“A star, to the industry, is someone who can
dependably get a film ‘open’- that is, can lure people to see it on opening
weekend. A star, to the rest of us, is the person our eyes are always drawn to
onscreen. Stars come in two distinct varieties. A sirloin star like Brad Pitt
is someone people long for, or long to be. A hamburger star like Ben Stiller is
someone whose struggles and triumphs give us vicarious satisfaction.”—Tad
Friend, “Letter From Hollywood: Funny Is Money: Ben Stiller and the Dilemma of
Modern Stardom,” The New Yorker, June
25, 2012
(Ben Stiller
photographed in New York City by Jiyang Chen, November 2010)
