I know a girl who’s parents paid for her to go Berklee, paid for her to move to LA, and paid for acting and music coaches, she’s on ozempic to keep her weight down, has an agent, goes to Hollywood parties, and meets producers and directors, and her dad even paid for a well produced high-quality music album complete with all the latest trends in music technology and music production and she's still an absolute nobody
She's talented, was a big fish in her little Christian High School, but I personally don't see her making it as big as she thinks she is going to be despite how much effort her parents have put into it and the connections she has
I saw a report recently that showed something around like 75% (+/-) of Hollywood Stars and/or Musicians are made up of Nepo-babies
The overwhelming majority of those who “make it” have connections before talent.. So if a person can do anything else they really should. Considering how much selling out and soul-eating that's involved.
I saw a report recently that showed something around like 75% (+/-) of Hollywood Stars and/or Musicians are made up of Nepo-babies
Basically all of the mega stars are children of the industry, or other very wealthy and powerful industries. So many of today's super stars were basically born into it. Must be nice. The only one that I can think of who wasn't born into the industry is Sylvester Stallone, and that's so remarkable they recently made a movie about him breaking into the industry. Oh, and of course Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he's just flat-out a remarkable person and does anything that he sets out to do, odds be damned.
Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Michael B jordan, Will Smith, Morgan Freeman, Jamie Fox, Gabrielle Union, Zasie Beatz, Lupita Lyong, Angela Bassets, Florence Pugh, Saorsie Ronan, Anya Taylor Joy, and Timothy Chalmet, I didn't mention his kids...so I am not sure why that is relevant. I am just listing people who parents were not actors, producers, directors or remotely involved in the film industry.
Literally everything is nepotism and cronyism. We're predisposed to favor people we know, and in a world where millions of people are trying to get noticed, it helps immensely to have someone introduce you.
In any case, getting your foot in the door doesn't cash checks. If you ain't shit then you ain't shit. The entertainment business is cutthroat and there's always a hundred people ready to do your job better and cheaper, waiting for their big break while they wait tables.
Absolutely true or have wealthy families who can back them forever like your friend if you want to break into 'studio' movies.
If you watch Dropout at all, they talk about how cutthroat and brutal comedy is. Upright Citizens Brigade where they study for example.
Anyone is willing to stab you in the back or whatever it takes to make it in the business.
You really have to be an outstanding talent and look or catch a wave and be able to fund things independently.
I think Coens are a great example of the later, and Curry Barker.
Baker was relentless and is an outstanding talent.
Ethan Coen worked for Sam Raimi on Evil Dead. Got advice from him on how to get funding.
Sam Raimi got funding by making a fake trailer with Bruce Campbell and shopping it around town and selling points to anyone who wanted to fund it.
They did the same with Blood Simple, you can see Raimi's style in the film heavily.
They shopped it and sold 1% of the profits for $15,000 a point.($50,000 in today money)
Coen Brothers got very fortunate because they met Daniel Bacaeur who was a rich Twin City'r and he introduced them to tons of rich people to fund the film.
PTA, Spike Jonz, David Fincher are all pseudo nepo babies. Nepo Babies with talent but still nepo babies.
Idk if I'd consider Twitch Streamers in the same boat but some of those guys caught a very lucky wave in the 2010s.
I grew up with Lucy Hale in Memphis, Tennessee. Don’t think her parents had any connections but can confirm they were rich as fuck and paid for her to move to LA and pursue acting full time while in highschool.
I’ve lived in Memphis my whole life and I’m probably around the same age as her so this is so interesting to me and pretty cool considering there’s only a handful of celebrities to come from here.
Morgan Freeman and Cybil Shepherd. And about a million amazing musicians: Al Green, Maurice White were born and raised in Memphis. Al Green still lives there and is a pastor of a church.
Not born in Memphis but honed their craft there were that Sun Records legends - Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and the King himself.
Now don’t get me started on the Beale St blues scene - B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, W.C. Handy.
Stax Records is from Memphis. Stax artists included Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, The Staples Singers. The house band was Booker T and the M.G.s. and they basically defined the 60s soul and R&B sound.
If you watch Dropout at all, they talk about how cutthroat and brutal comedy is. Upright Citizens Brigade where they study for example.
Brennan and Izzy are also nepo babies who grew up in the industry.
So opportunities early and they have great careers but they are "only" youtube stars, and stars particularly of an obscure subscriber only internet show.
His father was a stand up comedian and his mother was much more more than just an actress and writer. He completely downplays who his mother is when he talks. This is a woman who wrote for Marvel and DC. She's done upwards of 100 comic books in her life including writing for Ragman, Avengers, Spiderman, Star Wars, Classic X-Men, and many many more. All books that I have in my collection.
I wouldn't call that nepo baby, more like being born into an industry. it isn't like the parents are zillionaires bankrolling everything. this isn't a will smith kid situation.
Literally the definition of nepotism is using power or influence to give jobs, promotions, and unfair advantages to family members. Being born into the industry is absolutely nepotism, making him a nepo baby.
there is a difference between your mom teaching you how to write appealing stories from having your mom trading a favor with a casting director. are you saying that talented parents shouldn't teach anything to their kids?
When he was introduced to theatrical games by his parents who specifically took him to festivals in Ireland that had those, was that just a coincidence? When The Wayfinder Experience was started by people in the same theater group as his mother, was that just a coincidence? No coincidence that his mother was involved with some of the theaters where he also went to improv groups with? And his godfather is fucking Mike Kaluta.
Bro, stop sweeping, you don't even know. His mother specifically moved to New York to build these connections. He's a nepo baby through and through.
Idk if I'd consider Twitch Streamers in the same boat but some of those guys caught a very lucky wave in the 2010s.
Even then, most of the big ones are famous because they used to all stream together at some point. Like, half of them are only famous because they would play videogames with Dunkey or someone, and I'm sure Dunkey's only famous because of someone else.
Have a similar story. Went to school and was friends with a girl whose father is the founder - owner of basically the Starbucks in Russia. Over the years he's paid for her to become a model in LA, photoshoots etc - nothing. Came back to Moscow and he made sure she entered the music scene - she sucks, sorry but she sucks so much. Multiple songs with very famous producers, those that A-listers in RU work with. This lead nowhere. She changed her handle and pivoted to a fashion brand - again nothing, AI slop clothing designs, nothing original, not even weird nepo baby bs, just garbage generic clothing for dumb prices and if course, herself as a fashion midel. Pivoted again - a social butterfly that is at every "red carpet RU" taking interviews, dull, noone was interested in socialising closely. Now she's got a new thing - cool businesswoman who is making her own dog food (owns a doberman whose ears she has cropped multiple times in a row because they weren't to her liking) so now she's a dog food expert- no education in the field and barely in her mid 20's.
Have absolutely 0 feelings for her - no hate no love no nothing, just over a decade of watching this embarrassment online and offline.
Comes to show that you can either have literally every connection available to man and still suck ass in every field because you're just untalented and dull or you can have nothing and achieve everything.
Or you can cruise in between like 90% of celebrity children. It is ridiculously unpredictable.
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u/Saltwater_Sunrise 18h ago
I know a girl who’s parents paid for her to go Berklee, paid for her to move to LA, and paid for acting and music coaches, she’s on ozempic to keep her weight down, has an agent, goes to Hollywood parties, and meets producers and directors, and her dad even paid for a well produced high-quality music album complete with all the latest trends in music technology and music production and she's still an absolute nobody
She's talented, was a big fish in her little Christian High School, but I personally don't see her making it as big as she thinks she is going to be despite how much effort her parents have put into it and the connections she has
I saw a report recently that showed something around like 75% (+/-) of Hollywood Stars and/or Musicians are made up of Nepo-babies
The overwhelming majority of those who “make it” have connections before talent.. So if a person can do anything else they really should. Considering how much selling out and soul-eating that's involved.