Three of Hollywood's most famous young actresses are routinely cast against men as old as their dads.
That's Emma Stone on the left, Jennifer Lawrence in the middle there, and Scarlett Johansson is just there on the right. (via Getty)
After the news broke weeks ago about Maggie Gyllenhaal being deemed "too old" to star opposite a 55-year-old leading man, Vulture decided to investigate who is cast against the "young" actresses working now. The results are surprising, if you've never met a screenwriter, director, or producer from Hollywood.
Vulture plotted the ages of Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, and Scarlett Johansson in some of their biggest movies against the ages of their co-stars in these handy graphs. I warn you, this is probably the first time a line graph is going to fill you with sexism outrage.
(via Vulture)
Emma Stone is only 26, but her entire career seems to be spent playing against men much older than her. Even in her breakout role as a high school student in Superbad, she's the age-appropriate one. The only other time she comes close to playing against a love interest near her own age is in the retelling of The Scarlet Letter as a sex comedy, Easy A. It seems after Stone arrives as a known quantity in Amazing Spider-Man, she's then paired off with rumpled-ass Sean Penn, Mr. Darcy-ass Colin Firth, and a slew of men in their 40s.
If you think it's just harmless byproduct of movie making, remember when this happened out of nowhere?
It's like Hollywood's creepy old man club rented Zombieland on the same night. I couldn't find the original version of Jim Carrey's proposal because it's been taken down. Why would it be taken down if there is nothing wrong with a 55-year-old man trying to marry a 22-year-old Emma Stone?
(via Vulture)
Jennifer Lawrence's multi-faceted acting career has her back and forth between men around her own age and some sad-sacks in their late 30s and early 40s. I don't want to spoil the next graph for you, but this is the only time you see an actress play against a younger man. Starring in the Hunger Games movies, which are marketed to young adults, gives Jennifer Lawrence the rare opportunity to act with a romantic interest her own age.
As much as the Young Adult market is ragged on for their highfalutin stories of youngsters falling in love as they destroy dystopian systems run by money-driven maniacs, I'm starting to see the appeal.
(via Vulture)
Do you remember in 2008, when Scarlett Johansson released an album of Tom Waits songs? Well, I guess if I were only hanging out with weirdos in their late 30s to early 50s, I'd probably do the same thing. Scarlett Johansson has had an amazing career, and she's a very talented actress, but it seems like she hasn't had anything close to a typical love story.
As common as it is in films, it's simply not the case in real life. Vulture's excellent reporting found that 60% of heterosexual couples in the United States have an age difference of about 3 years. Only 1.6% of couples separated by a margin of 15 years, like Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Fuck This Stupid Shitty Movie ASGHGGGHGH!!!!
As a man who is old and not getting older, I get it. Men like beautiful young Hollywood actresses. But men like beautiful Hollywood actresses no matter what the age. The problem seems systemic. With a world built on producing fantasy that's so insular and homogenous, the only fantasy movie makers have is watching Colin Firth sleep with young blondes.