Winnipeg filmmaker and actor Cindy Myskiw says it’s rare to see women her age represented on the big screen.
“Most of the age groups are looking between anywhere from 30 to maybe 50, and that’s pressing it,” Myskiw — in her 60s — told CBC’s Up To Speed.
“I try to submit. Sometimes I get an audition, sometimes I don’t, but most of the time not.”
The conversation about ageism in the film industry has resurfaced after a lawsuit alleged Hallmark Media executive vice-president of programming, Lisa Hamilton Daly, instructed an employee no longer with the firm to stop casting “old people,” saying, “our leading ladies are aging out.”
Penny Perry, the 79-year-old casting director who filed the lawsuit obtained by The Associated Press, alleges she was wrongfully fired from the network known for its feel-good movies because of her age, despite stellar performance reviews.
Winnipeg actor and filmmaker Kelley Hirst says she got angry when he heard the allegation.
“I was pretty outraged. For heaven’s sake, who among us is not getting older?” she said during an interview with Up To Speed.
Hirst, who is in her 60s, said the allegations reflect the “hypocrisy of the industry,” adding older adults and seniors comprise a significant part of those consuming Hallmark movies: “This is the demographic you’re marketing to, and I think it’s important that they see women who look like them.”
Several holiday-themed Hallmark movies have been filmed in Winnipeg over the years, most recently Hanukkah on the Rocks (following 2022’s Hanukkah on Rye) and Following Yonder Star.
Older women excluded from background roles: Myskiw
Comments allegedly made by Hamilton Daly included one directed at actress Lacey Chabert, 42. The lawsuit alleges Hamilton Daly said the actress is “getting older, and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older.”
The lawsuit alleges the executive also said Holly Robinson Peete, 60, “can’t play leading roles anymore,” adding, “No one wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old.”
Myskiw called Hamilton Daly’s alleged comments “horrible,” and said women her age are even being excluded from background roles.
“They’re looking at 18 to maybe 30 [years old] for background … it’s like, what about the older people?” she said. “Where are the older people in this town? Do they not exist? Are there no grandparents?”
Up To Speed9:57Alleged ageist comments spark lawsuit against Hallmark Media
Hallmark Media has been slapped with a lawsuit after an executive allegedly made ageist comments about female actors and crew, and suggested they needed to be replaced by younger women. Cindy Myskiw and Kelley Hirst are local actors and filmmakers, both are in their 60s. They spoke with guest host Emily Brass about those comments and how hard it can be to land parts after 50.
Both actors, who have most recently directed films, said exclusion is also gender-based, saying that behind the scenes, it is still very much a men’s market.
Hirst said women still have to “make opportunities” if they want to direct or produce to get their voices out.
In a statement, Hallmark denied the allegations, saying it “continues to consistently cast and maintain positive, productive relationships with talented actors representing a broad spectrum of diversity, including actors who span many age groups and cross generations.”
However, some potential viewers CBC talked to in Winnipeg say they are not sure they will tune in to the network this year because of the allegations.
Information Radio – MB6:56How old is too old to be a romantic lead in a movie?
That question is causing a stir in Hollywood, and is the subject of an age-discrimination lawsuit. We hit the streets of Winnipeg to ask the public what they think ahead of the upcoming Christmas movie season.
“It is ageism … I don’t think I would want to watch any films if that’s the policy that they had towards filmmaking,” Kathleen Helgason said.
Ally Schultz said the allegations seem to say that “old people don’t represent love or something,” and added that seeing portrayals of older people is one of her favourite features of a feel-good Christmas movie.