Respect Those That Laid The Pathway

There's an article on Yahoo! (obviously, at this point, my main source of news stories) that gives a list of celebrities that are reprising their roles in movies decades after the original movie came out. It proves a good point. Many of the most well known movies in our culture are from previous decades. Likewise, many actors in old movies are the most well-known. Even today, movies that are older than most of us are still the most talked about. The Godfather, Gone With The Wind, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, among many others. The actors in those movies are heralded as the greatest actors of all time. But today, who are the actors in the movies? Nobody knows. You turn on Sci-Fi and there's hundreds of bad movies and all the actors are nameless. Even most of the movies in theaters star people that aren't well known. But, the movies that DO feature veteran actors, are usually hits. Inception was one of the greatest movies in recent memory, because Leonardo DiCaprio is a veteran actor who is well-known for his great acting skills. The newest movies in the Rocky and Indiana Jones were met with months and months of heavy coverage before and after their releases, because of the legacy of both the series and their actors. People want to see movies with big names because they know they will deliver. Elderly actors like Clint Eastwood and Betty White have great followings because they've built up a huge fanbase over the years. People will go to see their movies. Who is Micah Sloat? No one knows. I don't even know. He's the main actor in Paranormal Activity, which I had to look up to find his name out. You don't see in the news "Where is Micah Sloat's next destination in Hollywood?' because no one knows who he is. Paranormal Activity won't go down as one of the greatest movies ever. It might become a cult hit, but that's it. The Expendables starred several very well-known actors and was met with rave reviews. It was a great movie because the actors in it were very experienced. Movies with nameless actors are usually only criticized for bad acting or plots, which usually lead to cult hits. They're fun to watch but won't be remembered a few months after they're out of theaters. And when they're advertised to be great movies that'll go down in history, the inevitable flop will only hit harder. So independent filmers and low-budget projects should leave the hits to the big boys.