Baby Boomer 2020 Oscar Nominees

Turns out 2019 was a good year at the movies for baby boomers. In fact, half of the actors receiving Oscar nominations in 2020, which was announced last week, are over the age 50.

Baby boomer nominees include, my favorite, Tom Hanks, 63, in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, as well as Joe Pesci, 76, in The Irishman, Brad Pitt, 56, in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, Jonathan Pryce, 72, in The Two Popes, Antonio Banderas, 59 in Pain and Glory, and Kathy Bates, 71, in Richard Jewell.

Add to those oldsters like Oscar nominated Anthony Hopkins, 82, in The Two Popes and Al Pacino, 79, in The Irishman as well as 50-plus actresses Renée Zellweger, 50, in Judy and Laura Dern, 52, in Marriage Story.

All of the nominated directors are also over the age of 50, with the exception of Todd Phillips, 49, director of Joker. The nominees include Martin Scorsese, 77, for The Irishman, Bong Joon Ho, 50, for Parasite, Sam Mendes, 54, for 1917, and Quentin Tarantino, 56, for Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. 

The movie Knives Out was nominated for best original screenplay and featured an older cast that included Jame Lee Curtis, 61, Don Johnson, 70, Daniel Craig, 51, and Christopher Plummer, 90.

I keep hoping that Hollywood, and society at large, haven’t completely forgotten the value of the older crowd with their knowledge, life experience, and insight. Maybe this is a step in the right direction.

Of course, there is controversy that none of the directors were women this year and there are far more older men nominated in the acting categories than older women. While the median age of men nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor is 61.3, the median age of the women nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress is 39.8. Apparently, there is more progress to made.

The 92nd Oscars will be televised live on February 9, 2020 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time and 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on ABC.

 

 

juliegorges

Julie A. Gorges is the author of two young adult novels, Just Call Me Goody Two Shoes and Time to Cast Away and co-author of Residential Steel Design and Construction published by McGraw Hill. In addition, hundreds of her articles and short stories have been published in national and regional magazines, and she received three journalism awards from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association while working as a newspaper reporter. Julie currently lives in southern California with her husband, Scott, and has two grown children and three grandchildren.

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6 Responses

  1. Barry Silverstein says:

    Great Boomer perspective on the Oscars, Julie!

  2. I may tune in to watch it this year.
    Thanks for sharing your insightful research, Julie. Many of these I have not seen yet.
    As you know, I did get to see, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” so I’ll be curious to see how it plays out with awards. 🙂
    Thanks again and have an awesome weekend.

    • juliegorges says:

      Although I’ve seen some of these other movies, that’s my favorite too. My Mom loved old Hollywood movies and watched the Oscars every year. I’ve carried on her tradition watching the whole thing with a big tub of popcorn every year, so I’ll be tuned in for sure!

  3. Cat says:

    Interesting read, Julie! I am a huge cinema buff and faithfully record the Oscars to fast-forward during those long acceptance speeches. Also hope gains can be made in the number of people of color and women who are recognized for this award.

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