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To the fans of teen stars, "doing these things" means being part of a close celebrity cluster. "Everyone thinks it is like Melrose Place, that we all live in the same apartment complex and go to the same spots every night," says Hewitt, who will soon star as Audrey Hepburn in a TV mini-series. "That is so not the case. People ask me, 'What is Leo like?' Like I would know. Even at premieres, you go to the movie and the party, you feel uncomfortable, then you go home early and eat macaroni and cheese in your sweats."
For the canniest take on the teen trend, go to a potential teen idol: James Marsden, the talented, feloniously gorgeous star of Disturbing Behavior, who speaks of teens from the remote perspective of his 25 years. "They are a very intelligent generation," he says, "more intelligent than I was. They are cynical, sarcastic. The less a movie tries to cater to them, the more they want to go see it. And their influence is amazing. Why don't you just have 14-year-olds run the studios?"
A teenage mogul. Hmm, where's the downside?
--Reported by Elizabeth L. Bland/New York and Jeffrey Ressner/Los Angeles