“A child’s life was not my life,” says the late Diana Serra Cary, also known as Baby Peggy, in the first trailer for the HBO documentary. Showbiz Kids.
That sentiment is reflected in a series of former “child stars” outlined in the photo that opens next month. Evan Rachel Wood recalls: “Any industry that has so much power and is so competitive begins to become ‘Well who can be abused the most?’
She is among a number of actors who started early in the business and appear in the documentary for Alex Winter, who started on Broadway at age 10. Others interviewed for the project include Jada Pinkett Smith, Milla Jovovich, Wil Wheaton, Henry Thomas, Mara Wilson, Todd Bridges, and the late Cameron Boyce.
The film also follows two young wannabe wannabes: Demi Singleton, a promising teen performer looking to book her next big Broadway show, and Marc Slater, a young unknown from Florida who moved to Los Angeles with her mother for the pilot season. .
The official photo logline that also features movie footage, behind-the-scenes clips, and rare audition tapes: Showbiz Kids Opens the Hollywood velvet curtain, highlighting the glamor and allure of working in the entertainment industry while also providing a sobering window on tolls that early success can pit young professionals.
Winter wrote the Ringer Films documenta and produces with Glen Zipper. Bill Simmons was an executive producer with HBO’s Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller.
