Shining in Shadows: Movie Stars of the 2000s

Published by Rutgers University Press 2012

Shining in Shadows

Movie Stars of the 2000s

Edited by: Murray Pomerance

In the series Star Decades: American Culture/American

https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813552163

Overview
Contents

About this book

In the 2000s, new technologies transformed the experiences of movie-going and movie-making, giving us the first generation of stars to be just as famous on the computer screen as on the silver screen.

Shining in Shadows examines a wide range of Hollywood icons from a turbulent decade for the film industry and for America itself. Perhaps reflecting our own cultural fragmentation and uncertainty, Hollywood’s star personas sent mixed messages about Americans’ identities and ideals. Disheveled men-children like Will Ferrell and Jack Black shared the multiplex with debonair old-Hollywood standbys like George Clooney and Morgan Freeman. Iconic roles for women ranged from Renee Zellweger’s dithering romantics to Tina Fey’s neurotic professionals to Hilary Swank’s vulnerable boyish characters. And in this age of reality TV and TMZ, stars like Jennifer Aniston and “Brangelina” became more famous for their real-life romantic dramas—at the same time that former tabloid fixtures like Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr. reinvented themselves as dependable leading men. With a multigenerational, international cast of stars, this collection presents a fascinating composite portrait of Hollywood stardom today.

Author / Editor information

MURRAY POMERANCE is an independent film scholar in Toronto. His many books include The Horse Who Drank the Sky, An Eye for Hitchcock, and Johnny Depp Starts Here, all from Rutgers University Press.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction: Stardom in the 2000s Murray Pomerance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Wonder Boys: Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, and Robert Downey Jr. Dominic Lennard Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	12
2. Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman: Million-Dollar Seniors Robert Eberwein Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	32
3. Jennifer Aniston and Tina Fey: Girls with Glasses Victoria E. Johnson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	50
4. Puerile Pillars of the Frat Pack: Jack Black,Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, and Ben Stiller Brenda R. Weber Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	70
5. Javier Bardem and Benicio Del Toro: Beyond Machismo Mary C. Beltrán Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	90
6. Philip Seymour Hoffman: Jesus of Uncool Jerry Mosher Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	108
7. A Postfeminist Primer: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hilary Swank, and Renée Zellweger Corinn Columpar Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
8. Heath Ledger: I’m Not There Claire Perkins Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
9. Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn: Acting Authentic Michael K. Hammond Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	166
10. Kate Winslet and Cate Blanchett:The Performance Is the Star Charlie Keil Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	182
11. Brangelina: Celebrity, Credibility, and the Composite Überstar Linda Ruth Williams Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	200
12. George Clooney:The Issues Guy David Sterritt Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	220
In the Wings Murray Pomerance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	238
WORKS CITED Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	243
CONTRIBUTORS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	251

Language: English
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 280
Illustrations
- Other: 64 photographs

eBook

Published: October 19, 2011
ISBN: 9780813552163