Brighter together - with buddies through Hollywood.

Hollywood is a dangerous place. Fame, money, beautiful women, handsome men and greedy producers. Who will go alone will die. That's why every decent adventurer needs support. Today will be about the teams to be collected before you go on a trip deep into Hollywood.

The fact that actors sometimes occur in pack is quite widely known, e.g. the phenomenon of so-called Brit Pack (in its basic version - without later extensions) - a group of British actors who in the 80's began to do quite quickly career in the US. However, Birt Pack is just one of the many groups that were created and described in the history of Hollywood. At the same time it should be noted that the Hollywood group means that in one place met three very important phenomena. First - we have a group of actors who appear more or less in the same productions (the group does not have to consist of actors or directors or producers), secondly - members of the group must combine more than just at work - preferable relationships of friendship, although marriages, romance or family relationships are possible, the third factor is the fact that the group will be recognized by critics or the press. In other words - maybe members of the Avangers crew meet every Wednesday to play poker. But as long as someone does not write about them as a super pack and does not show how close ties of friendship are - then we are not dealing with a Hollywood group. Just watching groups that are created in Hollywood is fascinating. Mainly because most often, despite a similar moment in which the group was recognized at the end of the career, they start to differentiate and diverge. At the same time, however, it is true that once in a while in Hollywood, there is such a friendly professional cooperative whose fate can then be followed. Although it should be added here that sometimes the relationships between actors placed in such a band are definitely looser than the press would like.

Of course, the most famous group of actors in the history of Hollywood is the famous Rat Pack. Unlike later groups, this one was definitely more aware of its existence. That is to say - its members were assigned (obviously in jokes) functions - for example, the specialist for PR was Humprey Bogart. Similarly, the name itself - this time unnoted by journalists but originating according to different histories and it is from New York slang (there are many rats so it's even logical) or from the observation Lauren Bacall who was supposed to point out that they look like a bunch of rats. Rat Pack reigned in cinemas in the 1950s and belonged there - Humprey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Judy Garland, Sid Luff, Swift Lazer, Nathaniel Benchley, David Niven, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, George Cukor, Cary Grant, Rex Harrison and Jimmy Van Heusen. This first Rat Pack had nothing to do with what the name was associated with later. First of all - the first violins were not played by Frank Sinatra but Humprey Bogart. The whole group's basic squad was taken from the fact that Bogart and Bacall lived close to Beverly Hills and loved to invite friends living nearby. In other words, the first Rat Pack was a rather friendly group that differed from most groups of friends that among the neighbors there were no dentists and office workers but actors, directors and screenwriters. Of course, it also did not take place without smaller or larger scandals. Everyone knew that Lauren Bacall was looking towards Frank Sinatra (with reciprocity), which would not be scandalous if Bogart was not in the background - who was cheating Bacall with his Mexican secretary, but that's not the reason why he would not be jealous of his friend. Before the scandal could see the light of day, Bogart died on cancer and the whole company dispersed without having his guide.

Contrary to what sometimes you can read in the newspapers, the Rat Pack run and associated with Sinatra never called itself that. Which does not change the fact that from a professional point of view it was a much more interesting group - not because they had more achievements than the great set from the 50s, but because their professional paths met a little more frequently than their predecessors. They belonged to the group (according to different lists that never give the exact same composition): Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop. Marilyn Monroe, Angie Dickinson, Juliet Prowse, and sometimes Shirley MacLaine. However, the most important were the three Sinatra, Martin and Davies - their performances in Las Vegas were known throughout the country mainly because the gentlemen appeared in each other's performances. People from all over the country made pilgrimages to Las Vegas just to see what a live performance of this type looks like - and it was supposedly an unforgettable experience. Especially since everyone had the impression that they are in the most interesting place in America. It is hardly surprising as the Rat Pack members in the 1960s knew everyone - Peter Lawford was Kennedy's brother-in-law (to whose election campaign our actors and singers put their hand) so even the White House seemed like a neighbours place. Of course, an idyll can not last forever. Kennedy finally loosened his connections with the actors (Sinatra had too much alleged connections with the mafia so that contacts with him would be well seen) and in life began to slightly complicate. Until the 1980s, the group no longer existed and its various members were either dead or struggling with smaller and larger addictions or problems. The last performance of the members of this second Rat Pack is the tour that Frank Sinatra organized to get Dean Martin out of the depression in which he fell after the death of his son, Sammy Davis joined the group. Their performances sold on the trunk, although there were no mutual accusations. In the world of the film, the group had about 20 films where their performances crossed or even small roles. The most important of them is the original Ocean's Eleven which was a kind of cinematic translation of the group's dynamics into the reality of the film. It is not for nothing that the film is happening in Los Angeles which was then the headquarters of the band's casino group.

It must be pointed out that there was never a group as clear and unambiguous as the Rat Pack. It's not just that there were stronger bonds between actors and singers. The entertainment industry also looked different, the actors had more privacy and could shape their image a little differently. In other words, they could drop in without announcing their own concerts, joke with the audience, get drunk behind the scenes and nothing came of it to social media. This is a peculiar moment when fame is as international as possible, there is no such a strictly understood system of stars (so the label is not kept on a leash). Contemporary paparazzi are just born and you can choose which of the bars in Los Angeles or Las Vegas will be the most interesting place on the planet. Sometimes I get the impression that Hollywood has never shaped the stars so well then. Giving exactly enough to let us know that they are also people but not enough that we would not realize that they are basically uninteresting. Such a pack of the coolest kids at school. Only that instead of school you have the whole world of entertainment.

Hollywood, however, hates the emptiness and this time a new group appeared - shaped by press in the ’80s. More specifically, Brat Pack was baptized in 1985 when it became clear that Hollywood have a new group of young actors who are just starting to gain popularity together. Members of Brat Pack were: Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. What connected this group was a performance in one of the two hit (and later cult films) of the ’80s - Breakfast Club or St Elmo's Fire. This means that, for example, Robert Downey Jr. who made his career more or less at the same time and knew the group well (Anthony Michael Hall is the godfather of Downey's son) does not belong to Brat Pack despite the fact that he is actually from the same actor's generation. It must be admitted that this group has left a very strong mark on the youth cinema or directed to young adults. From Sixteen candles, through the Breakfast Club or Wird Sience. Almost all films in which actors performed were today more or less the canon of American cinema of that period. Of course, youth cinema. Interestingly, if we look at these names, we will also get a list of people whose so fast career has become a curse. Among the actor's stories from this group, we find addiction to alcohol, one of the first Hollywood porn scandals or addiction. Interestingly - Brat Pack is also a group of missed opportunities. Although for a while almost all of this small group enjoyed popularity and among the critics there was a general opinion that they can play but surprisingly many members of the group landed on television. In particular, the career of Emilio Estavez did not go as expected, while Rob Lowe did build an interesting television career, but the film's output is definitely smaller, Demi Moore became the most famous woman, but it is hard to say that she managed to appear as a respected actress. In all, Downey Jr. was the best of them all - he scored the biggest setback but also the most beautifully he went straight. At the same time it is worth noting that the term Brat Pack was created when the journalist watched as "fans" attacked a group of actors in Hard Rock Cafe. Well, Brat Pack is a completely different reality than before and basically the basis for a rather depressing story about the price of quickly gained fame. What elevated our actors up (recognition, good roles in good youth films) has become an obstacle to further career development. People wanted to see more or less the same characters - modern young people with their emotions and problems. It is difficult to break out of such a scheme, especially if it came to it so early. Of course, it was not a flawless group but watching their careers one can observe nicely how Hollywood was just learning what to do with the modern variety of popularity and its victims - young, slightly disgruntled actors who think they can do anything. Kendall Jenner (one of Kim Kardashian's sisters) - although none of them is a couple playing, but social interest with simultaneous image accidents, in this youth see the equivalent of their predecessors from the 80s.

Another group of actors belongs to a slightly different category. Let's start with the fact that this time the name of the group of actors alone caused a problem. Enterteiment Weekly - an American magazine dealing with reporting on a wide range of entertainment issues - used the term to include a group of young actors making a career in dramatic roles - Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Edward Norton and Ryan Phillippe. All young, handsome, making a quick career, both Maguire and DiCaprio as well as Damon and Affleck were friends with each other. However, even though the actors did indeed have their moment of first glory at a similar time, this term never came to pass. But Frat Pack clung to a group of American comedians whose films had a huge impact on the shape of the American comedy of the second half of the 90s. To this Frat Pack belonged Ben Stiller, Owen and Luke Wilson, Will Farrell, Vince Vaughn, and Steve Carell. Sometimes Jacek Black is added to the list, but that does not make sense because his career was rather independent of the rest of the group. The term Frat Pack would refer to the word "fraternity" - university fraternity - which in turn refers to the first joint film of the group the comedy Old School. For a time, indeed, this group of actors ruled not only the American sense of humor but also the box office. What's more - thanks to them, popularity began to gain comedies with a harsher joke and, consequently, a higher age category. One of the most important films of the group is Zoolander - actually one of the funniest comedies of recent years for the Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - a film so absurdly ridiculous that it is impossible to laugh at it. Frat Pack is also a group responsible for ridiculous movies, often with a lot of low humor (though sometimes seasoned with absurdity) but also for comedies a bit more family-like. However, in the case of Frat Pack, the most interesting thing is that after a closer look, the group of comedians turned out to be much more interesting away from the comedy. As many as three of the actors found a perfect place in the world of Wes Anderson - especially the Wilson brothers who knew Anderson from student times, but Stiller was the most collaborating with Anderson who reminded the wider audience that he can play the most (again, remember that Stiller he made excellent Reality Bites - one of the best movies diagnosing the young people's psychological condition at the time). When in the early 2000s the strength of the group began to decrease, the actors took up various projects. Almost every one of them has proven that he can find himself in a serious role (the poignant Will Farrell in Stranger than Fiction has always changed his face in the eyes of viewers who thought he really can not play) - Vince Vaughn moved the most to this cinema. What does not change the fact, that the greatest money, as it usually happens, has brought comics appearing in productions directed to a younger viewer, such as the Night at the Museum. However, Frat Pack did not say the last word yet.

Because nature can not stand the emptiness - next to Frat Pack and actually after some informal dissolution of the informal group showed Apatow Gang (so we have gangs instead of groups) is said that its core are Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel. At the same time, what is important, in the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy appears Carell who is a member of Frat Pack and Apatow Gang. However, the new group of comedians connected above all with the comedies of Judd Apatow has never been so much connected. That is to say - they have clearly appeared in his films and have, to some extent, decided the shape of a comedy in recent years, but their careers are definitely more diverse. Carell, who connects both groups often turned towards serious cinema, Paul Rudd has never been clearly classified as a comedian (it is rather a kind of nice actor to use in everything from romantic comedy to a super heroic movie), Seth Rogen tried to become an action movie actor it did not work very well. All in all, Jonah Hill made the biggest number for all of them, who, just like on a cue, can jump to the highest level of acting and receive further nominations for the Oscars. While in the case of Frat Pack the viewer had the feeling that he was watching productions made in a circle of friends, in the case of Apatow Gang the impression is more that we are dealing with the actors of one director - which does not change the fact that actually Apatow and his people rule last American comedy which is I'm not happy because I think Apatow's films are not funny enough and even harmful in the way of presenting male characters (eternally immature, childish, requiring nursing and care rather than some higher feelings) - moreover, the film Forty Year Old Virgin begins the series of successes best reflects this trend to masculinity.

Here, we are actually approaching the end. Internet throws out another package - so-called Splat Pack - this time directors, baptized by a journalist from the British magazine Total Film. These would be those directors of contemporary horrors who operate on a low budget, like cruelty and have an eternal problem with the commission that grants age marks to subsequent productions. In the group there would be such artists as Eli Roth, Roberto Rodriguez or Aeksandre Aja but also, for example, Rob Zombie. I am not entirely convinced whether we are talking about such a group because our directors are above all connected with artistic style, and not the feeling that they work together. No less should be noted the existence of such a group, especially since it gave us such miracles as From Dusk Till Dawn, remake The Hills Have Eyes or the most important film with 3D effects in the history of cinematography Piranha.

Interestingly, the closest to the definition of the next Hollywood package are young English actors. So old Brit Pack permanently settled on both sides of the Atlantic and now it's time for a new British invasion. Among the invaders -Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, James McAvoy, Tom Hardy, Michael Fassbender and Eddie Redmayne (we know that Fassbender is not British but is associated with British cinematography and from the point of view of cinema as such counts). It seems that those who cry out that a new group was created in Hollywood are right. It is these actors who gather critics 'accolades, fans' praise and major roles in summer hits. What's more - as there are only five people in England, they know each other personally and how the communal news brings - they are friends outside the plan. And considering that everyone is young and ambitious and some of them have nice golden statuettes, maybe in a few years you can write that this time the most cool place on earth was some Pub in the West End where they met once in a while all members of the most interesting team from Hollywood (away).

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