Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Parenting
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-22-2009, 10:25 AM
 
Location: St. Louis
4,677 posts, read 2,056,517 times
Reputation: 906

Advertisements

Are any of your kids child models or actors? Do you/they like it/dislike it? I always hear my son is so cute/such a ham and that he should be a model. I looked up a local place and called, they did an interview and they loved him and want him to work for them. But they said he needs a $600 class that teaches him how to pose, interview, etc. I dont know if its worth it and if he will want to do it for long enough for it to be worth it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-22-2009, 10:37 AM
 
10,629 posts, read 26,658,855 times
Reputation: 6776
While I have no direct personal experience with this, I think you're right to be wary. It sounds like a scam; the industry is notorious for this sort of thing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2009, 11:12 AM
 
Location: South Carolina
14,785 posts, read 23,993,179 times
Reputation: 27092
Okay first off my niece was a child model be wary of any agency that asks you for money up front . They are a scam . A reputable agency will never ask you for money up front . I would keep searching and talk to them and go there and visit with them . I wish you luck and hope things turn out well for you . If I can help you out anymore please dm me .
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2009, 12:24 PM
 
Location: St. Louis
4,677 posts, read 2,056,517 times
Reputation: 906
It is the John Robert Powers agency and they say they have helped a lot of big name people from Lucille Ball, Diana Ross, the kid in the Changeling, etc, etc. And they said they dont charge to find people to book you. The charge is for a class and it is 8, 1 hour lessons regarding auditioning for camera, voice and diction, basic runway and posing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2009, 02:15 PM
 
10,629 posts, read 26,658,855 times
Reputation: 6776
They describe themselves as a "school system" (and not an agency) on their website. They're also a franchise, so you'll also want to check out your specific location. Just do a google search, though, and you'll find a lot of angry people out there who feel they were scammed. I wouldn't go this route unless you have extra money to burn and don't mind spending the money for something that may or may not have any actual payback, other than maybe your son having fun in the classes. Have you contacted other agents in your area? Check out Better Business Bureau reports, too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2009, 02:45 PM
 
Location: St. Louis
4,677 posts, read 2,056,517 times
Reputation: 906
They did have a B rating with the BBB. And I have not contacted other places yet because I dont know what I should be looking for. I live in St. Louis so there isn't a whole lot of options here. Is it normally that expensive?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2009, 05:09 PM
 
Location: Australia
1,492 posts, read 3,224,556 times
Reputation: 1723
I would contact some other agencies and ask a few questions. As you chat, you will find out what questions you need to ask.
I would want to know what they actually do to place kids and who they have placed kids with. Then I would ring some of those people and ask how they themselves get kids.

There was a mob here who had a reasonable business providing child models, then they got greedy and started advertising and cold calling. Made a ton of money and had lots more kids on their books but actually got less work (I know the photographer). The reason was that when they were small, they only had kids who themsleves wanted to be actors or models. When they advertised, they got lots of kids whose parents wanted them to be models. So the kids were not focussed and rebellious. Some parents were very pushy.

The advertising people soon learned that kids from this agency were trouble and so they went elsewhere. Now they are trying to re build their business.

So I would not take up the $600 deal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2009, 06:38 PM
 
Location: Maine
650 posts, read 2,176,051 times
Reputation: 566
Quote:
Originally Posted by grmngrl8203 View Post
Are any of your kids child models or actors? Do you/they like it/dislike it? I always hear my son is so cute/such a ham and that he should be a model. I looked up a local place and called, they did an interview and they loved him and want him to work for them. But they said he needs a $600 class that teaches him how to pose, interview, etc. I dont know if its worth it and if he will want to do it for long enough for it to be worth it.
Any place that charges you is a complete scam! I did modeling and a pagent as a child and I enjoyed it at the time, but would absolutely NEVER do that to my kids.

My sister just paid for an "agency" to sign her daughter because they said that she was "so cute", only to find out the the agency was completely bogus!

I guess I would ask myself what your motivatin is for doing this and what you want to come out of it. the chances of your child becoming a star are slim to none. Why not just let him have a happy and normal childhood and not obsess about how he looks? I can tell you from experience that it changes who you are even as a child to have people constantly rejecting you for commercials and such because of your looks.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2009, 07:05 PM
 
18,337 posts, read 18,941,366 times
Reputation: 15642
my child was a child actor and is a member of the screen actors guild. she made a great income, was lucky enough to get many nation wide commercials. the residuals paid for her college.
you need an agent nothing more. agents charge a small percentage AFTER you have booked the job. other than that there is no reason to give anyone any money. if you are serious about your child acting you need to live in LA or NY so you can make the rounds. after you book an agent you need pictures which will cost at least 1,000 bucks or so. you need someone who knows how to shoot pics for this purpose. a picture you give to aunty is different then the "style" of pictures in your portfolio.
all kids are cute and can book a job. they do not need to learn how to go on an interview. your child needs to be outgoing and pretty well behaved to interview. they will have to go in a room without you. stand in front of strangers with a camera and say ...their name, who their agent is. they may be asked to read a line or asked a question about themselves. the hope is that the kid will show their personality enough for the casting agent get an idea of their persona.
a shy kid just can't do this, they literally have 3 minutes to sparkle and impress.
then the next kid comes in. it is not unusual for there to be 75 kids up to several hundreds for one job.
your child is rejected most of the time for a silly reason. can he/she take not getting a job? they are either too tall, too short, not blonde, not red, head, on and on. for some kids this is very hard.
there are also child labor laws to think about. babies can hardly work at all. then up till school age there is a bit of leeway and all a kid needs to be, for a shot at fame and riches is to be cute and outgoing. this is the time to explore the possibility as after 7 years old, the law changes and the next age group gets less work. the union makes sure the kids have a teacher and take time out for school. this is why you see toddlers on the soap operas become adult over night.
at this point too, you will notice that the kids your child is now in competion with are now kids with real talent and or drive to be in the arts. taking singing and dance, acting lessons.
there maybe opportunity in your home town for a small amount of work, look for an agent and go from there. my kid was young enough that she didn't mind and enjoyed parts of it. loved the after the go see treats we gave for like ice cream for a job well done. when she booked a commercial she got a trip to the toy store. she got to be about 7 and wanted to play with her gal pal and not go on an interview. that is when we quit. pm me if you have any questions
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-23-2009, 07:28 AM
 
531 posts, read 2,894,348 times
Reputation: 579
I've never understood what is the upside of doing something like this? I suppose if the child enjoys it, then great. But I'm sure most kids would not find this kind of work to be fun. So why do it?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Parenting

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:49 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top