One of the many things that occurred in 2021 that I would not have predicted was the re-emergence of Paul McCartney, septuagenarian rock and roll legend, as a screen star. That summer, McCartney was on my television reminiscing with acclaimed record producer Rick Rubin in the six-part Hulu miniseries McCartney 3, 2, 1. In the fall, McCartney reappeared as a younger man in the epic documentary The Beatles: Get Back airing on Disney+. Video clips of McCartney improvising lyrics and melodies took up residence on my social media feeds. After Get Back, McCartney was so omnipresent that Paste declared McCartney “the most interesting TV character of 2021.”1 Imagine that!

Maybe if had read Landon Palmer's Rock Star / Movie Star: Power and Performance in Cinematic Rock Stardom earlier in the year, I would not have found all of this so surprising. In his book, Palmer convincingly argues...

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