The elusive Jackson, not surprisingly, declined to be interviewed, but his partners, Derek Rundell and Court Coursey, were happy to enthuse over his involvement. Jackson won't be perusing the r sum s of potential engineers or puzzling over business plans, they said, but he does check in on a daily basis to advise and serve as a kind of corporate muse. One can only guess, since most of the celebrities involved decline interviews, claiming they are too busy to chat. There's something intoxicating about being in a new business and not knowing where it's going. Stars may not turn to dot-coms to heighten their celebrity, but surely to hit a double whammy and make it in both the world of entertainment and technology wouldn't hurt their egos.
Most actors have a desire to communicate with people, a desire to entertain.
Most are also very committed to the art form of acting, but there's also a sense of a need for a relationship with audiences. Or, perhaps it's just a form of spin control. When Baldwin showed up on Rosie O'Donnell talking up the Hollywood Stock Exchange, Keiser says, HSX signed 50,000 new member accounts and logged 5 million new page views. Having a celebrity on board is great for free PR, too. Certainly there's an audience that always goes to see Julia Roberts.