The Hits and Misses of Hollywood

The star, the glamor, the success! Who doesn't dream of walking on the red carpet? Fame and fortune is every man's desire, but amassing celebrity status is no walk in the park. Even for big names who have already established themselves, staying in the limelight can be a tall order as well. 2017 has been a good example of such harsh lessons, showing us how success has its dark sides as well. Nonetheless, success in itself has been a familiar term in 2017's Hollywood, though the extent of that success, at best, is highly debatable.

Let's start with the most prominent Hollywood news this year, and perhaps the absolute worst revelation we have heard of in recent years: the internationally acclaimed producer Harvey Weinstein being revealed as a sex offender. Fired from his own company after the first slew of allegations were made public, Weinstein received further complaints from over 50 Hollywood personalities under the claim of sexual misconduct. This lead to a revolution in Hollywood in which accomplished names such as Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, Brett Ratner and others were also reported to be sex offenders as well by several women in Hollywood. Named the “Weinstein effect”, this new brand of awareness encouraged female actors to speak up about their dark experiences, shedding light on many unheard tales of such heinous misdeeds conducted in show business.

Moving from the negatives and into the more positive changes, 2017 brought in a rather expected change of preferred media, at least as far as the general viewers are concerned. From films and theater, the public interest has exceedingly geared towards TV and streaming services, especially HBO and Netflix. Of course, the two most popular series of 2017, Game of Thrones and Stranger Things, are to be credited for such a change. Sadly, the audience shifting from films to online series has affected the film business, causing in alarmingly low box office hits, with only big names such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, It and Wonder Woman raking in the big bucks. However, as far as film genres as concerned, superhero and horror films performed exceedingly well in 2017. Wonder Woman birthed the rise of the Israeli actor Gal Gadot, who swept fans worldwide with ravishing charm and acclaimed acting. Wonder Woman, along with Justice League, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok made the unique genre of superhero movies a thriving success in 2018. Not to mention, horror films such as It, Annabelle: Creation, Split and Get Out performed quite well too.

Coming to actors who have performed quite well in 2017, the first name that should come to mind is Mark Wahlberg, who was listed as the highest paid actor of the year according to Forbes. The same list states the 2017 Oscar winner for the Best Actress, Emma Stone, as the highest paid female actor. Emma Stone in general received yearlong praise for her work in La La Land, which, despite being a 2016 movie, was a subject of much adoration throughout 2017 as well. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was another superstar to watch out for in 2017, who was the second highest paid actor, just a rank above his Fast and the Furious co-star Vin Diesel. Even though The Rock's 2017 movies, Baywatch and Fate of the Furious, received their fair share of criticism, Dwayne managed to end 2017 in a fantastic note and a more fantastic payroll. All in all, 2017 was a successful year for Hollywood, minus the blemishes that have left a few scars here and there.