If it sounds too good to be true...
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 10:49 amI heard about some auditions recently in OKC, but decided against putting it on the board. Some things sound too good to be true!
This came off the KFOR website, in regards to those auditions...
BRAD EDWARDS REPORTING
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Hundreds of Oklahomans took their kids to an acting audition at the Civic Center over the past weekend. There was talk of parts in Nickelodeon and Disney productions. Now some think they were hoodwinked and on "In Your Corner," they asked Brad Edwards to examine this great offer.
That commercial sounded exciting to hundreds of parents who took their kids to the audition for John Robert Powers, a company that trains actors for the Morgan Agency that represents big name Hollywood clients.
In hearing the well known names of Disney and Nickelodeon, Rebecca Funa of Yukon took her 11-year-old daughter to try out for a part. She says they dropped names everywhere of big stars they claimed they had helped.
The audition involved reading a short script, being photographed, and filling out papers, but the next day Rebecca Funa waited for the call back and it came.
"Well, at that point I was excited. They said that she was one of 38 out of 400 that they picked and I was like ‘wow that's fantastic,’" Rebecca says.
The interesting item was that Rebecca knew parents of five other kids that auditioned and they were also called.
"And they did the exact same spiel, the exact same thing with every child that we knew that attended that same audition," Rebecca says.
Did everyone win? Viewers who attended the audition told me they were all told the same thing, that their child was one of 38 out of 400 who made the cut. However, they said the kids could use some audition lessons, which they would be glad to provide.
The parents claimed that was the hook. The kids had to attend the John Robert Powers classes and pay for it.
Amy, another mom whose child was picked, was skeptical that the audition was on Sunday and over night the talent agents for Nickelodeon and Disney had gone through hundreds of audition tapes and picked her little girl. They wanted Amy to sign up for their school right away.
The woman with the Powers organization said, "It does cost for the class.”
I said okay, what do I need to do, what is it?” Amy replied. “She was like; its $450 up front and I said ‘okay when would I need to have that?’”
“Well, you'd have to have that today," she said.
The parents would pay a total of $3000 for five classes.
All this happened over night and Amy declined.
Is that how it really works, you get picked at an audition then corralled into their school for thousands of dollars?
I asked Jill Simpson, Director the Oklahoma Film Commission, who has experience working in casting in Los Angeles. She says normally casting directors or talent agents don't charge you.
"The way it works is, if you do secure representation, they make their money by representing you and getting you jobs and they collect a fee which is usually a percentage of what you get for the job," Ms. Simpson says.
There are plenty of groups traveling from city to city claiming to be you or your child’s key to Hollywood fame and fortune.
Simpson says there are local talent agents right here in Oklahoma you can deal with for free.
I'm Brad Edwards in your corner.
Brad talked with the director of the Powers school by phone.
They feel their advertising is not misleading and that the people should have known about the school and its costs because it was in the paperwork given out after people got to the audition.
They admit they are not licensed to run a private school in Oklahoma and are calling it a workshop.
This came off the KFOR website, in regards to those auditions...
BRAD EDWARDS REPORTING
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Hundreds of Oklahomans took their kids to an acting audition at the Civic Center over the past weekend. There was talk of parts in Nickelodeon and Disney productions. Now some think they were hoodwinked and on "In Your Corner," they asked Brad Edwards to examine this great offer.
That commercial sounded exciting to hundreds of parents who took their kids to the audition for John Robert Powers, a company that trains actors for the Morgan Agency that represents big name Hollywood clients.
In hearing the well known names of Disney and Nickelodeon, Rebecca Funa of Yukon took her 11-year-old daughter to try out for a part. She says they dropped names everywhere of big stars they claimed they had helped.
The audition involved reading a short script, being photographed, and filling out papers, but the next day Rebecca Funa waited for the call back and it came.
"Well, at that point I was excited. They said that she was one of 38 out of 400 that they picked and I was like ‘wow that's fantastic,’" Rebecca says.
The interesting item was that Rebecca knew parents of five other kids that auditioned and they were also called.
"And they did the exact same spiel, the exact same thing with every child that we knew that attended that same audition," Rebecca says.
Did everyone win? Viewers who attended the audition told me they were all told the same thing, that their child was one of 38 out of 400 who made the cut. However, they said the kids could use some audition lessons, which they would be glad to provide.
The parents claimed that was the hook. The kids had to attend the John Robert Powers classes and pay for it.
Amy, another mom whose child was picked, was skeptical that the audition was on Sunday and over night the talent agents for Nickelodeon and Disney had gone through hundreds of audition tapes and picked her little girl. They wanted Amy to sign up for their school right away.
The woman with the Powers organization said, "It does cost for the class.”
I said okay, what do I need to do, what is it?” Amy replied. “She was like; its $450 up front and I said ‘okay when would I need to have that?’”
“Well, you'd have to have that today," she said.
The parents would pay a total of $3000 for five classes.
All this happened over night and Amy declined.
Is that how it really works, you get picked at an audition then corralled into their school for thousands of dollars?
I asked Jill Simpson, Director the Oklahoma Film Commission, who has experience working in casting in Los Angeles. She says normally casting directors or talent agents don't charge you.
"The way it works is, if you do secure representation, they make their money by representing you and getting you jobs and they collect a fee which is usually a percentage of what you get for the job," Ms. Simpson says.
There are plenty of groups traveling from city to city claiming to be you or your child’s key to Hollywood fame and fortune.
Simpson says there are local talent agents right here in Oklahoma you can deal with for free.
I'm Brad Edwards in your corner.
Brad talked with the director of the Powers school by phone.
They feel their advertising is not misleading and that the people should have known about the school and its costs because it was in the paperwork given out after people got to the audition.
They admit they are not licensed to run a private school in Oklahoma and are calling it a workshop.
