Is This A Legit Project?

Is Every Project on Actors Access Legit? Red Flags to Watch For

Is every film or commercial breakdown on Actors Access legitimate? Not always. Each casting website has a security screening, but it's simple to avoid detection if you know the system. If you're an actor, it's easy to assume every person with a project is legit. Without a talent agent to vet projects, you can be vulnerable to scams. Here’s what to watch for:

Common Red Flags:

1. Poor Language:

   • Misspellings and bad grammar signal scams.

2. Email Submissions:

   • Avoid breakdowns asking for email submissions. This removes the communication trail on the casting website and gives your real email address to this person, opening you up for a scam.

3. No Audition Contact:

   • Being contacted for a role without an audition is suspicious. Why wouldn't they want to see your skills before they hire you? Ask a looooooot of questions!

4. Unnecessary Questions:

   • Questions like “Rate yourself as an actor” or “Don’t submit if you have no credits” are unprofessional. This is amateur and rude. It sounds like an abusive production set to me!

5. Upfront Payments:

   • Legitimate projects pay after the shoot, not upfront. I know it sounds good, but the next move it to probably ask for your bank account number so they can make your deposit. Nope, it doesn't work like that! Steer clear!

6. Too Good to Be True Pay:

   • High rates like $350/hour are suspect. Most non-union films pay between free and $350/day. Beware of the bait that can lure you into a mess. Check out all the other information about this project to validate if it's real or fake.

7. Vague Locations:

   • Listings claiming to shoot “in your area” without specifying a city are red flags. Production always knows where they're going to shoot before they cast. This is a form of "phishing."

8. Pay to Play:

   • Avoid scams asking for fees to audition or be cast. Never pay for auditions or representation. You should never give a credit card, check or cash for ANYTHING that involves potential work. Consider each interaction as an "interview." You wouldn't pay to interview for a job, so don't do it here.

9. Solicitations for Representation:

   • Agencies don’t solicit actors through casting websites. Don't pay people to submit you for auditions and don't pay for these scam "talent agencies." Don't pay!!

10. Suspicious Travel Offers:

    • Offers for free travel, like to Europe, can be dangerous scams. When it looks to good to be true, when there's no details about the project itself, when you've got a lot of questions about the project and no answers, that's a tell-tale sign of a scam.

Verifying Projects:

Before submitting, research the casting director, director, and producers on IMDb. Legitimate professionals will have credits listed, and checking the project title can provide additional details. If IMDb doesn’t yield results, a quick Google search might. IMDb is a free app essential for actors to research movie and TV show information. For more detailed industry insights and personal profile management, consider subscribing to IMDbPro, which also helps in researching talent agencies and managers.

Protect yourself by thoroughly researching projects. If something feels off, trust your instincts and move on. There's always another project.

Break a leg!