Although to be fair, the beautiful people are the only reason those engineers get even 30 seconds of primetime TV. See: thousands of engineers doing equally awesome things not related to showbiz.
Not really. Visual effects are a bigger 'star' than any individual actor nowadays.
Also, 'equally awesome' needs to be qualified. Most of the engineers working in film could get paid far more working in other industries but do it because it can be fantastically rewarding. Disclaimer: I am one of these.
Would you argue it was Michael Bay's name that convinced people to buy tickets for Transformers? Or Sigourney Weavers name on Avatar? I suggest examining the all time box office records:
Neither Michael Bay nor Sigourney Weaver have much involvement with special effects.
And, actually, what convinced me to see Avatar were the special effects. And there wouldn't be enough special effects in the world to convince me to go to a movie theater to watch Transformers.
Sorry, there seems to be some confusion. I'm trying to suggest that the majority of blockbusters aren't star lead anymore, they're visual effects lead. Perhaps people aren't interested in seeing effects engineers receiving awards, but they're certainly interested in seeing our work.
I think that, these days, we can take special effects for granted - every movie will have them and they will be mostly great - and undetectable. It takes an expert to be impressed by Avatar and how sunlight filters through foliage and skin. As special effects approach reality, it takes a trained eye will be able to differentiate the great from the groundbreaking.
Maybe compelling story is the key factor here. I don't believe kids went to see Transformers for the effects - all they wanted was to be entertained.
