Sometime right around “too late,” the mainstream entertainment

industry is going to find itself as shoved aside as the mainstream

news media currently finds themselves. Video games are the big winner

– just observe any group of fifth-grade boys. They will choose

active gaming over any “lean-back” diversion — TV or movies — every

time.

To my mind, the same problem afflicts (actually, I just typo-ed

“afflects” and it’s oh-so-appropriate) the movie industry that is

sinking network TV — a lack of genuine stars. Oh, we have

celebrities aplenty, Ben and Jen and J-Lo and Brad and everyone. But

look at the movies on the current top ten list. Who are the stars,

the people that have a built-in audience that will see them in

anything they do? (Ducking in advance…) Adam Sandler?

The recent Tom Cruise silliness only goes to amplify the point — one

of the world’s biggest “stars” is in a giant Summer movie from the

world’s biggest director, and still he has to resort to publicity

gimmicks, presumably to drum up business.