Or does it. It does if you're 35-years-old or over in Hollywood. And forget it entirely if you hit the big '6-0' and are looking for work. You can have as much energy, vision, talent as you did in your 20's, but that's irrelevant. It's all about the number of candles on your birthday cake. Even plastic surgery can't save you if you're a card-carrying member of AARP. Why is that? Why are so many who were on top of the Hollywood ladder just a decade ago unable to get a meeting with their 25-year-old replacements? Why is it that actresses over 40 count for only 9% of movie roles? Why is it that those few fortunate actresses are consistently snubbed by Talk Shows and Celebrity Magazines when they reach out to promote their work?
Why is it that Madison Avenue is similarly preoccupied with youth when our population is increasingly aged? Why do they continue to ignore the fact that older Americans have more money to spend and are, according to exhaustive research, more responsive to advertising then the young?
Why is it that Hollywood across the board is myopically focused on the limited perspective of youth?
Frankly, it doesn't make any sense.
According to the 2007 MPAA Movie Attendance Study, 45% of all moviegoers are 40 or over. As our older population expands, the number of older moviegoers will rise significantly. Similarly, the aging Baby Boom generation is TV's fastest growing demographic. Shouldn't writers, filmmakers, stars of that generation be in demand to create product for this ever-growing segment of our population?
Why is it that Hollywood is content to ignore this vast and rapidly expanding underserved audience?
I have no answers. It makes no sense. So what to do?
It's simple. Head East.
Head to the Great White Way.
Attention all disenfranchised Hollywood writers, actors, producers: Broadway needs you. Broadway, in fact, wants you!
Join our multicultural, multi-ethnic, multigenerational 'hood where your work speaks for itself. And, guess what! The majority of 'executives' will actually know your work...even if your masterpiece was written, produced, directed or even 'propped' 25 years ago.
You don't believe it?
Just take a look at some of the 2009 Tony Award Nominees:
Arthur Laurents - Director "West Side Story" - 91
Jane Fonda - Tony Nominee - 72
Angela Lansbury Tony WINNER - 84
Stockard Channing - Tony Nominee -65
Estelle Parsons - 82
Susan Sarandon - 63
Horton Foote - Playwright - Tony Nominee - 92
Elton John - Tony WINNER - 62
Dolly Parton - Tony WINNER - 63
Geoffrey Rush - Tony WINNER - 58
Roger Robinson WINNER (Best Supporting Actor) - 69
Liza Minelli (WINNER) - 63
Broadway welcomes talent. Age, color, size, wealth or the car you drive is completely unimportant.
Join us...we'll leave the klieg lights on for you...
GOTTA DANCE opens today in Los Angeles and is currently playing in New York. For more information, please visit www.gottadancethemovie.com