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That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 02 2011 12:29 AM

Not surprising, really... but still, disturbing just the same: young Kirsten Dunst being prepped for interviews by her folks.

Edgy DC Jun 02 2011 06:11 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

Dearest me. The sobering part is seeing it not as that messed up young star Kristen Dunst, but as any one of thousands of would-be child stars who by and large never made it anywhere, and just became anonymoous messed-up people.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 02 2011 08:25 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

The sobering parts are that: 1) The parents probably don't see this as all that embarrassing. 2) This is FAR from the worst that stage kids get. At least this one kid has got something like the wherewithal-- at least at this point-- to protest and hold onto something for herself.

metirish Jun 02 2011 08:40 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

Hilarious Question - what was it like working with Tom Cruise? Dunst - Um I thought it was kinda weird Dad - Honey , you can't way that about Tom Cruise Dunst - BUT IT'S THE TRUTH I am sure to the people in this industry there is nothing wrong or weird or strange with that the parents are doing here.

themetfairy Jun 02 2011 09:13 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

Why did they save this?

attgig Jun 02 2011 09:35 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

oh man... feel bad for her. the parents are seriously retarded... i would love to know which interview they were prepping for and see that interview too....

TransMonk Jun 02 2011 09:42 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

Interview With A Vampire?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 02 2011 09:59 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

That's what I figure-- just prior to the promotional talk-show blitz for the movie.

dgwphotography Jun 02 2011 10:06 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

wow. Just wow. If that was for Interview with a Vampire, that would put her right at the same age as littlest DGW...

Benjamin Grimm Jun 02 2011 11:10 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

There are times when a parent has to make a kid do something they don't want to do, and you see those facial expressions, and get similar "This is so stupid" comments. So there's a small part of me that can emphasize with the parents here. She had an interview coming up, and they wanted her to be prepared. But what's creepy about this, to me, is how they were instructing her to be phony so she could advance her career. Don't say your favorite actor is {unintelligible} because he does TV. Hey, say Jim Carrey instead! He's a big box office star! The whole "we have to teach this kid to be our meal ticket" aspect is skin-crawly.

Edgy DC Jun 02 2011 11:19 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

There was something in there about her having to do this for the family because "I'm not gonna shop at WalMart" or something.

Vic Sage Jun 02 2011 11:58 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

have any of you ever tried to get your hormonal tween daughter prepare for a test or do something she clearly didn't want to do? Yes, the parents here are creepy ("tell them your religious"... ugh), but frankly i wouldn't have blamed them if they ripped those fucking ponytails off her head and flogged her with them like a sailor on the BOUNTY instead of just nagging at her and giving her a "time out". I wanted to reach thru the video and rip her larynx out. But maybe i'm overreacting...

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 02 2011 03:33 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

The point isn't that they're nagging a slightly bitchy preteen, man. The point is what they're hagging about. This isn't brussel sprouts or homework.

Edgy DC Jun 03 2011 07:44 AM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

It would seem to me that she's already a working actress in a major motion picture (working on her second) and the studio should have a professional publicist prepping her, but these creeps can't let go.

Fman99 Jun 03 2011 02:13 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

I lasted 37 seconds. She's a cunt.

themetfairy Jun 03 2011 02:15 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

The issue is that these parents see their daughter as a meal ticket and are putting her welfare on hold in order to feed their own aspirations.

Edgy DC Jun 03 2011 02:22 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

And what elevates it to bizzarre is that they're so baldfacedly explicit about it. Add on that she's grown into a seriously messed up (but still highly exploitable!) young woman, and it's got to make you think at least a little that there's something much much wronger than her pre-teen insolence.

Frayed Knot Jun 03 2011 03:15 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

Fman99 wrote: I lasted 37 seconds. About 5 more than me. She's a cunt. Yeah but I bet you'd like to ... oh never mind.

TheOldMole Jun 05 2011 07:08 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

There was something in there about her having to do this for the family because "I'm not gonna shop at WalMart" or something. Well, then it's understandable.

Elster88 Jun 05 2011 09:51 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

My guess is this is fake.

Vic Sage Jun 06 2011 12:28 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: The point isn't that they're nagging a slightly bitchy preteen, man. The point is what they're hagging about. This isn't brussel sprouts or homework. That's YOUR point. Not mine. And yes, it is brussel sprouts or homework. It is exactly that. Their daughter is a professional actress, and dealing with the media is part of being a professional. How she does on a talk show effects her career. These parents, icky as they clearly are, are trying to prepare her in her career. Just as they would if she were an athlete that needed to prep for a competition and wanted to hang out at the mall instead. The parents are probably her managers; many parents act in that capacity for their kids in the entertainment industry. And whether the studio has prepped her for the appearance, or perhaps they were as frustrated with her teen attitude as her parents (or any human being watching this video), clearly she needed more preparation because her answers were not going to help her sell the picture or advance the career. And her attitude toward her PARENTS, who were not yelling or using abusive language but were merely being obnoxious in their pressuring her to do this task, is just as disgusting as the content of what her parents were trying to get her to say. The eye-rolling, the backtalk, the sarcasm, the hissy fits... this isn't the response of a mature professional who has already been adequately prepared for a task and feels they are being overworked or abused by meddling advisors, it's the standard bag of tricks for every teen who has ever been forced by their parents to do something they didn't feel like doing. Anybody with a kid this age has seen this act, and you don't have to be somebody trying to manipulate their kid into being your "meal ticket" in order to evoke it. I still say their restraint is miraculous. Maybe because the video was running... The mistake here, of course, is for them to have any professional relationship with their own kid. No parent should be their kids' agent or manager; it puts all kinds of horrible pressure on the family dynamic. In fact, i don't think parents should even coach their kids in sports for the same reason. I've seen it go too wrong too often. I refused to do it with my kids, after seeing the shit my dad went thru with me and my brothers. I just go to their games and cheer. Let the coach work on their hitting mechanics.

themetfairy Jun 06 2011 12:41 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

It is indeed homework for a successful movie career. Which raises another question - why was this kid in the movies in the first place? If it's because the kid just loved acting and really wanted to be in movies, then I'd give the parents some slack. But my perception is that the parents forced the career on their daughter when she was too young to have any meaningful say in the decision. To foist that kind of pressure on a kid in order to feed one's own ambitions is what I find objectionable and troubling.

Willets Point Jun 06 2011 12:58 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

Elster88 wrote: My guess is this is fake. I'm on board with Elster. Although the girl playing Dunst is remarkably reminiscent of the bratty character Dunst played on ER at that age the parents' commentary just sounds too scripted. That and I don't see any reasonable way in which this video would be saved much less leaked to the public.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 06 2011 01:01 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

Vic, I hear what you're saying. But are you saying that she's raised herself, and that she should know better? She's not a teen. She made the movie at age 8 or 9, IIRC, which puts her at maybe 10 here (assuming it's legit). You're seeing and describing a rude, unprofessional child, and restraint-- however oily-- on the part of the parents. But they're the parents, man. That they're not responding to her barking is maybe the second-worst thing about the video/interaction. That they've seemingly accepted it as their mode of interaction at her tender age is maybe the most depressing thing about this. She's not yet in middle school-- is it her job to self-educate herself about how to speak to people or treat family/elders or deal with undesirable chores (or, hell, about professionalism and professional mores, even)? If it is, hell, try 8-year-olds as adults and open the door to adult-child marriage, man-- they should know how to conduct themselves by that age, after all. Good Lord, this IS fake, isn't it? Willets Point wrote: Elster88 wrote: My guess is this is fake. I'm on board with Elster. Although the girl playing Dunst is remarkably reminiscent of the bratty character Dunst played on ER at that age the parents' commentary just sounds too scripted. Dude, have you ever met actual stage-and-screen parents? It's not quite like this, but it's damn close (and more galling, in some cases).

Vic Sage Jun 06 2011 01:19 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

She's not a teen. She made the movie at age 8 or 9, IIRC, which puts her at maybe 10 here (assuming it's legit). She was born in `82; INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (which is the movie she's about to go out and promote here) was released in `94, so she's around 12 (assuming this is a real tape of that period). I originally referred to her as a "tween" which is what she would be at this point... Not a "child"; and certainly old enough to know she's being a complete bitch. That they're not responding to her barking is maybe the second-worst thing about the video/interaction. That they've seemingly accepted it as their mode of interaction at her tender age is maybe the most depressing thing about this. i would agree with this, but that is not what the outrage in this thread is about. Its about those mean parents doing this horrible thing to this child out of their own self-interest. If it was "gee, these parents surely raised a complete monster; look how they're still enabling her bad behavior", then i never would've said a word in disagreement. Hell, i was waiting for her to tell them she would wish them into the cornfield.

themetfairy Jun 06 2011 02:34 PM Re: That's Entertainment/Child Abuse!

Vic Sage wrote: If it was "gee, these parents surely raised a complete monster; look how they're still enabling her bad behavior", then i never would've said a word in disagreement. (Assuming that this is real) I think that's a side effect of parents whose goals are their own ambition over proper child-rearing and their child's best interests. Two sides of the same coin, IMO.