| Classroom 5 |
| Visits to this page: |
|
| Scams |
| Your typical scam goes something like this: An actor reads an ad or flier saying a company is "casting" or holding "auditions" for people who want to "break into the business." Great, she thinks. So she calls the number, gets an appointment, and heads down to the office for her audition. The office is in a nice area and looks professional enough: headshots all around, other actors waiting in the lobby, perhaps even a "Better Business Bureau" sign on the wall. There are forms to fill out. The staff members seem fairly organized, and they conduct a fairly typical interview, asking questions, perhaps having the actor read copy. They thank the actor and tell her they'll call her. Inevitably, the actor gets called back in for a meeting. She's told how talented she is, how much money she can make in commercials and TV. She'll hear stories of their successes. Then comes the scam: the sales pitch. "This is usually the first time they will tell you there are costs involved," said deputy city attorney Mark Lambert, a prosecutor in the Consumer Protection Unit. The company may try to sell you any number of services: photographers, overpriced drama lessons, cold reading lessons, personal websites. They might claim these services are "optional" or strongly recommended, but in many cases, if you don't agree to pay, you don't hear from them ever again. "Usually they will say that you have to decide right then and there," said Lambert, "that it's a take-it-or-leave-it deal. They'll say, 'If you don't want it, that's fine. We have somebody else who we're going to sign instead.'" But as a matter of law, under the Advance Fee Talent Service Act of the California Labor Code, it is illegal to charge any kind of upfront fees to represent an actor as an agent or manager. This means that potential agencies or managers cannot force you to spend money on their acting classes, or to hand over cash to their photographer buddy for new headshots (in most scams, they take a kickback for this kind of "referral"). They cannot force you to buy a website from them, or anything else for that matter. The only thing they are allowed to charge you is a commission--usually 10 to 20 percent--on the money you make from jobs they get you. This means, until they get you work, you don't pay them a cent. The relatively new Advance Fee Talent Service Act--written by California State Sen. Sheila Kuehl and effective since January 2000--has already seen its first day in court. In September, Lambert used it to sue Malibu Talent, which had been charging fees of $290-340 for mandatory photos with one of the company's photographers. The company had also placed ads in The Penny Saver and LA Weekly--ads that the city also claimed made false statements. Malibu Talent owner Simone McCue and employees Donald John Cherry and Michael Pasby were ordered to pay fines and restitution, and were forbidden to work in the talent business for the next three years. The good news is, the clients who made complaints got their money back. "This is why it's important to make complaints," said Lambert. Obviously those who didn't complain did not get their money back. Bad Examples Indeed, since the passage of the act, the city's consumer protection unit seems to be going after talent scammers like never before. Scam companies can be charged with more crimes than just violating the talent agency act, and sentencing can go well beyond merely having to pay a few fines. In 2001 talent manager Christopher Valentino received a jail sentence after pleading no contest to one count of criminal conspiracy and two counts of grand theft for conspiring with photographer Svetlana Kraft of Beverly Hills' Lana Kraft Photography. They had been swindling clients by charging them for photographic sessions and promising them acting work that was never provided. Valentino also told clients that he represented former Miss America Ali Landry, that he had appeared in numerous soap operas--including a 16-year stint on All My Children--and that he was represented by the William Morris Agency, according to investigators. Unfortunately none of this was true. Neither were his alleged promises to find these actors work. What he did find them, however, were headshots from a "highly recommended" photographer, who, he said, was a "former European model" who had done a lot of work for Jennifer Aniston. But Aniston had never heard of Kraft, investigators determined. Another all-too-common scam is simply a bad management contract--which is why any and all contracts should be taken home and examined carefully before signing. Agent Ryan Glasgow of Gold-Marshak-Liedtke described his shock at seeing a contract in which a manager had written in that at any time, should he feel it necessary, he wanted the client to be responsible for postage, travel expenses incurred on his behalf, long-distance phone calls, cellphone bills. "Unethical didn't even come close to describing what this was," said Glasgow. Actors should also remember that if they do agree to pay their management company upfront money for any services, they should at least make sure the services they pay for are rendered as promised. In some cases they are not. When actor Casey Reidling agreed to pay his new management company $195 to place his photo and resume on its website, the check was cashed, he said, but the photo never appeared online. Actor Deborah Ramaglia claimed to have faced a similar situation; after the company cashed her check, it placed her photo on a separate website--a website that, she said, she never knew existed. When their attempts to get a refund failed, the actors took the Van Nuys-based International Actors Management Company to court. While company owner Keith Kaminsky claimed all the allegations were false, a Small Claims Court judge ordered IAMG to pay the actors restitution. The problem with so many of these scams is that they work, and often they work on people who view themselves as smart, streetwise adults. In the 1998 case against West Coast Talent--a scam "management" operation that was charging parents thousands of dollars for promotional materials and acting classes for their kids--the victims were educated adults. These were lawyers, university professors; one worked for the fire department. And they bought it hook, line, and sinker. "I've seen very savvy people lured into these things," said Lambert. "These places have nice buildings, they have nice offices, they're well decorated. They have photographs everywhere, posters, all the trappings of what people think a legitimate management or talent office would look like. They can talk a good talk, and they fool people." Protection Plan There are a number of specific things you can do to avoid being duped: 1. Pay attention to how people approach you. Scam artists rely on a whole slew of tactics to draw you in, including setting up seductive websites, cold calling, and handing out cards in shopping malls. 2. Listen to what the businesses are saying. "They might tell you they 'submit' to different companies for commercials," said Lambert. "To me, that's a big difference from saying they actually get work for people. Anyone can submit. Are they telling you they personally manage someone into a successful career? Or are they just showing you pictures of people?" 3. Ask questions and get references. Who do they do business with around town? Where are their clients placed? 4. Research. Once you get the information, check it out. When you get a list of clients or projects they've worked on, call around and verify them. Call the Better Business Bureau; call the Department of Consumer Affairs. Find out how many showcases this person has held in this particular space that you're going to. Is it one of those fly-by-night, traveling-circus things where they do one night here and then disappear? 5. Take any and all contracts home, read them, carefully, and perhaps call a lawyer to have a look, as well. "It's a big decision you're making," said Lambert. "You at least ought to look at the law and see if the contract follows the law. If the business won't let you take home a contract to look at, then, personally, I think you should run away. Why wouldn't they let you look at a contract?" 6. Last, if you feel you've been scammed, complain. "Complain, complain, complain," said Lambert. "That's the most important thing. I can't stress it enough. People don't seem to do this, but people need to make complaints when they think they've been ripped off, even if it's a small amount of money--because it's the only way these people get stopped. Call the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau." |
| Classroom Pages |
| The following article was obtained from a Florida source, but the methodology in the scam remains the same and is a constant reminder for everyone to stay on their guard. These low-lifes are everywhere and will do their best to separate you from your money. The rule is simple: NEVER pay money up front to an "agency" or a "respresentative" or a "Talent Database / Directory" Any other services provided such as headshots, portfolios, comp cards and so forth should NOT be connected with you being represented in ANY shape or form, they may have a price but being represented or listed in an agency does NOT depend on you purchasing those 'extra' services. If you start hearing promises of acting jobs or a lot of name-dropping or ego-pumping (theirs or yours), Get Away! If you smell a rat, leave. Talk to other people in the biz and ask around for a legit business or person to help you out. |
 |
| Remember: |
| 1 Never pay money up front to be in a directory or database 2 Never go to an audition or casting call at a private residence 3 Nudity is not a part of ANY audition or casting call |
|