Entertainment

'Spectre''s Monica Bellucci Defies Hollywood's Lack Of Diversity 

Could a plane ride solve the escalating diversity problem?

When the studio announced that Monica Bellucci would be in the next Bond film Spectre, one particular detail accompanied every single article. Her age. At 50, Bellucci is still a complete knockout. She’s survived an era where actresses are forced into tiny supporting parts as someone’s ageing mother or a cantankerous old witch, and emerged as jaw-droppingly lovely as ever. She’s defied the odds.

A diversity in media report published today proves that there’s barely any opportunity for women in the industry above 40. Out of the top 100 grossing movies of 2014 not one film featured a woman over 45. So the fact that the Italian actress still finds gainful employment in acting is remarkable, or perhaps it’s an indicator of greater attention to diversity within the European film market.

The aforementioned report, a collated document produced by the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, focuses on what it dubs ‘popular films.’ Is Bellucci in possession of some otherworldly tincture that affords her boundless opportunities to go with her ageless beauty amid this apparent dearth of female-driven titles? It’s not as though she’s settled for those unattractive roles that her contemporaries are offered. Her next flick Ville-Marie debuts at TIFF this year, and on the basis of the trailer that’s just debuted, Bellucci is still as striking as ever:

It looks as though there’s only one solution. If women want better roles, they’d better hop across the pond.

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