Hi Kingfish! And you are absolutely right. Hollywood has the wierd idea that, once you hit 50, you are useless as a character actor much like a model. Au contraire! That's when actors/actresses really begin to find themselves and truly shine. There are /so/ many examples of older folks doing stunning jobs and winning Academy Awards. The young ones just don't seem believable in their parts, and especially when they are unknown that makes many pictures fail.
I think Hollywood is just a reflection of today's society. If you are either too young or too old, they think nobody cares about you, just shuffle them off to an old folks' home and forget about them. We need to return to the world where age was associated with wisdom and tremendous respect was afforded our elderly. The spark is still there, I see it in people's eyes sometimes when they watch a brilliant performance by an older actor/actress. We just need to bellows the oxygen of understanding onto that spark and let it flame to life.
P.S. You are right about Star Wars too - people would flock in hordes to see the originals reprise their roles...
