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Battle Raging Over Age Listings on IMDb
- Thread starter childeroland
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........i don't get it.
why exactly is it such a big deal?
should we remove the ages from wikipedia too?
why exactly is it such a big deal?
should we remove the ages from wikipedia too?
I don't get it either. Why is their age considered so important? And how would this lead to ageism?
People discriminate based on age. Therefore, the best policy is to add the option to censor one's age. As if that information couldn't be recovered in any other way.
Everyone in Hollywood uses IMDB? Seriously? It's like saying everyone in baseball uses baseball-reference.com. For some reason I thought they had more advanced and secure resources to inform their casting decisions.
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I'm reminded of that episode of 30 Rock when Jenna Maroney thinks she is going in to audition for the part of the daughter in a Gossip Girl-type show, but then finds out to her horror that she has been brought in to audition for the mother. I suspect Jenna is probably behind this effort...
This has been ongoing for at least six years. At IMDb's Help and Contributors Help boards, actors and their representatives have demanded accurate dates be replaced with false information. IMDb has refused, consistently.
I'm good with that. If the industry has a problem with ageism, that's the industry's problem, not IMDb's.
Actors, screenwriters, and others in the business who fear negative consequences from being born too early had better begin erasing their personal history, from birth to the present, before they get a credit which meets IMDb's criteria.
It's pretty silly to see high school graduation programs and group photos of the class, the year prominently displayed, which include an actor who insists he or she was nine that year. Or the paperwork for his/her DWI or lawsuit showing a birth year radically different from IMDb's.
Considering the skills of avid fans at finding such photos and other documentation (as a fangirl of sorts, I've seen astonishing invasions of actors' privacy by other fans), it seems there's not really any point. Anyone who cares to dig can unearth evidence proving the lie is a lie.
Maryn, fan of truth
I'm good with that. If the industry has a problem with ageism, that's the industry's problem, not IMDb's.
Actors, screenwriters, and others in the business who fear negative consequences from being born too early had better begin erasing their personal history, from birth to the present, before they get a credit which meets IMDb's criteria.
It's pretty silly to see high school graduation programs and group photos of the class, the year prominently displayed, which include an actor who insists he or she was nine that year. Or the paperwork for his/her DWI or lawsuit showing a birth year radically different from IMDb's.
Considering the skills of avid fans at finding such photos and other documentation (as a fangirl of sorts, I've seen astonishing invasions of actors' privacy by other fans), it seems there's not really any point. Anyone who cares to dig can unearth evidence proving the lie is a lie.
Maryn, fan of truth
I'm confused....do you people really think that actors are NOT descriminated against by age? Do you think that people in Hollywood look for talent before youth? Do you think that people in the industry do NOT look at the IMDB, while people all over from outside of the industry do all the time?
ETA: do you also think there is not ageism against screenwriters? Because there absolutely is.
ETA: do you also think there is not ageism against screenwriters? Because there absolutely is.
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No, we think this information is available from a lot of sources and removing it from IMDB won't prevent anyone finding out that info if they want to know bad enough.
And generally, if someone making a movie is casting for 20-somethings and in walks someone in their 40s, I'm pretty sure they won't have to query IMDB to figure it out.
They DON'T want it that badly. But if/when they see it, they may already have preconceived notions. And for writers? NO, it's not available from too many places.
You think this is about 40 year olds wanting to play 20 year olds? No, not so much. As an actor, you are considered less useful the older you get. Especially if you are a woman.
IMDB Pro is one of the most advanced casting sites. you can find contact information for everyone, resumes, availability, who's hot and who's not, it's pretty advanced.
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I know of at least one male actor who lies about his age. I went to highschool with him, he was two years ahead of me. According to imdb, he's 25 (I turn 30 next week btw).
Just saying.
Just saying.
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I agree with you, Celia. Hollywood folks use imdb for everything...even the tiniest indie, non-paying gig. Every person that walks in the room gets looked up. And many casting directors look up actors before calling them in for the audition.
And don't get me started on ageism in Hollywood....I'm a woman AND over...well, just look me up on imdb for my age.
And don't get me started on ageism in Hollywood....I'm a woman AND over...well, just look me up on imdb for my age.
But if your IMDB listing doesn't state your age but DOES state your acting history, won't any casting director who can do basic arithmetic be able to guestimate your age to within a couple of years? I mean, if you have credits going back to the 70s, you can't really claim to be in your 20s. Right???
Is it really that Hollyweird doesn't want older actors or is it that they don't want to make movies/television shows/whatever about older people? Which is a different can of worms, really. I mean, unless you're a Cary Grant, it's a bit ridiculous to think you can play a part written for a 20-something if you're 40-something. (And even Cary's movies were pushing things.) So agree - the ageism is there, but it's not about the actors. It's about the scripts and the target audiences.
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Is the real problem access to information? I think not. The real problem is Hollywood itself. If it continues to discriminate, the industry needs to be taken to task for it by those who suffer most. There are unions. Why don't SAG and the screen writers' guild do something about it? Like most unions, they seem to hold power in the palm of their hand.
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Except that we're not just talking about actors, we're also talking about writers. The audience does not know and does not care how old the writer was. It's the people hiring the writer who care.
Again, I don't know why you keep bringing up how silly are all are to think we can be in our 40's and play someone in our 20's, because that is not what this is about.
In a way, I can understand this situation, but don't they all get plastic surgery anyway? Like when they're 10? So, they end up looking deformed 15 years later. The body doesn't adjust to plastic surgery well, you know.
Kidding aside (only I'm really not kidding about looking deformed), don't become an actor if you want your info kept private.
Kidding aside (only I'm really not kidding about looking deformed), don't become an actor if you want your info kept private.