Maggie Gyllenhaal: At 37 I was 'too old' for role opposite 55-year-old man
60 replies, posted
[img]http://imgkk.com/i/kckn.jpg[/img]
[url]http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/maggie-gyllenhaal-too-old-hollywood[/url]
[quote]Maggie Gyllenhaal was told by a Hollywood producer that she was too old, at 37, to play the love interest of a 55-year-old man, the Oscar-nominated actor has revealed.
In an interview with The Wrap, Gyllenhaal said her shock at finding herself "over the hill" in her mid 30s soon segued into derision fostered by the farcical nature of the situation.
"There are things that are really disappointing about being an actress in Hollywood that surprise me all the time," she said. "I'm 37 and I was told recently I was too old to play the lover of a man who was 55. It was astonishing to me. It made me feel bad, and then it made feel angry, and then it made me laugh."
The commonplace practice of casting a much younger female against a much older male has been prevalent since Hollywood's golden age: Kim Novak was half the 50-year-old James Stewart’s age during filming of 1958’s Vertigo.[/quote]
Okay that's a laff.
She doesn't look bad at all either, I would guess she was in early 30s, with makeup on.
[QUOTE=Zang-Pog;47770824]Why are people still surprised Hollywood producers are assholes?
Even if she's too old or some shit in your opinion, you don't have to be a fucking dick about it. Ever heard of being nice? Actors are people too, ya chumps[/QUOTE]
The way hollywood business works, being nice is discouraged.
What is also funny is when in TV commercials the family is a 30 year old man with a wife that is around 20, and they have 5 to 7 year old kids... basically supporting pregnancy at 15-16 year old girls.
Yeah that's pretty much the way a Hollywood actress's life cycle goes.
Main character's love interest -> Main character's mother -> Witch
[QUOTE=Loofiloo;47771042]Yeah that's pretty much the way a Hollywood actress's life cycle goes.
Main character's love interest -> Main character's mother -> Witch[/QUOTE]
literally Jessica Lange
I have a feeling she's not going to age well.
In some narratives that might actually be a reasonable motive. I mean, it's not really news that you sometimes have young females with older males in movies, but that is also quite common in real life.
If she had long hair instead, I'd put my foot down on 30y old. Short hair just looks so.. ehh...
[QUOTE=AntonioR;47770905]What is also funny is when in TV commercials the family is a 30 year old man with a wife that is around 20, and they have 5 to 7 year old kids... basically supporting pregnancy at 15-16 year old girls.[/QUOTE]
Not sure if joke or not, but it's an audience thing. Hollywood or any company has a creepy tendency to reach to young people by having young or even younger to reach a certain target audience in their commercials. They want to be "hip", so to do that they have to use young "hip" people. Just because every car, tv, tool, restaurant, etc commercial features people in their mid-20s doesn't mean that Hollywood/companies are pushing some creepy agenda. Don't believe everything you see on TV.
To be fair she kinda looks older than 55...
[QUOTE=Smoked2Joints;47771858]To be fair she kinda looks older than 55...[/QUOTE]
what the fuck are you talking about lmao, do you know what a 55 year old woman even looks like?
[QUOTE=BrickInHead;47771976]what the fuck are you talking about lmao, do you know what a 55 year old woman even looks like?[/QUOTE]
My mother is almost 60 and she shows more vitality and youthfulness than her...
She has always had sort of a... I don't know how to put this without sounding terrible.. a droopy face?
I just remember seeing Batman and thinking that she's probably the most unattractive love interest in a movie i've seen.
But that's also compared to like, the super standards of hollywood. She's definitely a great looking person, and not unattractive in that sense
[QUOTE=BrickInHead;47771976]what the fuck are you talking about lmao, do you know what a 55 year old woman even looks like?[/QUOTE]
Maybe not 55, but she does just have a face and haircut that make her look older than she is
Why is this news? She's being super emotional about not fitting a role and a vision.
The role might call for a young impersonate women straight out of college being taken advantage of by an older man.
The fact that nobody knows anything about the script pretty much means everybody talking out of there ass and automatically assuming the worst as per usual.
[QUOTE=maddogsamurai;47771844]Not sure if joke or not, but it's an audience thing. Hollywood or any company has a creepy tendency to reach to young people by having young or even younger to reach a certain target audience in their commercials. They want to be "hip", so to do that they have to use young "hip" people. Just because every car, tv, tool, restaurant, etc commercial features people in their mid-20s doesn't mean that Hollywood/companies are pushing some creepy agenda. Don't believe everything you see on TV.[/QUOTE]
Well, the pregnancy part is a joke. But speaking of "hip", being a married stay-at-home mom at the age of 20 with a bunch of 5 year old kids is everything but "hip" in modern society. So I'm not sure what audience they target with those commercials ?
the book this movie is based off of features a man in his 50s and a girl in her 20s so yeah it makes sense that she wouldn't be hired
No offense to her but she hasn't aged well at all, so if the movie's story requires the female character to look like she's in her twenties it's kind of a given they're not going to give the role to someone who looks like they're closing in on their late forties.
Just because its the love interest of a 55 year old man, doesn't mean the love interest also had to be 55 ... or even close to it.
For all we know the script specified he fell in love with some blond 18 y/o.
[QUOTE=Ganerumo;47772376]No offense to her but she hasn't aged well at all, so if the movie's story requires the female character to look like she's in her twenties it's kind of a given they're not going to give the role to someone who looks like they're closing in on their late forties.[/QUOTE]
Yeah she's too old for the role, she got declined, why all the fuss about it?
[QUOTE=itisjuly;47772409]Yeah she's too old for the role, she got declined, why all the fuss about it?[/QUOTE]
She got mad about the decision and tried to kick up a fuss about it, which if anything will bury her career even deeper.
[QUOTE=Loofiloo;47771042]Yeah that's pretty much the way a Hollywood actress's life cycle goes.
Main character's love interest -> Main character's mother -> Witch[/QUOTE]
Shit Judy dench is going to cross into witch any time now
A poll for you guys:
Men age better than women (agree/disagree)
[QUOTE=Cold;47772393]Just because its the love interest of a 55 year old man, doesn't mean the love interest also had to be 55 ... or even close to it.
For all we know the script specified he fell in love with some blond 18 y/o.[/QUOTE]
Knowing Hollywood cliches, married men can ONLY fall in love with the 20s something blond, you never see a film about a married man leaving his old wife for a similar aged woman (though this happens probably more often in real life)
[editline]21st May 2015[/editline]
[QUOTE=AntonioR;47772952]A poll for you guys:
Men age better than women (agree/disagree)[/QUOTE]
Really depends on the man, women age more uniformly I think
Its probably because some men exercise more than women. It really does help out when your older with age...
I think the largest factor is that the things usually found attractive in men are traits that come with age while things usually found attractive in women are traits that come with youth.
To get all armchair sociologist, way back in the day living long was a sign that a male is a strong individual who is probably capable of supporting a family, so aged features on men became attractive. Women lose the ability to have children when they become old, so looking young is a sign of fertility and became attractive.
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