HOLLYWOOD - California thinks Hollywood has an obsession with youth, and it's doing something about it.The California Commission on Aging has formed the Industry Coalition for Age Equity, an organization which, along with the Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Women in Film, will tackle the lack of representation of people over 40 in film and TV, Reuters reports.
This new coalition will hold a news conference Thursday morning at the Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood. The event will be hosted by state Sen. John Vasconcellos.
Vasconcellos, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Aging and Long-Term Care, also introduced Senate Bill 953, intended to deal with the doubling of the state's residents over 65 to 6.5 million by 2020.
Reuters reports the bill includes a mandate that the state join the coalition "to work with the entertainment industry to change cultural attitudes and perceptions of aging and older adults, with the goal of making the workforce more receptive to older workers."
According to stats released by SAG, only 35 percent of all SAG roles in feature films and TV in 2001 went to actors over the age of 40.