Red Letter Media

[Flexo]

It's not like she's a good actress, which is another thing that Hollywood is suffering from; the next generation of movie stars does not exist. Picard Season 3 is only as good as it is, and I use that term loosely, because its cast are built out of literal Boomers that understand acting as a craft. Bad Boys 4 literally is built on middle-aged actors that were big 30 years ago. Now we have literal whos as leads and they're more about repeating DEI messages than performing.

Every once in awhile - watching TV and such - you'll see some youngster appear who legit has some talent and you could see being the next big star...

And they don't seem to get much work for some reason.

 

[Drag-on Knight 91873]

Say what you want about the EFAP guys. They are voicing their opinions and not misrepresent RLM like they are on their side. Meanwhile, Disney Star Wars and MCU defense force brag about how RLM is on the right side of history, just like the Red Letter media guys. Deadwing dork don't even have the balls to defend Nu-doctor who without red letter media Star Wars acolyte video giving him the courage. If anything Acolyte video is just Mike getting butt hurt over EFAP making fun of them.

I don't know how butthurt he actually is, but I will admit that EFAP are doing the job BotW does, but better. That's the case with the Fandom Menace in general; they're pointing and laughing at the terrible show. If we're calling that grifting, than that's what RLM does too.

 

[A Sentient Cloud]

It's not like she's a good actress, which is another thing that Hollywood is suffering from; the next generation of movie stars does not exist. Picard Season 3 is only as good as it is, and I use that term loosely, because its cast are built out of literal Boomers that understand acting as a craft. Bad Boys 4 literally is built on middle-aged actors that were big 30 years ago. Now we have literal whos as leads and they're more about repeating DEI messages than performing.

I don't agree with this. Maybe if your viewing habits only include genre TV shows, but the younger generation of movie actors is not lacking: Emma Stone, Paul Mescal, Timothee Chalamet, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elle Fanning, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jacob Elordi, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Saoirse Ronan, Glen Powell, Sydney Sweeney, Barry Keoghan, Jodie Comer, Jesse Plemons. Pedro Pascal is probably also a legit star at this point, though he's older.

(If your response to that list is "I don't know who those people are" then I'm sorry you don't watch movies.)

You can argue that there isn't a generation-defining, lightning bolt talent like Will Smith or Jim Carrey in the current crop and you might be right, but those guys were outliers in their own generation as well. Time will tell. Leonardo DiCaprio didn't really come into his own as an actor until he was in his 30s, prior to that he was viewed as sort of a pretty-boy lightweight best known for Titanic.

We're not seeing a lot of quality people in streaming shows because it seems producers opt for lower tier actors to keep the budget down (and to keep the old guys happy, I'm sure Patrick Stewart was making more than the rest of the cast combined for Picard), and besides, no actor with a thriving movie career wants a TV production eating into their schedule when they're in demand.

 

[Flexo]

A list of rough ages (it may be off by a year because I'm not bothering to check by month).

• Emma Stone - 36
• Paul Mescal - 28
• Timothee Chalamet - 29
• Aaron Taylor Johnson - 34
• Elle Fanning - 26
• Anya Taylor-Joy - 28
• Jacob Elordi - 27
• Florence Pugh - 28
• Austin Butler - 33
• Saoirse Ronan - 30
• Glen Powell - 36
• Sydney Sweeney - 27
• Barry Keoghan - 32
• Jodie Comer - 31
• Jesse Plemons - 36
• Pedro Pascal is probably also a legit star at this point, though he's older - 49

As you may note, every person you listed is on the north side of their 20s. Now this doesn't innately prove either point. After all Arnold was 35 when Conan the Barbarian released. But then Tom Cruise was 21 when Risky Business released and 24 when Top Gun was.

The stars of the YA novel adaptions (Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Twilight) may have had the chance to become stars and they seemed to for a bit, but a lot of those feel like they're fading now. (Save Dan Radcliffe who got to portray musical superstar Weird Al.)

 

[DankSmoker]

Every once in awhile - watching TV and such - you'll see some youngster appear who legit has some talent and you could see being the next big star...

And they don't seem to get much work for some reason.

Or they get mysteriously killed by their own car. RIP Anton Yelchin.

 

[A Sentient Cloud]

The stars of the YA novel adaptions (Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Twilight) may have had the chance to become stars and they seemed to for a bit, but a lot of those feel like they're fading now. (Save Dan Radcliffe who got to portray musical superstar Weird Al.)

Kristen Stewart got an Oscar nom two years ago and was in Love Lies Bleeding this spring which was a modest hit for a weird A24 thriller. Pattinson seems to be well regarded as Batman, did a voice for the latest Ghibli, and is set to star in Bong Joon-Ho's next movie. Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar at 22, had a massive streak of hits, and just had a hit comedy last year after taking some time off to have a kid. Amandla Stenberg was also in Hunger Games. On a TV note, the woman who plays Firecracker in this season of The Boys got her movie start in one of the Twilights.

Sure, some actors hit it big young like Tom Cruise. By comparison, Timothee Chalamet was 21 when he was nominated for Best Actor, for a role where he acted in three languages, and has performed in pretty much every kind of movie since then without really any missteps, Wonka grossed half a billion dollars last year and then there's Dune. You can dislike the guy but I don't think you can argue he isn't a movie star.

By contrast, Jim Carrey was 28 when he was cast on In Living Color and didn't become a megastar until Ace Ventura when he was 32. Will Smith was 27 when his big string of hits started with Bad Boys. Harrison Ford was 35 when Star Wars came out. Robert De Niro was 31 in Godfather Part II. Robin Williams was 29 when Popeye came out and his career didn't really skyrocket until a few years later.

Even consider someone like Jonah Hill, who was 24 when Superbad came out and since then has worked with every acclaimed director under the sun and whose films have grossed billions. Maybe he doesn't look like a movie star, but by every other imaginable metric he is one.

It just feels like you have a very specific definition of what a movie star is and the career timeline required to be one in order to fit your thesis, and I don't think history really bears that out.

 

[Drag-on Knight 91873]

Or they get mysteriously killed by their own car. RIP Anton Yelchin.

Worst case of rolling a natural 1. What kind of enemies did he have?

It just feels like you have a very specific definition of what a movie star is and the career timeline required to be one in order to fit your thesis, and I don't think history really bears that out.

I define a movie star when they're the box office draw. "The new Stallone/Schwartzeneggar/Van Damme/Tom Cruise movie is out." You named actors, some of them good, but I don't go to watch Uncharted even though it's a movie with Tom Holland in it.

 

[A Sentient Cloud]

Worst case of rolling a natural 1. What kind of enemies did he have?

I define a movie star when they're the box office draw. "The new Stallone/Schwartzeneggar/Van Damme/Tom Cruise movie is out." You named actors, some of them good, but I don't go to watch Uncharted even though it's a movie with Tom Holland in it.

Oddly enough I know several people who will see a movie solely because Jesse Plemons is in it. People just love that blockhead. I'm convinced his one scene in Civil War accounted for a non-trivial amount of the box office.

Anyway all of the actors I've named are box office draws. You don't stay in the business if having your face on the poster loses money for the studios.

 

[SnurgleDirge]

Wouldn't it be fair to say that most actors really come into proper stardom in their 30s? Usually playing smaller parts until given a proper chance to shine?

I define a movie star when they're the box office draw. "The new Stallone/Schwartzeneggar/Van Damme/Tom Cruise movie is out." You named actors, some of them good, but I don't go to watch Uncharted even though it's a movie with Tom Holland in it.

Like you say I can't name any actors under 30 I would go out of my way to watch but I could name a number of 40 somethings that I would. Then again I mostly go to movies based on the attached director.

Timothee Chalamet, Aaron Taylor Johnson

These two in particular I've always considered perfectly fine. They do their job but are never what draws me into a film. I feel like I'm being unfair to Timothee because it seems everyone around me feels he's a great performer and I've never been taken with him. What's his best so far?

 

[sneedem&feedem]

Nerdrotic had a very short response to RLM in the first couple seconds of his new video.

 

[TheRaptorJesus]

Nerdrotic had a very short response to RLM in the first couple seconds of his new video.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=yyiXlDC3pxA

Slight derail, I like how I can't even search for his channel.

 

[A Sentient Cloud]

Wouldn't it be fair to say that most actors really come into proper stardom in their 30s? Usually playing smaller parts until given a proper chance to shine?

Like you say I can't name any actors under 30 I would go out of my way to watch but I could name a number of 40 somethings that I would. Then again I mostly go to movies based on the attached director.

These two in particular I've always considered perfectly fine. They do their job but are never what draws me into a film. I feel like I'm being unfair to Timothee because it seems everyone around me feels he's a great performer and I've never been taken with him. What's his best so far?

I’d say Call Me By Your Name still.

Taylor Johnson is the only redeeming thing in Bullet Train. Supposedly he’s been offered James Bond on the strength of that performance. His weird personal life has hamstrung his career a bit, I think.

 

[BrunoMattei]

Kristen Stewart got an Oscar nom two years ago and was in Love Lies Bleeding this spring which was a modest hit for a weird A24 thriller.

Kristen Stewart is a shit actress and the game of the Oscars and all that has been long proven to be a bullshit game of favors and propaganda.

Moving on.

 

[Flexo]

It just feels like you have a very specific definition of what a movie star is and the career timeline required to be one in order to fit your thesis, and I don't think history really bears that out.

I have no thesis. I was just compiling and observing data. At least part of the problem is we could spend months arguing over how to define success and "stars".

 

[LaughJoke2.0]

Nerdrotic had a very short response to RLM in the first couple seconds of his new video.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=yyiXlDC3pxA

Agree or disagree I always feel like I'm getting RLM's real opinion when they review something. Nerdrotic I can literally tell you about his review before a show or film is even made.

That's why RLM's Acolyte review didn't bother me Consuming Shills like Movieblob are awful but so are people who treat mediocre shit like War Crimes against culture.

 

[Tepes Thot]

Agree or disagree I always feel like I'm getting RLM's real opinion when they review something.

I guess I disagree, because I already knew everything they were going to say before I watched it. It’s been pretty clear they’re doing that falsely-earned above act since they started grabbing dumb random comments they found to focus on in their HITB episodes. All to try and make themselves seem balanced between the sides, instead of being actually balanced, and leaving the whole thing alone.

It’s already been talked about in here how everyone already knew what they’d say/where they stand.

The only real difference is they talked about it far less than channels who make that their foundation, but even that’s starting not to be true.

 

[A Sentient Cloud]

I have no thesis. I was just compiling and observing data. At least part of the problem is we could spend months arguing over how to define success and "stars".

I agree, but I do think that using extreme outliers like Tom Cruise as a metric isn’t really useful.

 

[Akerman]

Agree or disagree I always feel like I'm getting RLM's real opinion when they review something. Nerdrotic I can literally tell you about his review before a show or film is even made.

Their real opinion is they don't care about it which is made very clear in the video, one of the reasons the video is so boring.

The actual question to it then becomes, if you don't care enough about it to talk about what even happens in the show until the video is basically over, why the fuck are you making a video on it? Why not instead take Rich up on his insistence to watch Farscape, apparently something Rich has been urging Mike to do for years judging by his comment? Would have been a far more interesting video than this garbage. Hopefully Mike was serious when he said that this might be a future video.

 

[sneedem&feedem]

EFAP clip channel highlighted their reaction to RLM's Acolyte video

Agree or disagree I always feel like I'm getting RLM's real opinion when they review something. Nerdrotic I can literally tell you about his review before a show or film is even made.

I don't exactly see how someone like Nerdrotic's opinions being predictable makes his opinions somehow insincere or fake. The last time I've ever been surprised by RLM's opinion on something was when Jay didn't like Joker because Todd Phillips was primarily known for making low brow comedies like The Hangover. Other than that, every video of theirs is incredibly predictable.

 

[Prester John]

Agree or disagree I always feel like I'm getting RLM's real opinion when they review something. Nerdrotic I can literally tell you about his review before a show or film is even made.

That's why RLM's Acolyte review didn't bother me Consuming Shills like Movieblob are awful but so are people who treat mediocre shit like War Crimes against culture.

I'm pretty sure Mike didn't used to be so preachy.

What was weird about that Acolyte review was that they were telling us that we're making too big a deal out of the culture war stuff, but then they would rub our nose in it to show us how bad it actually is (like that extended Wil Wheaton Stacey Abrams clip). So no, I'm not sure that I know what their real opinion actually is.