Screenwriting : Is this a common occurrance here? What's the deal? by Pamela S K Glasner

Yes, please flag these people. I don't even know if there is a reporting function, but I would use it if this happened to me. (Long-time member who abandoned his account and recently came back.)

Producers are supposed to pay screenwriters, not the other way around. I don’t know if the people who run Stage32 think about this but I would make them aware. Also if it happened to me I would not keep their name off of my post. I HATE producers who try to take advantage of screenwriters.

Just so everyone knows, one of them is Rebecca O Brien. The link to her page here on Stage 32 is https://www.stage32.com/profile/1094456/about . The other WAS David Alexanian but I see that his account has already been suspended.

I had someone just say that they had a reasonable producer's fee that I'd pay... yeah, that's not how this works, dog.

My guess is it's one spammer using profiles of real indie producers to set this up. The veneer of authenticity, you know?

Scott - interesting! In fact, I did check out the IMDb page and there is a producer of note with that name. I wonder if she knows her profile is being used? I'll bet not!

I had someone who reached out to me about reading a script of mine. This guy sent me his email and I sent him the script and got ghosted. It may not be the same as what you're going through but you not alone when it comes to fake people in our industry.

I just got the following from Stage 32:

Hi Pamela,

Thanks very much for reaching out and for bringing forth to our attention. Happy to help. I've looked up Rebecca O'Brien's profile and it has now also been taken down and flagged.

Have a great day and take care.

Lisa

Thanks for being a Stage 32 Community Member!

The Member Help Team

someone asked me to send him money to afrika because.... I dont remeber the reason.

I had a fake producer going by Paul Myler contact me a couple weeks ago. There is a legit Irish producer on IMDB by that name, but who has no IMDB photo, which should be required for accounts. The fake had an IMDB link to the real producer's IMDB credits, but chose for his S32 picture the 2010 photo of another accomplished Paul Myler, who was the Australian ambassador to Russia and Asia.

I reported the fake to S32 Staff and they took care of the bogus account right away. I'm sure S32 does its best, but with over a million accounts to verify, a few will slip through, so it's up to all members to do due diligence when contacted by industry pros.

Hi Pamela, As a Stage 32 Lounge moderator, I have brought this to Ashley Renee Smith's attention. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, as this kind of awareness is vital to our community's success.

Hi Pamela S K Glasner, if this ever happens again, please reach out to our support team at support@stage32.com or contact me at community@stage32.com to make us aware of the problem so that we can look into it asap.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, John!

Oh my gosh, me too. Two producers with the same exact thing as you mention. This has never happened to me on any other platform.

Asmaa, please see Ashley's post above. Let's help get rid of them.

Ashley, I think there are going to be a slew of these until the perpetrators get it that we're not going to fall for it. Perhaps you can send out a mass notifucation telling all members to be aware of this??

John, thanks for reaching out ro Ashley!

Pamela this is not supposed to happen on this platform always report it like others said. Apologies to you for it happening to you, glad you did not fall for the scam!!!

Thank you Pamela. I did report it. One is suspended and the other is still there. I will check tomorrow and report it again is not suspended.

I was contacted by Tara L. Craig, using exactly the same pitch. Not only do I not have 3K to throw away, I would never send anyone a script "for evaluation." Read: plagiarism.

Tara is the one the contacted me this weekend as well.

As someone who's a massive fan of the real Rebecca O'Brien, I have to say I was a little miffed on her behalf when I interacted with the scammer impersonating her. I sent an E-mail to support and they responded within a day to let me know they were dealing with it. Appreciate that Stage32's team was prompt about it, at least from what I experienced.

I too have started a conversation with Tara, but as soon as she talked about an upfront fee for her services, that to me means an end to the conversation. Pamela, please don't think this is the way that Stage32 does business. there is enough information on this site to help you connect with the right producer for your project. Take care, Geoff

As long as you have your materials registered with the WGA, I guess there's no risk of plagiarism, is there?

Jenean and Luca: I sincerely doubt they'd even bother to read the script, let alone produce it. That takes WORK - and lots of it. These people are happy with their "get rich quick" scheme --- can be done right from their kitchen table in their jammies - no work involved!

It is a scam, and for some reason they all ask the same "fee". Screenshot the message, so it shows the sender, then report it to the admins.

Definitely contact writer's help.

Luca Mannea I do both the WGA and the LOC, for the LOC gives much more and much longer protection than the WGA registration.

Luca Mannea If you are a member of the WGA union then they will protect you and your scripts when you registered them but if you are NOT a member of the union, there is no protection so best to copyright them to protect yourself!

Support@stage32.com if you ever see anything like this. Remember, there's over 1 million in the community and 25 on the Stage 32 Team. We try to see it all, but we also appreciate everyone here helping us police the platform. Looks like these accounts were flagged quickly and taken down quickly. That's always our goal and we, of course, appreciate the help!

Richard "RB" Botto I received one this morning from Tara L. Craig who just joined the platform less than a week ago. I emailed support this morning she was asking for $3,500. I also wrote a post about the trolls. Thanks so much, here is her profile link https://www.stage32.com/profile/1092050/about

Looks like she was suspended as well Amazing Kacee - Thanks for the assistance!

Amazing Kacee, that account has already been removed. If you ever receive a message like that again, send a screenshot of the message and link to the profile page to support@stage32.com.

Thank You Ashley Renee Smith Richard "RB" Botto Thank you so much for all your help and attention. The ability for a safe platform in a world going mad sometimes is of utmost paramount. Thank you again for keeping Stage 32 friendly and safe for everyone. I appreciate it!

Expect much, much MORE of this behavior during this DISMAL economic nightmare called The American Economy. Pay attention to your personal emails. DO NOT click on mail that mentions package deliveries you are not anticipating, and "questions about your account" regarding accounts you don't even have. Be aware! The criminal scum element of society has definitely mastered the "Art of the Steal." I receive said emails constantly and delete them as quickly as they arrive!

Always Amazing Kacee. TY.

Wow, I am loving this conversation, camaraderie, and support that we are giving each other! It is definitely true: united we stand. Gratitude to all the execs at Stage 32 for doing such a GREAT job of suspending the accounts of the boneheads who think they can just waltz and end rip us off!

We've had a no spam, no abuse policy in play since Day One, Pamela S K Glasner and it'll be there forever. Unfortunately, there are always going to be scammers trying to slip through the cracks. Fortunately, we have the greatest community on the planet who stay vigilant and help us assure everything stays positive and progressive. We're all in this together.

The key phrase for me that screams scam is, "collaboration fee."

I shared this before but it's worth adding here: a high profile scam that was finally busted.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/11/how-we-unmasked-the-hollywood-c...

It's worth considering that in recent weeks there's been a sizable uptick in various scams and I think it might be related to the world-wide publicity that Stage32 has garnered for reaching 1 Million Members. Brings out a few bad apples.

Phillip:

:: someone asked me to send him money to afrika because.... I dont remeber the reason.::

Was a Nigerian Prince, maybe? A Christian millionaire persecuted for his faith and you can help him get his money out of Nigeria? Or a missionary who needs funds for his church school in Nigeria?

My favorite one was from the Director of the FBI, telling me he needed my help to transfer $100M in terrorist money from Nigeria to the U.S., and I'd get a 10% finder's fee if I'd just put up $10,000 first! What was hilarious was that the letterhead looked official, and the name of the FBI Director, Robert S. Mueller, III, had been the FBI director from 2001-2013 (this was 2015 or 2016, I think)—but the rest read like that dopey shapeshifter Darin Morgan played on THE X-FILES had written the letter. ("You misspelled 'Federal Bureau of Investigation'." "It's just a typo—" "Twice.")

It's a common occurrence everywhere, and this is one of the most basic and widespread scams about. You have to learn how to do your due diligence because the industry is full of people at every level that you really don't want to get involved with. Even top producers get conned out of huge sums of money.

As for the WGA protecting writers just because you have a script registered with them. Not the case. You're on your own with legally pursuing action. Plus, only LoC (Library of Congress) registration entitles you to statutory compensation in the USA should you win a case.

Be especially careful with wolves in sheep's clothing. They're the worse, and closer than you think.

@CJ Walley - RE "LoC (Library of Congress) registration entitles you to statutory compensation in the USA should you win a case" --- the operative word being "entitles." The reality is that even if you win a case, no one helps you actuallt get that money. And that's what the vultures are counting on: that you will either get sick of the whole thing or not have the additional funds needed for another lawsuit to force them to pay.

This is horrible.

Try to know more about the people you are dealing with before accepting anything. Research them on any website. Call some references.

Most importantly, copyright your script before hand!

I think we should always remember the only people we pay are agent/manager/lawyer.

Vikki Harris Yes, except for WGA Agents. They only can get paid when you get paid.

And therapists Vikki Harris :)

Ty Strange Yup. The 1,000,000 member article in Variety was like blood in the water to scammers.

When someone asks me for a $3,000 collaboration fee I immediately agree to pay it as soon as I receive my payment from them (I charge an $8,000 collaboration fee), but no one's taken me up on it it yet for some reason. Weird.

Mark Garbett :D

Thank you for speaking up. I think there should be a 'report profile' button so the Stage 32 team can review the profile and take them down accordingly.

Hey Pamela, it may be a common occurrence. Someone made that kind of a proposal to me - I too am a not-yet-produced screenwriter / not born yesterday and [fortunately] not desperate. I too was stunned and annoyed that they thought I would fall for that scam. (The scammer had no meaningful imdbpro.com credits, NTS). Amusing and beyond vexing that two different profile "producers" would send the same copy, reproducing the grammar/spelling/typesetting errors. I think the upfront-costs-for-nebulous-"services" flimflam model should be flagged to their profile[s]. On Stage 32 AND on imdbpro!

Definitely a scam. Any producer worth their salt is giving YOU money.

Definitely flag to Stage32 admin.

There is a REPORT ABUSE button on the arrow pull-down beside their name.

Mark Garbett -- LMAO!! I'm going to do that next time! <3

You know who paid for "Barbie"? Margot, who by the way played Barbie...and she's now like $500 mill richer...Ok, I can dig someone asking you investment into making your own movie a scam...how about a thousands of people here with 0 experience or background asking producers to give them 20-50 grand because they have a "stellar script"? Ya'll get the picture, I hope...

If a script is good and they can see the value in it, then it should be obvious and they the studios take a chance and green light it. Why should the creators of content also have to do the financing and pony up 3k, to then be sidelined? I call BS.

I just noticed the two flimflam dudes who approached me have been deleted or suspended....as of 7 months ago! I am such a skeptic/ cynic it wouldn't occur to me to chase them down...one shared a common WASP name with an accomplished graphics novelist/writer-director. He initially offered 'services' to which I replied 'Well, thanks [Joe Blow]. Are you on imdb (i.e., which [JB] are you)? Let me know if you need to hire a writer." That was when he hit me with disclosure of his "fee structure" - WITHOUT identifying which JB he is! (The industry-prominent writer-director graphics novelisr is JB (II)!) I left it there. Anyhow, THANKS Stage32 for threshing out the Chaff! Cheers MG

Welcome to show biz. Even legit show biz ppl want a retainer fee just to talk. Lol.

Wait until you do dinner meetings, pitching to investors. We had a meeting with a NBA basketball player who wanted to fund movies. Dude chose to meet at Mastro's in Beverly Hills. Brought his side chick and two homies. I freaked out when they ordered 4 appetizers and side chick ordered 2 glasses of wine :(

Hi, PAMELA, yeah your right, these people come in different ways and is how three different people have approached me, one said was a co-producer, claimed to have read one of my scripts and liked it, but told me his corroboration fees was 1000$, stage 32 team did well as soon as I reported he was suspended. The second one came as a financer ready to invest 35 million $ in any project, with sharing ROI ratio of 40% to 60%. he even sent me a so called memorandum of association to sign, asked to share my ID document, phone number, chatted with me via zoom, whatsapp, sent me a so called signed letter of administration to the funds from court, then the so called silver city bank contacted me to open up an account to the funds to be deposited and that he couldn't send money to an account in my country.

Among the documents to open up a bank account was the Anti-money laundering certificate which was to be processed by the bank legal team which i was the one to forward 1500$ to the bank legal department, the moment I said no to paying for the certificate, the deal collapsed.

@Dan MaxXx OMG, Dan! I'm so sorry! That must have been AWFUL!!!!

This one is still on the platform: Kenneth Henry

Hi I’m seeking for an individual/company that is ready to accept $35m deal to be invested in any project. I will be willing to offer you 40% of the ROI. For details contact henkenneth@financier.com.

The others have been suspended, with the likes of; Darrin Campbell [SUSPENDED]

I have a business transaction please contact me via email address (darrinscorpiocbell11@gmail.com), this one has always slightly altered his name and title, but thanks to the stage32, he is always suspended.

ANOTHER IS THIS

Mrs. Rose Mary Johnson [DELETED]

I am Mrs. Rosemary Johnson, Please contact me for business of mutual benefit. Please contact me via: mrsrosemaryj808@gmail.com

All in all thanks to stage32 support team.

Dan MaxXx - I think it's pretty clear the issue we are talking about here is NOT what you are bringing up. Sorey, but it sounds to me like you're itching for an argument. I posted this to let people know that there was something nefarious going on, not to generate an argument with someone who appears to be being deliberately obtuse.

@Dan MaxXx Agree with Pamela that you're describing a somewhat different issue. My question: 4 apps and 2 glasses of wine is the End of the story? Need some context here: did NBA player invite you out? Did he foot the bill, including a suitable gratuity? Most importantly: Did You Make The Deal? We're writers, Man: Give us the goods!

That's terrible. Glad you were able to see through their charade.

Pamela S K Glasner Rebecca O'Brien sent me a vague message offering her services but I can see from my inbox that her account says "Suspended".

Can't speak to whether it's a pattern on here, but the duplicate request stuff is a big red flag on any other job board. And I've seen a very distinct pattern in freelance admin jobs that offer $3000 a week or $3500 a week - always written into the original job description. I would definitely report anyone with the red flags you describe.

I'm not sure if Mark Kozlowski is suspended, Jenean McBrearty. Does his profile show up in the search bar? He could just be busy. That could be why you haven't heard back from him.

Jenean McBrearty He is legit. You might think about getting IMDb Pro so you can check people out before saying something like "I smell a rat." He is still here and for your sake, I hope he doesn't read your post. You might think about deleting it. Anyway good luck with the screenplay.

Kiril Maksimoski - I'm pretty sure that Margot didn't pay for Barbie to be made - for starters, I know that WB spent $150 mill on its marketing. And the money she made off her recent hits paid off her mother's mortgage, which her mother had borrowed against at times, while financially supporting her up-and-coming actress/director/producer daughter. So, like many people, her career was a lot of sacrifice before the payoffs started.

But there's a vast difference between a new writer wanting to be adequately compensated for their script, or even a new writer hoping to get rich off said first script, and the scam "collaborators fee" this post is talking about. This kind of scam is on par with the "singer auditions" people hold in hotel conference rooms, that are really just self-producing scams designed to get money out of the friends and relatives of hopefuls, by promising perks for the number of tickets you can sell to the "event." It's just more predatory behavior by grifters.

Report them or post names please. These people need to be removed from all sites

Did they try to justify their monies? More than likely unless for consult purposes or mentorship don't do it.

Odette Blanch we should keep each other informed about scams that we see, but it's primarily our [the individual writer's] own obligation to vet people shilling for "business" relationships. And to not become a "mark" to a scam. I agree with reporting apparent scams to Stage32 so they can evaluate. Naming names is an aggressive option, fraught with potential negative backlash [see Dan Guardino's response to Jenean McBrearty in this thread]. Entertainment industry is a surprisingly small arena, where "everyone knows everyone."

Kiril—Margot Robbie paid in the prestige of her starring in the movie and agreeing to be a Producer, not with cash. You kind of got two things mixed up in here—some stars, if they believe in a project, will slip the directors some money to get it over the line (as Tom Hanks did for CLOUD ATLAS), which is quite different than paying for it themselves.

Pamela S K Glassner and Mick Greco—honestly, I took Dan MaxXx's anecdote to be more about how hard it is to tell scammers from "legit" potential financiers, given how many people have their hand out to just to LOOK at your script. This sports guy may have been legitimately interested, but he still expected to be wined and dined, which is not something a lot of us as beginning/aspiring writers can afford to do. It ties in because it's such a thin line between "cost of doing business" and getting scammed, IMO....

No screenwriter should ever pay a producer to read a screenplay for consideration. In Dan M's case, he was dealing with a potential investor which is not the same thing and not a screenwriter's job. . He said even legit show biz ppl want a retainer fee just to talk but that is not the case for a producer who wants to read a screenwriter's screenplay. They may be legit in some people's eyes but they are slim if they do that sort of thing and I won't deal with them.

@Timothy Liebe Dan Maxx' anecdote is pretty far from a 'producer scam' scenario (there was no 'look[ing-at-a]-script' mentioned). People trying to get themselves 'wined and dined' at tony restaurants is not the issue of this thread, and is not at all unique to entertainment industry. (Depicted in an episode of 'Better Call Saul' series). Indeed, if it needs to be said: "Writer Be Wary."

Usually when there's a lot of typos, it's prob. a scam - say no thank you, somehow nicely. (Then block best you can). I learned some of this from training at Music & Arts. Sorry to hear, Pamela. Might be a good idea to let some of the Execs at St. 32 know about this. I emailed someone about something which seemed a little out of place also.

@Kerry Kennard Old news - Pamela is fine, I think; she caught on quickly to the scam, and was not 'hooked.' It appears that the perpetrators have been identified to Stage32 and removed from the network (well done Stage32!). In re-reading the original post, if it has not been said in comments thread yet, I think it's important to note that Stage32's strength is in creating opportunities for networking and information exchange / education in the screenwriting area; the added tasks of minutely vetting individual members and policing errant behavior and scam artists would distract from that mission and increase costs to us the writers. [My personal thoughts - I am not in Stage32 management, and I do not speak as a representative of the org.]. Writers: scam artists are everywhere, do not pay money to or share financial information with anyone shopping production services, industry access, etc., without knowing exactly who they are and what the deal is, what if anything they can offer. Check them out on imdbpro.com, talk to experienced industry veterans and trusted sources about them, and post about apparent scams here so the rest of us are on the lookout! Cheers MG

"I wish people were aware that managers don't get paid until clients get paid, so while we are always passionate about clients, we're also weighing how quickly we feel we can get them paid, as that's the only way we'll get paid and be able to financially continue being a manager." John Zaozirny - BELLEVUE

JZ and Bellievue also produce movies. managers take one fee, client commission or producing. Cant double dip (in Theory).

Dan MaxXx @John Murphy - JZ and Bellevue are reputable, certainly. If a manager wanted to produce my project in-house I would evaluate the metrics of the deal for My Favorite Client [that's ME!]. The 'Double-Dip' problem is good to watch out for, especially if there's any indication that energetically shopping the project to other/ outside-the-manager's-house producers would significantly improve the (1) writer's compensation, (2) odds of production completion and distribution, or/and (3) writer clinching producer function and credit, etc. Will check whether AMPTP (or better yet WGA) has guidelines for manager-producer Double Dip.