Staying alive in Hollywood these days is downright epic, particularly when the name of fame game is to make the big dough before your 15-minute expiration date is up

Yes, "hotness," so we've been sold, trumps talent, experience, a passionate dedication to one's craft - all that stuff that should take people to the top of the biz and keep them there longer than a sneeze in a dusty chicken coop.

Or does it really?

Forbes.com's recent list of Hollywood's biggest, money-making stars over 35 seems to have thrown a wrench into today's "pay dirt" theory. And maybe, on some levels, it signals a seismic shift in the psyche of Tinseltown suits?

As the affluent baby boomer market grows by the second, could crow's feet, not a predilection for the croup, hold the real key to long-term bankability at the box office?

In fact, in a list dotted with names like No. 1 money-maker Johnny Depp (who at 44 scored $92 million in 2007), Tom Hanks, 51 ($74 million), Tom Cruise, 45 ($31 million) and Nicole Kidman, 40 ($28 million), is ageism in Hollywood finally fading? Are the built-in audiences these big "brand" actors draw just too massive for studios to ignore?

Or does this new, 35+ rich list say something more fundamentally "bottom line" to moviegoers for the foreseeable future: young Hollywood, as it exists today, just can't compete?

The truth is will we remember "Heroes'" Hayden Panettierre - the 17-year-old who now pulls in $2 million a year - at 20, let alone 40? Will audiences give a rat's testicle a about cute "Everybody Loves Chris" star Tyler James Williams ($1.2 million) or 13-year-old Dakota Fanning by the time they drive their own cars?

Yes, rich though those pasty, shrink-seeking Olsen twins may be (with an estimated fortune at $1 billion), will they or Lindsay Lohan, 21, Shia LaBeouf, 21, Zac Efron, 20, or those 15-year-old Sprouse twins (Dylan and Cole of "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody") be around long enough to bank with Hollywood's big boys?

Vanity insanity, rushes to rehab and brushes with the law may keep young Hollywood in the news, if not in the money over the long haul. But if these Hollywood hotties last, here's who we think could give today's 35+ acting "classics" a run for the money.

The serious actress: Cate Blanchett

With lauded work like 2007's "I'm Not There" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," Cate Blanchett, 38, is more than worth the $13 million she now commands per pic. Not many of today's Hollywood's hotties would stand a chance filling this dame's sexy, "serious" stilettos. Our picks for this daunting task: Keira Knightley, 22 and Scarlett Johansson, 24 Frankly, we'd give more than a damn to see these two luscious lookers shining at 40 in pure box office gold.

Action man: Tom Cruise and Matt Damon

Tom Cruise, 45, and Matt Damon, 37, might be the action men of their generation. But when "Mission Impossible" and "Bourne" franchise sequels finally need a new hunk to cruise into the next decade, our bet is on 30-year-old Orlando Bloom.

Handy with a pirate's sword though he may be, at 40 this dashing hipster will probably heat up the ever-evolving, "smart n' sexy" adventure flick in a way that muscle-bound, monotone Arnold Schwarzenegger never could.

Blonde ambition: Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman used to be known as the young Aussie redhead who built a movie career by marrying Tom Cruise. But as the "ex-Cruise" years have proven, Kidman's lengthy stay atop Hollywood's box office isn't being rivaled - not even close. If there's one Hollywood hottie who could, much like Kidman, successfully transition from gorgeous young bombshell to bonafied 40+ screen dame, Kate Bosworth is it. Beauty may be a curse that fades for some. But at 40, we'll bet that Bosworth's brainy box-office appeal is still pretty damn hot.

Pretty cool: Brad Pitt and George Clooney

Don't blame me because I'm beautiful. That must have been the mantra for Brad Pitt, 43 and George Clooney, 46, as they transitioned from "pretty faces" to major forces among today's Hollywood's A-listers. Yes, no amount of stylists could concoct the timeless, old-screen glamour that now graces these once boyish mugs - not to mention the complexity of their recent on-screen performances.

But when these stunning-yet-serious acting shoes need filling, our bet is on "The Tudors'" Jonathan Rhys Meyers. At 30 he may be a novel Hollywood screen hunk. But at 40, we'll bet that the man with the wild eyes will be just plain smokin'.

Funny money: Ben Stiller

Love them or hate them, 41-one-year-old comics Ben Stiller (who scored $38 million in 2007) and Adam Sandler ($30 million) have parlayed amusing buffoonery into massive box-office bucks. When these two yuks are finally done hurling one-liners, the future's mantle of merry-making goes to these two clowns: "Superbad" stars Michael Cera, 19, and Seth Rogan, 25. Here's hoping that at 40 their gags, like a good wine, will go down well.

What do you think, good thing or bad?