Perhaps there's Hope in Hollywood when it comes to casting women

Actress Hope Davis made some news recently when she turned down the role of a mother to a son that would be played by Johnny Depp. In fact, she not only turned it down, she said she was furious she was even offered the role. Why? Because she's a year younger than Depp.

This is obviously not the first time there has been this kind of discrepancy when it comes to casting men and women in films today. It wasn't that long ago that a 29-year-old Angelina Jolie played the mother of Alexander the Great, played by 28-year-old Colin Farrell. Six years after she played Tom Hanks' love interest in Punchline, Sally Field was relegated to playing his mother in Forrest Gump. Lea Thompson and Michael J. Fox were both 24 when they were cast together in Back to the Future. She played his mother in the film. Elizabeth Taylor was four years older than Dennis Hopper when she played his mother in Giant.

I guess in Hollywood, women age faster than men. But something needs to be done about this casting discrepancy (Jack Nicholson was 26 years older than Helen Hunt when they made As Good As It Gets.) Perhaps Ms. Davis' adamant refusal will give other actresses hope.