The announcement of an upcoming short film has started quite the conversation about nepotism in Hollywood.
It all started when The Rightway was announced on Twitter. It stars Sean Penn's son, Hopper Penn; is written by Owen King, Stephen King's son; and is directed by Destry Spielberg, Steven Spielberg's daughter. On one hand, some fans were excited to see these people come together and eager to see what they could produce.
On the other hand, a lot of people couldn't help but think of all the creatives who work all their lives and cannot get the breaks these three did.
A short film featuring the children of some of Hollywood's biggest names sparked a big conversation about nepotism. When the internet learned of Hopper Penn, Owen King, and Destry Spielberg working together, it opened a discussion about these three having all had a leg up in life.
As the conversation churned, Destry chimed in to acknowledge her privilege. "I acknowledge that i was born with privilege! I own that through and through! I make it my mission to bring new talent into the industry & give opportunities to artists of all backgrounds," she tweeted.
"No one should be left out because of the connections they dont have."
In an Instagram Live days later, Destry touched on the subject again but offered insights that some felt didn't align with her initial tweet.
"I have literally been trying to get into the film industry for over seven years now," she said.
"No matter who you are, it is [expletive] hard. It is hard. My parents … don't give us work."
Destry explained she never did more than personal assistant work on her father's films, which was "very important" as a foot in the door and a way to network. She then reminded viewers she initially tried to work as an actress and model without using her last name.
"By the way, that doesn’t matter, people still knew," she said.
"It was always the first thing, so it was like, I literally can't run away from that. I was trying, I was auditioning and I went to school and studied and everything, it just wasn't happening."
Of course, it's hard to say that being a Spielberg didn't impact Destry, even if it isn't in ways that are obvious and direct. The fact that directing was a backup to modeling and acting, which were a backup to an equestrian career, point to a not-so-normal upbringing.
Ben Stiller also stepped into the conversation when he responded to the tweet asserting Hollywood was not a meritocracy, challenging the notion. It wasn't until he was challenged with the fact that if Hollywood were a meritocracy it would inherently be more diverse that he began to come around.
Ben and Franklin Leonard didn't ultimately come to an agreement, but it did seem as though Ben moved from his original point of view.
Destry replied to the conversation in a since-deleted tweet: "I am just a young aspiring female filmmaker who admires the art of cinema. People can argue nepotism, but I know deep down that I worked hard to get where I am and it wasn’t easy. Beyond proud of this film and proud of the team it took to make it."
Another Twitter user pointed to Jamie Lee Curtis' previous comments on nepotism as the only ones that really matter. When talking about getting the role in Halloween in a 2019 interview with The New Yorker, she made a point to reference her famous parents.
"I auditioned many, many, many times. And then it was between me and one other woman, whose name I know but I will never say publicly," she shared.
"I'm sure the fact that I was Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis’s daughter, and that my mother had been in Psycho — if you're going to choose between this one and this one, choose the one whose mother was in Psycho, because it will get some press for you.
"I'm never going to pretend that I just got that on my own, like I'm just a little girl from nowhere getting it. Clearly, I had a leg up."
