Acting Job Legit or Scam?

Q: Hi Angela, How are you?
You haven't heard anything about "Batman 3" by any chance, have you? Like any "casting" scams?? I've spoken with a dude named Victor on the phone (heard of him from one of my friends at "Bolden") and he said that "Batman" is paying extras around $200 a day, three days a week and that we had to set up a direct-deposit acct at Bank of America so they can pay us that way. And he as also said they would pay $350 to fly us out to Chicago and to pay for the first week in a hotel. His website is www.oncalltalent.com but he seemed a little wierd about the whole deal over the phone. I started asking him questions like how many days a week I would work, how much it pays, when does it start in july and how long will the shoot last, etc...And he suddenly said he had to go. I just don't want to fly out there, do some extra work, and then not get paid for any of it. Seems like it would be an awesome experience, but I sort of have a bad feeling about the whole deal, should I stay away from it? Thanks Angela, Chris

AO:
Hi Chris,
Yes, you should follow your instincts on this one.
Say NO to direct deposit, and DO NOT pay anything upfront. They will pay you when the job is complete and your pay will / should be connected to a pay stub that shows taxes paid, hours worked etc.

Having an agent helps reduce the number of scams you come in contact with, simply because you say “Great, I’d love to do the job, send the terms or contract to my agent.”
When you don’t have an agent, you can ask for a contract to be mailed to you directly, faxed, emailed etc. Having a written contract with terms spelled out won’t eliminate the scams, but will at least leave a paper trail, making it easier to take any necessary legal action.

Also, if you’re unsure about a job, check out the production company online, with IMDB.com you can now assess the legitimacy of production companies, film directors, casting directors, actors, and upcoming projects right from your computer.
If you’re serious about acting, you can join IMDBPRO.com which is about $100 a year, (I believe IMDB offers a free 14 day trial so you can get a feel for the website and see if it is worth your money – I believe it’s worth every penny.) But you’ll find it has addresses, phone numbers, email and physical addresses of everybody linked to a project. If you’re unsure, you can check with virtually anyone connected to the project to make sure it’s not a scam.

Regarding Victor – he may be a great guy, who is just really busy or has some personality quirks, I don’t know, but my experience shows me that when someone gets squirrelly about details or money of a project, it’s a good idea to pass go without collecting $200 (or in this case handing over your bank account information…)

© 2007 Angela Oberer