The Origins of the Film Star System

Drawing on a wide range of archival sources, Andrew Shail traces the emergence of film stardom in Europe and North America in the early 20th century. Modifying and supplementing Richard deCordova's account of the birth of the US star system, Shail describes the complex set of economic circumstances that led film studios and actors to consent to the adoption of a star system. He then explores the film industry's turn, from 1908, to making character-based series films. He details how these characters both prefigured and precipitated the star system, demonstrating that series characters and the 'firmament' of film stars are functionally equivalent, and shows how openly fictional characters still provide the model for 'real' film stars.

Autorentext

Andrew Shail is Senior Lecturer in Film at Newcastle University. He is also the co-editor, with Joe Kember, of the journal Early Popular Visual Culture.

Inhalt

Introduction
Part I: A New Run at the Story
Chapter 1: Europe
Chapter 2: North America
Chapter 3: What Happened Next?
Chapter 4: Causality
Part II: Another Run at the Story
Chapter 5: The Series Character
Chapter 6: The Series Character and the Star System
Chapter 7: The Ontology of Film Stardom
Conclusion
Works Cited