Tampa Indie Film Casting Scam Case Study
Back to Tampa Indie Film Casting Scams
A few years back,
there was a so-called casting director in the Tampa Bay area who also
sold casting and acting workshops as a means of earning income. This character
held these large cattle-call castings where he dropped the names of large
productions which he supposedly was affiliated with. When the actors showed
up to the audition, they were told that they needed to improve their craft,
and after they were turned down for the “roles”, they were
pitched the acting classes that the casting director conveniently offered.
This went on for two years. Again and again, gullible actors failed to
check out the casting director and his claims and fell for the confidence
scheme. The casting director made a living using deceptive practices,
luring in actors with film roles that may or may not have existed. To
our knowledge, not a single actor ever landed a role. Plenty, however,
paid for classes that this so-called professional offered. The casting
director started feeling pressure when Independent Modeling began to investigate
and report him, and quit while he was ahead. He retired. Similar casting
bait and switch scams, however, sprang up in his place. The life cycles
of these scams continue. This time, however, more and more actors are
educating themselves, and fewer actors are falling for these scams. Are
you an actor who wants to be educated? Well, we recommend that you read
the rest of our Tampa Bay Film scam definition database, but for a synopsis
on this scam, continue on.
As a general rule, scrutinize ANY casting director who drops the names
of large productions which are using (or allegedly using) the Tampa Bay
area as a location. It is highly unlikely that any large production will
utilize any local casting director who is not C.S.A. (Casting Society
of America) affiliated, as most of these companies are union-affiliated
and are obligated to keep to unions such as SAG (Screen Actors Guild).
If they claim to be casting for a big-budget Hollywood production, you
must make sure that they are legitimate and are doing what they claim
to be doing. The reason that it is so easy to get away with name dropping
is that it is hard to verify anything with large production companies,
and the lure is stronger when the actors are led to believe that they
are in an audition for a large production which may lead to them being
“discovered” or become their lucky “break”. If
it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. There is more, however,
and this is a flip side.
Even if the casting director IS affiliated with a large production, it
still may be a scam. The casting director could contact them and offer
to refer local talent to them. Most large productions have more "important"
things to worry about and may not check to see if the local casting director
is legitimate. Even more seriously for actors, a production using the
Tampa Bay area for a filming location has probably already cast most of
their principle roles and will be bringing in their cast actors from outside
the area. What does this mean for actors looking for their lucky break?
A lot. What is means is that the “roles” that are left are
for extras or stand ins, which translates to having a job as a prop or
as background fodder. The pay is low, the hours are long, and how in the
hell are you going to get your lucky break when the main job of being
an extra is to be forgettable and to NOT draw attention to yourself? Extras
who upstage the real actors in a scene, whether intentional or not, find
themselves quickly dismissed if the issue cannot be resolved by the director,
as these are expendable roles. Think that you will have lines or can add
“principle” to your resume for one of these gigs? Think again.
Most of these roles barely qualify as acting roles, and in practice are
not acting roles at all. Think that the local casting director, and especially
the one who is set up to scam you, will tell you this? No. What they will
do it let the actors think that they are auditioning for principle roles,
as the actors can easily be misled by the casting director withholding
information from them (or outright lying to them if asked directly, as
they can claim a miscommunication if caught in any lie). The bait and
switch casting directors will allow the actors to think this and then
discount their abilities, setting them up for the pitch of acting classes
or casting workshops; these characters make their money by referring extras
to the production AND by selling classes.
One more thing in regards to local casting directors working with large
out-of-area productions. How qualified must a casting director be to cast
actors for roles as extras where they are simply background items? Anyone
can do this, and it is highly unlikely that the large production company
will care as long as they have people referred to them.
Back to Tampa Indie Film Casting Scams
INDIE
FILM SCAMS - SCAM TIPS - REPORT
SCAM
Opinions expressed on the Tampa Bay Film web site may not be shared by the professionals shown or represented in our photographs. There may be no photographs of our staff on this web site, and our writers reserve the right to publish under Pseudonyms for their safety. Professionals featured on this web site may not be affiliated with this web site and may not be contributors. Photographs are the property of our contributing photographers from the Tampa Bay and other Florida markets.
Opinions published on Tampa Bay Film may not be shared by our contributors and advertisers. Opinions expressed may not be shared by the Tampa Bay Film web site, and are solely those of the writer or contributor behind them. We reserve the right to withhold the identities of our writers, and may not provide such information if we cannot positively identify the source of the request or their intentions.
Films shown on our online film festival remain the property of the copyright owners, and exist on profiles which were set up by them. No film or intellectual property which belong to others exists on our web site server. Films and externally hosted content may be removed at any time simply by the owner deleting the profile where it is hosted or by writing us so we can remove it at our convenience. We are not a hosting or networking site and do not maintain servers capable of hosting large amounts of content. We are a resource, business, and marketing site for the professional Tampa Bay Film community for the use of production professionals and talent.
All use of the Tampa Bay Film site is covered under our terms of use, and you must read and understand our terms of use and our disclaimer before you can legally use this web site in any way. Usage, which includes viewing our content on any web browser or computer, waives us from any and all claims of slander, libel, cyberstalking, misrepresentation, and invasion of privacy. Please read our DISCLAIMER and TERMS OF USE for more information.
UPDATED 12/19/07
UPDATES AND NEWS - ABOUT TAMPA BAY FILM - TAMPA BAY FILM FEATURES - TAMPA FILM SCAMS - TAMPA FILM JOBS - TAMPA AUDITIONS - TAMPA CASTING - TAMPA FILM SERVICES - TAMPA FILM RESOURCES - CONTACT TAMPA BAY FILM - TAMPA FILM FESTIVAL
© Copyright 2006 - 2010 Tampa Bay Film. All rights reserved. Presented as-is, with no guarantees expressed or implied. Informational use only. Tampa Bay Film is not legally liable for the content on this web site, and use of any content waives us from liability. Anyone using the content on this site or attempting anything described on this site assumes all legal and civil liability. Please be familiar with with your local laws before using this site. Information on Tampa Bay Film is not to be taken as legal advice or advice which may be covered under any licensed or regulated profession. Opinions expressed on this web site are those of the individual contributor and may not be shared by other contributors, models, photographers, or businesses who may be involved with this web site or our online community. Tampa Bay Film is a free, no-obligation professional independent film and talent resource web site operated from Tampa, Florida, by a team of professional freelance and agency-represented talent. For more, please read our Disclaimer.
Super Raptor Class Web Site by Eos MediaArts, a Passinault.Com company. Super Raptor Class 0003, commissioned 100709.1100 hrs.
Raptor Class Web Site by Eos MediaArts, a Passinault.Com company. Raptor Class 0002, commissioned 011107.2100 hrs. Decommissioned 100709.1100 hrs.
Web Site Design by Tampa Advertising Agency Eos MediaArts. Main Tampa photography by Aurora PhotoArts. Tampa Bay events by Eventi Events. Our Tampa Film Showcase monthly Tampa film festival and networking event series by Eventi Events, a Passinault.Com company.
Hosted on the Tampa advertising agency Eos MediaArts Tampa Hub server account as of 01/11/07.
Tampa Bay Film moved to new Eos MediaArts Tampa Hub server on 12/17/07.
Raptor 3.0 Upgrade applied 12/17/07
Super Raptor Upgrade applied 10/07/09
Tampa Bay Film moved to new, permanent TampaBayFilm.Com server on 03/23/08.
TAMPA BAY FILM UPDATES
08/07/10 - Tampa Bay Film site index refreshed. Design layout centered, and supporting code upgraded.
Tampa Bay Film site template and site directories refreshed on 03/12/10 - Outdated meta tags adjusted.... special thanks and the associated names of people removed.
Tampa Bay Film site template and site directories refreshed on 02/23/10.
Tampa Bay Film site template and site directories refreshed on 11/09/09. Chris Woods power!
This Tampa indie film resource web site is dedicated to Tampa filmmaker Chris Woods, who is, in our opinion, the most talented and skilled Tampa filmmaker. His short indie film, Spaventare, filmed in Tampa Bay in early 2009, is a new benchmark for Tampa filmmaking; expect a lot of Tampa indie films in the future to follow the example set by this groundbreaking film. Not only is Spaventare, in our opinion, the best short Tampa indie film ever made, it proves that great films can be made on small budgets. Spaventare was done for less than $30.00, with a crew of three and a cast of two. Check it out on our online film festival by clicking on the link in this paragraph!
© Copyright 2006-2010 Tampa Bay Film. All rights reserved
