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    Pope AlexanderDoug Barry
    9/21/13 1:34pm

    Is it not strange, though, to call out The Counselor which is at least hiring 41 year old and a 39 year old actresses to play the two female leads in a movie where the male lead is 36? Surely most casting directors would've given those parts to 23 year olds. Okay, fuck the photoshop on the poster, but...

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      MrsAmyPope Alexander
      9/21/13 1:47pm

      Yeah, I was thinking at least the women are age-appropriate to the male leads. I am SO sick of bitching about 23-year-old women cast to play love interests to 45-year-old actors.

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      michelledc123Pope Alexander
      9/21/13 1:47pm

      Well, an entire concept does not have to be bad for it to be doing something shitty that lends itself to a point. The Counselor can be doing a good thing by queering a few tropes and still be doing a bad thing by photoshopping those characters into creepy porcelain dolls. Both these things can be true at the same time.

      It's like how a movie that doesn't pass the Bechdel test can still be a damn good movie, but kinda shitty that it can't pass the Bechdel test. (Or maybe I'm still trying to sort out my feelings about Shawshank Redemption.)

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    Mrs. BeetonDoug Barry
    9/21/13 1:42pm

    Javier Bardem loves having dumbass haircuts, huh?

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      IngridToday112Mrs. Beeton
      9/21/13 3:55pm

      I'm starting to think he just can't find a nice hair cut that he likes and that looks good.

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    IFindYourLackOfPantsDisturbingDoug Barry
    9/21/13 1:57pm

    It's not just the age thing, it's also the unrealistic beauty standards. Almost every goddamn movie and TV show I see has hardly any average looking women, but plenty of average looking dudes. Michael Sera, Seth Rogan, Zack Galifianakis, Jim Belushi etc. etc. etc. get all sorts of work, but it seems like 99% of the female cast is always hot.

    I get into arguments about this with other guys sometimes too, and they'll say "Oh she's not hot," which drives me batty because we'll be discussing some actress that is way prettier than anyone we know personally, but for some reason being on a screen instead of physically in the same room leads to a completely distorted idea of what is attractive. Dude. That actress, that you think of as "plain" or just "sorta pretty," if she showed up at one of your crappy house parties, would have every single guy tripping over themselves to talk to her. HOW DO YOU NOT SEE THIS.

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      A Friend Called 5Doug Barry
      9/21/13 5:59pm

      Ageism really does do a number on women in Hollywood. 60 year old men are paired with 22 year old love interests. Uber-talented women are shuffled off and not seen again after they hit 40. But if you think that's hard on women, how they treat fat women is even worse.

      Take it from a former actress who is a fatty. Seriously. I have horror tales of my experiences on sets.

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        samuelgeistA Friend Called 5
        9/21/13 6:15pm

        Would you mind sharing them? I'm aware it isn't a great thing to dwell on.. But if you don't mind, I'd like to hear them.

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        MetallicatA Friend Called 5
        9/21/13 7:06pm

        I am at the "unhireable" age. Parts written for 45+ year olds go to the 35 year olds. The weight thing goes two ways, 1) you are the funny fat friend, 2) you are the butt of the jokes. It sucks beyond belief. Fat and over 40? Jeebus.

        I stopped on camera work awhile ago. When I do actually do any acting work I currently stick to voice work. That's somewhere they actually need mature voices. My income work went to producing, writing and designing for online as I needed a paycheck.

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      MsCinephileDoug Barry
      9/21/13 4:29pm

      I really hate the fact that men can just let themselves go with such abandon in Hollywood. When you've lusted after this:

      ...this:

      ...and this:

      ...it's kind of a shock to realize that these guys now look like this:

      ...this:

      ...and this:

      It's like they're not even trying. OTOH, kudos to Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, and Jeremy Renner for being 40+ and looking not a day over 30.

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        Dr. OpossumMsCinephile
        9/21/13 9:27pm

        Spader and Baldwin survived in their careers because they transitioned to comedic and character roles that don't require leading man looks but do require good acting skills, which they both have. Kilmer hasn't made this transition yet and may never will. Actresses can sometimes do this. Helena Bonham Carter is busier now than she was at the peak of her beauty (she's still a lovely woman, but her roles usually don't show that off).

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      RobertJenkinsDoug Barry
      9/21/13 1:43pm

      not shocking, when hollywood is run by men who refuse to grow up for an audience of young men who aren't grown up

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        PortraitOfMmeXDoug Barry
        9/21/13 1:35pm

        I'm not particularly fond of Tom Cruise, but he rocked the baldness in Tropic Thunder.

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          Carson McCrullersPortraitOfMmeX
          9/21/13 1:53pm

          But there he functioned largely as the butt of a joke, didn't he? The Mission Impossible people probably wouldn't have come knocking quite as many times if he didn't look exactly the same as he always has

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          PortraitOfMmeXCarson McCrullers
          9/21/13 2:10pm

          Yes, absolutely. I was mostly joking. Although he was really funny, I think Tom Cruise could have still been a thing if he'd gone bald and rebranded himself as a comedic actor.

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        ThatChickMellyDoug Barry
        9/21/13 1:45pm

        I've been thinking about this a lot since the Sara Silverman/W Kamau Bell interview where she talked about how it feels to be called "old".

        To me, SS looks the same age she has for 10 years, and shes only a few years older than me (and thin, and beautiful). If *shes* getting called old, what am *I* getting called? One of my cousins has been 28 for 5 years. Its ridiculous.

        And then I look at someone like Dames Judi Dench, Maggie Smith or Helen Mirren and I feel like "oh, right, THAT's old - and beautiful, and graceful, and not being afraid of your years". All Dames, all British too - does that mean the Brits have more reverence for their amazing older actresses than we do? I can only thing of 2 American actresses that fit the same mold - Susan Sarandon and Meryl Streep.

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          BoofusThatChickMelly
          9/21/13 1:52pm

          I swear seeing people like Helen Mirren saves me from insanity sometimes, as much as you can know the pressure to be young and a certain kind of hot is bullshit, it doesnt stop ya feeling the pressure and seeing those kickass ladies still be so awesome, talented, smart and beautiful, long long after society says we arent suppose to find them relevant, well it really takes the edge of the bullshit.

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          manybellsdownBoofus
          9/22/13 12:17pm

          Helen Mirren and Judi Dench. I want to be them when I grow up.

          (I'm 40)

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