Perceptions.

I've always had this theory that since actors don't write their lines, direct their movies, design the sets, choose their costumes, or choose their coworkers, their main job is just to look good. If they can't handle this, well, you probably deserve to be ripped apart by the tabloids. I mean, really. Alright yes, truly great actors have that thing, the part of them that entices you to watch their movies, and I'm not talking a chiseled jawbone and an amazing body. It's the delivery, it's their charisma. But honestly, when was the last time you saw a movie just for fun that contained one of these actors?
I'm expecting a long silence of thought here.
I'm one of those people who would really have to think about the last time I saw a movie worth bringing up in conversation. I think 'Milk' is the first one that comes to mind - the only Oscar nominated movie I didn't have to force myself to watch simply because it had an Academy nod. As far as I'm concerned there are the everyday movies that people see, which are now roughly divided into "Seth Rogen and Crew", "Things that Go Boom", and "Awww, of course they end up together!". I'm not challenging the fact that some of these movies are worth seeing, Iron Man comes to mind with a memorable performance by Mr. Downey Jr. And I think Superbad was full of teenage comedic genius. I'm simply arguing that movies aren't made they way they used to be.
Actors back then we're simply beautiful, not created by plastic and shaping. They also made movies that were nearly always worth seeing, that weren't fluff you can shovel popcorn in your mouth to. Movies like "The Godfather" and "Casablanca", "Singin' in the Rain" and "Psycho". Basically, all the stuff that has been sequeled and remade today. "Star Wars" and "Ocean's 11" stand as a testament to this.
Today we have a few of these such greats, more recent versions of the great movies. "Pulp Fiction" and "Memento", "Amerian Beauty" and "Forrest Gump". All of these were amazing films. Great directors, and the actors that had 'it'. But these aren't the screen jems that are mainly around today, they're rare. Like finding a diamond randomly in your backyard.
Ok, to get to the point of all this - what happened to Hollywood? Where are the good days, when the paparazzi kept their distance, when movies were original, and when actors were just that - actors. They weren't contrived Disney kids, or surgeried actresses, or fakely tanned. What's more, their faces even moved with, OMG, emotion. I miss those days. I wasn't even around in those days, but I still miss them. As someone who toys with the idea of writing and directing, it's sad for me to watch Hollywood run down the drain, its plastic melting in the heat of LA.