Reality vs Movie Magic

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Have you ever noticed what a difference there is between an actor's looks in a movie and what they look like in real life? I remember when Lord of the Rings came out and everyone was drooling over Orlando Bloom as Legolas. My daughter was very enthusiastic about him. She was looking for him in other roles and the whole nine yards. A few weeks later I found a photo of him without the makeup and costumes and we were both disappointed in his looks. It is amazing what a difference it makes, too. I loved Hugh Jackman, for instance, as Wolverine. This week I saw him in "The Fountain" where he was bald in much of the movie, and very thin. I could not believe how goofy he looked. I mean, he looked downright weird...very dorky. Of course, with hair, he looked so much better. Often it just takes a small thing to make the difference. Once upon a time the film stars were recognizable at all times. Then came the advent of special effects, prosthetic makeup and the like and now they can change their appearance so drastically that they are no longer "personalities" but blank canvases for the film-makers to paint on. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing. I just think it's amazing and fascinating the false impressions we can be fed in films. Once upon a time the term "phony" was coined. This term came from the way our voices sounded on the old telephones which added a "tinny" sound to our voices. It made our voices sound fake. As much as the film industry has masked the truth, perhaps we could start calling things "filmy" to mean the same thing, eh??? heeheeee