Ah, Hollywood...that Mecca of youth, beauty and concept films...churner-out of car chases, buddy pictures, "Terrorist of the Week" carnage-fests, and coming of age stories featuring young, white males in shiny cars. It seems we just can't get enough of "Youth in Trouble" movies featuring 100% substance abuse with zero percent substance. (Just add undressed pretty girls and stir)
On the opposite end of the age spectrum, male leads at age 75 are also considered sexy, their female screen lovers 35 or even 25. Viewers accept these widely divergent ages, rarely squirming at what I call "age incest," i.e. actors romancing actresses young enough to be their daughters or (shudder) granddaughters.
Where, in this mix of soap opera hunks or pierced-tongued ingénues sparring with Viagra-fied, cradle-robbing Romeos, are women of a certain age? (Over 45 and still very much alive, thank-you.) Are they the romantic leads? No. Most often you’ll find them as the cranky, creaky, wrinkly, nosy next-door neighbors. Or long-suffering wives of loathsome Lotharios. And let’s not forget the thankless roles of mothers of younger characters, those characters always on the fringes of the story but rarely the focus of the story itself. These women are not the vibrant, fully-realized characters they must be, now that forty-five is the 21st century's thirty-five.
Here's an interesting statistic: 75% of the population is over the age of 45, the majority female. Are these people being reflected in films? Not according to the last time I checked. Shouldn't something be done to even out this skewed, ageist/sexist picture of American society? How often do we make reverberating vocal statements that someone is too OLD to do something? Think about it. Too old to what? To hire, to wear mini-skirts, to go back to school, to drive, to climb mountains, to start new businesses, to fulfill creative dreams---to make love?
In my screenplay NAUGHTY SYLVIA the title character is 40-something. Sylvia does not consider herself to be either old or useless. She and Jake (her male counterpart--same age group) have energetic attitudes that reflect those of most people over 45. Sylvia is as sexy and sassy as any 25-year old and her story longs to be told. Who will tell it? My dream cast would feature Helen Mirren as Sylvia. Will that happen? How does a writer get her script to the right people when the ignorance of ageism seems to out shadow the phony P.C. world in which it is mired?
Hollywood refuses to acknowledge the fact that women over 40 are capable of being romantic characters. Does that mean we, as writers and filmmakers, should follow the stereotypes and not create substantial scripts featuring them? Fewer good roles for older women means the fastest growing demographic group is not being reflected in films in truthful, life-affirming ways.
Merna Lobel Victor, screenwriter of EDITHA MARSTON (finalist in the 2003 Women in Film and Video/ New England Screenwriting Competition) notes that women over 40 are not "over and out.” She adds, there's a future if you're 40, 50, or 60, so plan for it and get going! There’s this perception that sexuality ends at a certain age and it's simply not true."
Victor's leading lady, Editha, is a 76-year old "senior pioneer." She longs be a Hollywood actress and sets out to fulfill her dream. By watching and researching soap operas, Editha bonds with and takes on the part of a character she likes, soon finding herself on a cross-country adventure which lands her in Hollywood, where she not only gets the acting part she craves, but romance as well.
Victor says, "As you get older, you become more nuanced--there are more layers that add value to you as a person." And EDITHA MARSTON reflects that sentiment. "I don't see people retiring--I see them evolving." Victor's colorful character doesn't consider the possibility of being too old for anything, and therefore succeeds at everything.
In her comedic screenplay TAKEN IN MADRID, writer Diana Westgate shows us women in their 60's, who travel to romantic Madrid, where they are immediately besieged by pickpockets. In a world where tourists are frequently victims of petty crimes, Ms. Westgate de-victimizes her characters by having them turn the tables on the pickpockets, vowing to bring them down. They do so with hilarious results, and in a gentle way show us that older women are strong and capable--unwilling to be ladies in jeopardy.
As Westgate says, "people aren't writing parts for older actresses. It’s a vicious circle - if Hollywood thinks it won't sell - they refuse to produce those films - so fewer screenwriters are writing those stories."
Most script readers are usually in their 20's. It is my contention that when these very young adults read scripts featuring sexually active female characters over 45, they are uncomfortable with the idea of characters their parent’s age being sexually active. They find it hard to believe that characters in mid-life and older could be perceived to be sexually attractive and alluring to others. I believe this is one of the reasons romantic scripts featuring women over 45 are rarely given the green light.
As with all of us, actresses frequently do not come into their own until they mature. Once they are confident, interesting people with depth, they are given smaller parts or simply shelved aside. Unlike seasoned actresses of the 1940's who got substantial lead roles, today’s older actresses are disadvantaged. Reflect on the work of Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyk, or Ida Lupino. If these women were working actresses in their 40's today they would never be given the rich, fulfilling roles which defined them. We like to think of ourselves as being modern thinkers, hip to the latest trends and on the "cutting edge" of everything, yet in terms of sexism and ageism on the silver screen it seems we have "devolved" rather than "evolved."
As a writer I challenge other writers to create meaningful scripts for over-40 actresses. Get these films produced, put them in every theater, and start reflecting the real women of today. 75% of the population will thank you.