Movie stars are dead! Long live movies! In 2007 (that would be, um, last year), only four of the 25 top grossing top 25 domestic movies were headed primarily by movie stars. That's the lowest number in history. And it's worrisome for up-and-comers like Shia LaBeouf, Seth Rogen, and Katherine Heigl, who are kind of banking on their brand names to turn them into bonafide life-long bankable actors. The Hollywood Reporter is also very worried, which is why it's devoted thousands of words to the gloom.

Why aren't audiences interested in heavy hitting stars like De Niro and Pitt and Ms. Julia Roberts? Well they are, to a point: Will Smith can still drive any movie he's in to an orgy at the box office, and Matt Damon's Jason Bourne franchise is a Moet-popping undertaking, but they're among the few.

Apparently, back in the 1990s and before, movies were one of the only ways for American audiences to gaze at celebrities; there was none of this TMZ-infused 24/7 news cycle where a star's walking to his car is worthy of a 30-second clip. So now, the theory goes, audiences aren't turning out for their big stars, when they can just as easily pick up Us Weekly.

Then how to explain folks like Tom Hanks, who's not exactly tabloid fodder, but likely won't be finding success outside The Da Vinci Code anytime soon?