Female, forty and furious

smh.com.au ^

[Joe Hadenuf]

My friend was sued for age discrimination. He won. I would advise anyone who suspects to document carefully. Discrimination lawsuits esp. age ones are VERY hard to prove.

You are correct, but it really all depends on who pursues it, or investigates it. It's really easier to sting those businesses that are suspected of this, or have established patterns or reports of this activity.

[LisaMalia]

Since when are looks everything in the acting profession? Good Lord, look at that disgusting POS Woody Allen. He's STILL raking in the dough.

[AlbionGirl]

Were you born in '56?

[cyborg]

so IOW lawyers will never be out of work

[LisaMalia]

Yes, June 1, 1956 (born on Marilyn's birthday).....:)

[US_MilitaryRules]

My wife turns 40 this year and she is still smart, talented, mother of 2, and drop dead gorgeous! :)

[Don W]

Considering that most (those that can read) are reading drivel from the paperback rack at the till in the local mini-mega-mart, this surprises you?

Melanie Griffith is still a babe, Sharon Stone is a sellout, and I could NOT care less about the rest of the whiners.

[AlbionGirl]

My advise would be not to go younger, unless of course, as I stated in my previous post, a vow of silence is taken.

Also, all this talk of how poorly women age brings to mind how a lot of men look w/their shirts off after the age of 45 or so. What the hell happens to their pecs, they become so mushy. Quite the turnoff, if you ask me. Men look better w/craggly faces though.

[AlbionGirl]

Excellent. March 16 for me. I love my fellow '56ers.

[Alouette]

where are the Barbra Streisands and Goldie Hawns? how come they aren't making the kinds of movies these women can star in?

Babs & Goldie & Susie Sarandon are only interested in making movies that Babs & Goldie & Susie can star in.

[FormerLib]

Yeah, like they couldn't gather enough cash among themselves to bankroll any film project that they wanted.

Since that isn't the problem, I wonder what it might be?

[Jeff Chandler]

Hey, it's a fact of life that floozies just don't have the same appeal at 40 that they do at 18.

[FITZ]

Maybe these "has-beens" are angry because now they're ugly "has-beens." Hollyweird is about looks only

Hollywood actresses are glad to go along with the mentality when they're in their 20's. None of these whiners stepped aside for better older actresses when they themselves were in their prime, they were glad to go along with the looks only part when they went for their boob jobs, liposuctions, and facelifts. All that makes them look weird when they're older.

[Maigrey]

Well, My Mom tells me that it is quite an experience (especially when they are younger than I am... a -20 year difference.......)

[WFTR]

Not a good analogy. Sports doesn't have anything to do with looks. If a woman loses her acting ability after 40, she should get out of the business.

On the contrary, it's a great analogy. In sports, the name of the game is drawing fans to the stadium. In acting, the name of the game is drawing an audience to the theatre. In sports, a team draws fans to the stadium by winning. In acting, one way to draw an audience to the theatre is to feature attractive young women in a film. If an athlete can no longer contribute to the team in a way that draws the fans, the athlete should be let go. If an actress no longer has the looks to draw an audience, another actress should be cast in her place.

It may not seem fair, but it's reality. As I said in my previous post, I doubt any of these women were complaining when they were the ones benefitting from this reality fifteen years ago.

The fact that they've made huge sums of money before their fortieth birthdays is all the more reason why they have no justification to complain. If they haven't properly planned for a time when the big contracts won't be there, that's their problem. No one who makes millions of dollars playing pretend gets sympathy from me when the pretend game goes away.

Another Terri's Law
Bill

[Timesink]

Perhaps if these actresses had fought the bigotry and hatred inherent in the Hollywood system when they were all 25 instead of happily playing the game, using their T&A to make millions, I might have some little iota of sympathy and respect for their "predicament" now. But they didn't, so I don't. Get off the stage, old hags, your days are over! BWA-HA!

[dix]

Ditto. Why anybody gives these people the time of day escapes me.

[Timesink]

Samantha Mathis, 33, agrees. "It's the revenge of the nerds syndrome, all these guys couldn't get a girlfriend in high school. They are smart but they have no social skills; suddenly they are running studios in a position of power."

Proof positive that the very women claiming bigotry and hatred ooze the same bigotry and hatred out of every pore.

[beckett]

Allen brings a comic talent, and an able writing talent, to the table. Most actors bring neither. For the vast majority of actors all they bring to the table is their appearance. It's a "lookist" culture to the nth degree. That's certainly true of almost every one of the female actors mentioned in this article (Goldberg is the exception, again, a comic talent).

It's all about whether the camera loves you, which in turn is about whether all those eyes sitting there in the dark will be contented gazing upon you.

Acting, as distinct from creating the work to be presented, is about LOOKS. All the BS about how tough it is to be a "good" actor is just that -- BS. Brad Pitt is not famous because of his acting chops. He's famous because he makes women drool.

By the way many actors recognize this truth about their industry. Spencer Tracy, Anthony Hopkins, Bruce Willis, Marlon Brando and Henry Fonda have all made remarked about the extreme and literal superficiality of the acting "profession."

[FITZ]

Whoopi Goldberg is an odd one in this mix. She NEVER was a looker. Great comedienne, great timing, great acting skills, imho.

I would wonder why she would even be complaining --- it would seem that she could still get pretty good acting roles. Her career wasn't based on being a bimbo.