Hollywood Nepotism: The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly

[cpcathy]

I thought Maya Hawke’s cameo was quite funny, it would appear that she has a great sense of humor. I hope someone casts her in a good comedy. It looks like she could make it work.

[Blergh]

Cameron Douglas (the son of Michael and grandson of Kirk) has written a rather poignant bio called Long Way Home!

Spoiler

Giving him the benefit of the doubt that he wrote this himself, he not only seems quite articulate about how self-destructive he was for so long and all that he's gone through as a result (including a good number of years in prison), I have to say he gets more than a few points from me FWIW to write a very detailed cautionary tale about what can happen re substance abuse and an initial lack of consequences for the actions. And I also believe that his parents DO at least emotionally support him in telling his side of what happened in their lives.  Also interesting that he gives credit for his stepmother Catherine Zeta- Jones for encouraging his father to keep the ties as long as he could despite how frayed they'd become. I also think he has to have quite a few issues re heading into middle age (at age 40) and having spent almost all the years from puberty onwards with self-destruction as the primary MO with only the last few years taking life on its own terms and learning how to live again. Yes, I sincerely hope he CAN stay evidently clean and sober to be the best companion to his child's co-parent to say nothing of the best father possible to his toddler daughter  (who I imagine he now understands  his father   being willing to cut him off to protect  his younger half-sibs) but I imagine it's  not  easy attempting to create a 'normal life'  in just the last few years after so many decades evidently reveling in the self-destructive modes. 

Spoiler

I can't help but wonder if Martin Sheen could have read this and have asked ' Why can't MY youngest son   see the light like Michael's seemed to have done?'

Oh, to keep this relevant to the thread, he says that he currently is hoping to revive an acting career but admits that he burned quite a few bridges in his earlier efforts  in those toxic states so I'm wondering how many studios, producers and/or insurers want to chance things with him so newly evidently clean and sober- even with his remarkable facial resemblance to his father and vocal resemblance to his grandfather! 

[methodwriter85]

Jamie Lee Curtis Has Never Worked Hard In Her Life

After forty yeas in the business and still as relevant as ever, it's pretty cool to see how honest Jamie Lee is about herself. I loved this tidbit about Halloween:

Quote

I auditioned many, many, many times. And then it was between me and one other woman, whose name I know but I will never say publicly. I’m sure the fact that I was Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis’s daughter, and that my mother had been in “Psycho”—if you’re going to choose between this one and this one, choose the one whose mother was in “Psycho,” because it will get some press for you. I’m never going to pretend that I just got that on my own, like I’m just a little girl from nowhere getting it. Clearly, I had a leg up.

Pretty much reminds me of what she said on her Intimate Portrait- being a name gets you in the door. But then once you're in, you gotta prove yourself or you're not going to stay there very long.

I think Jamie's staying power has to do with the fact that she really does know how to re-invent herself as well as roll with the given ups and down of an long-term acting career. Tired playing virginal scream queens? Go for an R-rated comedy where you showed off your boobs. No wants you to play a sex pot anymore because of your failed plastic surgery? Well, hype up your flaws in an interview and do a series of middle-aged mom comedy roles, i.e. Freaky Friday and Christmas with the Kranks. That well is starting to run dry i.e. right around the time of "You Again"? Well, hitch your wagon to Ryan Murphy for a spell playing a hard-nosed matronly school dean that isn't really like anything else you've played. So on and so forth. I mean, you really have to hand it to her- she's kept herself relevant in her 60's without having the benefit of a prestige career like Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren.

Also the addiction thing she talked about...I remember people were saying that she seemed to have gained a significant amount of weight in between the time she did the Tailor of Panama where she was still "The Body" and her "More" interview a few years later and recovering from addiction seems like the probable answer.

[methodwriter85]

Watching "Plus One" with Maya Eskrine and Jack Quaid. There's definitely a place in Hollywood for Jack- not sure he's super-star potential like Meg was or the hunky bad boy dreamboat his father was, but I can see him having a pretty solid character career. He's funny and has a decent amount of charisma to him. He also works the "hopeless romantic everyman" role in a romantic indie pretty well.

Edited March 6, 2020 by methodwriter85

[Danny Franks]

Jack Quaid is really good in The Boys, as a sort of everyman loser who reaches his breaking point. He does dorky well and he does anger and instability well. I definitely see his career continuing to rise.

[aradia22]

I feel like "successful" nepotism is when your privileges and advantages make you better and "unsuccessful" nepotism is when mediocre or untalented people get elevated over people who are more deserving because of their family connections. It is shitty either way that some people have huge advantages in a business that can unlock so much wealth, fame, influence, etc. but that's life. There's nepotism in every business. 

Like, "successful" nepotism is being born into a family of actors, directors, producers, etc. And being around those creative people means you're raised with a different mindset and encouraged to pursue your artistic inclinations. There's no way to fully quantify all the benefits of being raised with that kind of family and family friends. You can pick up so much without much effort that other people need to learn by going to school and through trial and error. And if your family connections are successful, that wealth can go into training and education and the formal ways you can improve your natural talents, not to mention continuing to buy you access to the right kind of people. This is before your family connections even start helping you out in getting jobs. In some ways, it's no wonder that you have successful family dynasties of actors, singers, etc. 

"Unsuccessful" nepotism is having all the advantages but just being mediocre. Or a pretty face. You're genetically blessed but there's no corresponding talent or charisma and no effort to work hard to gain it. 

[absnow54]

On 3/9/2020 at 5:33 AM, aradia22 said:

"Unsuccessful" nepotism is having all the advantages but just being mediocre. Or a pretty face. You're genetically blessed but there's no corresponding talent or charisma and no effort to work hard to gain it. 

Hey, leave Scott Eastwood alone! [/kidding]

[Blergh]

2 hours ago, absnow54 said:

Hey, leave Scott Eastwood alone! [/kidding]

Yeah, despite his other well-chronicled faults , I do have to grudgingly give the elder Mr. Eastwood credit for having been a relatively good father to Scott (even factoring him never having married Scott's mother) and Scott himself has managed to carve a steady independent path so those are positives to note!

[VCRTracking]

Maya Hawke looks and sounds just like her mom Uma Thurman but there are moments in Stranger Things season 3 I swear I could also see her dad Ethan Hawke in the way she acts.

[Danny Franks]

On ‎3‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 5:37 PM, VCRTracking said:

Maya Hawke looks and sounds just like her mom Uma Thurman but there are moments in Stranger Things season 3 I swear I could also see her dad Ethan Hawke in the way she acts.

I think she definitely has some of her dad's cynical detachment. She'd be completely at home in a 90s, navel-gazing slacker comedy (which means she's probably coming along at just the right time, as 90s nostalgia is really starting to take off). I like her a lot, and want to see her in more stuff.

[methodwriter85]

5 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I think she definitely has some of her dad's cynical detachment. She'd be completely at home in a 90s, navel-gazing slacker comedy (which means she's probably coming along at just the right time, as 90s nostalgia is really starting to take off). I like her a lot, and want to see her in more stuff.

She's also girl-next-door pretty instead of supermodel pretty, which means she can be the pretty girl if the role calls for it, but she's also plain enough that if she needs to be in plain Jane role, it's believable. She's not going to have the same problem Uma Thurman did where almost every early role she was in had something to do with her looks.

Maya is definitely poised pretty well.

Quote

"Unsuccessful" nepotism is having all the advantages but just being mediocre.

I feel like the biggest tragedy in Tori Spelling is that she was so focused on trying to be an actress and trying to "fix" her face and body so that she'd fit the standard when she really, really should have a pulled a Sophia Coppola and gone behind the scenes. She really does have a talent for recognizing talent. She should have been a casting agent or something like that.

It's frustrating to watch her because she's all to willing to admit what her flaws and neuroses are (her failed BH90210 show was brutally honest about them as well as her zillion reality shows), but she never does anything about it. That said, she does keep on trucking so there's always that.

Quote

Yeah, despite his other well-chronicled faults , I do have to grudgingly give the elder Mr. Eastwood credit for having been a relatively good father to Scott (even factoring him never having married Scott's mother) and Scott himself has managed to carve a steady independent path so those are positives to note!

Scott Eastwood looks so much like his father that people wanted him to immediately have that kind of gravitas, but he's more like a sweet frat boy than a grizzled cowboy.

In Eastwood's case, I think he was partially stymied by the fact that his big opening movie "The Longest Ride" was a Nicholas Sparks movie during the waning period of said movies. Also, Britt Robertson is box office poison if I ever saw box office poison. (Is her dad a movie executive or something? Why does she keep getting cast as the lead in movies?)

[Blergh]

10 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

 

Scott Eastwood looks so much like his father that people wanted him to immediately have that kind of gravitas, but he's more like a sweet frat boy than a grizzled cowboy.

In Eastwood's case, I think he was partially stymied by the fact that his big opening movie "The Longest Ride" was a Nicholas Sparks movie during the waning period of said movies.

Well, first of all, if one sees a pic of the elder Mr. Eastwood back at Scott's age, one might think HE was closer to being a 'sweet frat boy' than a grizzled cowboy . More importantly, if Scott Eastwood didn't have the raw talent or determination, his performing career would have been guaranteed to have been a one-shot rather than a steady career. Of course, one may argue that had not the elder Mr. Eastwood done right by him via having claimed him as his son instead of Scott being forced to have used his mother's surname, Scott Eastwood likely wouldn't have gotten a toe much less a foot in the door any more than countless other performers of his age and looks. 

[JBC344]

On 3/11/2020 at 11:29 PM, methodwriter85 said:

She's also girl-next-door pretty instead of supermodel pretty, which means she can be the pretty girl if the role calls for it, but she's also plain enough that if she needs to be in plain Jane role, it's believable. She's not going to have the same problem Uma Thurman did where almost every early role she was in had something to do with her looks.

Maya is definitely poised pretty well.

I feel like the biggest tragedy in Tori Spelling is that she was so focused on trying to be an actress and trying to "fix" her face and body so that she'd fit the standard when she really, really should have a pulled a Sophia Coppola and gone behind the scenes. She really does have a talent for recognizing talent. She should have been a casting agent or something like that.

It's frustrating to watch her because she's all to willing to admit what her flaws and neuroses are (her failed BH90210 show was brutally honest about them as well as her zillion reality shows), but she never does anything about it. That said, she does keep on trucking so there's always that.

Scott Eastwood looks so much like his father that people wanted him to immediately have that kind of gravitas, but he's more like a sweet frat boy than a grizzled cowboy.

In Eastwood's case, I think he was partially stymied by the fact that his big opening movie "The Longest Ride" was a Nicholas Sparks movie during the waning period of said movies. Also, Britt Robertson is box office poison if I ever saw box office poison. (Is her dad a movie executive or something? Why does she keep getting cast as the lead in movies?)

Tori for me is one of those actresses that needs a good director and material. For as much as people rag on her (which I believe has a lot more to do with her status) when she is good people generally respond. Her performances in House of Yes, Trick, and So Notorious have always been lauded as something special. 

As for 90210, Shannen and Jennie had the flashier roles, but Tori's Donna is arguably the most relatable character throughout the whole series. 

[VCRTracking]

Seeing this confirms to me how much Maya Hawke is a blend of her parents.

 

 

[Scarlett45]

On 3/12/2020 at 1:29 AM, methodwriter85 said:

I feel like the biggest tragedy in Tori Spelling is that she was so focused on trying to be an actress and trying to "fix" her face and body so that she'd fit the standard when she really, really should have a pulled a Sophia Coppola and gone behind the scenes. She really does have a talent for recognizing talent. She should have been a casting agent or something like that.

It's frustrating to watch her because she's all to willing to admit what her flaws and neuroses are (her failed BH90210 show was brutally honest about them as well as her zillion reality shows), but she never does anything about it. That said, she does keep on trucking so there's always that.

I absolutely agree with you. And also her connections cushioned her JUST ENOUGH so she wouldn’t have to deal with her issues in a real way. For most people who have a compulsion for shopping or gambling or something like that have to get help or either end up on the street because they will hit rock bottom. Or they have to curb it enough to function to pay the light bill. Tori has never had to worry that she will be on the street if she doesn’t manage her money in a realistic way and she’s always being extended lines of credit. 
 

The woman isn’t lazy, and she’s not stupid, but she doesn’t want to work on herself. And then she decided to have six children (much easier to focus on raising them than improving yourself) and there you go. 

[methodwriter85]

8 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

The woman isn’t lazy, and she’s not stupid, but she doesn’t want to work on herself. And then she decided to have six children (much easier to focus on raising them than improving yourself) and there you go. 

It's frustrating because you're right, she will never really hit rock bottom. Her spending is bad, but it's not going to land her in the hospital like a drug addiction would.

And in all honestly, Tori has made being a neurotic trainwreck who grew up rich but can't handle money as part of her brand just as much as her plastic surgery, million kids and deadbeat husband are. Why change if you know you got a hook that will keep the public interested enough in you that your name stays in the tabloids?

It's just disappointing though because if she really put her mind to it, she could have been running like an entire network of reality shows on like Bravo or something like that. In an alternate universe I think she could have been Andy Cohen. (And probably better at it than he is!)

[Blergh]

12 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

It's frustrating because you're right, she will never really hit rock bottom. Her spending is bad, but it's not going to land her in the hospital like a drug addiction would.

And in all honestly, Tori has made being a neurotic trainwreck who grew up rich but can't handle money as part of her brand just as much as her plastic surgery, million kids and deadbeat husband are. Why change if you know you got a hook that will keep the public interested enough in you that your name stays in the tabloids?

It's just disappointing though because if she really put her mind to it, she could have been running like an entire network of reality shows on like Bravo or something like that. In an alternate universe I think she could have been Andy Cohen. (And probably better at it than he is!)

If she wants to wreck her own life to keep trying to do the same stuff over and over  that's gotten her nowhere either out of insanity or a desire to hear herself complain, that's on HER.

 

However, the fact that she's willing to risk neglect and/or abuse for six kids rather than step up to the plate and make them her number one priority, is infuriating! 

[Blergh]

Apart from clashing with director Henry Winkler which led to the latter parting ways with the production in the early movie Turner and Hooch (1989), I've never heard of anything off about Tom Hanks, yet now his son Chet has been accused of rather serious domestic violence against his girlfriend (and had been documented having had major drug issues before) so could Mr. Hanks and Miss Wilson be street angels/ house devils or could it be a case of a kid going bad despite having had good parenting (which is NOT unheard of)? Oh, and despite his parental ties, the younger Mr. Hanks doesn't seem to be on the verge of superstardom. 

[KatWay]

43 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Apart from clashing with director Henry Winkler which led to the latter parting ways with the production in the early movie Turner and Hooch (1989), I've never heard of anything off about Tom Hanks, yet now his son Chet has been accused of rather serious domestic violence against his girlfriend (and had been documented having had major drug issues before) so could Mr. Hanks and Miss Wilson be street angels/ house devils or could it be a case of a kid going bad despite having had good parenting (which is NOT unheard of)? Oh, and despite his parental ties, the younger Mr. Hanks doesn't seem to be on the verge of superstardom. 

to be fair to Tom Hanks, his other three children all seem to be entirely normal, well-adjusted adults so the issue might actually just be Chet.

[Danny Franks]

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

Apart from clashing with director Henry Winkler which led to the latter parting ways with the production in the early movie Turner and Hooch (1989), I've never heard of anything off about Tom Hanks, yet now his son Chet has been accused of rather serious domestic violence against his girlfriend (and had been documented having had major drug issues before) so could Mr. Hanks and Miss Wilson be street angels/ house devils or could it be a case of a kid going bad despite having had good parenting (which is NOT unheard of)? Oh, and despite his parental ties, the younger Mr. Hanks doesn't seem to be on the verge of superstardom. 

I don't think Chet being an arsehole should reflect badly on Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. They raised their kids, but their adult behaviour is their own responsibility. It's been fairly well documented for a long time that Chet is an entitled dickbag. Colin, on the other hand, is a successful actor, husband and father who seems absurdly well adjusted and normal, a lot like his father.

It's not dissimilar to Martin Sheen's disaster of a son, Charlie and relatively well adjusted other son, Emilio.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Danny Franks

[bankerchick]

On 8/7/2018 at 5:51 PM, methodwriter85 said:

On 6/16/2015 at 11:22 PM, JBC344 said:

I find Laura Dern to be incredibly underrated in terms of star power, but I have never heard another actor not praise her work.  She is one of those "character actors/just below A list stars" that seems to garner a lot of respect and admiration from others.

This comment is 3 years old, and I'm happy to say that Laura Dern definitely seems to be getting her due these days. I'm glad.

This comment is almost 3 years old, and I have to say I find Laura Dern to be one of the most wooden actresses I have ever seen.

[BlackberryJam]

2 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I don't think Chet being an arsehole should reflect badly on Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. They raised their kids, but their adult behaviour is their own responsibility. It's been fairly well documented for a long time that Chet is an entitled dickbag. Colin, on the other hand, is a successful actor, husband and father who seems absurdly well adjusted and normal, a lot like his father.

It's not dissimilar to Martin Sheen's disaster of a son, Charlie and relatively well adjusted other son, Emilio.

The video of Colin being incredibly polite about Chet is a riot. 

[Blergh]

20 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I don't think Chet being an arsehole should reflect badly on Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. They raised their kids, but their adult behaviour is their own responsibility. It's been fairly well documented for a long time that Chet is an entitled dickbag. Colin, on the other hand, is a successful actor, husband and father who seems absurdly well adjusted and normal, a lot like his father.

It's not dissimilar to Martin Sheen's disaster of a son, Charlie and relatively well adjusted other son, Emilio.

Well, in my previous post's defense, I DID give them an the Hanks parents an out by saying that it was possible that that this could have been a case of the senior Hankses being good parents and with the younger Mr. Hanks rebelling by going bad. Of course, we truly have no idea what kind of parents they WERE behind closed doors ( even if it appears that three out of four of Mr. Hanks's offspring seem to be fairly well-adjusted worthwhile folks- and it should be noted that Colin is Mr. Hanks's son by his late first wife  Samantha Lewes who I'd like to add that the senior Mr. Hanks supported and paid for the medical care of in the last part of her life- despite having been long since divorced with him being remarried to Miss Wilson).

As to Mr. Sheen, I'd be more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt if he actually acknowledged that that his prodigal son Charlie IS a prodigal son who's had problems that have been entirely of the latter's own doing instead of touting his offspring as 'his hero' and treating him as though he can do no wrong. 

[Bastet]

On 4/1/2021 at 9:03 AM, Danny Franks said:

It's not dissimilar to Martin Sheen's disaster of a son, Charlie and relatively well adjusted other son, Emilio.

I agree.  And, in addition to Emilio, Ramón and Renée.  All three seem to conduct themselves like their parents, not their epic disaster of a brother.  Same with Tom Hanks; the other three adult children seem to be decent people.

To grow up with that level of privilege and only one come out with a raging sense of entitlement suggests to me it's far more likely the parents actively taught perspective, and one just didn't listen, than that these were households headed by closet devils.

[Dejana]

Kate Winslet's daughter is 20 and a working actor.

 

Quote

With a different last name, Winslet said Threapleton's Hollywood connection was undetected and she landed her first role on her own.

Threapleton most recently starred in the 2020 movie Shadows.

"What's great for her is she has a different surname so she slipped under the radar and the people who cast her didn't know she was my daughter and that was important for her self-esteem, of course," Winslet added.

 

She resembles her father and does have a different last name. Still, I would bet that if you googled "Mia Threapleton" a couple of years ago, Kate Winslet's name would have shown up in the results from articles that mentioned her kids. Who knows if casting directors do that sort of research? Sometimes I wonder. That's not to say that Mia can't be talented in her own right.

[absnow54]

2 hours ago, Dejana said:

Kate Winslet's daughter is 20 and a working actor.

 

 

She resembles her father and does have a different last name. Still, I would bet that if you googled "Mia Threapleton" a couple of years ago, Kate Winslet's name would have shown up in the results from articles that mentioned her kids. Who knows if casting directors do that sort of research? Sometimes I wonder. That's not to say that Mia can't be talented in her own right.

I forgot Kate Winslet was married before Sam Mendes. I thought her first 2 children were with him, but Wikipedia has informed me I was wrong. 

[Mabinogia]

I am sure that if a casting director wanted to they could figure out who Mia's parents are, but I appreciate that she isn't going to castings with a resume that says "I am Kate Winslet's daughter".

I am sure some kids love the nepotism but I imagine it is hard to know if you got the job based on talent or based on winning the birth lottery when you use mommy or daddy's name to get your foot in the door. 

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Mabinogia said:

am sure some kids love the nepotism but I imagine it is hard to know if you got the job based on talent or based on winning the birth lottery when you use mommy or daddy's name to get your foot in the door. 

Right. 

Although I'd guess not as many people get roles due to nepotism as we'd think unless their parent is somehow involved in the production or an artist is close with that parent--in which case they're likely going to know the child regardless of the last name they're using.

The one advantage Mia does have is that she was likely able to get a respectable agent through her mom and she knows the ins and outs of the business that many newbies don't have. 

[Razzberry]

21 hours ago, Dejana said:

With a different last name, Winslet said Threapleton's Hollywood connection was undetected and she landed her first role on her own.

 And yet her Instagram is under MiaThreapletonWinslet. 

Edited April 20, 2021 by Razzberry

[Dejana]

2 hours ago, Razzberry said:

 And yet her Instagram is under MiaThreapletonWinslet. 

I looked up that account. I'm not sure it's official and isn't just some random fan of hers or Kate's who took up the name. It doesn't look like the Instagram you'd expect a young working actor to have.

I see that articles from 2019 about Mia's movie mentioned her parentage, at least in passing, so Kate's recent comments aren't quite the revelation the headlines are making it out to be.

[Ambrosefolly]

Like I said before, a foot in the door is often a huge help.

[KatWay]

No offense but Kate...nobody is buying it. I hate when actors/celebs go on about how they/their kids made it in the business without help, or the old "if anything I had it harder" crap. No you didn't.

Mia's IMDB has exactly two credits, this new film and a 2014 film literally starring Kate. And Kate's aready giving interviews now to ensure that any casting director will easily know that Mia is her kid.

[krankydoodle]

This has been getting a lot of attention. It sure seems like a vanity project, but I haven't seen or read anything from them so 🤷‍♀️

[AimingforYoko]

5 hours ago, krankydoodle said:

This has been getting a lot of attention. It sure seems like a vanity project, but I haven't seen or read anything from them so 🤷‍♀️

This is like a nepotism singularity.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 3/6/2020 at 2:41 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Watching "Plus One" with Maya Eskrine and Jack Quaid. There's definitely a place in Hollywood for Jack- not sure he's super-star potential like Meg was or the hunky bad boy dreamboat his father was, but I can see him having a pretty solid character career. He's funny and has a decent amount of charisma to him. He also works the "hopeless romantic everyman" role in a romantic indie pretty well.

He's certainly appealing.  Forget Dennis and Meg, he looks like if Joel McHale and Joshua Jackson had a baby together.

Can I just say that Bryce Dallas Howard was terrible in both "Rocketman" (horribly miscast as Elton John's BRITISH MOTHER IN THE 1950S OF ALL PEOPLE) and "The Village"?  It's not that I'm against nepotism per se but I'm really getting tired of Bryce being cast in so many things when it often makes ZERO SENSE.

Edited July 28, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[methodwriter85]

8 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

He's certainly appealing.  Forget Dennis and Meg, he looks like if Joel McHale and Joshua Jackson had a baby together.

Can I just say that Bryce Dallas Howard was terrible in both "Rocketman" (horribly miscast as Elton John's BRITISH MOTHER IN THE 1950S OF ALL PEOPLE) and "The Village"?  It's not that I'm against nepotism per se but I'm really getting tired of Bryce being cast in so many things when it often makes ZERO SENSE.

Jack Quaid definitely has something appealing about him. The height helps.

Bryce Dallas Howard can be really good when she's cast in the right part, like her Black Mirror episode. I also actually thought she was perfectly cast as the bitchy hell on wheels mother in Rocketman. I do think they should have swapped her out for a different older actress because you just can't make her face look like someone in their 60's. It's like Mandy Moore- they both have way too youthful of faces for it to be believable. Imelda Staunton could have played his mother in the late 70's/early 80's.

So I watched the show Cruel Summer, and Kevin Smith is trying to make his daughter Harley a thing. Sorry, Kevin, but no. While it's great to see more representation on TV of women who weigh more than 120 pounds, I couldn't get into his daughter's acting, and she was basically carried by Olivia Holt. That was the only time her acting was even remotely passable. 

I really hope Harley has an acting coach if she's serious about Hollywood.

[Ohiopirate02]

21 hours ago, krankydoodle said:

This has been getting a lot of attention. It sure seems like a vanity project, but I haven't seen or read anything from them so 🤷‍♀️

I will defend Owen here a bit.  Stephen and Tabitha raised some talented children and the success both Owen and Joe has been earned.  Yes, they had a leg up when it comes to securing a reputable agent to help them pitch their novels, but any parent would do the same.  Any book deal that followed was based solely on the strength of the work and the marketability of it.  In fact, the publishers downplayed the parentage of both Owen and Joe when sending the books out for review and when the books went to press.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

7 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Jack Quaid definitely has something appealing about him. The height helps.

Bryce Dallas Howard can be really good when she's cast in the right part, like her Black Mirror episode.

Yes, Jack is super tall.

The only time I've ever liked her was in "Nosedive", the Black Mirror episode.  Other than that, no.

[pancake bacon]

On 6/14/2015 at 2:42 PM, methodwriter85 said:

Her husband deserves so much more fame than he has, though. Poor Seth Gabel. Their kids must have incredibly beautiful blue eyes. I hope one of them inherits Daddy's talent.

Yes, I am fresh from reading the entire thread. Loads to catch up on!

Seth Gabel, is indeed, massively talented, and deserves more fame.

Instead, folks like Scott Eastwood is constantly being hired. Why? This is where nepotism really grates. He looked like his dad, and got some roles out of it. But he doesn't have any box office track record, and his notices are largely: "he looks like Clint Eastwood." Yet he keeps popping up in plum roles over and over. I get getting your foot in the door, but if you don't end up like Jeff/Beau Bridges, or Jamie Lee Curtis, or even a Colin Hanks (not a box office draw, but brings some value to his films), then his repeated appearances are only due to… nepotism. 

On 6/15/2015 at 10:37 PM, SallyAlbright said:

Not sure he really counts since they kind of came up together, but since Ben is more famous I'll go ahead and list Casey Affleck. I think he's a fantastic actor and quite underrated because he's more of a character actor than a movie star. However, he's had a pretty solid career and I can definitely see him turning in great performances for many years to come.

Yes, Casey Affleck has had very troubling history come to light (he has settled out of court with his victims. It's better than nothing?), but he has given superlative performances over the years (Manchester By The Sea still haunts me), and I'm not sure quite how to deal with getting past his scandal. 

On 6/23/2015 at 1:05 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I think Emma is probably more like her father- Eric doesn't really give off a "warm" vibe in his work, either, the way 1990's Julia did. (The guy works so damn much it's kind of crazy.)

Julia Roberts definitely leaned on brother Eric Roberts to get her foot in the industry door. He was the big rising star of the late 1970s, and had the talent to back his beauty. (In his ingenu days, he was definitely the prettiest Roberts in showbiz. Behold, 1981 version of Eric, in Raggedy Man.) 

On 8/4/2015 at 3:40 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Someone went on a rant at the old site about how much they hated Nat Wolff, aka Polly Draper's son...probably about when the Naked Brother's Band was airing. I guess they're happy that his debut as a leading movie star went mediocre?

I did actually like his turn in The Fault in Our Stars, and I thought he was okay as Q...but I think he might need more development before he tries this again. If I were him, I'd take this experience and go back to supporting roles for awhile.

Cut to six years later in 2021: Nat Wolff is doing all right, fairly interesting, and making the most of his The Fault in Our Stars equity, and will likely see character roles in his future. He's probably better with his music. But in a twist, it's actually the other Polly Draper son, Nat's brother Alex Wolff, who is making strides, and demonstrating major acting chops that will have him excel like he did in Hereditary, and in the current film, Pig. He's competing for the same roles of other actors his age like Timothee Chalamet, Lucas Hedges (son of a screenwriter/director), etc… and I personally believe Alex is the most talented out of them. 

On 9/28/2015 at 8:54 AM, AimingforYoko said:

Well his dad is the good Quaid.

How the mighty have fallen. Randy Quaid is the more talented and capable actor (and even not too shabby looking during the era of his Oscar-nominated role in The Last Detail), but he is probably lost forever. 

One more noteworthy nepotism performer is Nicolas Cage, who has definitely carved a path unlike any other connected folks in this thread. I do admit: While I get he can be polarizing and occasionally mock-worthy, I've been a fan since Valley Girl. Director Martha Coolidge's DVD commentary is totally worth it for the tale of how Nic was cast. 

Martha was sooo done reviewing head shot after head shot of the male leads the casting directors were recommending — all-too-typical teen idol types. "Give me someone who looks like this!" she says, and Nicolas Cage happened to the headshot on top of the pile.

So Nic comes in to read, and Martha loves him. But, Nic says, he's currently filming Rumble Fish with Francis Ford Coppola. Nic doesn't think he'll make the schedule.

"Francis?" says Martha. "Don't worry about him! I've worked with him before, and we're close. We're like family! I'll take care of it…"

Martha calls the Rumble Fish production, and asks for a scheduling solution for a Nicolas Cage. "But there's no Nicolas Cage working here," says the production guy. They go back and forth on this. "Oh, do you mean Nicolas Coppola?" says the guy…

Edited July 29, 2021 by pancake bacon
FIXED QUOTES

[BetterButter]

 

[VCRTracking]

Cute pic of Zooey and Emily Deschanel with their father cinematographer Caleb Deschanel on the set of THE RIGHT STUFF(1983). Their mom Mary Jo played Annie Glenn.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 7/29/2021 at 10:02 PM, BetterButter said:

 

I came here to post this.  @methodwriter85 would probably enjoy this

[methodwriter85]

Pretty interesting. I do think ultimately nepotism can't give someone a long-term, sustained career if they're simply not that good, or they're unwilling/don't have the desire to put in the effort to stay in the game...I mean, it gets you in the door, but once you're there, you still have to hustle to maintain being there.

Rumer Willis and Mamie Gummer aren't setting the world on fire with their acting, but they have steady careers.

Cody Horn looks like she decided to do something else- she hasn't acted in about 3 years.

Jaden Smith seems to be more focused now on music videos and being more of a celebutante, although he did a recent movie. His actual acting roles seem to be slowing down. I wouldn't be surprised if he's doing something else by his 30's. I think the reason why his version of Karate Kid (really Kung Fu Kid) didn't get a sequel despite the good box office and reviews was because he didn't really want to do it. Which is a good thing, because we probably wouldn't have gotten Cobra Kai if that franchise reboot had continued. 

[caracas1914]

On 7/31/2021 at 10:02 PM, methodwriter85 said:

Pretty interesting. I do think ultimately nepotism can't give someone a long-term, sustained career if they're simply not that good, or they're unwilling/don't have the desire to put in the effort to stay in the game...I mean, it gets you in the door, but once you're there, you still have to hustle to maintain being there….

But there’s the rub.  It’s not a matter  of talent, it’s a matter of opportunity.

Understandably the Nepotism babies are going to push back against the perception that they don’t (a) work hard or (b) have talent.

Everyone wants to believe they would have succeeded regardless of their connections because of their hard work and talent.  The proverbial “cream rises to the top”;  that is what is apparent in the initial comments for their entitled positions of Stiller and Destry.   Is that actually true?  Not their fault, but that “foot in the door” looms harder in the scheme of things than many honestly care to admit, especially those of the Stiller/Spielberg ilk.  

The reality is that there are countless talented and very hardworking POC in the industry who won’t ever get the chance because they are not well connected.   That is where the frustration kicks in.

Meritocracy my ass, when not all get to even get a position on the starting line while with others it’s reserved ahead of time.

 

[Luckylyn]

Having famous family members or friends doesn’t guarantee success, but it does provide access that can make getting that first opportunity easier. Just getting a foot in the door is an advantage.

I remember an interview where Gwyneth Paltrow wanted to show her parents didn’t maker her career happen.  She talked about going behind her mother’s back to call her mother’s agent who secretly helped her get an audition.  She said her mother didn’t know anything about it until she got the role which was supposed to show her mother didn’t help her.  The flaw with her example is that a regular unconnected person wouldn’t have the name and phone number of an agent and if they did their phone call wouldn’t necessarily even get the agent to even speak to them. Her parents are the reason Gwyneth knew who to call and got that call answered.   What happens at the audition itself is on Gwyneth’s shoulders but getting into the room for the audition at all was aided by her family connections. 

Pointing out someone’s connections doesn’t mean that they aren’t talented.  It just shows they had an advantage over total unknowns without connections.  Sissy Spacek only got the audition for Carrie because she had worked for Brian De Palma before as a set dresser and was dating a friend of his.  He had already an actress in mind for Carrie and only auditioned Spacek as a favor with no intention of hiring her.  He actively tried to talk her out of the audition strongly hinting that his choice had already been made and tried to nudge her towards a commercial audition he thought she was more likely to get.  But Spacek insisted on being giving the shot at an audition and what she did in the audition was so good De Palma was won over and gave her the role of Carrie.   Any other actress couldn’t have pushed for that audition but because of her personal connection to De Palma he gave her a chance he would have refused a stranger.   Regardless of how Spacek got the role, no one questions how good she was in that movie. 

Hollywood is a tough competitive business.  I won’t fault someone for using a connection they have to get a leg up, but they shouldn’t pretend the advantage they have doesn’t  exist.  Don’t leverage your connections and then act like those connections didn’t have any impact on your career.  

[methodwriter85]

Tori Spelling joked once about how she thought she was incognito in auditioning for Donna by using the name Victoria, as if anyone casting an Aaron Spelling show didn't recognize his daughter on site.

[Mabinogia]

9 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

Hollywood is a tough competitive business.  I won’t fault someone for using a connection they have to get a leg up, but they shouldn’t pretend the advantage they have doesn’t  exist.  Don’t leverage your connections and then act like those connections didn’t have any impact on your career.  

Hollywood, more than most industries, is all about who you know. Not just for acting/directing or the other biggies, but just being a lighting tech, a camera guy or prop girl, it is hard to get in. once you're in, once you've made a few connections, it gets easier, and everyone uses the connections they make because they have to, so I don't fault any celeb's kid for using the connections they got through their parents, so long as they don't expect to get the job without putting in any effort. 

Hell, I don't work in anything nearly as popular as movies and nepotism is rampant in my company. It's how life works. It's annoying to those of us who don't know anyone useful, but I know that if I had contacts in my dream career I'd be working the hell out of those connections. 

[pancake bacon]

4 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

Hollywood, more than most industries, is all about who you know.

(edited for brevity)

I know that if I had contacts in my dream career I'd be working the hell out of those connections. 

All too true… even now in the age of finding (regular) work through LinkedIn, it's about who you know, or even seeking out an actual human being to reach out to, as otherwise, you take your luck with LinkedIn's algorithm. (Darn internet overlords!)

Getting that foot on the door through connections is inevitable, and will never go away. But I said earlier in my Scott Eastwood example above, it's one thing to be given that opportunity, and if the entertainment deities will it, you prove your abilities, and eventually your box office abilities. (Nicolas Cage? Anjelica Huston? Jane Fonda? Julia Roberts?) But if you keep getting opportunities with nothing to show for it (Scott Eastwood!), then the system is abusive and denying other people some opportunity. 

I don't begrudge anyone's luck out there. We've all benefitted from some kind of connection in our lives. Just don't defend your nepotism by saying  "I've worked very hard!" (as Destry Spielberg did in the story linked above). Everyone is working hard out there. 

And because you have granted fortune, pay that luck forward. If anyone asks if you can help connect someone, try to help. You're not obliged, but passing on some luck helps everyone.

Edited August 3, 2021 by pancake bacon
PUNCTUATION MISTAKES

[kiddo82]

Another thing I haven't seen mentioned is that kids who grow up with famous (or at least rich) parents don't have to worry about frivolous things like rent, electricity, or food.  So when it comes to making tough decisions like taking the steady paycheck day job with less flexibility for gigs and auditions or continuing to gamble on yourself, they're way less likely to be in that situation. It's so much easier to just drift along and be artsy.  Also, things like head shots, classes, and union dues all cost money and a struggling actor who isn't getting a return on that investment is probably more likely to quit.  And as others have said, it's no one individual's fault, and the good ones get some longevity while the mediocre to bad ones do not (most of the time), but every little bit helps in an industry that seems like a crapshoot a lot of the time.

Edited August 3, 2021 by kiddo82

[supposebly]

Another factor is upbringing. You grow up in a house with artsists and actors, you are already familiar with the world and its culture. Someone coming from a home that has nothing to do with that world will be disadvantaged in that they still have to learn how to navigate that world. 

You see it with students whose parents are highly educated and have a university education compared to students who are the first in their family to navigate university.