The Hollywood Complex (2013)

*Spoiler/plot- The Hollywood Complex, 2011. A yearly ritual of child actors and their parents converging on a large condo complex to work together to land a Hollywood gig.*Special Stars- NOne. Some casting directors and acting coaches of some note.*Theme- Persistance is the way to stardom.*Trivia/location/goofs- Documentary. Shot in the large Oakwood condo complex on Barham Blvd across from the back lot hill area of Universal Studios and up the road from Warner Brothers Studios.*Emotion- Probably too boring for anyone not connected or interested in The BiZ. I found it worth my time in viewing. Although very little new clues or insights in making it big was NOT contained in this film's story. Seeing the work involved is enlightening to the average film audience viewer.*Based On- Yearly Hollywood pilot season casting matters.

I've caught bits and pieces of this movie over the last few months, and finally watched it in it's entirety. I'm not sure if it was the filmmakers goal to show how screwed up Hollywood is or not, I got the sense they felt the people they were filming should be taken seriously, but the egocentric, scam laced, delusional lifestyles of these people made me glad I've never had any interest to pursue any sort of dreams of fame. I felt sympathy for the kids, as they were being pushed into something most obviously didn't want to do, manipulated by nightmare mothers, exploited by scam artist agents, and insincere casting directors. I could feel the awkwardness as the kids simply repeated what their mothers told them to say about things like why they wanted to be actors & actresses.Every scene alternated as an example of how everyone in the Hollywood machine was trying scam someone else out of their piece of the pie, and these parents willingness to throw all their money away on these scams in their displaced desires. Watching these parents make their children jump through hoops like trained seals was surreal. The entire movie was an example of poor parenting and the train wrecks that people can be. The scenes that stood out for me was the BS new- agey exercises for the kids to "feel great" about themselves, the fat tacky mother talking about getting out of their one stop light Missouri town and talking about how she use to drink all the time, the agent that repeated the same spiel with different girls, the self proclaimed "movie star" Tami Erin's name dropping (even though she's only had 4 credits to her name), and the one mother that joined Scientology to network with the stars.There was value to watching this movie, but based on the "success stories" at the end of the movie, I'm not sure the filmmakers realized what message non-Hollywood types would take from it.

Caught this movie on Netflix, and I had to watch most of it through my hands because it is so humiliating for everyone involved. The movie revolves around an apartment complex in LA that kids and their parents stay in while the networks cast new TV pilots. The movie follows a group of kids and their parents as they go on auditions, meet casting agents, and directors, and try to find jobs. The kids seem very nice, but it is sad that 99.9% of the people going to Hollywood to pursue their (or their parents?) dreams of stardom will wind up with nothing to show for all of the THOUSANDS of dollars spent, months away from family and friends, scams suffered, and humiliation of constant rejections. The whole underbelly of the Hollywood machine is open to see, and it is not pretty. No one has the guts to tell these parents that their little boy or girl is just not going to make it, as they see just another sucker they can wring a few dollars from. "You need different head shots" is a familiar refrain (Neglecting to tell you that the photographer of those head shots is their husband) The saddest thing is that these aren't kids in the normal sense, they have been taken over by their overriding ambition to be "somebody" Instead of living a normal childhood, they are already sounding, and resembling like slick adults. It is sad to watch this movie and think of all the wasted time and money, but even sadder to think of the wasted youth. Highly recommended

this documentary is very nice, especially if like me, you have chance to stay here at Oakwood Apts. I'm here for businesses, is very common for people traveling in different city to use these apartments, way cheaper than hotels. I've been noticing all these kids and I never understood why so many kids... well here we go...Sad story is that i personally overheard a conversation between some kids in the swimming pool and they were talking about agents, managements and money: i was disgusted. F king idiot parents. they all be drug-addict trust me.BTWTami Erin, the self-called movie star, not only has just 4 credits on IMDb but also has been nominated for the Razzie Award as Worst New Star!!!! AHAHHAHA. Loser.