Beatty railing against age-ism

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"A lot of people out there just kind of dismiss me as an irresponsible kid. All of Hollywood is old, old, old, for that matter. There are as many good young actors and directors in America as there are in Europe, but Hollywood shuts them out. Hollywood is afraid of young blood. It's a ghost town. I'm 28 years old. I'll give you five seconds to name me another Hollywood leading man under the age of 35." -- Warren Beatty speaking to Roger Ebert 40 years ago in London during a Bonnie and Clyde interview.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 13, 2007 at 4:00 PM

comment #1

source188 says ...

Yeah but that changes , if only for a while, just three years later.

Posted by source188 at August 13, 2007 4:54 PM

comment #2

Walter Sobchak says ...

You could say the exact thing now, except the other way around.

Posted by Walter Sobchak at August 13, 2007 4:58 PM

comment #3

Dan Revill says ...

These things seem to by cyclical. There'll be some young one rehashing this sooner or later...and he/she will be right...until it changes. Which it will. It always does.

Posted by Dan Revill at August 13, 2007 5:05 PM

comment #4

lazarus says ...

You gotta love a guy who can back up his arrogance with substance, something hard to find these days.

Makes me wish Beatty had another project lined up. Guy makes 4 pictures of varying brilliance, all of them unique, and because of a flop that he produced (Town & Country) we're waiting an eternity to see another one. I thought the re-release of Reds would have given him some momentum.

It's a tribute to Ebert the writer that I can picture Beatty so vividly pacing around the hotel room, smacking his copy of the Times. Makes me think of Jack Reed pontificating to Louise Bryant in Reds. Wasn't that a time.

Posted by lazarus at August 13, 2007 6:34 PM

comment #5

christian says ...

i actually enjoyed TOWN AND COUNTRY. i think beatty is a great comic actor too. it should have cost 2 million though.

Posted by christian at August 13, 2007 6:44 PM

comment #6

gruver1 says ...

A lot of people out there just kind of dismiss me as an irresponsible old guy. All of Hollywood is young, young, young, for that matter. There are as many good older actors and directors in America as there are in Europe, but Hollywood shuts them out. Hollywood is afraid of seasoned blood. It's a ghost town. I'm 70 years old. I'll give you five seconds to name me another Hollywood leading man under the age of 65.

Posted by gruver1 at August 13, 2007 6:56 PM

comment #7

lazarus says ...

That should have read "over the age of 65", but you made the point perfectly, Jeff. It's chiling how accurate that feeling is, too.

And also, before I realized you were paraphrasing Beatty, for a second I wondered if you were actually 70. Sorry.

Posted by lazarus at August 13, 2007 7:13 PM

comment #8

hollywoodtease says ...

Don't give this clown any press. He hasn't done anything worth while since....well....I think that covers it.

Posted by hollywoodtease at August 13, 2007 8:45 PM

comment #9

BurmaShave says ...

If you think of Beatty as primarily a director, then his working pace suddenly doesn't seem so strange.

Posted by BurmaShave at August 13, 2007 10:19 PM

comment #10

johnc says ...

Actually, Warren Beatty was 30 years old in 1967, not 28. I guess 28 sounded better, showed he could still be trusted.

Posted by johnc at August 14, 2007 6:48 AM

comment #11

Rich S. says ...

"I'll give you five seconds to name me another Hollywood leading man [over] the age of 65."

Well, if Jeffrey would get off his back for a minute, Harrison Ford would certainly fit the bill. But JW spends so much time telling us how Indiana Jones is "over" and how it's theme is so "yesterday," I guess he didn't have five seconds to consider it.

Posted by Rich S. at August 14, 2007 8:27 AM

comment #12

nemo says ...

Ebert had some great funny hotel room interviews with visiting stars back in the 60s. I'll never forget his John Wayne interview, or especially his Lee Marvin interview. Especially that part with Lee Marvin about the six-pack, the dog, and the unidentified woman's underwear. "Bad dog!"

Posted by nemo at August 14, 2007 10:30 AM

comment #13