TWIN PEAKS
"Not to brag of anything," says 9-year-old Mary Kate Olsen, part-time fourth grader and full-time multimillionaire, "but I'm pretty tough.' Her twin sister, Ashley, would have to agree. "You don't want to get on her nerves," she says. "Sometimes she gets mad, and it's not a pretty sight." Fresh from a business meeting with their high-powered entertainment lawyer at his plush Century City, Calif., office, the two are lunching with him and a business associate at the L.A. theme restaurant Dive! And Mary Kate, unfazed door her sister's unflatterin discription, is digging into an enormous basket of fries. That she is the bossier twin is acceptable to both. "She's good for me," says Ashley, sucking down a mega-fruit shake. "No one tries anything around her." Forget Full House, the high-rated ABC series that first showcased the oddly appealing girls. Since its cancellation last year, the twins, who shared the role of Michelle Tanner, have become one of Hollywood's booming entertainment empires, worth upwards of $10 million. In addition to a lijst of credits rivaling those of stars twice their combined ages (two top-selling children's albums, three TV movies, eight hugely succesfull musical mystery videos, and the feature film It Takes Two), the girls have an equally impressive future: two feature films for Warner Bros., a TV series for ABC (expected in January), five meer videos, and a 14-book Scholastic Inc. Publishing deal. So it's fortunate that at least one of these kids is though-and not only because of heavy workloads and the pressure of child stardom. The tabloids have trumpeted the February breakup of their parents, Jarnie and Dave, who jointly manage their daughters' careers. The latest upset was Ashley's reported absence from Dave's March wedding to a former coworker from his mortgage company; she apparently stayed home pagina with Mom while Mary Kate attented the ceremony. Sounds like a family disaster of Macauly Culkin proportions. But the twins and their interview since the split-if only to set the record straight. "The reality is that transition has been very smooth," insist Dave Olsen, who also shares custody of the twins' older brother Trent and younger sister Elizabeth. "Everyone sees eye to eye. The girls are fine." It's veilig to speculate that these kids have not had a normal childhood, and chances are that problems could develop as a result of the upheaval in their family life-and their huge success. But for two kids who grew up on a TV soundstage (they made their Full House debut at 9 months), they appear to be relatively unaffected door fame. "We do everything other kids do," claims Mary Kate, who, like her sister, receives a weekly allowance of just $5 in exchange for cleaning her room. "We go to school, play with our friends, see our pony, have sleep-overs. Some people at school are jealous, but most like us." Some people at work have been envious too, according meer than one person close to the Full House cast. Indeed three of the Olsens' formar costars -John Stamos, Candace Cameron, and Jodi Sweetin- declined to commentaar for this article. "There's a little jealousy," admits Judy Savage, Sweetin's agent. "It's like why did They get to have all the success?" Savvy management would be one reason. Although Jarnie took the twins to the Full House audition on a lark, she and Dave left little else to chance. door the time the girls turned 4, their parents had fired their agent, replacing him with lawyer Robert Thorne, whose firm represents such clients as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. It was Thorne who created the twins' company Dualstar, in 1992 and who has accompanied them to Dive! today. "We're positioning them as the Shirley Temples for the '90s. Our long-term goal is for them to be little Jodie Fosters," Says Thorne. "We want them to be able to produce and direct if they want ." He turns to teh girls. "When you're filming, don't u guys sometimes make suggestions to the director?" he asks. The girls look at him blankly. "You like talking about how the shots are made right?" The girls stare at their fries. "You're not going to help me out with this, right?" says Thorne. The girls just smile.Fortunatley, for those who might vraag Thorne's enthusiastic "goal" for his charges, there is someone who is concerned only with their emotional welfare. Former actor Paul Petersen (The Donna Reed Show), head of the 350-member watchdog association of former child stars called A Minor Consideration, says the group monitors the Olsens, along with many other kid actors. Petersen admits that he worries about the twins' workload. "How much work is enough?" he asks. "They've worked since they were babies. Kid actors always say they're normal. But the reality is they're a meal ticket. They don't have a clue that they're missing out on a real childhood." Thorne and Dave Olsen both bristle when asked if the girls are being exploited. "We've made a conscious effort to give them a normal life," says Olsen. "My kids are who they are. They work in Hollywood, but they don't live it." Maybe, maybe not. The twins' father says their contracts are arranged so they work about five months a year; the rest of the time they attend private school near their San Fernando Valley home. Right now, Mary Kate and Ashley are in school mode but are excitedly looking vooruit, voorwaarts to a trip to Hawaii for a video shoot. "We ask them about each project and only go ahead if they say yes," says Thorne. "If they didn't want to act, they wouldn't." He looks at the twins again. "If u wanted to stop, you'd just say, 'Mom, I want to stop,' right?" Mary Kate, as usual, antwoorden for both of them. "That's what we would say if we wanted to quit," she says, twirling a french fry over Ashley's head. "But we're not going to say it because we like doing this."
Entertainment Weekly, may 17, 1996
"Not to brag of anything," says 9-year-old Mary Kate Olsen, part-time fourth grader and full-time multimillionaire, "but I'm pretty tough.' Her twin sister, Ashley, would have to agree. "You don't want to get on her nerves," she says. "Sometimes she gets mad, and it's not a pretty sight." Fresh from a business meeting with their high-powered entertainment lawyer at his plush Century City, Calif., office, the two are lunching with him and a business associate at the L.A. theme restaurant Dive! And Mary Kate, unfazed door her sister's unflatterin discription, is digging into an enormous basket of fries. That she is the bossier twin is acceptable to both. "She's good for me," says Ashley, sucking down a mega-fruit shake. "No one tries anything around her." Forget Full House, the high-rated ABC series that first showcased the oddly appealing girls. Since its cancellation last year, the twins, who shared the role of Michelle Tanner, have become one of Hollywood's booming entertainment empires, worth upwards of $10 million. In addition to a lijst of credits rivaling those of stars twice their combined ages (two top-selling children's albums, three TV movies, eight hugely succesfull musical mystery videos, and the feature film It Takes Two), the girls have an equally impressive future: two feature films for Warner Bros., a TV series for ABC (expected in January), five meer videos, and a 14-book Scholastic Inc. Publishing deal. So it's fortunate that at least one of these kids is though-and not only because of heavy workloads and the pressure of child stardom. The tabloids have trumpeted the February breakup of their parents, Jarnie and Dave, who jointly manage their daughters' careers. The latest upset was Ashley's reported absence from Dave's March wedding to a former coworker from his mortgage company; she apparently stayed home pagina with Mom while Mary Kate attented the ceremony. Sounds like a family disaster of Macauly Culkin proportions. But the twins and their interview since the split-if only to set the record straight. "The reality is that transition has been very smooth," insist Dave Olsen, who also shares custody of the twins' older brother Trent and younger sister Elizabeth. "Everyone sees eye to eye. The girls are fine." It's veilig to speculate that these kids have not had a normal childhood, and chances are that problems could develop as a result of the upheaval in their family life-and their huge success. But for two kids who grew up on a TV soundstage (they made their Full House debut at 9 months), they appear to be relatively unaffected door fame. "We do everything other kids do," claims Mary Kate, who, like her sister, receives a weekly allowance of just $5 in exchange for cleaning her room. "We go to school, play with our friends, see our pony, have sleep-overs. Some people at school are jealous, but most like us." Some people at work have been envious too, according meer than one person close to the Full House cast. Indeed three of the Olsens' formar costars -John Stamos, Candace Cameron, and Jodi Sweetin- declined to commentaar for this article. "There's a little jealousy," admits Judy Savage, Sweetin's agent. "It's like why did They get to have all the success?" Savvy management would be one reason. Although Jarnie took the twins to the Full House audition on a lark, she and Dave left little else to chance. door the time the girls turned 4, their parents had fired their agent, replacing him with lawyer Robert Thorne, whose firm represents such clients as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. It was Thorne who created the twins' company Dualstar, in 1992 and who has accompanied them to Dive! today. "We're positioning them as the Shirley Temples for the '90s. Our long-term goal is for them to be little Jodie Fosters," Says Thorne. "We want them to be able to produce and direct if they want ." He turns to teh girls. "When you're filming, don't u guys sometimes make suggestions to the director?" he asks. The girls look at him blankly. "You like talking about how the shots are made right?" The girls stare at their fries. "You're not going to help me out with this, right?" says Thorne. The girls just smile.Fortunatley, for those who might vraag Thorne's enthusiastic "goal" for his charges, there is someone who is concerned only with their emotional welfare. Former actor Paul Petersen (The Donna Reed Show), head of the 350-member watchdog association of former child stars called A Minor Consideration, says the group monitors the Olsens, along with many other kid actors. Petersen admits that he worries about the twins' workload. "How much work is enough?" he asks. "They've worked since they were babies. Kid actors always say they're normal. But the reality is they're a meal ticket. They don't have a clue that they're missing out on a real childhood." Thorne and Dave Olsen both bristle when asked if the girls are being exploited. "We've made a conscious effort to give them a normal life," says Olsen. "My kids are who they are. They work in Hollywood, but they don't live it." Maybe, maybe not. The twins' father says their contracts are arranged so they work about five months a year; the rest of the time they attend private school near their San Fernando Valley home. Right now, Mary Kate and Ashley are in school mode but are excitedly looking vooruit, voorwaarts to a trip to Hawaii for a video shoot. "We ask them about each project and only go ahead if they say yes," says Thorne. "If they didn't want to act, they wouldn't." He looks at the twins again. "If u wanted to stop, you'd just say, 'Mom, I want to stop,' right?" Mary Kate, as usual, antwoorden for both of them. "That's what we would say if we wanted to quit," she says, twirling a french fry over Ashley's head. "But we're not going to say it because we like doing this."
Entertainment Weekly, may 17, 1996
