Overexposure in Hollywood, or why James Franco is seemingly in everything

Posted Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at 5:20 PM Central
Last updated Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at 5:24 PM Central

They say it's important to strike while the iron is hot. And yes, while that old saying dates back to the time of blacksmith, there's a reason that it still resonates to this day and that's because it's true.

This is particularly true when it comes to Hollywood and the casting of their films. While everyone is searching for the next big thing, they also want to make sure they get a piece of the current "It" girl and guy to insure financial success of their films.

Back in the 1950s when the film Over-Exposed debuted and before, the casting pool was very shallow as most studios had their own stable of actors and actresses that they would simply cast over and over again in their films. The times have certainly changed and that casting pool is deeper and wider than it has ever been, and yet, it seems like we keep seeing the same actors and actresses pop up in every film.

I mean James Franco has to have an identical twin, right? No single person can be in as many films as he is in and retain their sanity, right? Sadly, he doesn't have a twin and this raises another interesting question. When does the exposure cross the line and enter overexposure territory? Is there such a thing?

Part of my job entails entering the cast lists for each film on our site. I know, that sounds daunting (and it is), but even for a job that big it's impossible not to notice certain trends. For instance, Danny Trejo and Eric Roberts are the B movie kings. Are there any roles that either of this guys would ever turn down?

Are casting agents simply lazy or are they reacting to a public that just can't get enough of said actor or actress?

Questions like these got us thinking and we decided to run a few numbers. First up, we wanted to get an overall picture of exposure in terms of total films (theatrical and direct-to-video) that they have appeared in since 2010. Below, you will find the list of the top 25 stars that would appear to be overworked. We did our best to weed out TV appearances and their total credits since 2010 appear in parentheses next to their name.

We can draw a few interesting conclusions from this list. The first is that most of the top 25 are what I would call more video talent than box office talent, with the exception of Robert De Niro, Melissa Leo, John Goodman etc.

The actors and actresses on the above list also tend to be older stars whose better years may be behind them. This could imply that they were once a box office commodity and now studios are using them to be the face of their direct-to-video product in hopes of catching consumers in a bout of nostalgia.

Finally, the last person on the list is very interesting to me. Unlike the rest of the actors and actresses on the list Jason Mewes doesn't have a long body of work behind him, nor does he have the exposure that someone like Kristen Wiig enjoyed at Saturday Night Live. He is a recognizable face thanks to Kevin Smith's films and he is one that we have noticed as being unable to turn down a role. Could he be the next generation's Eric Roberts in the making?

As you would expect many of these actors above appear in movies together. I mean, it's impossible to avoid, right? Danny Trejo and Eric Roberts appear in two movies together this year alone.

While the above list covers mostly direct-to-video talent, we were also interested in seeing those stars that have appeared in the most theatrical films since 2010. We pulled the top 25 credited stars and they are listed below. The results were a bit surprising as only seven stars appear on both lists.

Right at the top, I was shocked to see Robert De Niro lead the list with 17 credits since 2010. Don't get me wrong, I love De Niro, but it just doesn't feel like he's been in that many films. I think a reason for this is that he balances his work between big budget films and smaller movies.

Interestingly, a lot of character actors stand out immediately. Richard Jenkins, Paul Giamatti and Bryan Cranston continue to see a steady stream of work, but surprisingly, most of it is theatrical only. Bryan Cranston, in particular, has seen a career renaissance thanks to his successful TV work.

It's not a surprise to see Samuel L. Jackson on this list. Even before all of his work on the Marvel films, he was an actor that seemingly turned up in every single film that Hollywood made. The rest of the list is a hodge podge of reliable veterans stars such as Bruce Willis and Matt Damon and heralded newcomers like Jessica Chastain, Anna Kendrick and Juno Temple whose entire body of work collectively is almost entirely contained since 2010.

It was interesting that the only two veteran actresses on the list were Melissa Leo and Susan Sarandon and that there were a lot of younger actresses on the list. That tells me that studios are definitely trying to strike while the iron is hot in terms of casting actresses, but not necessarily with actors.

Of course, Channing Tatum and James Franco are pretty much in everything. While I think the sample size is a bit small to draw any sort of definitive conclusions, I think you can argue that overexposure is something that unfairly targets actresses more so than actors.

They tend to burn quick and bright and then fade away just as quickly. Is that because casting agents are shunning them or is it our fault as audiences, wanting the next big thing?

In case, you're wondering about The Rock, who is seemingly in everything too, he just missed the theatrical list with 12 credits. Likewise, 50 Cent just missed the total list with 17 credits. I guess they'll simply have to work harder to make this list next year.

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Overexposure in Hollywood, or why James Franco is seemingly in everything