'A working-class hero is something to be’ stardom in post-studio era Hollywood

This talk will explore star brand narratives, publicity devices and agency in the post-studio era. Using Sylvester Stallone as a case study, it will consider how the narrative of disadvantage and determination that has become central to the star’s biography was fabricated by the studio in the run-up to the release of Rocky (1976) in an attempt to align a then-unknown Stallone with the character of Rocky Balboa. It will consider what this can tell us about stardom in the post-studio era Hollywood and will explore how practices thought to have disappeared with the collapse of the studio system have continued to flourish.