The limelight may favor the young, but as Hollywood strives for inclusivity, a recent study entitled “Over Sixty, Underestimated: A Look at Aging on the ‘Silver’ Screen,” reveals senior citizens are woefully underrepresented on the big screen. With the Terminator eligible for social security, and Die Hard’s Jon McClane just a few years shy of retirement, it might be time for filmmakers to expand their character demographics. Nevertheless, according to the study, a joint effort between Humana and USC’s Annenberg School, though senior citizens make up almost one-fifth of ticket buyers, only 11.8% of film characters over the last two years have been over the age of 60. “This underrepresentation is unfortunate,” says Dr. Stacy Smith, Associate Professor at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and co-author of the study. “Aging is one of those areas where exposure to stereotypes can initiate negative cognitions, and those negative cognitions can have negative health effects.” “It seems important to take this [exclusion] just as seriously, if not more so, than some of the other groups that are included in the inclusion conversation.” Cartoons and Action Figures Hollywood film producer Gary Lucchesi, who participated in a recent panel on the topic, lays some of the blame on lack of opportunity. Last year’s top ten films included four animated films, five superhero movies, and another entry into the Star Wars canon. Not much room for dramatic turns by some of the industry’s seasoned professionals. While perennial Oscar nominees like Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington managed to nab some meaty rolls, many older performers are left scrambling for work. “We’re not getting a lot of investment in traditional dramatic stories,” says Lucchesi. “When you have that as a reality, you’re obviously going to have [a situation] where the...

“Mortgage-backed securities; sub-prime loans, tranches; it’s pretty confusing right?” Ryan Gosling asks the audience early on in The Big Short. “Well, it’s supposed to be. Wall Street loves to use confusing terms to make you think only they can do what they do… So here’s Margot Robbie in a bubble bath to explain.” At once, the film cuts to Ms. Robbie as she sips champagne while quickly and easily – with just a smidgen of profanity – details the intricacies of mortgage bonds and subprime lending. The Big Short, based on the nonfiction book by Michael Lewis, has grabbed a handful of Oscar nominations, including best film. The Oscar nods put the final shine on a year’s worth of accolades, from the Golden Globes to BAFTA to a seemingly endless array of critics’ choice acknowledgements and guild awards. With dashes of wit, energy, and unexpected humor, The Big Short manages to distill and illuminate the causes and outcome of one of the largest financial catastrophes in US history. In doing so, the film also manages to shine a lite on the intricate, sometimes confounding, world of real estate development and financing. While The Big Short does a commendable job of pulling the viewer into the nuts and bolts behind Wall Street’s disastrous interlude with B-paper loans and unmonitored trading, the film is not the first cinematic foray the subprime calamity. In preparation of Sunday’s Academy Award telecast, here is our list of the top five award-winning films – from documentaries to thrillers – that highlight the winners, losers and puppet-masters behind the mortgage default catastrophe. 99 Homes (2015) Overshadowed by The Big Short when it debuted in 2015, critics immediately hailed 99 Homes for its harrowing depiction of the impact the housing debacle had...