Hollywood Therapy: George R. R, Martin is 67 years old. He’s the originator of the Emmy winning Best Drama, Game of Thrones. He seems to be doing quite well in television at his advanced age. It does happen. Of course he was a successful novelist first.
However, that is most certainly not the case with most writers over 67, or 57.
5 comments:
I think that most people older than me would say that I have this opinion because I am young, but I don't really feel bad about the fact that older writers don't do as well as younger writers. Because really there is nothing to feel bad about. The world changes, and culture changes, and often the prime demographic for movies is people younger than 50. So unless 65 year olds are very in touch with pop culture, they often don't have much to say that is going to sell. This is unfortunate, yes. But it's not necessarily something that I feel bad about. Everyone has to adapt in their fields, as the times change, especially for writers. So even though it is unfortunate that time often kills the careers of writers, it doesn't have to. People adapt all the time to their surroundings, there is no reason that writers at 65 shouldn't be held to the same standard.
Wow, yet another terrifying article. I’m pretty sure no one else in the School of Drama would react to this article the way I did, but its because literally no one cares about TV. But it’s okay, because I care enough about TV and all its working parts enough for the rest of us. My career goal is to be a show runner, and it really seemed like big parts of this article were aimed towards me and my determination. Something like show running is so rarely written about in the mainstream world, I don't want to sound pretentious but it is not a well known profession. For example, I have spent my entire Thanksgiving break explaining it to my relatives. The steps to becoming a show runner are long and winding and super confusing unless you were literally born into this business. I never even thought about what its like to be consistently hired as a “B” writer. I knew it was difficult to move up, but I didn’t know you could sit quietly in mediocrity for years. That is a very real possibility for a writer like me and I’m going to need to learn how to navigate this stupid, unnecessarily complicated world.
Ageism is everywhere. In certain professions, older people are looked down upon, and in other professions, young people are considered to be inexperienced and looked down upon. This article explains how age works in a very particular career - writing for TV. Unfortunately, age is something you can't control, but it can certainly control your career. Almost every career is competitive, and we have to do our best when we are at our prime age for our careers. Everyone will grow old, yet some are more successful than others of the same age. Although age does play a huge role in one's career, ability weighs just as much. If you are stuck in the mindset that your ability is based on/determined by your age, then everyone else will see you that way too.
Oh god, I had never realized how difficult it was to move up in the world of television. But, I'm not sure when it comes to old people, it seems like an issue. THis may be my bias, but I like that younger people can come up and run inventive and interesting shows by the time they are 30.
This article also presented an interesting point I had never thought about. A lot of films are sequels and huge action movies that, you really can't pitcha script for, since Joss Whedon or someone would've already been asked 5 years ago. But, television is almost a new avenue for creative works, and interesting ideas. In the last several years, HBO and now basic cable networks have been putting out thought-provoking, interesting and well-received shows. It is interesitng how television has shifted from a place looked down upon in the entertainment industry to somewhere respected after shows like the SOpranos, Mad Men and Breaking Bad paved the way. I'm excited to see how television expands even further, and how writers, young... and old- can change it.
There are very few things in life that someone can truly be “too old for”. These things include competing in a “tough mudder” marathon, and other very physically demanding activities. Working in television and film should not be something one has to let go of as they get older. If older people were not to take part in the creation of this entertainment, than who would play all of the older characters that we see on screen? Would it all be make-up on younger actors? What is so cool about older actors is that they grew up in a whole completely different time, and thus they approach their characters and work in a completely different way. A younger actor could not do as nearly as good of a job playing an older character as an older actor could. They just simply do not have the acting or life experience to do this.
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