The Film Industry Thread

[satellite]

Kathy Bates is 61 and still doing pretty well for herself. Granted, she gets mom roles in stuff like Failure to Launch (which I watched last weekend), but she was also good in Cheri which came out recently.
Diane Keaton is still around. Catherine Deneuve is acting, though mostly in French films.

[ldiggitydawg]

Aug 11, 2009 9:34:43 GMT -4 MrsOldManBalls said:

Helen Mirren is the one who rocked the bikini, correct?

Yes, that would be her.

[Deleted]

Aug 11, 2009 2:48:19 GMT -4 ldiggitydawg said:

Not only does Streep eat younger actresses for breakfast, she has managed to sustain a career in cinema while many of her contemporaries are working in television (Glenn Close, Sally Field)

Definitely. As an aside, though, television is one place where there are a lot of interesting, well written roles for older actresses. There's something to be said for the opportunity to play the same character over a long period of time and really develop the role. It's unfortunate that a performance like Glenn Close's in Damages would have a negative affect on her commercial or critical credibility, more than Kathy Bates' decision to appear in things like Failure to Launch. (Nothing against Kathy Bates - just the cultural perception that television is inherently lesser than film.)

Meryl Streep's ability to do accents and convincingly inhabit a wide range of characters makes her more versatile than a lot of actors, period. It's hard to think of too many males who have played the variety of roles that she has, as well as she has. So I can see why she's so employable - she eats everybody for breakfast.

[heyalice]

It's also amazing to see the range of roles she has been getting over the last decade when you line them up against her male counterparts of the era she came out of, DeNiro, Pacino and Hoffman. They've essentially been trading off their names for 20 years whereas she's been doing great work and been nominated how many times.

[huntergrayson]

I think the TV is "lesser" than film perception is not as true as it once was.

And, geez, at one point this season, Damages had Glenn Close, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden. Three Oscar noms/winners. Not bad.

The problem is that even if an older actress does get a fantastic role in an indie/smaller film, distribution is so screwed up nowadays that who knows if it will be seen. I mean, I wanted to see Cheri but it seems like it came and went. Even here in LA. I can't blame any actors or actresses for being presented with a steady gig doing interesting work on a quality show and snapping it up.

[normadesmond]

Aug 7, 2009 13:14:14 GMT -4 @huntergrayson said:

Firstly, I think they're all over-rated now to a degree. But, secondly, while Meryl has always been successful & acclaimed, Helen & Judi's recognition, state-side, didn't come until their 40s/50s even though they had been working actresses forever. So I don't know which talented, perhaps slightly underappreciated actress is going to blossom into full-on awesomeness late in her career.

Not that I want another Great Depression, but if the worst comes true, economically, and there's no fast recovery.... bank on someone fat, plain, matronly, loveable, and funny. Astonishingly, the Great Depression caused the general public of the early 1930s to elect this woman the biggest box office star in America, and possibly the entire world. For the only time in history, a fat old comedienne outgrossed every gorgeous young starlet in Hollywood to become the most popular actress (or actor) around.

That being the case, should the worst happen.... if I was running the studios, I'd start planning some major star vehicles for Kathy Bates (the closest contemporary equivalent I can think of - she can be hilarious even in very dark, dramatic roles). Or maybe even someone like Melissa Leo. That's the kind of actress who could become an unexpected superstar in hard, hard economic times.

[LurkerNan]

... bank on someone fat, plain, matronly, loveable, and funny.

Finally, my chance to be a star!

[Deleted]

From my buddy Joe.My.God., this mesmerizing morph is not just cool, but I think you'll surprise yourself at how many you can name and, moreso, name as soon as the morph starts.

[Carolinian]

You beat me to it! I saw that video and was wondering which thread would be most appropriate. The director has other videos, including one featuring women in film.

[MrsCatHead]

Just watched the women in film vid and what I noticed most of all was how eyebrow styles changed.