The movie star is dead. At least according to the group of disgruntled sales agents, production executives and Hollywood insiders that spoke to the industry paper Variety during the Cannes film festival. The argument goes that, while there are plenty of veteran stars still busily creaking out commercially tempting film fodder, there are precious few equivalently bankable talents from the newer generation waiting in the wings. And this is a looming problem for the film industry.
Harrison Ford, for example, may still just about look the part of Indiana Jones (thanks in no small measure to the wonders of de-ageing tech), in the Cannes festival hot ticket Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. But he’s 80 years old. How much longer can he cope with the demanding and rigorous shooting schedule of a big-budget action movie?
