To my knowledge ethical successful people do not troll social media platforms looking for clients. If you receive a message whether on this platform on in your personal email from a producer asking for money upfront, just know it is a scam, this is not how the industry works. Support@Stage32.com
This came in this morning from a new member who just joined stage 32 less than a week ago and already had more than 110 writers in her network Hello Kacee, pleasure connecting with you, I work on all particular projects and all particular genres. Here’s how I work, I charge a $,3500 collaboration fee paid now. I am hoping no one has been scammed by this lady, as there are so many writers eager to get their stories made, this might seem enticing but it also might be illegal. When you collaborate with producers there is never a fee or a charge from them. I remember when SAG put a halt to Casting directors charging talent for classes and now we have this. While I know producers on this platform have their own consultation fees if you go directly through them, why would we when we can be protected on this platform?Best to everyone, keep believing in yourselves, Do not be tempted by something easy but rather believe in your abilities and know exactly what you want, set those intentions, dream big, and follow your inner voice as it leads you to your accomplished goals.
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Thanks for warning everyone, Amazing Kacee.
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Maurice Vaughan My pleasure, protecting the community and naive writers/actors, etc from scams/trolls and unethical people is important as I had wished someone had told me these things years ago when I first started in the business! I am not sure how many folks have given up on their dreams because they were taken advantage of, but let's not let that happen on our watch or on this platform which we both so dearly love/like/ appreciate!
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Amazing Kacee I got ripped off a lot of times when I started screenwriting. I didn't have a community like Stage 32 to go to about certain things. Yeah, let's not let that happen on our watch or on this platform.
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Amazing Kacee and Maurice Vaughan, thanks for staying alert. I've had two scam offers in the past few weeks. It's pretty enticing when someone with an impressive-looking bio gets excited about your work. I don't fault Stage 32. The banditos were suspended post haste when reported.
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Thanks for the info, Kacee.
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You're welcome, Robin Gregory. Yeah, sometimes scammers have impressive-looking bios. That's why it pays to dig and find out more about them. Everything that glitters... :)
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Sound advice, Kacee! Also, I recommend taking screenshots of their messages and any IMDb/credits listing so you can send that to support@stage32.com It helps us confirm the extend of their scamming and report it beyond our platform. We're all in this together, so others deserve to know as well.
And yes, producers attached to your project are like the lawyers on Erin Brochovich - if you don't get greenlit, they don't get paid. The only exception is if they are doing gig work, in which case they are getting paid like any other contractor BUT are NOT ATTACHED TO YOUR PROJECT. You can hire a producer to read your script and give feedback, to write/put together a pitch deck, do market research, even breakdown a script and put together a preliminary schedule/budget, but none of those paid tasks indicate attachment. So, again, to Kacee's point, NO PRODUCER WILL CHARGE YOU TO TAKE YOUR SCRIPT TO SCREEN! That's what financiers are for.
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Yes, I had to report a scammer a few months, back he wanted $1000 upfront but luckily I emailed support@stage32.com and they suspended the account.
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yes! thanks for the heads up. I just got an email today... latest scam don't know where they got my email but clearly they didn't read my profile. here's what it looks like...
Hello there,
I'm Michael Parker, a producer for Dreamer Productions. I saw your profile posted on the film production directory, I want to inform you about an upcoming short film project coming up in your area Titled (A Beautiful Soul) Start date: is 11th - 15th September 2023, and the pay is $1800, I'm in search for effective production assistant reply with your updated resume for more information.
Thank you
Stay blessed.
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They should take all the scammers out and shoot them and that would reduce the number of Hollywood Producers by about 90%.
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Karen "Kay" Ross Thanks so much for the added advice and info. I tell filmmakers and writers all the time - it is your project so go the extra mile and learn how to do the pitch deck, break down the script, do the market research, learn how to write a budget, hire crew/cast, etc. This way you will be prime and ready to get the attention of producers for doing your due diligence rather than having someone do it for you and possibly getting scammed in the process. Thanks so much for chiming in everyone, let's all look out for each other as with a million members there may be lots of trolls looking for those uneducated naive writers/actors to prey on. Let's not let that happen here!!!
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Dan Guardino your post actually made me laugh out loud!!! Thanks for the funniness!
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The key phrase for me that screams scam is, "collaboration fee." I hope Stage32 members ask the Stage32 community about these "offers" first before shelling out their money. So far a few have posted and been forewarned.
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...
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Diane Phelps, I am not sure why you think the email you received was a scam but by the looks of it he was offering you a job, offering to pay you money so it actually is not considered a scam!
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Thank you for sharing Amazing Kacee ! It's important that our community looks out for one another. This industry has always had its share of scammers, but when we reach out to our fellow creatives we can all be aware of what's real and what isn't. Remember, ALWAYS do your due diligence when thinking about working with someone.
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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.
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Beware of trolls & scams everywhere. This isn't an issue unique to Stage 32. It's essential to hone your due diligence skills as there are no admins/moderators to protect you outside of this platform.
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Same here-a member wanted to "work on producing my script" but I had to hire his friend for "a script analysis and notes: at 250$ an hour...
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Great observations Ty Strange and CJ Walley
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Mods can't protect from direct email contact. All a user can do is report the emailer.
Caution should also be taken with all sorts of sites: screenplay hosting; pitching and other sites whose main mission is to vacuum money from your pocket under the guise of forwarding your career.
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SPOT-ON Amazing Kacee
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I had one last week who wanted to produce my script for a $3000 fee as a deposit, hopefully people don’t fall for it. Good luck everyone.
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Does this include the people that you meet on Skype during pitch sessions? I’m still confused as to are these sessions just a way to practice pitching and get feedback or are any of these people ACTUALLY looking for scripts/representation? Cuz I’m getting the sense this is just a way to get people to pay money. I just got off a pitch session that lasted ten minutes and it was a waste of money.
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The Pitch Sessions are mainly to get feedback on pitches, Andria Besancon, but writers have gotten script requests, been signed by managers, etc. through the sessions (www.stage32.com/scriptservices/success-stories).
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Maurice Vaughan So are the pitch session feedbacks verbal cuz he literally didn’t give me any feedback at all. And I’m thinking it seems like you need to get these people ahead of time because there’s a lot of reviews saying some of these people aren’t even actually who they are. Or that they grossly exaggerate their positions? I mean if there are scams that run on this site is it fair to assume that it can happen in pitch sessions?
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Yes, the feedback for the Skype and Phone is verbal, Andria Besancon. It says this on the Pitch Session pages (under the "How Does a Pitch via Skype or Phone Work?" Section): "In our Skype or Phone pitches, you have the option to pitch face-to-face directly with the executive through Skype or via telephone. Your pitch will be 8 minutes in total. It is up to you on how you want to use your time, but we recommend you spend 5-6 minutes to pitch your project, followed by 2-3 minutes of questions or feedback from the person to whom you are pitching."
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Maurice Vaughan Ok, well I only got a goodbye after I was done talking nothing else. That's why I am confused.
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I gave up on pitching here because those who we pitched to (in a group pitch, or when one of our group of writers pitched) didn't seem to understand what we were saying- they were confused about everything we had said as seen in their written comments/feedback, and sometimes their comments didn't make any sense.
Now I just stick with paid ghost writing of novels and paid requested screenplays. I have very few unsatisfied requesters. Some on here, like Kaycee, seem to do very well with their pitches. So congrats to all who succeed in this strange and quirky endeavor.
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Email writerhelp@stage32.com and let them know what happened, Andria Besancon. You might be able to get another pitch.
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Maurice Vaughan ok thank you
Jon Shallit yea it looks like a few have gotten maybe something out of it but it seems as though that is not the case for most. Probably depends on who you choose to pitch to. But I’ve had a few friends tell me they knew the ppl giving the sessions and they were no where near qualified to be taking pitches and had no experience they were just assistance in an agency or worked as an assistance or intern once at a studio and they use that as a credential -_-
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You're welcome, Andria Besancon.