Can I load a swf into my Flex app that loads other swf's?

Question

The code below loads an AS2 swf into my Flex mobile for IOS app and it works.  If that AS2 swf has like a circle in it that runs across the stage, it loads and displays properly when run in FlashBuilder.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<s:Application xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009"
                                 xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark"
                                 xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/mx"
                                 initialize="init()">
          <fx:Script>
                    <![CDATA[
                              import mx.core.UIComponent;
                              private var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest("http://PATH_TO_AS2_SWF");
                              private var loader:Loader = new Loader();
                              private var myComponent:UIComponent = new UIComponent; 
                              private function init():void{
                                        myComponent.percentHeight = 100;
                                        myComponent.percentWidth = 100;
                                        loader.load(request);
                                        myComponent.addChild(loader);
                                        player.addElement(myComponent);
                    ]]>
          </fx:Script>
          <s:Group id="player"
                               height="100%" width="100%"/>
</s:Application>
But if that AS2 swf loads other swf's, they don't load or display.  My FlashBuilder debugger reports no errors or security sand box violations.   I'm using the most elemental code in my AS2 swf so as to not cause problems.  This is it in its entirety:
this.onLoad = function(){
          _root.loadMovie("http://[PATH_TO_REMOTE_SWF]");
The paths to the remote content are fine because swf's load and display fine from AS2 swf when run on it's own - not embedded in Flex app.  They also load and run fine if I cut out the AS2 swf and access directly from my Flex code.  So I know there isn't a path issue.  More likely not accessing the right layer in the AS2 swf from Flex or something.  Or maybe security sandbox violation but I don't see anything reported in the FlashBuilder debug console.  When run console just reports:
[SWF] SwfMobile.swf - 2,639,761 bytes after decompression
[SWF] assets/swf/AS2.swf - 1,470 bytes after decompression
Is there something inherently wrong with loading swf's that load other things?  Even if I have the AS2 swf load jpgs they don't load so the format of the target content at the end of the chain doesn't seem to be the issue.  Just the act of embedding a swf that loads other things seems to be the problem.

Answer 1

Ah, yes. Using an AVM1 SWF could prove difficult...
I'm going on about 3 hours of sleep at the moment, but let me toss out a few thoughts I have and hopefully something will stick...
Ok, so my first thought what to try and cast the loaded content as a MovieClip and call methods on that, but the fact they are AVM1 throws that out the window.
That leaves LocalConnection, as you mentioned. But this would require you to have code on the receiving end to handle the connection... no good either.
But what if you created a "bridge" in AS2 that holds all the code for the receiving end of LocalConnection (or has the control logic itself, perhaps even eliminating the need for LocalConnection all together!). I think maybe this is what you were trying to do already by loading a SWF into a SWF? Well instead of loading your bridge at runtime, what if you statically linked it into your project as a class?
*a few moments later*
Well it looks like you can in fact link in a a symbol created for AVM1, but it will only come in as a SpriteAsset, and will not include any custom code (which makes sense, since they use entirely different class constructs).
To do the test, I created a symbol exported for actionscript (AS2/Flash8), then linked it in with a CSS style embed. I then instantiated the class and called describeType on it.
So in summery, it looks like calling custom code on the bridge is out (I did not test this extensively, that was just my first impression with this simple test). However, if you may be able to perform the actions you need by attempting to cast the loaded content into something AVM2 can recognize. Apparently it does this automatically when linked in statically, so maybe there is something there worth looking into... mainly, can you do what you need using only the base class and no custom code?
Keep me posted!