Sunrise Interrupted by Eden Monroe

 

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In Sunrise Interrupted, actress Alexandra Martel sees her dream come true when she’s cast in the major motion picture production of Retribution. But even a dream come true has its fair share of ups and downs. Such as a dreaded intimate scene that her straight-laced grandmother is understandably not in favour of:

“ ‘Alexandra sighed. “Sorry, I guess intimacy coordinator is the more accurate term. These scenes are very technical, Gram, and take a lot of preparation. An intimacy coordinator is part of the overall team. I’ll admit I’m nervous about doing the scene, so the intimacy coordinator is trying to help me become more comfortable with it.’

‘Don’t get too comfortable with it for heavens sake, you’ll be making a habit of it.’

‘I know it’s hard to understand all of this stuff, Gram, but the end goal for everyone is to make the movie the best it can be. The director and I have already discussed the whole thing. He’s walked me through exactly what will happen. It’s a nude scene, but they have things in place for when….’

‘Things such as what, pray tell?’ her grandmother demanded, cutting her off.

‘Gram….’

‘Alexandra, I’m clearly over eighteen. Tell me.’ “

The entertainment industry is a source of fascination for most people, so I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some fun facts about show business. Let’s start with the first professional stage actress. According to guinnessworldrecords.com that was Margaret Hughes (Hewes) of the United Kingdom. On December 3, 1660 she appeared as Desdemona in Thomas Killigrew’s version of Othello, The Moor of Venice. It was staged at the Vere Street Theatre (a former tennis court) in London, UK.

As you know, many playwrights are also authors, and many authors are also playwrights.

Such is the case with literary giant Agatha Christie who gave us Mousetrap, the two-act play that has become the longest running stage production in London’s West End. It opened in November of 1952, and is nearing its 30,000^th performance.

The first modern celebrity as we understand that word to mean today, was French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923).

The golden age of radio began in 1920, and for many it was the only home entertainment medium. There were any number of popular shows, but according to smithsonianmag.com, the most memorable radio broadcast was The War of the Worlds. Adapted from H. G. Wells’ novel of the same name and narrated by Orson Welles, it was featured on October 30, 1938 on a Halloween episode of his Mercury Theatre on the Air. Orson Welles would go on to direct and star in Citizen Kane in 1941, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Director and Best Actor for that same motion picture. Citizen Kane is considered by many as one of the most influential movies ever made, with similar praise for Orson Welles himself.

Moviemaking began with the silent era in 1888 (legacybox.com), and the first film actress was a Canadian-American performer by the name of Florence Lawrence (1886-1938). (She also designed the first automobile turn signal and brake signal). The first film actor was Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) who was originally from the UK. As a side note, Chaplin is the only Hollywood Walk of Fame honouree featured twice for the same star.

The most expensive silent film ever made was Ben-Hur (1925) at almost $4 Million dollars, and the cost to see a movie during those early years could range anywhere from ten cents to twenty-five cents.

As the talkies arrived and moviemaking upped its game, the salaries likewise began to climb. The first film star to receive a guaranteed minimum of $1Million dollars per year was Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle.

The first film actress to sign a $1 Million contract for a guaranteed minimum salary for a single movie was Elizabeth Taylor, appearing in the title role of Cleopatra in 1963.

Today’s salaries are astronomical by comparison, and the five highest paid actresses in the world in 2024 (fincash.com) are: Reese Witherspoon, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Sofia Vergara and Scarlett Johansson. For the men in the same category (also fincash.com) it’s Dwayne Johnson, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Will Smith and Ryan Reynolds.

In terms of the cost of motion picture production today, one of the least expensive movies ever made was The Blair Witch Project at between $35,000 and $60,000 (initial outlay). According to recordhead.biz, the project later received “between $200,000 and $750,000 from Artisan Entertainment for post-production” and grossed $248.6 Million worldwide.

On the other hand, the most expensive modern-day movie according to collider.com was Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), which officially holds that record at $533 Million, and went on to realize more than $2 Billion dollars at the worldwide box office (the-numbers.com).

As for the age of actors appearing in movies, I went to opposite ends of the spectrum to find Ronald LeRoy Overacker (Baby LeRoy) who in 1933 was under contract in the motion picture industry at just six months of age (imdb.com). His grandfather had to sign the contract on his behalf because his mother at sixteen was also too young. At the other end was Jeanne Calment (imdb.com) “who recalled selling coloured pencils to Van Gogh.” She made a brief appearance in the movie Vincent and Me in 1990 at the age of 114, thereby making her the oldest actor ever to appear in a movie. Her documented lifespan was 122 years.

And of course television has long been an integral part of the entertainment industry.

General Hospital is the longest running televised soap opera in American history, celebrating its sixty-year anniversary in 2023 (variety.com). Also in terms of popularity, I plucked the following from cbs.com, America’s Most Popular TV shows of all time, ranked: (1) Jeopardy (2) Tom and Jerry Cartoons (3) The Flintstones (4) The Bugs Bunny Show (5) Sesame Street (6) I Love Lucy (7) The Jetsons (8) The Twilight Zone (9) The Golden Girls, and (10) Wheel of Fortune.

The top five most popular television actors of all time, in order (screenrant.com) are: Bryan Cranston, James Gandolfini, Betty White, Mary Tyler Moore, and Alan Alda.

And lastly, a few compelling insights into the entertainment industry in the US at least, (Los Angeles has the title of Entertainment Capital of the World) as set out in the Gitnux Market Data Report 2024 (gitnux.org):

• “Los Angeles County employs 24,000 actors, including extras.
• 54.3% of actors are female, while 45.7% are male.
• Nearly 31.9% of actors have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
• Less than 15% of actors hold full-time jobs in their profession.
• SAG-AFTRA membership includes over 160,000 actors, broadcast journalists, and other media professionals.
• The acting profession has an expected growth rate of 3% from 2019 to 2029.
• Actors have a median hourly wage of $20.26.
• There are approximately 63,000 actors working in the United States.
• 85% of actors are unemployed at any given time.”

 

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