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
00:40so I'm very grateful at the same time
00:45it was accumulation 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 really
01:13fun really exciting and I learned a lot working with Nicola Marsh my co-director
01:18was incredible she's just so talented you know the reason why I wanted to come on
01:24as a co-director was because I also had a really strong vision for this film and
01:30what I wanted to bring to the table and it was great being able to interview
01:34people and really getting my hands dirty my vision was basically doing a deep dive
01:40on child startup and the history surrounding child stars how it affects the
01:47psyche how it affects family dynamics how it can possibly change someone's life so
01:55there was just a lot to unpack there with music you kind of just go into the
01:59studio and you play music that's inspiring you you chase a vibe and most of
02:07the time you have an idea of what you want to write about this film was you don't
02:13really know what the other person is going to say when you're interviewing them
02:19each interview had something really special about it you know Drew Barrymore was
02:25very nurturing and very very insightful then you go to someone like Jojo Siwa who
02:31is a child star of this generation you know Gen Z and how did that vary from the
02:38experiences that Drew, Allison, Raven, Keenan, Christina and I all had it was very
02:46fascinating I learned things from each interview Allison Stoner was extremely
02:51insightful and is so educated on this topic we were able to reminisce on the
02:57past and how we have evolved as human beings to this day it definitely didn't
03:03feel like we were kids again I think it was easier for me to follow my dreams at a
03:09young age because I had my peers I think that if I had been a child actor who rose to
03:16fame from a leading role in a franchise that didn't have other child actors in
03:24it that would have been more difficult for me I had other people that were my
03:28age that I could turn to and we could share our experiences with one another and
03:33I think it was beneficial for me to have that support system I asked a lot of
03:38people to be in the documentary and not everyone wanted to talk about their
03:42experiences I think that this is a very vulnerable conversation to be had and
03:48that's okay and not everyone is going to want to talk about that and there's
03:51nothing 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 and 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
04:19whoever 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 same
04:31time this is you know when I got into the industry at a young age I guess there was a
04:37conscious decision of are you okay sacrificing a normal childhood for your
04:44hopes and dreams in that lay I don't see a ton of blame on anyone for providing the
04:51experiences that I was given but you know with that being said there are dark
04:58sides of the industry with this project it I didn't want this to be an expose I
05:02wanted it to be more of an informative experience for the viewer also
05:07understanding legislation that's trying to be passed right now for future
05:11generations of children that are working online already so and protecting 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
05:28assess out if that was something that I wanted to do or not I don't have any
05:37regrets sometimes I can dwell on the past but every experience that I've had
05:45including the good the bad and the ugly they've all turned me into the person that
05:50I am today and ultimately I'm just grateful for the experiences that I've
05:54had in my life so this doesn't act as a manual for parents that are getting
06:03their children into the entertainment industry but it can be insightful for
06:06them and there's also a lot of work to be done in the space of protecting and
06:12compensating child actors what is next for me I am in the studio making new music
06:22and I am writing a ton and recording and having fun with that this stage of my
06:32life I'm complete what makes me feel complete is I'm happy in my career making
06:37music making this documentary but I'm also fostering really meaningful
06:44connections in my life whether that's with my family my fiance my friends I'm
06:52putting my well-being first and that in turn looks like completion I feel like I'm in a
07:03really great place in my life and I couldn't be happier
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