Ask Mick LaSalle: What makes a star a star?
Dear Sir Mick: Over the years there have been many film stars. What are the threads that tie them all together, that in the end make them magic, make them a movie star?
Robert Freud Bastin, Petaluma Dear Sir Robert: There’s nothing you can point to and say, “These are the ingredients.” People are magical onscreen because they make other people want to look at them. For some, it may be a weird talent for appearing in two dimensions. A long time ago I interviewed Carol Alt, who was a supermodel, and as we were talking, a Chronicle photographer was taking her picture. She was very pretty — as in, say, someone who might be one of the halfdozen prettiest women in your college class. And then a few days later, I got the photos back, and I was looking at a goddess. So that’s one thing.
I also notice that often with future stars, when we see them for the first time, we think we’ve seen them before. So it’s as if they’re filling a vacuum that no one knew was there. Then there are people who just are so authentic onscreen that audiences want to be around them. Some of them are particularly good looking, like Matt Damon or Rebecca Ferguson, and some are just average-looking people with an extra something, like Margo Martindale, Octavia Spencer, Javier Cámara or Paul Giamatti.
In the case of Giamatti, he started showing up in small character parts in the 1990s, and every time he appeared, he owned the screen. He was great in “Saving Private Ryan.” I have no idea what he did that was so great — or what he avoided doing that might have stood in his way. But all of a sudden, there was nobody else to look at. Now how do you explain that? I could call it a quality of presence, an ability to resist lying, an ability to present one’s whole being so that people feel that they’re being spoken to in a direct and honest way. But that just might be a long-winded way of saying, “That. Over there. That’s it.” You see it, and know it. Dear Marvelous Mr. LaSalle: Are there any screenplays on which you wish you’d been consulted?
Mike Haworth, Vallejo Dear Marvelous Mr. Haworth: “Wish” is a big word. There are movies I sometimes see and think, oh, I could have fixed that. I’m more judicious about thinking that now than I used to be, because I realize that what some critics see as obvious fixes are often things that the filmmakers actually considered and rejected because those supposed fixes presented their own problems. But sometimes something jumps out, and I think I could have helped. Dear Mr. LaSalle: After reading your column about why the actresses accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse waited so long to report the attacks, I can’t help but wonder if these women should be charged with prostitution. The idea that women are excused from their responsibility to report sex crimes in a timely manner is absurd. If women want equality, they must also behave with equal responsibility and integrity.
Robert Rissel, San Jose Dear Mr. Rissel: Wow. You really think there’s an idea there, huh? This isn’t a joke? OK. First of all, the fundamental twist in your thinking: Women’s equality is not something to be granted by you, me or society in general. Equality is something women have from birth, and it’s the responsibility of a sane society not to impede it. And it’s not a moral stance to criticize women for not committing professional suicide in dealing with a situation they shouldn’t have to be dealing with in the first place, and yet have been dealing with, at least since the beginning of movies and probably since the beginning of time. As for your wondering whether women should be “charged with prostitution” for not reporting a fat guy in the shower, just keep wondering, and wondering. It’ll be a nice use of your time.
Have a question? Ask Mick LaSalle at mlasalle@sfchronicle.com. Include your name and city for publication, and a phone number for verification. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.