Hollywood Taking New Measures To Protect Actors From Angry Fans

Major Hollywood studios are reportedly forming “superfan” focus groups to address the growing concern of toxic fandom and online backlash, according to a report from Variety. The move comes as studios face increasing pressure from fans who actively voice their disapproval of franchise changes or deviations from the source material.

The report highlighted a growing trend of studios engaging with dedicated fan communities to gauge potential reactions to marketing materials and even major plot points in upcoming franchise projects. These focus groups are designed to identify potential areas of contention and allow studios to adjust their creative and marketing strategies accordingly. This is so that studios can better craft their story to appeal to what would be a loud community.

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This doesn’t seem to be too much of a bad thing and is probably something studios should have been doing sooner. For so long, the idea was that the fanbase would come anyway, and it used to be okay to make them mad because they had no voice. Now, their voice can be loud, and it seems like it’s no longer okay to just disregard their opinion.

There is also the issue that, while these measures can be good, they can stifle creativity. For those not old enough to remember when Heath Ledger was revealed to be the Joker in The Dark Knight, it wasn’t taken well. Plenty of people were saying he couldn’t play the role well, and I remember one comment being, “I won’t be able to watch without picturing him in Brokeback Mountain.”

Yet, Heath Ledger is remembered as one of the best jokers. So, there are plenty of times when a vocal fan group is wrong.

Unfortunately, there is some bad with this. Studios also feel the need to implement additional measures to protect their talent from online harassment. This includes social media training for actors and directors and the potential for studios to take over their social media accounts completely in cases where a character’s actions are deemed controversial or likely to incite negative fan reactions. Security firms are also being employed to protect talent from doxxing and online threats.

Not being able to separate the actor from the character isn’t new at all, but it’s unfortunate that so many people stop complaining to the studio making the movie and go straight for the actors who are just doing their jobs.