AUDIENCE demographics have it that the viewing public is getting younger each year, so Hollywood has been trotting out young stellar hopefuls in the hope that they can strike viewers' fancy. Let's meet some of them:
Michelle Rodriguez scored a knockout in last year's sleeper hit, "Girlfight," in which she played a scrappy female pugilist with convincing credibility. Before her big movie break, Michelle was a complete unknown who didn't even dream of show biz stardom when she was growing up in sweet anonymity in New Jersey.
On an impulse, however, she went to an open casting call for the film, and competed against 350 other starry-eyed aspirants. Incredibly, Michelle clawed her way to the top and clinched the lead role of the two-fisted, angry Diana Guzman.
Her good showing in her very first film outing made Michelle a hot, new property in Hollywood, and she was immediately snapped up by director Rob Cohen for "The Fast and the Furious," where she plays "a tough chick who races cars."
Next up for Michelle is a film based on the "Resident Evil" video game. And, in "3 a.m., " she is cast as a taxi driver opposite Danny Glover and Pam Grier.
For his part, Vin Diesel first gained entry into the movie world as a filmmaker. Before that, he worked as a bouncer in a club in Manhattan!
Diesel has had two movies screened at major filmfests. He produced, wrote, directed and starred in his debut short film, "Multi-Facial," which was shown at the Cannes film festival.
Luckily, ace director Steven Spielberg saw the film and tapped Diesel for a role in "Saving Private Ryan." He then went on to provide the voice of the robot in the animated feature film, "The Iron Giant" (1998).
Next, he played a psychopathic convict who escapes from prison in "Pitch Black," and a Wall Street broker in "Boiler Room." Diesel is only 33 years old, but he's already gained a reputation for being a versatile actor.
Reese Witherspoon has been around longer than our first two comers, but it's only in her latest film, "Legally Blonde," that she's gotten the huge following and great notices that make for major stardom these days.
And Britanny Murphy plays opposite the Michael Douglas in "Don't Say A Word," a suspense-thriller that topped the US box office last week. Murphy plays the attention-calling role of an uncooperative patient who is the key to Douglas' being able to save the life of his daughter.
With gifted newcomers like Rodriguez, Diesel, Witherspoon and Murphy, the US film industry is well-positioned to continue to appeal to young viewers with films characterized by fresh concepts and exciting, new stars.
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