PARK CITY, Utah -- Macaulay Culkin wants to be left alone when it comes to questions about Michael Jackson.
Culkin, now 23, is the former child star who became close friends with the beleaguered pop superstar after his blockbuster hit Home Alone in 1990.
He was one of the children Jackson himself said came over for sleepovers at the Neverland ranch, and is reportedly the godfather of Jackson's son Prince Michael and his daughter, Paris.
Just two years ago, in an interview, Culkin called Jackson "one of my very best friends in the world."
But Culkin, here for the Sundance premiere of his subversive suburban comedy Saved!, had little to say about the child molestation charges brought against Jackson.
"I've tried to deal with (reporters asking questions about it) and not be a jerk about it, because then that makes it look worse. But at the same time, it's a circus and I just want to stay away from it right now."
That Culkin has anything to talk about other than the Jackson case itself is a minor miracle. Once a superstar earning as much as $8 million US per film, Culkin's glitzy Hollywood career went south about the same time he hit puberty. It's hardly an uncommon phenomenon -- the public tends to reject child actors once they've grown up, and sudden superstardom often leads to dirt-dishing and scandal-sheet headlines.
Culkin was no different. Tales of his demanding stage-dad father, Kit, and Culkin's own fading box-office muscle seemed to signal the then-teenager would end up just another child actor burnt up by the Hollywood spotlight.
A short-lived marriage at the age of 17 didn't help remove the impression Culkin was on his way to becoming a Gary Coleman-like punchline. Then last year Culkin turned up as a homicidal maniac in the dark drama Party Monster. And for the past two years, he has been in a relationship with That '70s Show star Mila Kunis.
In Saved!, Culkin has a supporting role opposite Jena Malone and pop star Mandy Moore. At first glance, it looks like a cagey career move -- re-assimilating himself into the public's consciousness as an adult slowly, rather than exploding back onto the scene in the next Jerry Bruckheimer monstrosity. But Culkin denies his motives are career calculations and, rather, reflect a desire to appear in films he can be proud of.
"Otherwise, you're just manipulating the system: 'What can I do to make myself bigger?' It's about doing good work and challenging yourself. There's a lot of self-awareness and you're trying to take an outside view and think of yourself the way of the rest of the world does, which is absolutely impossible. It's just silly. You're manipulating something as opposed to creating something."
Which explains why Culkin is here for the second year in a row; for all the celebrities and glamourous bashes, the festival remains foremost about the films.
"Sundance is a great place for film because the audiences are enthusiastic. They're enthusiasts, so I think it's important just for the movies themselves.
"I think it's important for me as a performer to be here, not just to promote it, but to just be a part of it and say 'Come see my movie because I'm really proud of it.' "
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