This article reminded me of one I read 20+ years ago on Steven Spielberg.
In that article, an interview with his mother, Leah Adler said she would allow Steven to miss days of school to shoot a film. I remember being horrified at the time, reading that a parent would (gasp!) do the unthinkable and allow a child to miss school. Now I recall that article and think she was an insightful parent.
Regardless of what one thinks of Spielberg's movies, he has certainly made a large impact on cinema.
I went looking for the article online, but only found another one from 1986. Here is an excerpt and the link to the whole thing:
"When he was growing up, I didn�t know he was a genius. Frankly, I didn�t know what the hell he was. I�m really ashamed, but I didn�t recognize the symptoms of talent. I did him an injustice. I had no idea back then that my son would be Steven Spielberg."
http://fredbernstein.com/info/spielberg_mom.shtml"For one thing -- and he�ll probably take away my charge accounts for saying this -- Steven was never a good student. Once, his teacher told me was �special� -- and I wondered how she meant it."
"You see, Steven wasn�t exactly cuddly. What he was was scary. When Steven woke up from a nap, I shook." Long before Gremlins, Steven was a master at creating terror. He practiced on his three kid sisters. Says Leah, "He used to stand outside their windows at night, howling, "I am the moon. I am the moon." They�re still scared of the moon. And he cut off the head of one of Nancy�s dolls and served it to her on a bed of lettuce."
