Starlets are so dated: AARP honors films with mature appeal

Call it the real "silver screen." Three big-screen biographies, two mid-life comedies and one unconventional romantic drama make up the list of nominees for the fourth annual AARP Best Movies for Grownups Awards. The winners in that and 12 other categories — including best actor, actress, director and screenwriter over 50 — will be announced in the March/April issue of AARP, The Magazine, a publication that reaches 26.5 million readers ages 50 and older.

Movies and performers are chosen on the basis of their appeal to older audiences. Though there's no ceremony, winners receive La Chaise d'Or — The Golden Chair — a whimsical trophy in the shape of a lounge chair.

AARP nominees include: "The Aviator," Martin Scorsese's biography of Howard Hughes; "In Good Company," a funny take on aging baby boomers in the workplace; "Kinsey," the story of 1950s sex researcher Alfred Kinsey; "The Notebook," a re-creation of Nicholas Sparks' romantic novel; "Ray," a biography of Ray Charles; and "Sideways," a middle-age-buddy flick. Academy Award best-picture nominees include "Ray," "Sideways" and "Aviator," along with "Million Dollar Baby" and "Finding Neverland."

Bill Newcott — features editor for AARP Magazine, creator of the awards and host of AARP's radio program "Movies for Grownups" — says the magazine sometimes has had to scrounge to find nominees. This year, it found itself with too many and had to make some hard choices. Movies that didn't make AARP's best-pictures cut — or the Academy's — include Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "I [Heart] Huckabees."

"We're seeing a graying of the Hollywood establishment, and the result is more and more great movies that appeal to mature audiences," Newcott said. "Some of the most bankable stars and directors ... are over 50 — Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Mel Gibson, Sean Connery, Susan Sarandon, Harrison Ford, Glenn Close and Robert De Niro."

To emphasize that age and maturity are the real winners this year, the magazine's cover features seven Oscar-winning working actresses — Kathy Bates (sporting a cropped platinum haircut), Shirley Jones, Rita Moreno, Marcia Gay Harden, Joanne Woodward, Patty Duke and Cloris Leachman. Ranging in age from 45 to 79, the leading ladies — in sexy designer gowns, Harry Winston diamonds and Jimmy Choo pumps — give new meaning to the term "Old Hollywood."

"The stereotypical images of what 'older' looks like are gone," says Nancy Graham, deputy editor at AARP Magazine, who coordinated the cover project shot by celebrity photographer Firooz Zahedi. "These glamorous actresses don't just look good for 50 or 60 or 70; they look great, period."