tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post4962828578337317482..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Hollywood's latest scam revealed By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74436956961228463572016-04-18T19:44:15.512-07:002016-04-18T19:44:15.512-07:00This is as bad as those "modeling school"...This is as bad as those "modeling school" scams they used to advertise in the back of Cosmopolitan and on late night TV.Kaleberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283840743310507878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-23202051674494104782016-04-16T19:41:05.721-07:002016-04-16T19:41:05.721-07:00This isn't happening with just actors. It'...This isn't happening with just actors. It's happening with aspiring writers as well. <br /><br />If you have a moment to look into it, I suggest take a look at Stage 32 (https://www.stage32.com/happy-writers/pitch-sessions). I would really like your thoughts on it. They are constantly offering paid "pitches" to "industry executives" and touting how many writers have been signed or staffed as a result. But when I take a look, these "executives" are often just assistants and coordinators at agencies or production companies. Since I'm a showrunner's assistant & script coordinator, does this mean I can charge $50 a pop for people to pitch me? Granted, they are required to submit a full response and review of the pitch, which certainly could be helpful - but the whole thing just sounds fishy to me. I feel like it's taking advantage of aspiring writers, but as someone who is struggling to get to the next level, I've certainly been tempted. Still, I'll stick to the old fashioned way: sexual favors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75965344381686663042016-04-14T21:55:09.605-07:002016-04-14T21:55:09.605-07:00Great stuff, Ken. One more thing, when is your nex...Great stuff, Ken. One more thing, when is your next writing seminar and how much does it cost? I heard from a past attendee that you may refer stellar prospects to some of your working friends.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16890410201598772952016-04-14T21:51:42.971-07:002016-04-14T21:51:42.971-07:00Great stuff, Ken. One more thing, when is your nex...Great stuff, Ken. One more thing, when is your next writing seminar and how much does it cost? I heard from a past attendee that you might refer stellar prospects to some of your working friends.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82948231508864087542016-04-14T14:05:38.663-07:002016-04-14T14:05:38.663-07:00Charles H. Bryan said...
Friday Question from som...<i>Charles H. Bryan said...<br /><br />Friday Question from someone who must have something better to think about:<br /><br />Is there ever concern in a multi'cam about actors' footwear so as not to make noise on the floor of the set? Clomp Clomp Clomp or click click click would be hard to remove from the mix. (I was watching BIG BANG THEORY and noticed Leonard wearing tennis shoes on the hardwood kitchen floor. That's appropriate footwear for that character, but it can't be so for everyone.)</i><br /><br />Don't know about now, but it used to be standard Hollywood practice to put felt on the soles of shoes to eliminate the noise they made.Dannynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72188934410146852422016-04-13T15:16:42.491-07:002016-04-13T15:16:42.491-07:00I was trying to get an unpaid internship with a ne...I was trying to get an unpaid internship with a network TV show some years ago, and I was told if I paid $300 I would be "considered".<br /><br />I passed.chuckcdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41530907059599690542016-04-13T11:14:55.643-07:002016-04-13T11:14:55.643-07:00and then there also is the ongoing issue of Manage...and then there also is the ongoing issue of Managers and the California Statute that makes it ILLEGAL to conduct business as as agent (submit and to negotiate.....) yet there they are.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38660679977575226412016-04-12T12:24:55.203-07:002016-04-12T12:24:55.203-07:00Ken - Did you see Funny or Die's satirical tak...Ken - Did you see Funny or Die's satirical take on how the internet has ruined TV, using Cheers as the example of a show that was more enjoyable before the internet? Kind of funny.<br /><br />7 Trends that are Ruining TV<br />http://www.funnyordie.com/articles/c37bc0718d/7-trends-that-are-ruining-tv?_cc=__d___&_ccid=f873046d-663f-446d-bdae-cc9dc3998472<br /><br />Johnny M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8291910042698939532016-04-12T09:26:24.042-07:002016-04-12T09:26:24.042-07:00While I agree with what you have said, Ken, back w...While I agree with what you have said, Ken, back when I was pursuing parts on TV, I could not get an agent. The only way I worked was because of these darned CD Workshops. Now, there is a great distinction between going to one of these and receiving a nice scene from "Frasier" or "Becker" (first job on my reel on IMDB - it is the first 20 seconds - ha!) to work on, and going in and doing a monolog or "chosen" scene from the deplorable choices the actual casting workshops kept in their files. I was hired on every TV job on my IMDB because of these CD workshops through the years. I am not saying it is right, but the casting people I met brought good material, we all had some time to work on it and then we showed them what we could do . A few months later, I would get a phone call at home from the casting person I was able to meet, and I had an audition. It was great back then. I don't now about these days as I stopped doing them, but I was one of the lucky ones who got all my work from them. I hate that actors have felt duped into paying major $$$ to just go in and do a monolog or "meet". What is the point in that? PS - I wasn't able to meet you when I did Becker. It was 8/2001 if I remember correctly. Anyway, I wanted to add my two cents. Not all CDs were just after an easy evening of cash. Some were really involved and shared wonderful experience.Lauren Tuerknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80993376894544137472016-04-12T03:00:49.213-07:002016-04-12T03:00:49.213-07:00This guy is a real bastard. I sure hope no one el...This guy is a real bastard. I sure hope no one else hires him (well, maybe to clean the toilets).Barry Traylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14134880916215990198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27284775754179653932016-04-12T00:43:37.831-07:002016-04-12T00:43:37.831-07:00Ha! Mike, guess what my careers advisor told me to...Ha! Mike, guess what my careers advisor told me to take... and a BTEC in it, too, no less. A double whammy of a waste of time. Big difference here is that I didn't have to pay for it, though. Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12313862871092949952016-04-11T17:22:51.483-07:002016-04-11T17:22:51.483-07:00Friday Question from someone who must have somethi...Friday Question from someone who must have something better to think about:<br /><br />Is there ever concern in a multi'cam about actors' footwear so as not to make noise on the floor of the set? Clomp Clomp Clomp or click click click would be hard to remove from the mix. (I was watching BIG BANG THEORY and noticed Leonard wearing tennis shoes on the hardwood kitchen floor. That's appropriate footwear for that character, but it can't be so for everyone.)Charles H. Bryannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83406034548541526212016-04-11T17:11:21.441-07:002016-04-11T17:11:21.441-07:00Meh. Just a shadier version of all the media schoo...Meh. Just a shadier version of all the media schools teaching courses in film/television/radio. The best outcome for their students seems to be a job in a media school teaching film/television/radio. Harsh? In the US, is the most deemed useless qualification "Art History"? In the UK, it's "Media Studies".<br /><br />Then there's the unpaid internships.<br /><br />Presumably, there was a vocal negative response from the public to this expose, fuelled by the guilty being well-known, leading to the dismissal. A few more of these, the public will no longer respond and there will be no further dismissals. Practice accepted.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06248182899977033579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67763612298621433572016-04-11T15:17:39.767-07:002016-04-11T15:17:39.767-07:00When I read your lead, I thought it was about the ...When I read your lead, I thought it was about the "casting couch," which - amazingly in this day and age - apparently is still in high gear in Hollywood. <br /><br />Four years ago, there was a terrific documentary "Casting By," that featured legendary casting director Marion Dougherty, among others.MikeK.Pa.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91545150620561488172016-04-11T14:44:35.280-07:002016-04-11T14:44:35.280-07:00Good casting directors really are a godsend.
Whe...Good casting directors really are a godsend. <br /><br />When I saw Mali Finn’s name on the credits for a movie, such as L.A. Confidential, I knew it was made better by her participation.<br /><br />Also, Juliet Taylor always found interesting people for Woody Allen’s movies.Max Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07706524941272103444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8595611847270050242016-04-11T14:38:55.839-07:002016-04-11T14:38:55.839-07:00It's been happening for years in New York with...It's been happening for years in New York with Legit theatre.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2317617361971790272016-04-11T12:29:41.772-07:002016-04-11T12:29:41.772-07:00David Scott exploited young actors, there's no...David Scott exploited young actors, there's no doubt about that. He was able to get away with his shady behaviour because the networks did not care. Less casting expenses? Great! Casting directors behaving unethically? Not a problem! The piece in THR indicates that there are many willing participants in this game, David Scott was just one of them. Unfortunately the network execs that eliminated casting as we once knew it will get away with their deeds. jcsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91163145690949535712016-04-11T12:04:01.836-07:002016-04-11T12:04:01.836-07:00Casting directors deserve recognition. They deserv...Casting directors deserve recognition. They deserve their Oscar.<br /><br />But sometimes casting directors need to stand up to producers and tell them no, as with Scorsese's people casting that PoS Bo Dietl in VINYL. A working actor could have had those lines, a few of them not bad, gotten some exposure and maybe some work. But no. <br /><br />Instead, they hire a guy who goes on Imus, spouts his racist garbage, brags about how many heads he beat in on NYPD and how he beat the system. A guy who went into full rage mode for 10 minutes on national radio/TV about how he took his kid to see BAD SANTA and it wasn't something a kid should see! It wasn't his fault, no.<br /><br />Why do they hire him? Because he's one of Marty's ass kissing entourage at Raos? Whoever was responsible for this should bow their head in shame.Mike in Seattlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37912759385078768602016-04-11T12:02:55.272-07:002016-04-11T12:02:55.272-07:00Off subject but considering your review of Batman ...Off subject but considering your review of Batman v. superman one must ask is does it measure down to Ishtar levels?<br />Kennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49672336194669587552016-04-11T11:49:26.728-07:002016-04-11T11:49:26.728-07:00to my untrained eye, I would think the best way to...to my untrained eye, I would think the best way to know if a casting director or associate was any good, would be to see if Executive Producers, or Showrunners would be taking the Casting people with them whenever they had new projects. <br /><br />David Scott may have been really good but he was illegally taking advantage of his position it seems <br />The fact that LA never went after any of these people, says a lot...The Bumble Bee Pendanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782074071758250824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2555801023215541592016-04-11T10:57:30.034-07:002016-04-11T10:57:30.034-07:00The guy is still advertising his workshops on his ...The guy is still advertising his workshops on his Twitter account and he seems to also be getting people to tweet about how much he's done for their career. Shameless.Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9989062098049613222016-04-11T08:40:16.593-07:002016-04-11T08:40:16.593-07:00Casting Directors as sharks? Awful.
...don't...Casting Directors as sharks? Awful.<br /><br />...don't get me started. The same crap infected the voiceover world beginning fifteen years ago after large radio group owners consolidated and canned their on-air staffs. Hundreds went home to build their own little audio production rooms. Enter: The sharks. Companies like Voices, Voices123 offered the 'opportunity' for voice actors and dj's to audition for jobs...in exchange for an annual fee. Plus newbies enticed by the thought of doing voiceovers from home (i.e. not having to work hard.) Today, there are thousands of folks out there supporting those pay-for-play Web sites, many of which offer 'training' and 'evaluation,' again for a fee.<br /><br />The result: Too many people chasing too few jobs...that pay poorly. <br /><br />Ever consider doing voiceover work and earning thousands from home? Visit fiverr.com, enter 'voiceover,' and see 1,658 individuals who will perform your voiceover FOR FIVE DOLLARS.<br /><br />Sad. The newbies and lazy pros don't understand the new voiceover environment: "The job is not doing voiceovers. It's finding voiceover clients."<br /><br />Barefoot Billy Alohahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586870309250699505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64477601122703543522016-04-11T08:25:08.302-07:002016-04-11T08:25:08.302-07:00Always a pleasure to see how consistent you are in...Always a pleasure to see how consistent you are in supporting and defending young writers and actors.Eric Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639837826294361383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-15555288719920776062016-04-11T08:21:51.046-07:002016-04-11T08:21:51.046-07:00How did your play in Philly go, Ken? Did you have ...How did your play in Philly go, Ken? Did you have any involvement with the production other than licensing the script? Curious how different it is watching a show you've developed with a director/cast vs attending a production where your only input might be the words.<br /><br />CoryCoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03724849277190530926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80210340726929989012016-04-11T08:19:25.034-07:002016-04-11T08:19:25.034-07:00Get me Scott David!
Get me an honest Scott David!...Get me Scott David!<br /><br />Get me an honest Scott David!<br /><br />Get me the lawyer suing Scott David!<br /><br />Whatever happened to Scott David?Stephen Markshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15382570443203706976noreply@blogger.com