In “Showbiz Kids,” a rambunctious and revealing documentary about what it’s like to be a child star in Hollywood, Henry Thomas, from “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (he was 10 …
,” a rambunctious and revealing documentary about what it’s like to be a child star in Hollywood, Henry Thomas, from “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” , tells a terrific story about what it’s like to learn that your days as a movie star are numbered. Early on, we see a tape of his audition for “E.T.,” and it’s stunning — he acts with such authentic tearful woe that you want to applaud.
“Showbiz Kids” doesn’t deny the voyeuristic pull of these stories. It opens with a montage spotlighting most of those people, along with others who had better luck , finally landing on a photograph of the documentary’s director,, who was a child actor on and off Broadway before finding his second-banana cult fame in “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Who has the X Factor? It can all seem a bit random. Winter interviews one of Hollywood‘s original child stars, Diana Serra Cary, who was born in 1918, and we see her in ancient film clips as Baby Peggy , the world’s most celebrated 5-year-old, all dressed up as a clown, a matador, and other cutely grotesque versions of a wee Victorian “adult.” As she recalls, “The life of a child was not my life.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Evan Rachel Wood Shares Theory of How Hollywood Abuse Proliferates in Showbiz Kids DocOn Tuesday, HBO premiered Showbiz Kids, a documentary directed by Alex Winter (best known as Bill in the Bill & Ted movie franchise). Through a variety of interviews with entertainers who rose to prominence in their youth, including Milla Jovovich, Jada Pinkett Smith, Wil Wheaton, Cameron Boyce (who died last year as a result of his epilepsy), and Mara Wilson, the feature-length doc attempted to illustrate the wide-ranging effects that early fame can have on a person’s life.
Read more »
A Megachurch Reels After Learning Pastor Let His Professed Pedophile Son Work With KidsJohn Ortberg, the senior pastor at California's Menlo Church, allowed his son to continue working with children, despite the confession.
Read more »
Missouri School District Requires COVID-19 Waiver In Case Kids Get Sick, DieThe liability waiver in the Hazelwood School District pertains to students who participate in athletic programs.
Read more »
A Megachurch Reels After Learning Pastor Let His Professed Pedophile Son Work With KidsThe leaders of a California evangelical megachurch are under fire for bungling the church’s response to a youth ministry volunteer’s confession that he was attracted to minors
Read more »