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Old guard speaks about about casting choices.

They have a really solid point about casting based on followers. That can be faked and means absolutely nothing. Hell, there are firms that will artificially inflate your numbers for you.

Just because someone has a million twitter followers doesn't mean they're going to run out to see their next movie. I follow some people on FB that I don't really give a shit about, but I went to school with them or used to work with them, and when they made the request, I accepted.

Hollywood should absolutely listen to their fans, but they need to be careful what sources they trust.

I wonder if there's a market for an online focus group? I realize there are polls and whatnot, but they don't know shit about the person on the other end or they found them via a biased source. What if there was a group like this that really dove into the backgrounds of the members, required passwords, required video chats to convey opinions, got members from different backgrounds and areas and verified it, etc.

One thing that's always bugged me about the existing Hollywood focus group process is while their ages, sexes, and races might be different, they all live in the same area, and thus, don't represent the majority of the country. What works with them might not work with middle America or the East Coast.

Yeah, it was much better bribing or fucking your way to the top like back in the good ol' days.

I don't think you can blame the young actors for trying to leverage anything they can to get a job. That's just life.

Blame instead the casting agents and movie makers that don't really know anything about the nature of social media and are trying to use follower counts to make a quick buck instead of looking for actors that can make a good product.

Yeah, it was much better bribing or fucking your way to the top like back in the good ol' days.

You say that like it was a bad thing.

I don't think you can blame the young actors for trying to leverage anything they can to get a job. That's just life.

Blame instead the casting agents and movie makers that don't really know anything about the nature of social media and are trying to use follower counts to make a quick buck instead of looking for actors that can make a good product.

I'm not blaming the young actors, but as you said, I do blame the folks making the movies.

You say that like it was a bad thing.

If your goal is getting the director/producer paid or laid, then it's not. If you're a moviegoer and you want to see the best film possible, yes it is. I can't find an image of it, but there's a Family Guy where Peter and Brian are walking by a cinema and the marquee has "I'm Sleeping with Somebody at Paramount staring Ashley Judd."

Hate to stand up for "Big Hollywood," but picking an actor who is grinding social media everyday, already knows how to market, has a fan base established, and who has sufficient talent over an alternative actor without those things but is a "diamond in the rough" talent-wise, seems kind of like a no brainer.

If i was the executive, I would definitely think the first actor with the drive, know-how on what it takes to be famous and stay famous, etc. would be preferable over someone who is a neophyte at those things. It would the safest bet as far as making sure my movie was a success. You would likely also not get as many instances of the unicorn-actor that explodes on his or her first debut and then craters their career and life because they couldn't handle what was coming.

We can talk about fake followers and agencies as much as we want, but there are plenty of real people on social media too, and they do pay attention to the young Instagram/Snapchat stars. I've been reading articles about models pulling themselves up without agency help, but it seems pretty logical that actors would do the same thing.

Troy wrote:We can talk about fake followers and agencies as much as we want, but there are plenty of real people on social media too, and they do pay attention to the young Instagram/Snapchat stars. I've been reading articles about models pulling themselves up without agency help, but it seems pretty logical that actors would do the same thing.

I would think once they hit a certain level, if they were smart, their management would take over their social media.

Kevin Smith is a huge online presence. I could argue he was internet savvy before most in Hollywood. His podcasts are top of the charts, he has tons of followers on all the platforms, and he casts a lot of "hip" actors like Johnny Depp. Yet his movies are never massive hits. Do they make their money back? Every single one. However, his movies do better once they leave theaters.

Online numbers don't translate to huge box office.

The next big example that will be interesting to watch is Miranda Sings! All my kids and their friends love her. She went on tour and did great. Now she has a Netflix series coming out. She made her name on YouTube, so let's see where that gets her. She's probably a bad example though considering her following is mostly young girls.

And I'm not saying you can't get some success via creating an online persona, but if you don't have the talent to back it up, people will get sick of your shit.