In this edition of Cinema Issues we will be talking about actors running their mouths in Hollywood and coming break point between activism and actors in general.

As many of you who read my reviews know there is nothing worse than an actor who feels the need to lecture you on politics from their mansion, many times this is also followed with a comment about if you disagree with me you’re evil and you shouldn’t watch my work. This is damaging and just stupid.

Now increasingly I believe, and I believe it has already started happening, there will be contractual stipulations as to what actors can and can’t say and what they can and can’t post whilst they are under contract to either shoot, or promote a film, possibly up until the point of beginning a project until it is released. You can understand why studios would do this as an actor running their mouth about some issue can cost audiences, and can damage the box office of your film as such it is a move motivated by the need to try and keep as many audience members as possible. Whether or not you agree with what these people say is irrelevant what matter is that it can and has had a tangible impact of box office  returns before.

To look at this issue more closely lets look at two prominent examples.

Firstly you have Tatianna Maslany, She-Hulk, in the MCU, not only did she attack the fans over that show, which no doubt hurt the ratings, she also personally called out Bob Iger during the writer’s strike, and as a result She-Hulk was removed from the Marvel official banner. She has also told people to cancel Disney + before. You see all of these moves are done to show adherence to activism, she wants to state her politics and she doesn’t care for the consequences, however, the issue becomes when this starts to hurt the bottom line. Celebrities like anyone has a right to speak their mind, but when it starts to hurt the bottom line when you start having people whom you have cast in multimillion dollar shows telling people to cancel your service this becomes a real problem. The issue stems from belief on the celebrity side that they are too big to fail, and that they have a moral duty to do this, at that is at odds with the studio.

Then for our second example you have Oscar Issac, Moon Knight, who when asked about working with Disney said he was wary, and then referenced his disapproval of how Disney handled the Kimmel situation in which he celebrated the death of Charlie Kirk and then was suspended. Issac would imply that this suspension was akin to fascism. This highly privileged take, once again adherence to a cause over career. This is perhaps even worse than what Maslany did as it damages Disney as a brand overall, with an incorrect statement.

The fact is this is a failing of publicists who used to be the class that kept celebrity image in check and made sure they didn’t bite the hand that feeds them like this, but then maybe this sub-set has been co-opted and are pushing for it or have given up controlling their clients. Either way the outcome remains the same with an ever decreasing box office something needs to be done to keep talent in line, and not alienate half the audience, and that likely thing will be contracts that dictate what you can and can’t say and what you can and can’t post when working on a film. This move in all honesty makes sense and is needed, especially as we now live in a post cultural shift society

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In this edition of Cinema Issues we will be talking about the red flags surrounding Millie Bobby Brown and the increasing risk that she will be a child star who goes down the path of many other child stars, which is to say growing into broken adults, with serious issues.

This post is intended to draw attention and raise awareness rather than being critical of her, and that is the spirit this is being written in.

In my mind there are 5 key areas that need to be discussed.

Firstly is what I am going to call the Miley Cyrus treatment, this is the idea of showing you are a grown up by over sexualising yourself. We can see this with Millie particularly in her blonde phase wherein she is doing a lot of racy photoshoots and dressing in a more revealing way. Now there is nothing wrong with this, but the idea of feeling the need to dispel the idea of being family friendly can and has lead to dark paths for other celebrities before. Moreover, the way Millie has responded to people who are commenting on this to call them ‘bullies’ suggests that she may have a deeper insecurity and worry about her image that these new style moves are trying to fix, and that is why she is getting angry at the coverage. She may be worried about being the ‘little girl from Stranger Things forever’.

Secondly you have the situation with David Harbour, now before we scream ‘ThE DaIlY mAiL lIeD’ lets think about this it was not only the Daily Mail that ran with the story, other people reported it too and this was not just them repeating the Mail’s story they had other people telling them this as well. So whilst this should be taken with a grain of salt it highlights another thing and that is the idea of being difficult. Now, before we get into it what I am referring to is an alleged report that Brown had Netflix conduct an onset investigation into Harbour for ‘bullying’ there is that word again. Now no action was taken against Harbour so it is safe to assume it either wasn’t real, or there was not enough evidence.  At the Stranger Things red carpet they were all smiles and loving words towards each other, but then they would be in that situation as Netflix wouldn’t want a falling out to spoil things for the new season. However, the reason why this is here is that it raises a question, was Harbour bad or not. If he wasn’t was this a power move by Brown to try and get top billing for the show, if he was is she being forced to continue in an unsafe environment and what may that be doing for her mental health, and could she be punished, career wise for speaking out.

Then you have the trad wife, the modern day sort of house wife idea, accusations that she really is not getting rid of, there is nothing wrong with being a trad wife if you want to. As long as you are happy and healthy then its fine, however, there is a risk within the movement of unhealthy relationship dynamics and a possibility for controlling situations to arise. It may well be that she is happy away from the spotlight and this is a semi-retirement for her, but it could also mean that she may be rejecting some modern notions of what’s okay in a relationship and women’s individual agency which could open her to further mental damage, which compounds the other things herein.

Following that you have her increased aggressive behaviour, she has had repeated run ins with the press/paparazzi wherein she has sworn at them and been aggressive. Now they probably well deserve it, but it does speak to someone under strain, someone who is not so poised, and whilst that is a good thing , they keep it real, it could also be a worrying indicator. You also have to worry for her that her behaviour could lead to her making enemies amongst the press who may try and hound her for pictures and exclusives in order to trip her up or get her to damage herself or her image. This shouldn’t be the way of Hollywood but often is.

Finally, and I will spend the least time on this as it is the most depressing and sadly true of the internet, you also have all the creepy Millie stans, who are obsessed with her and feel the need to defend her. Whilst these people may have good intentions, the fact they shut down questions around why is  she overly sexualising herself like this or is she being bullied on set, doesn’t actually help Brown at all rather the opposite. Plus of course you have the weird creepy sexual side of things with the obsession which is a huge threat to any starlet of course.

When taken in isolation these things seem minor, but when you put them together you have a woman, who may be worried for what her future looks like, torn between wanting a quiet family life and being a celebrity, possibly one in an unsafe environment and one who is not getting proper support due to legions of people who say nothing is wrong.

If you take nothing else from this article take this, there are a number of worrying clouds around Millie Bobby Brown that could lead her down the road that has destroyed many a young talent.

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