There Are No More Movie Stars

I had an amazing discussion with a young man who seemed to want to get into movie making but then added that there is no more purpose in doing so. His influences happened to be people who seemed to be more otherwordly, people like Stanley Kubrick or Antonioni. These were somewhat Gods of cinema. I'm sure during their time, they were seen as solid filmmakers, who stood out from their peers. Can you name someone today who you could say that about? Does anyone stand out? Perhaps Denis Villenueve, Christopher Nolan or Quentin Tarantino? He seems to be doing larger cinematic films. Seems we are starved for filmmaking heroes. I think the issue is that we have democratized media. Everyone now grows up with a camera in their faces and a camera in their pocket. Anyone and everyone can do it. So if that is the case, what makes you so special? In that sense, there are no more Gods. Which extends to movie stars. There aren't any. You have people that are in movies. But if you saw them in person, you wouldn't hold the same reverence as you would...say...Humphrey Bogart. I think there is a lack of respect for the craft. We don't hold much of that with the same importance we use to. Why would we? Everyone has a YouTube channel. Or get their popularity through social media. Everyone is a personality. And thus Hollywood has died. It is a shame because I recall it being so great to see artists strive for their craft, meticulously study it and make brilliant stories. As of now, not much.