| Classroom 5b |
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| Early this year, in January to be exact, this website put out a warning which basically said that because of the apparent upswing in film production in the state of New Mexico there was a real good possibility that some low-life rats would be coming out of their holes to rip people off of their hard-earned money. Well, it's happened and this website is going to do it's level best to stop this nonsense right here and now. Be it known that any agency that misrepresents facts or a known method of operation in an industry such as the film industry in the state of New Mexico and promotes "facts" which are more fabrication than actual truth is being called on it's claims and countered with the truth which can be easily found. In this case, MCM Casting makes the following statements on it's website - www.mcmcasting.com 1 Under the JOBS tab it states that New Mexico has a new booming movie industry. Fact: New Mexico's 'movie industry' is NOT new nor is it booming, it is simply quite healthy. There is a phone number to call - 505-610-0223 and a plug that says visit www.mcmcasting.com Question: Why should you visit their website if you are ALREADY there? 2 Under the DATES tab, it states, "... we are hosting 5 movies in the state with dozens scheduled for 2004. Fact: Since this website has apparently only been up since the first of May 2004 - WHAT 5 movies are they talking about? As of this writing, 09 May 2004, only one film is in production right now - "RX Sin Receta" Furthermore, what DOZENS of films are they talking about? New Mexico can currently only crew up possibly 3 films at one time and considering there are less than 7 months left in the year, it is highly doubtful we will experience more than 3 feature films the rest of the year. 3 Under the WHO tab, it states, "... we can use our movie friends to get you into your first film." and also says: MCM is owned and operated by people with over 30 years in the movie business. Fact: You, as an extra, with little to no experience in film will be chosen to work on a film according to the impression your image (photo) gives the casting people or whoever else will be picking and choosing people. If you submit a resume you might be picked because of a skill you possess such as being a guitar player. NO ONE is going to GET you into a film. You GET yourself in a film. "We can use our friends ..." These guys are not going to have many more friends if they continue to use their current friends in this manner. NO ONE in Los Angeles ie: Hollywood, is going to risk their money on an umproven actor, much less an unknown extra. It is hard to believe that MCM's staff has over 30 seconds in the film business much less 30 years in the film business. 4 Under the HOW tab, it states, "Usually you will work full days and in movie making a full day is 12 hours. FACT: 12 hour days for extras? BULL! A film's operational schedule is determined by budget and paying an extra for overtime is something NOT desireable. NO ONE wants to pay out more money than they need to. Under the HOW tab, it states further that, "You will be included in shots that appear in the finished film." FACT: BULL! NO ONE except the Director and the Editor and possibly the producer make the decisions that determine what the final cut of the film looks like. If you are fortunate enough to not fall on the cutting room floor, thank your lucky stars. MCM states: "Sign up today and be ready for the next big movie." Apparently, when you sign up you are charged about $90 to be 'registered' with them. Is that getting you ready for the next big movie? It sounds like you have already been readied to be a turkey, to be clucked, plucked and, well, you know the rest. The MCM Casting website has another little curiosity, it has NO text, anywhere. All it's pages are .jpg files, which makes it impossible for the average spider robot to find, search and index this website to any search engine. It's almost like MCM doesn't want to be found. Now, what kind of business thinking is that? MCM Casting is also connected to another website called MCM Models. This website's opening page has a member's login block that invites the visitor to login and use their password. But, the website DOES NOT work. The only clickable item on the opening page doesn't work. Once again it appears that business thinking is not am priority here. MCM Models claims to have an office in New York complete with phone and fax number. Unfortunatly, the website does quite poorly in it's grammer and spelling, leading one to wonder how "professional" are these "professionals" with over 30 years in the movie business? The Maja agency in Albq., NM is also somehow connected in this intriguing web of mystery. Investigating this conundrum one finds that the common thread that binds the Maja agency, MCM Casting and MCM Models is a young man named JJ. The following is an email sent by this young man as his explanation for the outcry in the acting community that evidently involved the AG's office and the NM Film Office too. May I have a moment of your time, My name is JJ Mitchell and I am the director of recruiting for Movie Casting Management, MCM. I would like to apologize for the amount of consternation that our efforts have caused among you. We were simply trying to provide a service to production companies just like �Central Casting� in Los Angeles, a company we modeled ourselves after which charges it�s new sign ups a registration fee . We now see that this type of system is not going to work here in NM. We are definitely not trying to �scam� anyone. We have decided to forgo the registration fee and will now list people free of charge so as to still be able to provide casting directors with people. We have a small collection of people and will let it grow and make our database available for New Mexico�s production needs. Thank you, JJ Mitchell A couple of things are quite apparent. The apology may be sincere but this was done with almost no thought to it and no homework was done, coupled with an arrogant attitude that was engineered to save us from ourselves at a tidy little profit. You see, Central Casting only charges $20 not $90. One thing is certain, in a couple of days this young man has accomplished what most people spend months or years trying to do. He got recognized. It's highly doubtful anyone will soon forget him. Memories are very long in this business. Just for nice-to-know information, the New Mexico Film Office lists the following recently made films: 2004 - 1 films - feature film 2003 - 17 films - including 4 feature films, 2 TV films, 1 documentary 2002 - 9 films- including 1 feature film, 3 documentaries, 1 TV film 2001 - 5 films- including 2 feature films, 1 documentary 2000 - 8 films- including 4 feature films & 1 documentary |
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