ShareThisBy CHRISTOPHER BORRELLI
Friday, October 27, 2006
Nancy Carson, a children's talent agent who represented Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Britney Spears and Mischa Barton, among others, has been an agent since 1978, and is author of "Raising a Star: The Parents' Guide to Helping Kids Break into Theater, Film, Television or Music" (St. Martin's, 225 pages, $13.95). She talks about show business and children.
Q: Have you ever represented a child who's being pushed into show business by a parent?
A: Almost never. It really has to be a child-motivated situation for me. You want the child pulling the parent through the door. You can force a child to do this briefly, like you can force them to play the violin or soccer. But ultimately it has to be the child who is motivated because it's just too difficult otherwise.
Q: Does that mean the day of the manipulative stage mother has been replaced with the day of the manipulative star child?
A: I hope not. I think this is when the parent has to be the parent. Kids who have had success will try to manipulate. They start to say things like "I'm making all this money, I don't have to make my bed." At that point, the parent has to point out there are rules in their house, and you're on television, but you're on television because you want to be.
Q: If I brought my child to you and had no experience with show business, how much should I expect to spend before my child is a mini-industry?
A: Here's what I say: It should cost you the transportation to go to and from auditions. The cost of having pictures of your child done. The cost of the resumes. That's it. It shouldn't cost more than that. If they pay your child, I take 10 percent. But I don't make anything until they make money. The whole idea that this will cost a fortune is simply not correct.
Q: You started in the late '70s and, since the child-star train wreck has become such a cliche during that time, do you find parents are savvier about pitfalls and scams than before?
A: Definitely. Anybody who says, "I can make you a star, but it's going to cost $1,000 or this much for a portfolio and you'll go here to do this, and if you want to be in this television show, it'll cost you money..." _ parents are more aware that if someone tells them those things, it's a scam.
Q: Do the more famous clients you've had show signs of their talent when they're kids?
A: Yes. Matt Damon was very nice. Ben Affleck brought him to me, said he has this friend who's very talented. I remember they had especially good manners. Very smart, even as teenagers.
Q: Britney Spears?
A: She was unique. She walked through the door and she was shy. But the moment she was asked to perform, this amazing little performer just started up. I still get a lot of people who want to be clients because of Britney.
Q: She's a good example of something else, too. What if a parent doesn't feel comfortable with the material a child is being offered? What do you say?
A: Parents have the right to say no. I was just working on an episode of "The Sopranos" and frankly the material was very, you know, Sopranos. They had 13 and 14-year-old kids saying some things that I was uncomfortable with. When they were casting "Interview With a Vampire," this thing came up, too. I try hard to make sure the kids who come through my agency come out OK.
Q: My guess is that the kids would be more willing to take on edgy material than the parent would.
A: Depends on the child. I had a little girl who was cast in "Con Air." She played opposite Steve Buscemi, who played a pedophile. There's a scene where she's in a swimming pool and he's in the pool, and the audience knows the threat. But that little girl, she didn't know there was anything wrong about the scene at all. She didn't see the movie until recently, now that she's 17.
Q: A last bit of advice for the stressed-out parent whose kid has stepped off the bus in L.A.?
A: Well, first, why do they feel they have to go to Los Angeles? My advice is that they find good representation before they uproot their life. Find someone who will get you auditions before you move. It's a hard dream, and kids are only kids for a short time. Do you want them to waste their childhood on that dream?
(Contact Christopher Borrelli at: cborrelli(at)theblade.com)
