Showbiz Kids

It was still interesting to hear some of the stories. I think Evan Rachel Wood, Mara Wilson, and Milla Jovovich were probably the most interesting because I'm the same age as Milla and I remember when she first came on the scene. She was gorgeous and to hear her talk about older men coming at her was not a surprise, but still sickening that they would take advantage of a young girl. Mara Wilson there was something different about than the others with how she talked. Then Evan Rachel Wood doesn't give AF. She is brutally honest. They all had stories like film critics and such trashing on the performance of a child which made me think of Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker in the phantom menace and the way people unfairly piled on bashing a young kid when yeah he was not great, but he was far from the issue with that movie. So you're not going to get a finding Neverland experience and thank god because that was hard to take. You will get a inside look at many different views on how they were treated by family, fans, critics, etc. I enjoyed it. I also had no idea that Cameron Boyce died over a year ago. I didn't know who he was, but he did seem like a positive guy so that was depressing to learn. Bottom line is this. I never felt like shutting it off. It kept my interest.

It's fascinating to hear from the (now) adults behind some of TV and movie's biggest childhood stars. Everyone's experience of childhood fame is different but it all comes back to the fact that their childhood was anything but different. Years later, it's interesting to see how that impacted them and how they processed it, for better or worse.

This is really well made with a variety of real child actors always wondered what happened to the "Matilda" girl. She is unrecognizable.

The film cover many subjects equally like mental illness, family, school, stress, money, do they do this for their parents and of course child abuse. But i think they covered every topic really well usually these things focus almost only on child abuse but even a kid that was never abused it could be hell for many other reasons.

Felt kinda sad for the little boy going to all these auditions, he clearly dosen't have the fire in him, it's more than just liking to act goofy it's a serious craft i don't think he realizes that. His mother that says next to him that if he dosen't do it she basically failed as a mother..jesus pressure much..

On the other way felt really happy about the little black girl and her mother she really look passionate and have that thing where you know it will work out for her.

"Showbiz Kids" (2020 release; 94 min.) is a documentary about kids achieving childhood stardom in Hollywood. As the movie opens, we are informed that each year over 20,000 kids audition, but that 95% of them never get offered a role. We then go to the 1920 as we watch Diana Serra Cary (a/k/a Baby Peggy) become a breakout star before she is 5 yrs old. The movie then shifts to today, as we get to know a (10-11 yr. old?) boy from Orlando, Marc Slater, and his mom Melissa, making the rounds in Hollywood to try and land an audition and then an actual role. From there the movie takes us to Henry Thomas, who starred in "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" and now looks back on his childhood years in Hollywood. At this point we are 10 min. into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from Alex Winter, who of course himself achieved early Hollywood fame in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" in the late 80s and nowadays frequently makes documentaries. In this film he examines the long shadows of early Hollywood fame and fortune. While a slew of child actors and actresses are featured, the movie really focuses on 4 individuals: Henry Thomas, Wil Wheaton ("Stand By Me"), Evan Rachel Wood ("Thirteen"), and Cameron Boyce (multiple Disney TV shows). The common theme is undeniable: most of them didn't ask for it and/or were pushed by ambitious parents who saw their talented kid as a ticket out. "It's not a normal experience", comments Thomas. Wood goes further than that and laments the lost childhood she'll never get back, not to mention the poisonous environment that Hollywood is for young kids (fertile ground for sexual abuse, among other things). Saddest of all in this is of course watching Cameron Boyce, knowing that Boyce passed away last year resulting from a complicated epilepsy. Boyce observes: "Do you want to be my friend for being a friend or because I am on TV? That is tough to figure out as a kid." So true. Equally sobering is to see how few of the childhood stars can make the transition into an adult career (there are of course exceptions such as Jody Foster, Natalie Wood, Judy Garland, etc.). But the overall tone of the documentary is very clear, and should be a warning sign to any parent seeing stars in the sky through their kid.

"Showbiz Kids" premiered on HBO this week, and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. If you have an interest in film or in Hollywood in general, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Reality is that some children live in the Hollywood experience and emerge as capable, accomplished, and happy adults. Others do not. However, the same can be said about youngsters pushed toward high-level sports. Or music. Or dance. Or academics.

Reaching maturity successfully depends on numerous factors but thoughtful, unselfish, and caring adult influences might be the most important.

Alex Winter spent his life in the entertainment business, so it was reasonable for him to focus on experiences of people who worked as child actors. Winter understands the risks and rewards of the entertainment business but his documentary would have been more complete had he taken a wider view.

Another documentary could examine the processes of very young people chasing "success" in other fields. I would bet the adults that emerge are a similar mix of happy and troubled people.