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Features
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Fetuses in Three-Piece Suits
That’s the Hollywood executive description offered up by esteemed writer Larry Gelbart to explain why so many women over the age of 40 in Hollywood find themselves on the outside, looking in.
Friday, October 12, 2007 at 12:45 PM
By Shelley Gabert
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Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com
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Frances Fisher, at the September L.A. premiere of In the Valley of Elah
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The third L.A. Femme Film Festival kicked off yesterday. With features, documentaries and more than 40 shorts, the event created by Leslie La Page showcases women behind and in front of the camera.
But during a SAG Foundation panel last night on "Ageism in Hollywood" attended by FilmStew, a lot of women over the age of 40 insisted that it remains difficult to get hired for that future, to be showcased item. Ironically, the panel was held the same week that Warner Bros. President of Production Jeff Robinov created major fallout with his alleged decree that the studio is putting a halt on female lead-driven projects, based on the dismal showings of Jodie Foster’s The Brave One, Nicole Kidman's Invasion and Hilary Swank’s The Reaping. One can only hope Paramount/Dreamworks circulates a similar memo concerning remakes of seventies comedy cult classics like The Heartbreak Kid.
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Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com
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Big Love co-star Grace Zabriskie
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While panelists Frances Fisher (The Kingdom, In The Valley of Elah, TNT's Saving Grace) and Grace Zabriskie (HBO's Big Love, Norma Rae, Twin Peaks) are both working actors, actress and SAG Foundation VP Pamela Reed (Kindergarten Cop, HBO’s Tanner 88) hasn't been so lucky. Although she has a role on Jericho, the canceled and subsequently revived CBS drama, her contract has not been renewed. "The average age of actors on that show is under 40, and those of us over 40 are gone," she observes.
Meanwhile, Summer Wesson, the only panelist under 40, was there to represent Central Casting, the agency that provides the bulk of union background players. Although she admitted her job is often more like being a secretary than someone who has creative input into the choice of actors, the company is these days casting speaking parts as well on shows like Cane. Alas, despite the presence of stars Jimmy Smits, Hector Elizondo and Rita Moreno, and the fact that the program is executive produced by its female creator Cynthia Cidre, Wesson said the casting execs still can't hire women who look like they're over 45.
This from CBS, a network that has built its ratings around the loyalty of older viewers and has a female, Nina Tassler, in charge of CBS Entertainment. Sadly, many female executives in positions of power aren't doing – or aren’t able to do - that much to change the state of the female acting union.
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Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage.com
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SAG Foundation VP Pamela Reed
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Beyond Tinseltown, some folks are preaching that 50, or even 60, is the new 40. But that’s definitely not the case in Hollywood. While women aged 40 and over control 60% percent of the country's wealth and 80% of all purchasing decisions, the importance of the youth market to Madison Avenue advertisers blinds Hollywood male executives to these facts.
Sure, there are notable exceptions on the commercial side, with people like Diane Keaton and Christine Lahti hawking cosmetics. But aside from the indie film world and TNT, which has taken a leadership position on the female ageism front by aligning itself with actors like Holly Hunter and Kyra Sedwick, it’s pretty much business as usual on the big and small screens.
Last night’s panel at the Fine Arts Theater kicked off with a screening of the documentary short Invisible Women, a look at Hollywood ageism featuring Susan Sarandon, Lahti and M*A*S*H creator Larry Gelbart. As Gelbart notes in the film, the reason you see a total focus on youth is because ‘you're dealing with a fetus in a three-piece suit.’ Or, as someone shouted out during the panel, it's more like wish fulfillment and fantasy. ‘The only way these men can get those hot babes is to hire them,’ the person suggested.
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Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com
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Larry Gelbart, never at a loss when it comes to summing things up
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Following the screening, USC Associate Professor Stacy Smith highlighted some research conducted by See Jane (SJ) Los Angeles’ “Media Made for Kids,” a project spearheaded by Geena Davis at the Annenberg School for Communication. After reviewing 700 films, including the AFI’s Top 100 Films of All Time, it was determined that there is an average on screen of 2.5 men for every one woman. Put another way, men play 72% of the roles to 28% percent for women.
Panelist Ann Marcus, an Emmy Award winning writer for Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and supervising producer of shows such as Falcon Crest and Knots Landing, placed the responsibility squarely on writers. "If we aren't writing the roles for women, then it starts there,” she insists. “Content is what we need. Writers are the ones not hiring the older writers.”
That last sentence refers to the fact that in television, show creators are also often the show runners and, as such, control all aspects of the operation. It seemed a bit of a stretch to have Marcus on the panel, since she has had a very successful 40-year run. But her point still resonates since she claims that she doesn’t have the respect or clout to find a backer for her new film For Heaven's Sake, though the age of the film’s star Florence Henderson might have something to do with it as well. She’s 73.
There were some humorous moments. Marcus commented on the shape of the microphones as being phallic, while Zabriskie, who said very little, suggested that the key was "to begin acting when you're older and then when you lose your looks, they won't hold it against you...”
Although the major difference in product from the BBC was pointed out, particularly its fondness for women of all ages (think Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect), Fisher reminded the audience that this is principally because the UK TV industry is heavily subsidized by its government. The actress did though commend her latest director, Paul Haggis, for casting her as a topless waitress in Elah. “He could have easily gone with a younger actress,” she mused.
Beverly Graf, a Vice President of Development at Abilene Pictures (Fracture), talked about the challenges of setting up adult drama. She encouraged women to get out and see films starring other women on opening weekend, and stressed the importance of making use of new distribution tools such as YouTube.
| Overall, the panel discussion vibe was definitely one of empowerment, a call to action for women to use their clout and power up more grassroots efforts. Email addresses of the TV networks' top executives were passed out and attendees were also encouraged to continue congregating in the Community section of the La Femme Film Festival's website. This, Reed maintained, was especially important because of the lack of geographical community flow in a city like Los Angeles.
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The L.A. Femme Festival runs through Sunday, October 14th, ending with an award ceremony hosted by Melissa Rivers. Among those to be honored are Martha Coolidge, Rosanna Arquette and Lea Thompson.
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