By Lee Pfeiffer
Hollywood's obsession with youth has now reached a comical level as evidenced by the American Cinematheque's announcement that it will award its next lifetime achievement award to Matt Damon - despite the fact he is only 38 years-old. Let me say up front that the absurdity of this decision isn't a reflection on Damon, who remains a popular and talented actor. He has been associated with a number of high profile films from
Saving Private Ryan and the
Oceans Eleven series to his popular Bourne spy movies. He also copped an Oscar for co-writing
Good Will Hunting. However, many of his other films have been received with a mediocre response by both critics and the public. There was a time when such awards were granted to elder statesmen and women of the industry - true giants in their fields. However, in recent years, the dearth of such living legends, combined with the mania for obtaining TV ratings, has seen lifetime achievement awards granted to people who are still very much in their prime. When Paul Newman received an honorary Oscar for his life's work in 1984, he joked that he didn't feel like he was ready to move into Forest Lawn Cemetery yet. He was 61 years old at the time and many people thought
that was too young for an actor still making films on a regular basis. Indeed, some of Newman's best work was still ahead of him, as evidenced by the fact that he won a competitive Oscar for Best Actor the very next year. Â
Even The American Film Institute, which is still the gold standard of lifetime achievement awards, has been robbing the cradle, relatively speaking. The very first AFI award was granted in 1973 to John Ford, who was then almost on his death bed. It made for a spectacular and moving evening. Ford was so respected that the President of the United States, Richard Nixon, volunteered to guide the famed director's wheelchair onto the stage. Can you imagine any other nation in which a film director was so beloved that the head-of-state would take such action? The occasion included testimonials from Hollywood's elite including John Wayne, James Stewart, Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara. In 1974, James Cagney received the AFI award and it was a great occasion. The legendary actor had been retired since 1961 and had rarely been seen in public. TV audiences were pleasantly surprised to see Cagney, looking as fit and feisty as ever, being toasted by equally legendary peers. However, as the AFI broadcasts began to be dropped by ratings-conscious TV networks, the organization began to fine-tune the recipients of the awards to suit audience tastes. Thus, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford were honored at absurdly young ages.Â
It isn't Matt Damon's fault that the bar has been lowered to this level. There may well be a day when he is truly deserving of such an honor -but by the time he sees his first gray hair, he will be deemed too old to draw an audience and Mylie Cyrus will be on stage to be honored for her work as Hannah Montana. For more click here