In the past few years I’ve read quite a few articles on how there are no big Hollywood “stars” these days. Instead of megastars like Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise, the American film industry is rushing unproven starlets like Orlando Bloom and Kate Bosworth into starring roles, only to have them appear in a few films and then disappear when they can’t prove they have the box office draw of an older, established star.

Yesterday FameThrowa was over and we were talking about how there are several writers and directors that we are interested in based on name alone. If Baz Luhrman, Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, or Spike Jonze have a new project in the works, we’re probably going to go, regardless of what we’ve heard about it. But we actually couldn’t think of a single actor or actress that would make us want to see a movie just based on their involvement alone. I’m not such a fan of, say, Brad Pitt or Sandra Bullock that I’d go see one of their films just to see them.

In the olden days of Hollywood, who starred in your picture was usually more important than who wrote it or directed it. People went to see John Wayne or Steve McQueen for them, to see the persona you knew they were going to play, to see the megawatt stars in action. These days I wonder if there is any actor who can claim such a loyal fan base. Maybe some teen stars — Hillary Duff, say — but no adults.

Is there anyone you’d pay to see on the big screen, regardless (more or less) of project?