• ISBN13: 9781903364024
• Binding: Paperback
• Subject: N/A
• Publisher: Wallflower Press
• Publisher Imprint: Wallflower Press
• Publication Date: May 1, 2018
• Pages: 144
• Original Price: USD 21.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 236 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): Film / History & Criticism and Acting & Auditioning

Looks at the development and changing organization of the star system in the American film industry. Tracing the popularity of star performers from the early "cinema of attractions" to the Internet universe, Paul McDonald explores the ways in which Hollywood has made and sold its stars. Through focusing on particular historical periods, case studies of Mary Pickford, Bette Davis, James Cagney, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, and Will Smith illustrate the key conditions influencing the star system in silent cinema, the studio era and the New Hollywood.

Paul McDonald is senior lecturer in film and television studies at the University of Surrey, Roehampton, UK. His additional chapter in Richard Dyer's classic text Stars was published in 1998.