Are you serious? Maybe today's actors don't have the monolithic studio system to create the PR glitz and glamour of the old Hedda Hopper and searchlight premiere days but there are plenty of amazing talents in the business.
I think the problem today is lack of cojones. Political correctness, the staggering costs of doing business in an all-union town, the studio groupthink's stagnant dedication to the adolescent demographic and socialist politics: all contribute to kill off real creativity, freedom of thought and risk-taking. Mel Gibson's recent defiance of Hollywood's conventional wisdom with "The Passion of the Christ" is an example of what could be done.
I will concede that Mel Gibson is a truly brilliant and creative talent, and I'll amend what I said by adding his name to those great Film legends of all time. I guess the point I'm trying to make here is that it's the inherent shallowness of this particular branch of the artistic community which is a major part of the problem. Simply put, in the old days there was something called "Screen Presence", i.e. the man or woman's ability to grab your attention when they were on screen and then hold it by convincing you they were that person whom they were portraying on the screen. Their attractiveness was important but not as important as their ability to act.
When Clint Eastwood played "Dirty Harry" to me that wasn't "Clint Eastwood playing Dirty Harry" That was Dirty Harry's Life and experiences being played out on the screen. It's the same for all the other Movies that were my favorites as a youth; The writing was good, the acting convincing and superb, the quality was there. I could go on and on, but I don't think I have to. The only recent example of this, and barely at that, was "Troy", whereas Pitt had me convinced that he was Achilles. It was ruined though in part due to Hollywood's narcissistic reliance on cheap sex and other thrills to "keep people interested".
Yes I agree with you it is a lack of cojones and all the other points you brought out. When I worked in the industry in the 1970's this "conversion" was just beginning to take root and we are now witnessing it's debilitating affects. It's rather depressing in many ways.