Mrs. Atlas Hollywood
VEGASMAMA: Rhondda Stark Atlas
“She has a three percent possibility of conceiving,
I’m sorry, but I can’t take your money,” the fertility specialist told her husband, “the science is right here, look at the test results, there’s just no chance.” But there is a chance, she thought to herself as she sat there, the Las Vegas doctor’s words reverberating through her mind, I know there’s more than a chance…there’s a certainty. She knew science well yet her spirituality was far louder than the doctor’s decline; it will happen, it will take…her inner-voice assured her that she would become a 43-year old mama of a newborn.
Nine months later, after her first & only round of IVF, Owen Atlas was born. Rhondda Stark Atlas’ miracle baby & Vegas son had arrived.
She nursed him for two years and sang to him every nursery rhyme, poem and song she knew. He wanted more. At the age of 2 1/2, during a flight to Montreal, Rhondda decided then would be a baby’s first; Owen had never watched television before but what better opportunity than during a five-hour flight? She was prepared, Thomas the Train DVDs + player ready to go. She turned it on. He was enthralled, silent, fascinated. “How? I want in! Mama, please, in there, now…” Owen articulated, captivated by the tiny screen.
Rhondda loves creativity, she's been constructing dreams all her life; she grew up in LA and taught high school dance, choreographed & directed competitive dance teams, performed in half-time shows for The Clippers & USC games and even dabbled in eighties glam rock music videos. She loves Purim (a Jewish annual celebration where games are played and costumes are worn) and her toddler son followed suit, Owen was serious about his dress-up wardrobe and his creative MAMA did not disappoint. Crafting & hot gluing & tailoring apparel into his favorite characters (all Johnny Depp with a few others), Owen took on these impersonations in an unexpectedly authentic way. His role-playing dedication even fooled a woman he had seen daily since he was a baby, she still tells that shock&awe story of when she awarded “Gandalf the Grey” Best Costume and little Owen debuted from under his wizard’s hat. A true MAMA & son collaboration with a sprinkle of dad & the dogs' participation, too, their Purim intent has grown year after year.
Owen was always different, and thorough. Rhondda would honor his intentions. A pirate ship mural was painted in his bedroom with Owen as his favorite character, Captain Jack Sparrow, although he knew there was something amiss. A light house. Why? So his ship didn’t get lost in the night. He directed and starred in his first movie at 3-years old; lined up cars with dolls and created a traffic jam, pretended to be his daddy and shook his hands at the gridlock, he requested his mama to film it. In preschool, he would lead his fellow classmates in battle of the pirates and assigned a role to each child, he was Jack Sparrow of course, and his peers followed his direction and production into serious role play. He enrolled in Little Shakespeare, an after-school acting, performance and interaction class, and was chosen as the lead in their movie SOUP MAN; Rhondda suspected it was because he could remember his lines but he nailed his lines every single time, he was in every scene. Remember, he was only 4-years old. At 5, he made his second movie after visiting The Lincoln Memorial. Yes, it was about Lincoln’s assassination and he took it very, very seriously; there was a big hat and water gun involved and their high school aged foreign exchange student co-starred. Owen talks of writing and directing and especially, acting.
At six-years old, Owen competed in Taekwando as a tiny tiger, earned his black belt at age eight and competed regionally and nationally. There was a very desirable children’s seminar coming through Vegas featuring Mike Chat, founder of XMA Xtreme Martial Arts (a performance-based mix of dance & martial arts). Mr. Chat is the ex-blue-Power-Ranger, discoverer of Taylor Lautner, trainer of Black Eyed Peas, Usher & Jaden Smith (Karate Kid) & all-around martial arts performance badass. Many hoops had to be dominated before you earned an invitation to Mr. Chat’s seminar and, sure enough, Owen breezed through all of them. On the day of the conference, Owen wanted to be different and requested his long locks to be tied into a Samurai bun; perhaps getting into character? Out of the thousands of children Mr. Chat saw during his national tour Owen stuck out to him. Why? It was Owen’s focus & intensity, ability to take direction & correct himself, his deep respect for the practice and capability to connect with the audience.
Mr. Chat invited Owen to his studio in Hollywood and set up five meetings with five different managers and agents, Owen received five offers; let’s call this his 5of5Interviews. During one of the 5of5Interviews, Owen was asked why he wanted to be an Actor. “There are so many people who work all day and come home, they don’t have money to spend and the TV brings them joy. I want to bring them joy.” He would tell his mother, “If I’m not an actor now I’m going to die!”
"I want to bring them joy"
Within six months of the 5of5Interviews, Owen signed with Manager Julie Abrams, owner of Dreamscope Entertainment, and with Agents Wendi Green and Jennifer Millar at Paradigm Talent Agency (one of the top-ranked agencies in the country), began working with acting coach John D’Aquino and was picked up for his first movie, Netflix’s original little evil. Yes, within six months The Atlas Family’s life changed forever. It was all happening, and happening quickly.
When the writer & director of little evil, Eli Craig, was casting for his passion project, he was looking for a child nine years or over; once the actor is “the golden age” of nine years there’s an extra hour of filming per day which is crucial as, within that allotted 9-hour timeframe, the child needs to do their schooling, eat their meals, enjoy breaks and whatever time is left, well…that’s your film time. Mr. Craig hadn’t found anyone who was perfect, he was losing hope then, glory be, Owen showed up. A perfect fit. A director must really like a child actor if he’s willing to forfeit that extra hour per day to hire a child under the golden age. The way the story goes, Owen auditioned for Mr. Craig then immediately left to the to the airport with his mother en route back to Vegas, Rhondda received a call from the casting agency as they were boarding “don’t leave, come back, we need you for a chemistry run with Adam Scott. Come back, now!”
When Rhondda told Owen he got the part, Owen didn’t jump up and down and ask to celebrate with ice-cream. This child cried. The way his mother puts it, “he wept, the emotions pouring out of this boy…his dream was coming true, his hard work was paying off, he was going to be an actor. The depths of his appreciation were an affirmation that we were on the right path, it was in that moment I realized I did the right thing, letting him pursue a career in acting. I thought I had retired, instead I became the Manager of Mr. Atlas.”
Owen is now 8-years old and these past two years have been so busy, so fast and so exciting for The Atlas Family. Rhondda is not only Owen’s Manager but she’s his stylist in charge of his clothing, skincare, haircuts, his signature look, head shots, social media, prepping for auditions including learning/practicing lines & filming Owen's in-home auditions (which can lead to in-person auditions). Rhondda said, “I have an Actor/MAMA group and they travel from Texas, Atlanta, Tennessee and New York to LA. We're lucky, we're much closer, we can drive or fly.” The family is currently immersed in LA’s episodic season, the next eight weeks will be focused on Los Angeles and Owen will audition for new roles. Mr. West, Owen’s Little Shakespeare teacher, said “Owen is a great kid. I can see him getting a lot more work, he’s just getting started…”
I remember little Owen from my son’s preschool; he always wore a hat (wow, so impressed he keeps that hat on all day lonnng!), made a uniform look dapper and you’d notice him from a mile away. He had that certain something. I won’t tell you much about little evil other than I’m glad I broke my 30-year non-horror vow. I absolutely loved it. Writer/Director Eli Craig’s interpretation of the comedy/horror genre was an unexpected & refreshing, of-the-now love story with a relatable, comical storyline, a dark & mysterious child and quirky personalities that make you wish these people were your people. Seasoned actors pull you in and Owen, suspected as satan’s spawn, is the child who (again, like preschool)…you can’t take your eyes off of. There’s a ton of radical moments that made my husband laugh like a hyena. We’ve watched it three times.
Owen is enchanting. The little evil pose was Owen's creation, he said he felt the character.
Rhondda tells me “Evangeline Lily is incredibly sweet, beautiful inside & out, full of sincere compliments and caught bugs with Owen. Adam Scott is a real-life daddy and “an incredibly nice, thoughtful man.” Owen insists on doing his own stunts (“just like Tom Cruise” he says), luckily his years of karate training have proven priceless in the big leagues of Hollywood. During a day of filming, Owen was wired up with co-star Adam Scott. "Wires are uncomfortable," Rhondda tells me, “you need to apply cream then the harness then an undershirt and, on top of that, the costume. The weight of your body pulls on the harness thus pulling on you. If Owen hadn’t trained in karate for so long, I don’t think he could have done it. A Little Person tests out the stunt for Owen then okays him to go. I give the final OK. There’s no pressure from the Director, we decide what Owen can and cannot do. I trust my son, I’m very cautious but I also know he’s a trained, skilled athlete.” After a long period of time Owen began to complain, and he’s not a complainer. Out of the kindness of his heart, Rhondda says, “Adam Scott lifted up Owen to relieve the pressure of the wires. I can’t imagine the pressure on Adam’s harness taking on Owen’s weight as well. It was the kindest thing he could have done, no one asked him to do it, he just did it.” The scene came off without a hitch.
little evil was filmed last year during the humid month of September in Cleveland and Rhondda needed to be in ear & visual shot of her son always; constant contact as per SAG regulations. The 100-year old church where they filmed the aforementioned suspension scene had a nice little corner for her to wedge herself into, “you just find a spot,” she tells me, “anything to get the take and make sure Owen can see me and hear me. You make do wherever you are. On that day Owen was tutored in the priest's study and ate meals behind the church, everything was broken down, crackling, nails on floor, it’s the real deal. When Evangeline was filming a rather funny tale of Owen's conception scene (hysterical, actually, a VEGASMAMAS favorite moment!), Owen had a coughing spasm and I had to cover his mouth & give him a cough drop so he wouldn’t ruin the take.” Just as we do on the playground, parents take care of their child on-set except kids are playing much more than ring around the rosies.
Owen with his co-star, the incomparable Sally Field.
How do you keep your childhood on set? Filming a Netflix original movie builds bonds of a small village. Rhondda describes it like a tight knit family, you spend nearly every waking hour together and get to know one another very quickly. The kids are required to have twelve hour breaks between filming which means Owen would play with the other on-set kids; adventures to the parks, museums, points of interest and lazy hotel room days would normalize a wonderfully intense shooting schedule. Owen attends a Las Vegas elementary school, when he’s in LA auditioning Rhondda hires their regular private teacher and, when Owen’s filming, a tutor is hired by the production company. No matter the job, it’s always education first.
Decisions must be made by this VEGASMAMA, Owen has been offered powerful parts that Rhondda's politely declined. How do you explain Kurt Cobain's suicide to a child who's asked to audition as a young Kurt? An anti-Trump role? Or a gun-toting adolescent drug dealer? No, not yet. Rhondda fields these opportunities with the finesse of a MAMA; what, when and where our controversial world will be explained to her son is up to her, she'll expose him when he's ready. How does a child do a movie about satan, you ask? Owen is Jewish, so he hadn't even heard of this belief until the role was presented to them. Rhondda tells me how she explained it to Owen, "There are religions other than ours throughout the world. I explained to him that IT’S REAL TO THEM, everybody's religion has something to it. We respect other people’s beliefs." He understood, but then she goes on to tell me, “you think you got the whole thing right. Ah-ha! Yes! Then later I find Owen playing with an action figure he named Superhero Satan, ‘he’s really strong, mom! He's like The Joker!’” Owen told her just as her MAMA guilt crept in, “sometimes important things take layers of explanation, you don’t want to scare them. Walking that fine line. I’ve taken courses in and practice Love and Logic. Just talk to them. Always talk to them”
You walk into the Atlas Home and you can feel the love, warmth & strength of this family unit; three generations under one roof (Rhondda’s mama, Ginger, moved in a couple years ago) and their three Great Pyraneese; Twinkle Toes, When You Wish Upon A Star and Jackpot Big Winner, make for an active & enchanting household. On the day of our photo shoot I congratulate Owen on little evil. Owen was truly flattered by the compliment, proud to tell me he did his own stunts and then offered to make me mint tea. “It’s his signature guest offering, he harvests the mint from out back” Rhondda shares. A bit later we tour the backyard, “We have many fruit trees with a bountiful garden, Owen pics strawberries, fresh herbs, pomegranates, apples, figs, etc. from our yard. I want him to know where food comes from,” she says as Owen whizzes by on his zip-liner.
Owen’s daddy, Robert Atlas, grew up in Boston with humble beginnings, earned a full ride scholarship to MIT, graduated one year early and went on to found his own software company. Owen’s parents met the old-fashioned way, through a Yenta (Yiddish for a matchmaker). The family has also been hosting foreign exchange students for the past eight years, Rhondda tells me “as an only child, Owen has the opportunity to bond every year with the students, our Polish student from a few years ago Owen refers to as his brother and we visit Poland to see him, they're family.” Rhondda & Robert have always been heavily involved in philanthropy, Rhondda was very active in her Synagogue & JCC in Los Angeles and now the couple advocates for many charities, “I pick whatever moves me at the time,” she says…and that’s a lot of helpful movement. Sweet Ace, her first Great Pyraneese, succumbed to cancer so what did Rhondda do? She brought Puppy Up! walk to Vegas. The family had a feral cat in their backyard so Rhondda became involved with Best Friends Animal Society. They give their time and donations to many causes in our Vegas community including AIPAC, St. Jude's Las Vegas, Owen's schools including fundraising, PTO, Nutrition Chair, etc. Like I said, they have so much love to give.
Rhondda was blessed with a beautiful MAMA MOMENT on the first official day of little evil. There were fittings and meetings and decisions by the film’s Director regarding Owen (yes, Owen in contractually obligated not to cut his hair) that ended with a table read and catered lunch. Rhondda and Owen walk into a large room with multiple tables assembled in a U-shape, Owen was seated at the head of the “U” along with Evangeline Lily, Adam Scott, Bridget Everett and Donald Faison, there’s a couple extra chairs and one is for Rhondda. She asks Owen if he needs her to sit down next to him, “no mom, I got this,” he whispered in her ear. Rhondda felt her son's unwavering, beyond-his-years professionalism. To everyone’s surprise, as it had been kept a secret, in walks Sally Field. THE Sally Field. People are aghast, elated, thrilled, shocked. She sits down next to Owen to partake in the script read and, as Rhondda gazes upon her son in that chair for the first time amongst seasoned, incredible actors, Sally Field looks at her son, little evil's writer/director, Eli Craig, bringing his project into fruition after years of uncertainty. The two MAMAS, Rhondda & Ms. Field, look at each other and exchange a subtle-yet-proud-beaming-mama-moment-mutual-nod. Rhondda's 3% chance was living his dream. And so was Ms. Field's son. A quiet tear was shed. And so it began…
I’m thinking there’s a double entendre to the title of this post, Mrs. Atlas Hollywood. As defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, atlas is “a bound collection of maps often including illustrations, informative tables, or textual matter”. I have a feeling that our VEGASBABE Owen Atlas is going to be our Hollywood go-to for generations to come, mark this child as the next Ron Howard; a bound collection of talent, first actor then beyond. The day of our photo shoot Owen had attended a full day of school and didn't complain once during our 2 1/2 hours together, his energy kept us going. A total pro already, at eight years old.
To The Atlas Family...Robert, Rhondda, Ginger, Owen, Twinkle, Jackson & Star, thank you so much for letting me into your sacred space, it was wonderful! Owen, thank you for my garden-grown fresh mint, my boys can't wait for our Enchanted Tea Party together! VEGASMAMAS loves you all! -Desiree
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