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Hollywood has a star problem. The latest generation of leading men and women are all blessed with charm, talent and charm that command public admiration. However, 20-somethings like Zendaya, Paul Mescal and Sidney Sweeney are struggling to open movies on the strength of their names alone. They are simply not popular.
You won’t find cross-generational stars on YouTube either. Or any other online platform. Can you identify Kai Cenat, the most-submitted analyst on Twitch? Or Bella Porch who got over a billion views on one TikTok video? Even Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast), who has over 338 million YouTube followers, would probably pass by the average 45-year-old without recognition.
The inability to identify new pop culture heroes is a sign of the Middle Ages. But there’s usually a point where these stars cross over to a wider audience. Over the past decade, however, this wide audience has become harder to find. As viewers are shut down to the content they want, popularity is eliminated. You can have a hundred million online fans and still be unknown to people in your hometown.
This fragmentation is exacerbated by the fact that even viewers on the same platform cannot see the same content. red notice, It is a heist thriller, starring The Rock The most watched movie on Netflix. Yet the film, described by one critic as a hollow bid on franchise innovation, never made it to the top of my recommended viewing list. The algorithm seems to know that I’m going to jump straight.
One online creator is currently trying to cut through this barrier. In December, Donaldson launched his first game show on Amazon Prime. Beast Games looks familiar to anyone who watches his YouTube channel. The colorful statistics of the Depression-era dance marathon have moved to a larger scale. A unique $5 million cash prize is being offered to those willing to put themselves through the extraordinary pain, while Donaldson, dressed in a smart casual black hoodie, shouts encouragement. The vibe is 2010. X factor Technology meets money.
The reviews of the show were poor (according to the British newspapers it was “disrespectful” and “unattractive”). Cooperation with fintech companies has been They criticized.. And there were complaints that the set was an unsafe environment – some contestants in A charge This summer, they filed a lawsuit against Donaldson and the show’s production companies. Still, Donaldson says the show is number one in more than 50 countries.
If anyone can change the audience, it should be Donaldson. Now in his mid-20s, he has been uploading videos since his youth and is known for studying formats and editing content to maximize viewership.
However, Amazon is one streaming site among many. He has over 200 million Prime subscribers (that’s less than MrBeast has on his own channels), and the video service’s recommendation feed may keep Donaldson from being seen by new audiences who don’t know him. He is less likely to become an internationally recognized superstar.
Screenwriter William Goldman once explained how stars are made. Being smart or beautiful was not enough, he wrote, something else was needed. in Adventures in screen businessHe described seeing this transition happen for Robert Redford. When Redford was a theater actor, he was not silent when he entered. later Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kidyou did. A screen and a large audience are needed for the transition to happen. (Also, the speed of this change and the fact that it had nothing to do with the actors themselves drove many stars crazy with their confidence.)
Screens are still there. But the mass audience is scattered. The ultimate proof that celebrities are nobody comes courtesy of popular video app Cameo. In the year In late 2024, CameoX launched a service that allows users to self-register and sell custom-made videos to fans.
Previously, a cameo had to agree that someone was famous enough to be on stage. The bar was admittedly very low. But CameoX throws it to the floor. CEO Steven Galanis said the change had to happen because the world’s popularity was “expanding”. is true. It’s easier than ever to get noticed online. But it is also true that it is more difficult to be seen by a truly global audience. Without that there is no such thing as fame.
