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I do think that Mr. Callahan under-estimates what it takes to create a "name" actor or, for that matter, to get a movie made. Johnny Depp and Christian Bale attaching themselves to the Public Enemies project no doubt helped the movie get financed; a film about 30s gangsters is not automatically commercial these days.
Hollywood is no longer very good at making stars, allowing television to do the heavy lifting; remember that George Clooney and Denzel Washington both came out of medical dramas on TV. HBO alone of the production companies seems to have the confidence to say "Cast the role correctly, and we'll make the actor a name"; hence the emergence of James Gandolfini, who otherwise might forever have been one of the actors that Callahan cites.
It's still a tough game. Cheerleading from the sidelines is essential, but not sufficient. Everyone in Hollywood from Marty Scorsese on down loves Vera Farmiga; she won Best Actress from the Los Angeles Film Critics for Down to the Bone; she's about to be Oscar-nominated for Up in the Air; and yet, no one in America except for industry types and us film geeks knows who Vera Farmiga is. Many have been the times that, in "mixed company," I've confidently referred to an actor who I felt sure was well known, only to be met by complete non-recognition. The public knows very few actors' names, and those mainly from the tabloids. Heath Ledger is more famous because he died than because he acted.
Among notables born on this date are the fiction writers Rudyard Kipling, Paul Bowles, Theodor Fontane (of Germany), Sara Lidman (of Sweden), Douglas Coupland, and Stephen Leacock (of Canada); Russian avant-garde writer Daniil Kharms; actors Jo Van Fleet, Jack Lord ("Book 'em, Danno"), Tracey Ullman, Fred Ward, and Russ Tamblyn; French composer Andre Messager; Russian composer Dmitri Kabalevsky; singer/songwriter Patti Smith; film director Sir Carol Reed; the great pitcher Sandy Koufax; basketball star LeBron James; newscaster Matt Lauer; and Monkees Mike Nesmith and Davy Jones. A nice collection of talent. Tiger Woods was also born on this date, although it is probably best not to think of that just now.
