“Billed
as ‘the film that Max Clifford
didn’t
want you to see’, Star Suckers
is an exposé of the way that big
business uses celebrity to ‘captivate,
misdirect, distract and control’
audiences everywhere...”
EVERYONE WHO WATCHES STAR SUCKERS will know that the media has much
control over what the public thinks. But just how far is the media willing to
go to ensure you believe something? How did we get to a place where celebrity
is worshipped, emulated and the core of a must-have fantasy — a
world where, if there isn't a story you can always spin one?
From Chris Atkins, the director of BAFTA-nominated Taking Liberties,
comes Star Suckers — a fascinating journey into the dark underworld
of modern media, uncovering the real reasons for our addiction to fame and blowing
the lid on the corporations and individuals who profit from us by influencing
our children and our spending. Star Suckers claims that you, the audience,
has unknowingly become part of a great illusion created to captivate, misdirect,
distract and control. And it's all down to a natural attraction to Fame.
Although you might deny it, says Star Suckers, EVERYBODY is naturally
and powerfully attracted to fame. The younger you are exposed to the celebrity
culture, the more likely you will be sucked in. Influencing the next generation
to believe that they can and will follow that dream is big business and there
are even companies that offer you the chance to be a celebrity for a day.
A survey by Jake Halpern (the author of Fame Junkies) of around 750 American
teenagers, talking of their aspirations, found boys wanted fame almost as often
as intelligence but girls wanted fame over intelligence. Reality shows are turning
young people into narcissists and the more they watch these shows, the higher
their addiction is to celebrity.
With celebrity status comes the heady cocktail of publicity and performing itself
can produce a high akin to the chemical rush of cocaine.
There is an insatiable demand for factual television shows involving children,
and parents appear to be prepared to do anything just to put their children
in the limelight. Sponsors play on your emotions with celebrity endorsements,
making big money from your obsession with celebrity. If you entertain the world,
you can reach and influence a vast audience.
Not all of this influence is negative, of course. With the cultivation of the
need to get familiar with and to copy celebrities, some famous people have worked
on campaigns that could alter our lives in positive ways. The James Dean Road
Safety Campaign in 1955 was a great idea; but sadly the star did not listen
to his own words. Gossip is essential to the media, but hearing about other
people's experiences may also help with our own problems.
A covert operation filmed over a two-year period, Star Suckers uses a
combination of previously unseen footage, undercover reporting and stunts that
fool the public and the media alike as well as animation to reveal the toxic
effect that the media is having on us all. The film also argues how truth has
become a distant memory in some modern news reporting and presentation, and
climaxes with shocking revelations about Live 8. A warning of being too
susceptible and too obsessed with celebrity, yes, but Star Suckers is
thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking. And there's also a list of disclaimers
at the end of the film!
Do you want to know how much Simon Cowell pays publicist Max Clifford? Or what
the PR guru does to protect one of his influential clients who enjoys sex in
public places? Would you like to know what Samuel L Jackson , Clint Eastwood,
Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes think about celebrity culture and their fans?
Or how about hearing how to make a quick £600 for a fake story that a reporter
is too lazy to substantiate?
• All is revealed in Star Suckers,
the highly controversial documentary about a media obsessed by celebrity, available
to rent and buy on 12 April (2010), courtesy of Network Releasing. Certificate:
12 | RRP: £14.99 | Running Time: 101 Minutes | Catalogue Number: 7953312.
Bonus Features
The Media | Celebrities | Fans | Celebrity Charity | Making Of Documentary |
Trailer | Promo Animation.
Special Features
Audio commentary with Director Chris Atkins and Producer Christina Slater |
Companion Booklet Written by Chris Atkins | 100 Minutes Of Previously Unseen
Video Footage of Celebrity Interviews.
PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN BONUS FOOTAGE available exclusively on this DVD includes
some tongue-in-cheek interviews with 50 Cent, Samuel L Jackson, Keira Knightley,
Clint Eastwood, Emma Watson, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Chris Noth, Jennifer
Tilly, William Moseley, Eddie Izzard and Ralph Fiennes and their relationship
with fame and their fans.
"Starsuckers is thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking" —
Maggie Woods, MotorBar
The Sunday Times, Heat Magazine and The Express all
awarded Star Suckers****.
“Billed
as ‘the film that Max Clifford