Has Emma Stone Taken Over Hollywood?

Sitting in the movie theater the other day, I saw three previews in a row for films starring Emma Stone. I thought to myself, "Just because she received critical acclaim for Easy A, why does that mean Hollywood has to cast her in every major motion picture?" Though that seems to be a trend in Hollywood. Since Superbad came out in 2007, it feels like Michael Cera appears in every other comedy involving teenage angst and it's getting kind of boring. Yet, I understand the direction that Hollywood is going in, slowly phasing out the actors and actresses from the previous millennium and bringing the younger ones into the spotlight in order to better represent the youth of this generation.

Of the young actors and actresses highly coveted in Hollywood right now, Stone is definitely in the lead, with Kirsten Stewart and Amanda Seyfried close behind in the female category. However, there is something unique about Stone that brings her to a higher caliber of stardom than these other two actresses. Stewart’s fan base is mostly compromised of Twilight fans, but her shy awkward-girl persona will only keep her in the limelight for so long. Seyfried on the other hand, has come a long way since playing Karen in Mean Girls. She has blossomed into a mature and versatile actress, but her personality still lacks that je ne sais quoi that Stone has down.

At first, I was disconcerted by Stone's rapid rise to fame. Since her role as Jules in Superbad in 2007, she has starred in eight films and has six upcoming films, three of which are coming out this summer. In the previous seven films her character was more or less the same, the slightly self-conscious, quirky cat-eyed red head. But then when I thought about her role as Olive Penderghast in Easy A, I realized she kicked-butt, not only because her character kicked-butt, but also because she clearly left an impression on her viewers. She really broke out of her shell, proving to audiences that she could take the reigns of a leading lady, with her charming wit and lack of grace.

Watching a behind the scenes video of her photo shoot for Elle Magazine’s July cover, solidified her awesomeness for me. She explains that one of her biggest inspirations was Steve Martin and that she watched a lot of films with male-centered characters. It’s clear that she has developed the calm, comedic, charismatic male-type personality, yet she maintains a natural feminine beauty necessary for an actress on the big screen.

So even though I am slightly horrified when I see her with platinum blond hair (though blond is her natural color) in InStyle, I have to remind myself that chronic hair color change is a staple of Hollywood stardom. Like Cera and her other Superbad co-star, Jonah Hill, she has finally made it big, but I think she is going to continue growing because her roles seem to be much more diverse. When I saw the previews for Friends with Benefits, Crazy, Stupid, Love and The Help, I didn't think to myself "Ugh, another movie with Emma Stone in it." I thought to myself "Interesting, I wonder what she'll be like in this role."