I understand the ladies in entertainment. In Hollywood, you are over the hill when you pass 30. Getting even small "adjustments" are a basic requirement for getting hired....nose job (99% of actors have had one), botox, dental reconstruction, lipo, even tanning. Men tend to get more attractive with age, women just get old. The job offers stop coming and they do need to make a living. There is always a younger, prettier version to take over and that's what the public seems to want. Meryl Streep is an exception....but so is her acting ability. Of course it's better than the alternative as you say, however, I have a few years on you girlfriend....hold off on that sentiment for juuuuust a leeetle while. We'll talk. Excellent piece of cinema. That and Casablanca are two of my faves.
I know that the ladies in entertainment are stuck in a Catch-22 when it comes to aging. But certainly, many of them would look better looking their ages, I think. But then, they might not work? I tell my younger co-workers all the time that I love being in my 40's--except that if I sit down for too long, I will get up and limp for a few steps. I would hate to see it if I didn't exercise. Surely, you don't have that many years on me? My younger daughter's best friend's mom will turn 50 on her next birthday. She had her younger daughter when she was 40. A few years ago, she took her daughter to an afternoon tea in downtown Plano, and the waiter asked if she was enjoying her day out with her granddaughter. She was unamused--almost as unamused as I was back in December when I was shopping for a new vehicle. I was looking at an Armada and the young salesman, who was no older than 22, asked if I needed the big vehicle to transport kids--or grandkids. Crap on a stick!
That's changing for many. Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchete, Glenn Close, Judi Dench never missed a beat and are still cranking out leading roles. Hell, Helena Bonham Carter is 48 and still getting babe roles.
Funny....did you notice that of the 5 ladies you mentioned, only one is American? And it's been a very long time since Ms. Close played a romantic or leading role. None of those women make the top 10 earners list although they do work. The biggest money earners: Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lawrence, Jennifer Anniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Scarlett Johannson, Amy Adams, Natalie Portman, Kristen Stewart. Bullock is the oldest of the group at 50 but her spot on the list was a result of Gravity and she clearly wasn't playing romantic. Diaz' latest film about a homemade sex tape has absolutely tanked. In America where blockbusters are King, young women get the jobs. What babe role has Carter played recently?
I didn't mean they get ingenue roles, those will always go to young women, just as romantic heroes go to young men. I mean that they are not pigeonholed into matronly character roles as previous generation had been. They are getting roles as active, attractive women, albeit middle-aged. Bonham Carter in Les Miserables, Harry Potter, and The Lone Ranger.
Uhh....can you say Bond? James Bond? As for others, well, Harrison Ford-72, Johnny Depp-51, Tom Cruise-52, Ben Stiller-48, Bruce Willis-59, Sly Stallone-68, Bobby DeNiro-70. There are nowhere near as many women is this age range who are still playing romantic unless it's comedy like Diane Keaton, Babs, etc. Comedic young women in film today look like this I guess... I grant you some improvements but my point still stands that women in Hollywood face enormous pressure to remain young-looking in order to get jobs and stay working over a long period of time. A female "career" in Hollywood is nowhere near as long as a man and there is that little thing known as the casting couch. Women and gay actors are the ones who get that pressure. As for Helena....dude, I just don't see Mdm. Thenardier as a babe no matter what the promotion poster looks like. Bellatrix Lestrange is evil, not really babe material. I didn't see the Lone Ranger so I had to look up her part. I guess she's played a "madam" more than once, lol. But to my point, I had no idea she was even in it because this is all I can recall about the movie.... She does seem to age quite well, almost no wrinkles and still pretty. I just wish she could take a little "Hollywood" with her when she's done filming.
@uscvball Don't discount the "madam" role. One of my first confused childhood chubbies was to Colleen Dewhurst in "The Cowboys." I also remember the great Roscoe Lee Browne telling her in that same movie something like, "Madam, I have the inclination, the maturity and the wherewithal but unfortunately I lack the time." and thinking to myself, "Yeah, that means he wants to do her." and being proud that I'd managed to decode something so "adult." Totally off topic and spolierish if you haven't seen either movie but The Cowboys and The Shootist (both really good Westerns) are the only two roles John Wayne had where his character died.
