A confession. When I was young and high-minded, it never occurred to me that the main reason people went to the movies was to watch their favourite stars. I thought the draw was the story, how it was made, what it meant, even.
I tended not to recognise actors from one film to another, believing in their characters instead. A friend gently put me right. Audiences mostly went to see their crushes, she explained. This I could just about accept, but I had trouble crediting what she told me next: that what these fans relished most of all was spotting links between the films and the real lives of their stars. This I found difficult to believe – like the elderly judge who, having asked to have it explained to him what exactly oral sex was, responded by saying, “If this is really true, I am glad I do not have much longer left to live.”
Content from our partners
