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Star Search

ANSWER: LOOSE TYPING

Authors: Charles Steinhardt and Brian Widerman

The stars can be grouped into actors and actresses (and in a couple of cases, cartoon characters) who appeared together in a total of 11 different movies. The stars corresponding to each movie are laid out to form a constellation, including one of the 11 blank stars in each. For each constellation, one well-known actor or actress is missing, and can go on the blank star, which is designated with a different greek letter in each case.

1. TOM CRUISE - A Few Good Men (Alpha Cassiopeie)
Jack Nicholson
Kevin Bacon
Kiefer Sutherland
Demi Moore

2. QUEEN LATIFAH - Chicago (Beta Crucis)
Renee Zellweger
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Richard Gere
John C Reilly

3. BRUCE WILLIS - Armageddon (Gamma Librae)
Billy Bob Thornton
Ben Affleck
Steve Buscemi
Owen Wilson
Liv Tyler

4. LAURENCE OLIVIER - Rebecca (Delta Sagittae)
Joan Fontaine
George Sanders
Reginald Denny
C. Aubrey Smith

5. VICTOR JORY - The Miracle Worker (Epsilon Lyrae)
Anne Bancroft
Patty Duke
Inga Swenson
Andrew Prine
Kathleen Comegys

6. JENNIFER GARNER - Juno (Zeta Orionis)
Jason Bateman
Allison Janney
J.K. Simmons
Ellen Page
Michael Cera
Rainn Wilson
Olivia Thirlby
Daniel Clark

7. TOMMY LEE JONES - Lincoln (Eta Ursa Minoris)
Sally Field
Daniel Day-Lewis
David Strathairn
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
James Spader
Hal Holbrook

8. ROCK HUDSON - Giant (Theta Cygni)
Elizabeth Taylor
James Dean
Carroll Baker
Jane Withers
Chill Wills
Mercedes McCambridge
Dennis Hopper
Earl Holliman
Sal Mineo

9. DEBORAH KERR - From Here to Eternity (Iota Cancri)
Burt Lancaster
Montgomery Clift
Donna Reed
Frank Sinatra
Ernest Borgnine

10. SPENCER TRACY - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Kappa Boötis)
Sidney Poitier
Katharine Hepburn
Isabel Sanford
Katharine Houghton
Cecil Kellaway
Beah Richards
Roy Glenn
Virginia Christine
Barbara Randolph
D'Urville Martin
Tom Heaton

11. BUGS BUNNY - Space Jam (Lambda Sagittarii)
Wayne Knight
Bill Murray
Michael Jordan
Porky Pig
Sylvester
Daffy Duck
Marvin the Martian
Charles Barkley
Patrick Ewing
Larry Bird
Ahmad Rashad
Jim Rome

A grouping of these into the 11 constellations is shown here:

Each of the missing stars also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is additional clued by the colored star outline of each picture. Looking at the locations of each star on Hollywood or Vine yields:

Tom Cruise       6912
Queen Latifah    6915
Bruce Willis     6915
Laurence Olivier 6319
Victor Jory      6505
Jennifer Garner  6920
Tommy Lee Jones  6925
Rock Hudson      6116
Deborah Kerr     1709
Spencer Tracy    6814
Bugs Bunny       7007

The last two digits run from 1-26, and converting them to letters spells the answer, LOOSE TYPING.