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Hollywood's new generation is tearing up the rulebook to mix mainstream movie appearances with deeper, more challenging indie fare. Tom Teodorczuk hears why
The Seyfried syndrome" is how one LA producer describes the increasing trend for young Hollywood stars to mix making big blockbusters with appearing in low-budget indie films. He was referring to the 24-year-old actress Amanda Seyfried, who switches between acting in undemanding studio rom-coms (Mamma Mia, Dear John) and small, little-seen, edgy independent movies (Chloe, Boogie Woogie).
It's not just Seyfried though. The low-budget indie movie has joined non-stop paparazzi scrutiny and the unruly hairstyle as essential components of young Hollywood stardom.
Up-and-coming stars have long gravitated in the direction of doing small-scale movies. Consider John Hughes's 1980s muse Molly Ringwald following up Pretty in Pink with an appearance as Cordelia in Jean-Luc Godard's ill-fated remake of King Lear, or River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves hustling their way through Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho. And Leonardo DiCaprio became an A-lister with Titanic on the back of gaining credibility in indie films made during his teens. But the changing nature of the film business has accelerated this trend. The credit crunch resulted in many sources of funding for independent film drying up, leading to a drastic reduction in the number being made. At the same time Hollywood studios are more risk-averse than ever, focusing on remakes and sequels. The "middle-budget" film, so long a haven for young acting talent, has become a rare commodity.
Now you'll see young heartthrob Zac Efron move from High School Musical to headlining Me and Orson Welles, Richard Linklater's comedy about the 1937 Mercury Theatre production of Julius Caesar. After sitting on the shelf for a few years, Me and Orson Welles died a death at the box office, illustrating the principal peril of the indie leap - an alienation of the actor's fanbase. The commendable efforts, for instance, of teen pop stars Hilary Duff and Mandy Moore to send themselves up, in War, Inc and American Dreamz respectively, were barely noticed.
Yet occasionally the gamble can pay off handsomely. The...