00:00I look at my future and I think what does my future hold for me and in order
00:06to figure out what I want for my future, I wanted to go back to the beginning and
00:11unpack the reasons why I got into the industry. Do they still resonate with me?
00:16I think it's really complex. I think that as grateful as I am for everything that
00:23I have experienced, there is sadness and there is grief over the lack of a
00:29childhood, a normal childhood that you would expect, you know, a 15-16 year old
00:35to have. I learned a lot and it also was the beginning of my dreams coming true
00:41so I'm very grateful at the same time.
00:46It was a cumulation of many different moments leading to this film. I think it
01:02was my experience as a child star myself and the fascination with the child stars
01:08that had come before me and after me. The experience co-directing was really,
01:12really fun, really exciting and I learned a lot. Working with Nicola Marsh, my
01:18co-director, was incredible. She's just so talented. You know, the reason why I
01:23wanted to come on as a co-director was because I also had a really strong
01:28vision for this film and what I wanted to bring to the table and it was great
01:33being able to interview people and really getting my hands dirty. My vision
01:38was basically doing a deep dive on child startup and the history surrounding
01:44child stars, how it affects the psyche, how it affects family dynamics, how it
01:52can possibly change someone's life. So there was just a lot to unpack there.
01:57With music, you kind of just go into the studio and you play music that's
02:03inspiring you, you chase a vibe, and most of the time you have an idea of what you
02:09want to write about. This film was, you don't really know what the other person
02:15is going to say when you're interviewing them.
02:20Each interview had something really special about it. You know, Drew Barrymore
02:25was very nurturing and very, very insightful. Then you go to someone like
02:30JoJo Siwa, who is a child star of this generation, you know, Gen Z. And how did
02:36that vary from the experiences that Drew, Alison, Raven, Kenan, Christina, and I all
02:44had. It was very fascinating. I learned things from each interview. Alison Stoner
02:50was extremely insightful and is so educated on this topic. We were able to
02:56reminisce on the past and how we have evolved as human beings to this day. It
03:02definitely didn't feel like we were kids again. I think it was easier for me to
03:07follow my dreams at a young age because I had my peers. I think that if I had been
03:13a child actor who rose to fame from a leading role in a franchise that didn't
03:22have other child actors in it, that would have been more difficult for me. I had
03:27other people that were my age that I could turn to and we could share our
03:32experiences with one another. And I think it was beneficial for me to have that
03:36support system. I asked a lot of people to be in the documentary and not everyone
03:41wanted to talk about their experiences. I think that this is a very vulnerable
03:46conversation to be had and that's okay. Not everyone is going to want to talk
03:50about that and there's nothing wrong with that.
03:56I wish that mental health had been more of a priority when it came to the
04:02awareness of how child stardom can affect someone of a young age in their
04:08most formative years. I think it's difficult when you talk about placing
04:12the blame on the industry and on, you know, maybe parents or agents or whatever
04:20whoever you're looking at to to place the blame on for maybe not giving the
04:24child the childhood that they had envisioned for themselves. But at the
04:31same time this is, you know, when I got into the industry at a young age I guess
04:36there was a conscious decision of are you okay sacrificing a normal childhood
04:43for your hopes and dreams. In that light I don't see a ton of blame on anyone for
04:50providing the experiences that I was given. But, you know, with that being said
04:56there are dark sides of the industry. With this project it I didn't want this
05:01to be an expose. I wanted it to be more of an informative experience for the
05:06viewer. Also understanding legislation that's trying to be passed right now for
05:10future generations of children that are working online already. So and protecting
05:18and compensating them. I wish that someone had made a film about child
05:23stardom that I could have watched before I entered the industry to really kind of
05:28suss out if that was something that I wanted to do or not.
05:36I don't have any regrets. Sometimes I can dwell on the past but every experience
05:45that I've had including the good, the bad, and the ugly they've all turned me into
05:49the person that I am today. And ultimately I'm just grateful for the
05:53experiences that I've had in my life.
05:57So this doesn't act as a manual for parents that are getting their children
06:03into the entertainment industry but it can be insightful for them. And there's
06:07also a lot of work to be done in the space of protecting and compensating
06:13child actors.
06:19What is next for me? I am in the studio making new music and I am writing a ton
06:27and recording and having fun with that. This stage of my life I'm complete. What
06:34makes me feel complete is I'm happy in my career making music, making this
06:39documentary, but I'm also fostering really meaningful connections in my life
06:45whether that's with my family, my fiance, my friends. I'm putting my well-being
06:55first and that in turn looks like completion. I feel like I'm in a really
07:03great place in my life and I couldn't be happier.
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