Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newspaper.
Hollywood has a star problem. The latest generation of leading men and women have all been blessed with the kind of beauty, talent and charm that generates public worship. Yet 20-somethings like Zendaya, Paul Mescal and Sydney Sweeney are still struggling to open movies on the strength of their name alone. They are not popular enough.
You won’t find stars with all kinds of appeal on YouTube. Or any other online platform. Can you identify Kai Cenat, the most subscribed esports commentator on Twitch? Or Bella Poarch, who won more than a quarter of a billion views with a single TikTok video? Even Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast), who has over 338 million YouTube followers, can probably stumble past a 45-year-old without being recognized.
The inability to identify new pop culture heroes has long been a hallmark of middle age. But there is usually a point at which these stars break through to a mass audience. However, in the last decade, it has been difficult to find this large audience. As viewers are redirected to content they will like, popularity has changed. It is possible to have a hundred million online followers and still be unknown to people in your hometown.
This loss of popularity is reinforced by the fact that even viewers on the same platform will not see the same content. red alert, heist singer playing The Rock, that’s it the most watched movie on Netflix. Yet the film, described by one critic as an empty tribute to the franchise’s founding, has yet to make it to the top of my recommended viewing list. It’s almost as if the algorithm knew I was going to jump straight.
One Internet developer is trying to mitigate this obstacle. In December, Donaldson launched his first game show on Amazon Prime. Beast’s games will look familiar to anyone who watches his YouTube channel. The stunts, which have the feel of a stress-filled dance marathon to them, have recently moved to a bigger stage. An extravagant $5mn cash prize is being offered to those willing to put themselves through extraordinary hardships as Donaldson, dressed in a long black coat, shouts encouragement. The vibe is 2010s The X Factor meets technology capital.
Reviews of the show have been poor (not “disrespectful” and “not attractive” according to British newspapers). Its partnership with a fintech company has been criticized. And there have been consistent complaints about the area being unsafe – as some competitors have said charge against Donaldson and the show’s production companies filed this summer. However, Donaldson says the program is number one in more than 50 countries.
If anyone can change their audience it should be Donaldson. Now in his 20s, he has been uploading videos since his teenage years and is known for learning formats and editing content to increase viewership.
However, Amazon is just one streaming site among many. It has more than 200 million Prime subscribers (that is, fewer than MrBeast owns his channels) and video service recommendations may prevent Donaldson from being seen by new audiences who may not already be seeing him. ear. The chances of him becoming a world-famous star are slim.
Screenwriter William Goldman once explained how stars are made. It was not enough to be talented or beautiful, he wrote, something else was needed. To Games on Screen Businesshe describes seeing this change happen to Robert Redford. When Redford was the actor’s room there was no silence when he entered. After Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kidthey did so. A large screen and audience were needed to make the change happen. (He also suggests that the speed of this change and the fact that it has nothing to do with the actors themselves is what drove many stars crazy with insecurity.)
The screens are still there. But the crowds dispersed. The ultimate proof that celebrities are anyone, and therefore no one, comes courtesy of the Cameo video app. In late 2024, it launched CameoX – a service that allows users to subscribe and sell custom videos to fans.
In the past, Cameo had to admit that someone was famous enough to be on stage. Of course the bar was very low. But CameoX falls flat. Executive director Steven Galanis said the change had to happen because the world’s popularity is “growing exponentially.” It’s true. It is easier than ever to be seen by a large number of people online. But it is also true that it is very difficult to be seen by a global audience. Besides, there is no such thing as fame.
