at having a career
that had longevity in a lot of years.
- [Fan] Sandra, please, just one picture.
- [Sandra] Can you grab anything?
Somehow I'm still here,
which is shocking to me.
You know, and I think Billy's in the same,
like we just entered at a time when
there wasn't the same
pressures that are here now.
We both agree we would never
make it if we started now.
Never.
- Don't have the backbone for that.
- I don't have the stomach for it.
- No.
- I don't.
Who knows? By next year we
both might bail out going,
"We can't even make it now."
- I know, right?
- I'm not a social media person,
but if you're not, but I read about it.
I'm really interested. It's curious to me.
If you're not part of that
in a really weird way,
you literally don't exist.
I mean, there's going to be this point
we reach where you kind of don't exist.
It's not just an expression
of you don't exist.
You kind of really literally don't exist.
- Hi guys. I just was working out,
and I found out that we
hit a hundred million
followers on Instagram.
I am so blown away.
- The stars who have decided
to go on Instagram, you know,
YouTube, et cetera, are allowing
fans to have a deeper level
of connection to them, a
kind of direct immediacy.
And that's what younger
fans are going to want.
That's what they're going to demand now
that they've experienced
this sort of connection
and intimate view of
everyday domestic life
and things like that.
So it is there, in some
ways, they're reducing their,
the traditional star
greater than us, you know,
different than us kind of
thing, the extraordinary part.
They've emphasised the ordinary part,
and they're getting more loyalty
from the fans because of that.
(laughing)
- What are you doing on that bus?
(indistinct talking)
Huh? I haven't got my
hair and makeup done yet.
- One of the really interesting
things is if you were
to look at the top 10 most
searched people in the world,
like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie,
they're not even in the top 50.
So even though they might be
seen as like the A-plus list
stars or George Clooney,
it's people like David Dobrik
that you've probably never heard of
who are more searched
than anybody in the world.
- Most people out there
don't even know who a lot
of the people are who are
walking the red carpets.
And that didn't used to be the case.
Everybody across the world,
you'd see the Academy Awards
and you'd know everybody.
And now there's a lot of people
that don't know half the people.
So it's just different.
It's just a different time.
- In the social media age,
literally every day
there's more famous people
getting manufactured every single day.
So somebody is one viral video away
from becoming the next Justin Bieber.
So we believe two things.
Number one, there are
more famous people today
than there've ever been in history.
And number two, people
today are more famous
than they've ever been.
- Today, lots of celebrities are willing
to give up their privacy without blinking.
But what are the risks
if you invite people
into your personal life on a daily basis?
- Well, it used to be the
first time you've heard about
an actor doing a movie is when you saw
the trailer in a theatre.
Now you see a million
paparazzi photos from the set,
and people are posting on their Instagram.
I think the, the separation
between the actor
and the audience has diminished a lot
because of social media.
So some of the older actors
who don't do social media,
I think still have an air of mystery,
but I think some of the
younger actors today,
you can kind of get to know who they are
very easily by the way
they choose to share.
- I think there's a giant
risk now to the future
of movie stars as far as
having too many people
know what's going on in your life.
We're seeing this all over
the place where anything
that happens, they have,
people have insight into it
immediately on social media.
And it's very hard for a
celebrity to keep that mystery,
to keep that pedestal, to keep
the privacy of their life,
which really up to this
point of social media
has been very different
from their onscreen life.
- Excuse my no makeup and dark circles.
(indistinct talking)
- I need, I need some answers.
- Nothing like a little
moment or two. (laughs)
- Thank you, Dr. Hirsch. Okay.
Feel great. Look great. Bye.
- Giving up your, your privacy
seems very weird to me.
I don't know why anybody
would want to do that.
And we live in this world
now where everyone wants
to share everything always,
and there's an expectation that you're,
you want to participate in that.
And whether or not you're,
you're a celebrity or famous or,
or recognisable in any way,
it's just that the
expectation is there and,
and you feel like, well,
do I get a choice in that?
Like because I, I used to, used
to be able to say like when
and where I had to
participate in any of that.
- I think it's because
it's very unknown to me.
I don't know. I'm not very techie.
And I don't want, I just feels like
it would be an added
pressure that I don't want.
And it feels very time-consuming.
And who needs, who wants
the stress of you're going
to get a like or you don't get a like.
I don't know. I'm, I'm, trust
me, I'm grappling with it.
I think about it. I've been told to do it.
I've been told not to do it. And I'm-
So I'm trying to sort of
understand my relationship
with social media.
(lively music)
- Jennifer Aniston's had
an extraordinary career
because of the massive, you
know, popularity of "Friends".
And, and when "Friends" was on,
she was a total style fashion icon.
I think it's kind of a unique case
because of "Friends" being so popular.
So her star images has
managed to be attractive,
you know, over time, over
a course of generations.
But I think that's the unusual case.
I think there won't be a lot of
Jennifer Aniston's in the future.
- Not everyone is cut out to
be hands-on with social media.
As we witnessed with some
stars, it can go terribly wrong.
With millions of followers
at a touch of a button,
one bad tweet can have
colossal consequences.
- Today, celebrities can ruin their career
before it's even started,
or their career can be ruined
based off some behaviour
that they did through social
media a decade before.
- So do you guys have a limit
for what you can make fun of,
or should we be able to
make fun of everything?
- Should be able to
make fun of everything.
Should be able to laugh at everything.
There is a positive in every negative.
I don't care how bad it is.
There's something funny in the situation.
I don't care how bad it is.
- In 2018, Kevin Hart was
announced to be the host
of the Oscars for the following year,
and he had, you know, of course,
active social media accounts
throughout the years
that he has been a comedian
and has been famous.
And all it took was one nosy
person to go through all
of his old tweets and find something
that appeared to be homophobic
that then put his hosting
gig into jeopardy,
and he ultimately did not end
up hosting the Oscars in 2019,
and it turned into a huge public scandal.
- The same energy that went
into finding those old tweets
could be the same energy put into finding
the response to the questions
that have been asked
years after years after years.
We feed in the internet
trolls and we reward them.
I'm not going to do it, man.
- One thing social media
does to celebrities
is make them more available for
public opinion and scrutiny.
This means that they need
to develop a thicker skin
to deal with haters and
trolls on a whole new level.
- I only went on Twitter
because My comrades
in my political campaign
said this is a very good way
to get our message out.
And I said, "Yeah, but if I go on Twitter,
I'm going to read all
these horrible trolls."
And they said, "Just don't
read them. Don't read them."
But of course, you have
a few beers one night
and you're feeling low
and you have a look.
And it's terrible.
- You're not great.
- Blocked.
- Yeah.
- Do you block people ever?
- No. I've muted some people.
Now that it's a function
on Twitter and Instagram,
there's, there's a couple
people that I have muted.
- The way I look at it is like maybe one
out of the five million
responses you might get
would actually say that to you in person.
The thing is like when you
hide behind a keyboard,
it's very easy to say what,
what you think you believe in.
- Do you read comments? Do
you ever sit down and like-
- Sometimes. Sometimes.
I'm not one of those
people who does it like
every time my post,
I look at the comments
and blah, blah, blah.
No. Sometimes I just go back
and I go, "Oh, that was nice.
They said that. Oh, they liked it."
You'll get a general feel for
it, but I don't obsess on it.
- What this whole world
of social media has done
is opened up the world of trolls.
And trolls are there. They lay in wait.
They are just waiting
to grab on to anything
that a celebrity says that might be able
to be taken in a different way.
- I tend not to now look at comments,
and especially if I do,
it's hard to read something that if,
if it is really about you
and it's your worst fear of yourself,
of course you're going
to take it to heart.
It's hard to have a very
thick skin about everything.
- I'm not sensitive about that stuff.
I am, however, when it comes to my kids.
Like that's definitely changed for me.
But outside of that, it's, it's fair game.
I'm an adult and I can handle
it. It's, it's all good.
- I think it's really tough
for young celebrities now,
the younger kids, because
of the social media stuff
and these cell phones, the cameras,
it's very easy to make a
mistake, a little mistake,
and to get totally exploded
out of proportions,
you know, which is
something I did not have to
deal with when I was growing up.
- Let me post something on social media.
Do you think about it a lot?
Do you feel there's responsibility there?
- I mean, I think about it to the degree
that I won't post any
naked pictures of myself.
But other than that, I
will, for the most part,
I'm just trying to be the most
genuine version of myself.
Whether it's five or three million,
it doesn't really matter.
You're still putting it
out there in the world,
so you have to be aware of what
you put out into the world.
- I mean, you need a copywriter,
and that's why you would
have someone come on board
to help make sure that what you're writing
is actually accurate.
- Unless I'm educated about something,
then I generally don't
give my opinion about it,
because that can be
irresponsible, you know?
And, and sometimes people do listen to you
if you're in the public eye.
- Politics has led me to like stop posting
because I said to myself, "Oh my God,
all I'm thinking about is politics.
Then stop posting until you
have something else to say."
And I was like, "I have
nothing else to say.
This is consuming my mind."
So I just stopped posting.
- What I find interesting is
that there's almost a forced
social awareness now onto celebrities
that if they don't speak
out about certain things,
that they're almost not relevant,
which I find makes a lot of
people say a lot of things
that they don't really believe in
and do a lot of things
that are not realistic and,
and not relevant.
So I think there's a very
strange thing happening
with a lot of celebrities right now
where they feel this need
to be very socially aware,
but they don't believe
anything that they're saying.
- It's, it's grown into a necessity now.
Facebook has changed considerably.
When I started Facebook,
the only person that had a
million fans was Barack Obama,
and he had just been elected.
And then I was the only one
on Facebook that passed him.
It was just surreal on a lot of levels,
because then you start to
think what responsibility
is associated with this.
Like if you look at my Facebook page,
there's always this theme of love.
There's always this theme
of multiculturalism.
There's always this theme of this,
this little hashtag LeadWithLove
that I guess has its place in the world.
- Yo, what's up y'all?
I'm here to tell you
about my brand new movie.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait,
don't give away too much, man.
- Yeah. Okay.
- You know, in a post Instagram
story world, you know,
your fans want to see what
you're doing all the time.
And if you're not giving
them that content, you know,
they're going to go get
it from somebody else.
And ultimately, the more content
that you're putting out there today,
the more relevant you're becoming,
and ultimately the more people are going
to come to your shows or
buy your movie tickets
or buy your merch or come
to your meet and greets
or do any of the other things
that people have traditionally done.
- Hey guys, Chris Pratt here,
backstage at The Masked Singer.
It's a bit of a show, but
I guess that is what it is.
It's show business, you know?
You get, you get people
will give you nice clothes
and watches, like for
instance, this watch.
Boom, it's on my wrist.
I'm going to walk around and be like,
"Hey, Chris Pratt here.
Check out this watch."
Yeah, I have watches like this.
I don't. It's smoke
and mirrors, my friend.
- Brands nowadays, they don't
want to hire a celebrity
just to be the face of their
campaign in most cases.
They're looking for a celebrity
who can actually share,
either create content or share the content
through their own social channels.
And if you are a celebrity
who has no social channels,
you're going to lose money.
And when I say lose money,
you can lose tens of
millions of dollars of deals,
which is not anything to blink at.
- Lastly.
- The wait is finally over.
Performance inspired nutrition products
in all the HEB stores.
- Got my selfie stick,
got myself a nice suit,
got my surfboard.
What else do you want?
Pumped. Getting out of there.
- Another great example of
a celebrity that is using,
you know, a lifestyle
brand to push herself ahead
is Kate Hudson with
Fabletics and, you know,
doing what she's doing in that space
where it kind of seems like
that's her primary focus
right now instead of acting.
(bright music)
- Social media has become
nothing but a promotion.
Honestly, it's only used now
in my world for promotions.
- Celebrities are also using
their personal social media
channels as a way to brand
themselves in relation
to whatever movie might be coming out.
So a great example of this
would be Chris Hemsworth,
who we all love as the Thor,
the Thor character in the Marvel films,
and he's sharing personal
videos of his workouts
and his workout routines
on his social media.
And that kind of becomes
a way that he has been
cross-promoting the Marvel films.
- Sometimes fear is a little
good, keeps you alive.
So Chris, I know you are
the most fearless guy
in the history of the world.
- You had this idea that
selfies were the new autograph.
When you see somebody famous today,
you pull your phone out
and you take a selfie,
you don't pull out the Sharpie
anymore like people used to.
Today we have over 18,000
different talent on the platform.
(laughing)
Every time they create
this piece of content,
they're getting shared on social,
and other people are watching it.
They're getting disseminated
through their fans
social media accounts.
And if you receive a cameo from
Charlie Sheen or Snoop Dogg,
you become a bigger fan of
Charlie Sheen and Snoop Dogg
or anybody else on our site.
(laughing)
- It seems like the
biggest celebrities today
are Instagrammers and YouTubers.
So what does this mean for
the original movie star
when they have to compete
with the influencers
to get attention,
and what does it actually
mean for their acting careers?
- Today, the biggest celebrities in a way
are produced by YouTube and Instagram.
They've got numbers,
they've got a rapid increase in followers
that's unlike anything
that we've ever seen.
They're the lane to celebrity,
the social media channels.
And it's a celebrity that can come fast.
It's a celebrity that
requires constant maintenance.
I mean, the thing that's
interesting about those celebrities
is they have a way of
speaking to the camera,
doing the vlogging that is very effective.
And so they have loyal fans,
their numbers can multiply very rapidly.
They don't have a traditional skill,
except being comfortable on camera.
A lot of them, it isn't that
they can act or they can dance
or they can sing or whatever.
And that's part of the rise
of the ordinary celebrity.
- I recently was producing
a movie for a studio
and we were deciding upon which
actor should play this part.
It ended up choosing one actress based on
how many followers she had on Facebook.
- [Interviewer] I've heard that.
- Because marketing and everything else,
the studios for marketing,
they find it much easier if
you have a large follower
on Facebook, you can use their,
your Facebook followers
as to market the picture,
which was an eye-opener for me.
- Yes. I can't, there are
people that have said,
we're going to hire this actress
because she has eight million, you know,
20 million followers.
And you're like, that's what,
what defines being able to get a job?
Hiring acting coaches so that
these people can learn how
to act just to live up to
their 20 million followers.
It's not right.
- Yeah. I mean, look, I don't
think filmmakers or studios
are going to hire people to star in films
because they have a bunch
of Instagram followers.
I think it would come down to talent,
but popularity is certainly
an important part of it, so.
- Who doesn't love The Rock?
The Rock, I think, is one
of the most popular people
ever on social media.
But if I can have a
better actor who has a,
a smaller social media
footprint than The Rock,
I think that's where the casting director
or the producers have to decide.
Is The Rock going to
bring in people because
he can just tweet once or twice and say,
"Come see my movie this weekend."
Or do I want a really, really
great actor to play the role?
I think that most casting directors
will prefer the better actor.
I think a lot of the
producers would prefer
the better social media present.
- I feel like a broken
record just steady on repeat
when I say thank you guys so, so much
for the incredible love
and the incredible support.
- When I first sat down with
A-listers like Julia Roberts,
Anne Hathaway and Natalie Portman,
they were really reluctant
to take part in this new digital trend.
But at some point or another,
they all changed their minds.
So has social media become
an unavoidable part of fame?
- Well, I haven't chosen
to not be a part of it.
I kind of don't, I just don't get it.
- But you don't have a Twitter, do you?
- No. No. Practically.
I guess there's a directness that I miss
in the idea of the internet or Twitter.
I picture Twitter on a pager,
which I know is also antiquated.
I don't know where you Twitter, but,
but I just, there's a lack of
human connection to all of it
that, that I, that doesn't appeal to me.
I was getting ready for bed
and we were laying there
together and I was like,
"Look at this picture.
What about this picture?
Can I post it?"
- I personally just,
I think because I started my
life and my career so much
before social media existed that it's not,
it's not natural to me in any way.
Like I don't feel the need to
share anything with strangers.
- For me I've just always adopted a,
the less you know about the
actor, the better approach.
I think it works really well for comedians
and certain personalities,
but I don't want people to
feel like they actually know me
or, or know that much about my life.
I, I, so that way when
they see me on screen,
they can forget me more easily.
- I have been like, I've
had definitely been on press
those in the past where
like studios have said,
"Hey, would you consider setting
up a social media account?"
And I've been like, "No,
because it's, I will go insane."
But yeah, I'm lucky generally.
I don't get pushed to,
to do too much of that.
- Another great example
of this is Eddie Redmayne.
He's now fronting a, an
entire Harry Potter franchise.
He is the star of the
Fantastic Beasts franchise.
Harry Potter is one of the
biggest entertainment brands
in the world,
and yet you have a guy who
is fronting these films
and is not personally on
any social media platform.
It's fascinating from a
marketing perspective,
and I assume it must
drive the studios crazy.
- These are for good reasons.
- I think what's interesting
is like sometimes they,
like studios or things will say,
"Have you thought about something?"
But you can always tell
those people who it's just,
they're using it to promote something
and it doesn't feel authentic.
Got to see opening day.
- Super excited.
- Super psyched emoji, new emoji.
- Hashtag plus.
- You're not on social media, are you?
- No.
- Why not?
- Well, A, I'm a grown man.
- A lot of grown men aren't saying that.
- It's too noisy.
It's just noise.
And the fact that our
media now points to twe-
it's, it's.
I don't know of a lot of good things
that have come of social media.
Human beings acting anonymously...
is a bad, that's a bad start.
- You, what you're seeing
is a compounded need
to be beautiful with all of social media
because all social media is about, I mean,
a great deal of it is look
at me, how pretty am I,
how many people like me for being pretty.
- Oh, you're on Instagram now, Morgan.
- You saw me where?
- On Instagram.
- Oh yeah?
- You joined Instagram, right?
- What was I doing on an Instagram?
- You have an account
and I'm following it.
Are you not putting out stuff there?
- No. No, I don't do, I don't do...
what do you call it?
- Social media.
- ...Social media at all.
- Why not?
- I'm 82 years old, smarter than that.
We received so much fan mail
supporting this renewal,
and we thank you.
- Thinking about what's
ahead for celebrity,
I do think that the
kind of Hollywood career
that came out of the golden age is over.
It's a relic.
Nobody can exist anymore
just having a movie,
doing publicity for the movie.
They can't exist in the realm
of keeping a continuing fan base going.
- I think it's a different world
and I don't think we live
in a world that's, you know,
it's like when people invented the car,
and some people still
wanted to ride a bike.
It's fine. It's still a
great mode of transportation.
It's charming, but everybody
else is going other places
and doing other things.
And that's what I sort of
equate it to in my mind.
The whole world changed and it's like
we're all going to be having
different conversations.
- If we think about a group
of actors like George Clooney,
Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie,
the sort of success that they attained
from being primarily in feature films,
doing good performances, you know,
staying in front of the public eye,
I think that kind of career is over
because the celebrity
landscape is just too crowded.
- I'm really not one to question my path.
It's just how do you
keep the path interesting
and meaningful is more what I think about.
And you know, we're always doing our best.
So it just, it feels like continuation of,
of when I started 30 years ago really.
- Probably no one who's just coming up now
could sustain or have that kind of career.
It's a bygone era,
the sort of celebrity
that they've enjoyed,
and social media's changed the
whole landscape of celebrity.
(upbeat music)
- As the digital age continues to grow,
will the stars here in
Hollywood walk of fame
be filled with names of
Instagrammers and YouTubers?
And will the original stars
survive the age of transparency,
and will this be the star of tomorrow?
- The internet has destroyed
the mystery with movie star.
I think because people are famous
just before being an internet
sensation, a YouTuber,
that's what is becoming,
or that's what's famous.
It's just a different time. I do sort of,
I really do miss the days
without the internet.
- The dichotomy of this is
you have the influencers
who are very much trying to appear
like the celebrities on the red carpet.
And it seems to be sort
of this never ending cycle
between the two worlds where, you know,
I think you had sort of the
Hollywood realm over here
and the influencer realm over here.
They seem to be coming
closer and closer together.
- I was making breakfast for my daughter
right before going to school
and she asked me something so simple.
She said, "Daddy, do
you like social media?"
And I was just stumped.
I just couldn't even answer that question.
I was like, "What a brilliant
question. Do I like it?"
- The actor of tomorrow,
the one that's going
to rise to the stardom,
who's going to be starring
in the Warner Brothers
and Marvel films,
they're the ones that
are going to actually
have to take a stance on right and wrong.
They're going to have to be advocates,
and that's what they're
going to be measured by,
by the Gen Z and the
millennial demographics
of who actually has a passion
and shares their passion,
and who helps make the
world a better place.
- Social media's changed
the rules of publicity
and fan connection.
And in that sense, I don't
think we're going to ever
have Hollywood stars like we did before.
It hasn't killed the stardom,
but it's killed that brand
of special Hollywood stardom
that came out of feature films,
that came out of people with
real performing talents,
real acting chops.
They are now thrown into a sea of people
who are celebrities for a
whole variety of reasons.
It's a bigger ocean full of
competition for the spotlight.
And yeah, so I would say
social media has killed
the Hollywood star.
We're not going to see the same kind
of stardom happen again.
(dramatic music)