wasnât legally allowed to work, and Louise had just enrolled on her student visa to study Drama at El Camino College in nearby Torrance.
Adding to Christianâs expenses, David leased himself a VW Jetta while Christian drove a Jeep Cherokeeâsomething Louise teased him about because SUVs were not yet in vogue. That didnât change until 1993 when Spielbergâs Jurassic Park helped spark the Ford Explorer/SUV rage.
Back in England, Jenny was feeling very lonely with the sudden changes in her family. Her eldest, Sharon, had moved to London with her musician boyfriend. And her two youngest had up and left with their father to move 6,000 miles away. With the eight-hour time difference between England and Los Angeles and with David always screening the calls, Jenny found it increasingly difficult to communicate with her children.
I remember David had an interesting way of screening Jennyâs calls. Heâd often cover the receiver with his hand and say to Christian: âDo you want to talk to mum? I think she wants money.â And Christian, by reflex, would wave him off.
But the Oak Avenue house was an important step in establishing a base in the U.S. David outlined their plans:
⢠Establish a home base for security.
⢠Draw up plans for short-, medium-, and long-term future.
⢠Sort out finances.
⢠Get visas.
⢠Establish Christianâs acting career; get an agent, a manager, and discuss aims and projects.
⢠Learn how to promote and publicize Christian to the industry and publicize him carefully.
If youâve ever moved to another city, state, or province, you know how much work it is to set up a new home. In addition, David had to register Christian with all the appropriate agencies and organizations like the Screen Actorâs Guild (SAG) so that theyâd have his new agent and contact information in case producers or casting agents were looking for Christian. David was under the gun to set up their new home while Christian was still traveling back and forth between England and L.A. He wanted to make sure that Christian felt happier and more at home in Manhattan Beach than in England.
Newsies was shot in mid-1991, and then later in the year, Christian headed to Prague, Czechoslovakia, to shoot his second Disney picture, Swing Kids . The Disney folks recommended to David that Christian sign with a publicist to prepare for Newsiesâ anticipated 1992 theatrical release. Christian was adamant that he did not want one. In Hollywood, personal publicists are either paid by a project (to promote during a specific event, like a film release) or by a retainer. Additionally, every studio has a publicity team that works on a filmâs releaseâa studio expense that doesnât cost the actor. Though David set up exploratory meetings with a couple of publicists in L.A.âmost notably with Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Hartnettâs publicist, Susan PatricolaâChristian declined to sign with any of them because of the addedexpense and the feeling that they could make do with free studio publicity whenever a movie was ready to be released. In between movie releases, Christian saw no need for any coverage.
Christian said to a reporter: âIt was definitely a strategy. I like not being in magazines, not being seen on TV, except when Iâm actually in a film.â
Unlike other young Hollywood hopefuls, Christian was no publicity whore. Publicity was obviously a touchy subject for Christian since his Paris breakdown. David gingerly tried to reach magazine editors on his own. His seventeen-year-old son needed to build an American fan base that had forgotten him by name since 1987âs Empire of the Sun . With Christian starring in an upcoming Disney movie, David managed to get a couple teen publications to notice. Magazines like Bop and Teen Beat were interested in covering the handsome English teenâwould he pose shirtless with a surfboard? Those
Adding to Christianâs expenses, David leased himself a VW Jetta while Christian drove a Jeep Cherokeeâsomething Louise teased him about because SUVs were not yet in vogue. That didnât change until 1993 when Spielbergâs Jurassic Park helped spark the Ford Explorer/SUV rage.
Back in England, Jenny was feeling very lonely with the sudden changes in her family. Her eldest, Sharon, had moved to London with her musician boyfriend. And her two youngest had up and left with their father to move 6,000 miles away. With the eight-hour time difference between England and Los Angeles and with David always screening the calls, Jenny found it increasingly difficult to communicate with her children.
I remember David had an interesting way of screening Jennyâs calls. Heâd often cover the receiver with his hand and say to Christian: âDo you want to talk to mum? I think she wants money.â And Christian, by reflex, would wave him off.
But the Oak Avenue house was an important step in establishing a base in the U.S. David outlined their plans:
⢠Establish a home base for security.
⢠Draw up plans for short-, medium-, and long-term future.
⢠Sort out finances.
⢠Get visas.
⢠Establish Christianâs acting career; get an agent, a manager, and discuss aims and projects.
⢠Learn how to promote and publicize Christian to the industry and publicize him carefully.
If youâve ever moved to another city, state, or province, you know how much work it is to set up a new home. In addition, David had to register Christian with all the appropriate agencies and organizations like the Screen Actorâs Guild (SAG) so that theyâd have his new agent and contact information in case producers or casting agents were looking for Christian. David was under the gun to set up their new home while Christian was still traveling back and forth between England and L.A. He wanted to make sure that Christian felt happier and more at home in Manhattan Beach than in England.
Newsies was shot in mid-1991, and then later in the year, Christian headed to Prague, Czechoslovakia, to shoot his second Disney picture, Swing Kids . The Disney folks recommended to David that Christian sign with a publicist to prepare for Newsiesâ anticipated 1992 theatrical release. Christian was adamant that he did not want one. In Hollywood, personal publicists are either paid by a project (to promote during a specific event, like a film release) or by a retainer. Additionally, every studio has a publicity team that works on a filmâs releaseâa studio expense that doesnât cost the actor. Though David set up exploratory meetings with a couple of publicists in L.A.âmost notably with Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Hartnettâs publicist, Susan PatricolaâChristian declined to sign with any of them because of the addedexpense and the feeling that they could make do with free studio publicity whenever a movie was ready to be released. In between movie releases, Christian saw no need for any coverage.
Christian said to a reporter: âIt was definitely a strategy. I like not being in magazines, not being seen on TV, except when Iâm actually in a film.â
Unlike other young Hollywood hopefuls, Christian was no publicity whore. Publicity was obviously a touchy subject for Christian since his Paris breakdown. David gingerly tried to reach magazine editors on his own. His seventeen-year-old son needed to build an American fan base that had forgotten him by name since 1987âs Empire of the Sun . With Christian starring in an upcoming Disney movie, David managed to get a couple teen publications to notice. Magazines like Bop and Teen Beat were interested in covering the handsome English teenâwould he pose shirtless with a surfboard? Those
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