Monday, August 10, 2009

Which Actor Can Get Their Kid The Biggest Part?


Do you remember when parents would just compete to see who could give their child the best birthday party? You know it would come down to whether little Jimmy down the street had a clown or Amanda had a magician. Simple contests between parents. Now though those contests have got much more serious. Right now it looks like there are three sets of parents trying to make sure their child has the best Hollywood career. You have Bruce & Demi who are trying their hardest to make sure Rumer gets as many roles without having to do any work as possible. Then there are Will & Jada, who when not having sex seem to be trying to cast Jaden in as many roles as possible. They kind of have the advantage because they have been the producers or stars of the movies in which he is cast. The latest entry into the let me put my kid into a starring role in a feature film without any experience is Tom Cruise. Last year he got Will Smith to put Connor in Seven Pounds. This year Tom wants Connor to hit the big time so he got him into the remake of Red Dawn where he will play one of the lead roles. Yep. Not only are they going to destroy Red Dawn by remaking a classic they are casting it with people whose only acting experience is pretending they actually like seeing their mother when she shows up once a year or trying to fool an auditor.

I think Tom Cruise needs to go back in time to before he became whatever it is he became. He needs to go back to Taps and to Losin' It and All The Right Moves and he needs to think about what would have happened if some guy had wanted his kid for any of those roles even though he had no skills or qualifications or experiences. That someone took Tom's role away from him because the producer wanted to do a favor for a big shot. That is what Tom is doing. He is saying f**k all the other actors out there who were just like me. I am giving my kid the role. I am going to call in favors and throw a tantrum in my lifts if Connor doesn't get to be a star. So, at what point does Connor get to learn the life lessons that Tom learned? When does he get to know what it is like to eat ramen or get excited because he got one line on a crappy television show? All this is doing is passing along an entitlement from one generation to the next and making it harder for people who want to work and have actual proven talent.

15 comments:

nunaurbiz said...

I didn't see Seven Pounds. Was Connor any good in it?

Regarding the nepotism thing, even if Tom Cruise didn't do anything to help Connor, Connor would never be treated as just another actor off the street.

I generally don't like nepotism, but is it better than what Joan Crawford did to her daughter and refuse to help her?

Not feeling strong about either side.

For me, a lot comes down to whether Connor has the acting chops. Maybe he's been taking a lot of acting classes and knows the craft. I've never heard either way.

be.the.change said...

Ugh. I'm so sick of seeing Jaden Smith in movies! He was great in the pursuit of happyness [sic]. However, he was TERRIBLE in "The Day the Earth Stood Still". He is being miscasted for roles! If they actually had in audition he could find roles he's actually fit to play! But, no nepotism is much more fun.., *rolls eyes*

I refuse to see the Karate Kid remake. So miscast it's not even funny..

jagerlilly said...

Amen, Enty. That's part of the problem in every sector now. Nepotism, pure and simple.

Anonymous said...

I don't remember Connor in 7 Pounds. Who was he?

My brother was obsessed with Red Dawn, so I've grown to hate it, same with Star Wars.

Of course I probably ruined Ghostbusters for him.

JJ said...

Did anyone else see that Connor Cruise is listed as a top search on Yahoo. I can see Tommy and friends were very busy at their keyboards last night.

Sporky said...

Another movie I won't be going to see.

selenakyle said...

You tell 'em, Enty!

I love it--"throw a tantrum in my lifts" hee hee

Nicole is probably not *allowed* to see her kids more than once a year.

califblondy said...

Oh hell, let's give the kid a chance. It's not his fault. He might have a famous father, and oh ya, mother (I always forget about her), but in some ways it makes it harder. Critics are going to hate and there will always be people talking crap about the family. Did you ever notice how bad the son of the high school football coach was treated? It might crack the door open for Connor, but doors can slam in his face too and does Tom Cruise really have the influence he once had?

Cancan said...

This was always my beef with Kate Hudson. She's such a lousy actress and not even attractive.

Anonymous said...

LOL@throw a tantrum in my lifts.

That is so funny hahahaha

sunnyside1213 said...

What about Ron Howard's girl replacing Victoria in the Twilight series?

Vanessa said...

I don't see what is the problem....if I had the money and the power to get my kids the best jobs....I would do it.

The only people who cry about nepotism are the ones who don't benefit it and these are the same people that wouldn't turn down a job b/c a family member got them that job.

Since when did life b/c fair.

Murphy Brown 2020 said...

Every good job I've ever gotten has been the result of networking. I HATE that term with the boiling radiance of a trillion firey suns. Yet, it's true. Knowing a person who knows a person = some bullshit connection that gets you hired.

Whatever. I don't have a problem with celebrity kids breaking into the business. It would stand to reason that being around a parent who either loves what s/he does for a living and/or makes a shitton of MONEY doing said activity for a living would influence a kid to follow in that path. Personally, my dad is a Yale grad and an IT dude and he thinks it sucks. I got a liberal arts education from a teensy private school and now I'm unemployed.

Anyway, maybe Conner can really act? I think he's a handsome kid. I kind of want to give him the benefit of the doubt, because IMAGINE THE AAAMMMMAAAZZING memoir he'll write about weirdo Tommy Boy if he gets super famous and someone tosses a crapload of money at him!!

If Hollywood nepetism were nonexistent, we wouldn't have: Mariska Hargitay, Candice Bergen, Gwyneth Paltrow (I know, I know, but she CAN act), Kiefer Sutherland, Drew Barrymore, Isabella Rossellini, a bunch of other people I'm forgetting, -- and, last but most important of all -- Tori Spelling.

figgy said...

The one thing that makes this situation somewhat less obnoxious is the fact that Connor is adopted. Yes, the kid's gorgeous already at this age, but just knowing that he might have just missed living a really tough life (had his mother not given him up) makes me root for him whereas I might not otherwise.

ardleighstreet said...

I'm with Enty. I've said it before these "kids" need to go to classes and learn. If it were me I'd make the kid go to The Actors Studio before I got them so much as a fast food commercial. After they went to school I'd ask the powers that be for that favor for my kid but not before they deserved it.

Why do they keep doing freaking remakes? Is there no original thought in Hollywood?

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