Seniors in the Industry Strategize for Hollywood Jobs : Movies: Condemning discrimination against seasoned older professionals, writers, directors and actors meet to find an outlet for ‘mature’ programming.

In an unprecedented move to curb the discriminatory hiring practices they say have left most actors, writers and directors over the age of 40 unable to earn a living in Hollywood, senior members of the creative community are plotting to send a simple message to the industry: They want to go back to work.

About 20 representatives from four talent guilds met recently to challenge the entertainment industry’s obsession with youthful programming by developing a strategy that will not only create jobs, but prove they are a creative force to be reckoned with.

The brainstorming session netted a threefold agenda:

* to study the feasibility of producing their own hourlong dramatic radio anthology series;

* to do the same for a cable TV anthology series;

* to seek out one or more partners whose commercial interests ight compel them to create a cable channel that would carry “mature” programming exclusively.

“We’re not ready to sit in the park and feed pigeons,” Reva Rose, chairman of the Writers Guild Age Awareness Committee, told her peers from the Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild and AFTRA. “There’s too much talent and experience in this room for us to give up now.”

The committee hopes the production-oriented plan will succeed where their last two efforts--a lobbying visit to the nation’s capitol and a documentary film on age discrimination--fell short of achieving significant results.

A recent study by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, jointly funded by AFTRA and SAG, found that visibly older people almost never appear on television--from virtually no representation on the youth-oriented Fox network and 1% on cable and daytime serials, to about 2% in prime time. And, as the characters age, they lose their importance, value and effectiveness.

A similar University of California report, commissioned by the WGA, found that the number of writers over the age of 50 working in TV and feature films declined from 24% to 17% between 1982 and 1991. There was, however, one bright spot: Employment of writers in their 40s rose with the aging of the Baby Boomers.

Further, the study found, older writers are less likely to write for situation comedies than for dramas and TV movies, and are hired less frequently for network than for syndicated or cable series. Writers over 50 are practically absent from Fox network series.

“We’re not here to gripe and complain, but to make things better by taking concrete action,” says Tom Blank, a DGA member who attended last week’s meeting. In fact, Blank adds, while they may fault a seemingly youth-biased business, other economic factors have contributed to the unemployment of older talents.

With lead actor salaries and other costs skyrocketing in recent years, production companies have had to make sacrifices to achieve the elusive profit margin--and stay in business. In such pressured times, some producers are more inclined to simply get the job done than to concern themselves with the employment mix.

“When times are good, producers like to put everyone to work,” says Blank. “But in this economic downturn, minorities--blacks, women, the older professionals--generally have a tougher time.”

Further, if California can retain its prominence as a production center, the employment outlook will be more favorable for these groups. But if U.S. film companies continue their exodus to Canada--to take advantage of its financial incentives--the existing threat to the U.S. talent pool will intensify.

“In 1993, the U.S. did $1.5 billion worth of its entertainment production in Canada,” Robert Schneider, who chairs the Immigration Committee of the DGA, said in a separate interview. “That amounts to 350,000 work days Americans won’t have and that’s a conservative estimate.”

Another threat to the senior work force is non-union production, where film-school graduates willingly pay their dues by working for minimal compensation.

All things considered, Rose of the WGA told the gathering of her colleagues “we’re here to take destiny into our own hands.” After a spirited exchange of horror stories, including an older writer who said he had an easier time getting work when he was on the McCarthy blacklist, the group turned to a more sober examination of the issues.

The initial question was whether to target program content, convincing producers to stop reinforcing the negative stereotypes that characterize older adults as cranky, inflexible, senile and sexless. Or to tackle--head on--what these activists perceive as unfair labor practices. Most agreed that the two areas were interrelated and that both needed to be addressed.

Steering the discussion to program content, Alice Backes, longtime actress and chair of AFTRA’s National Seniors Committee, spoke about demographics. Acknowledging that TV is primarily a sales medium, the general agreement was that a marketing effort could be made to ensure that ad agency executives don’t underestimate the buying power of America’s older population.

A UCLA study indicates that in addition to owning 77% of all U.S. financial assets, people over 50 control 42% of the nation’s discretionary income and spend about one-third of it in the marketplace. But while the ad industry does, in fact, recognize the influence of senior consumers--commercials are the one area where minorities and older professionals have made great strides in recent years--AFTRA’s Backes and others believe they should actually sponsor more programming with mature themes.

“Of course the income is important to us,” says Backes. “But creative people--irrespective of age--also want to keep doing what they love.”