Category: scandal

How to Avoid Film Job Scams – Take Eight

Leave a comment

Since I began this blog series on scams in the film industry, I started a folder on my desktop whenever I found a questionable job so I could put it in the next entry on the topic.

But… I couldn’t keep up. There’s too many. And the same names will pop up again and again, but new ones do too. There’s no way to truly catalogue them, so the best I can do is show you some examples from time to time, list the red flags, and hope to keep you from being taken advantage of in the future.

Google the E-mail

Scammers are a bit lazy too sometimes. You’ll see the same e-mail used by many different screennames. I’ve been chasing this mikebeebee email since at least July this year, having saved examples of this scam from different Facebook groups. I’m mentioning it now because it’s one of the recent ones to plague a group I manage.

This scam email was also used in July, when I saved these screenshots:

As you can see, it’s multiple names and “jobs” but the same scam email. I did blank out most of the names that posted because it’s likely they are hacked accounts and innocent of this posting. Or they could be completely fake profiles. Either way the most important thing is understanding the details of the scam.

Most recently, this one was posted:

Now, what happens if you apply to the fake job? You’ll likely get this email, with the name changed depending on the fake person you’re communicating with. Email screenshot attached with annotations explained below:

In Yellow: Generally bad grammar and grasp of the English language, so it’s likely an overseas scammer.

In Blue: If you are a professional, you do not need an explanation of how to do your job. This is a complete misunderstanding of how professionals are hired for a film set.

In Green: They use “kindly” which a lot of scammers use for some reason, and they’re also asking for all this identifying information. Probably for identity theft or to further sell your information to future scammers.

In Red: This part is where you know it’s a scam. The guy claims he will pay you $2000 before the job. Never, ever accept payment before a job is done. This is a check phishing scam. They are just trying to steal Your money, which they will do once you see the second part of the red section: “This covers your $1500 upfront payment and the talents'(sic) fee ($4,000) payable to their manager.“

This is how the check phishing scam works. They issue you a fake check, and before your bank notices the check is fraudulent, you’ll be issuing a check from your own balance to pay the “talent” who is actually the scammer. You are out at least $4,000 at the end of this scam.

According to the FTC, “Fake checks can take weeks to be discovered and untangled. By that time, the scammer has any money you sent, and you’re stuck paying the money back to the bank.”

Production Assistant Scams

This latest one was brought to my attention by a community member on a page I moderate. I’d had my suspicions about the job when it was posted, but I didn’t have enough info to delete and ban the poster until I received further info.

Here’s why this job looks suspicious at first glance and why I didn’t delete it immediately.

  • Casting call – for a production assistant? You only do casting calls for actors. Crew calls for film crew. I chalked this up to someone green in the industry.
  • Grammar “Seeking for.”
  • 3 days, 4 hours of work for a lump sum payment of $700. Again, I thought this was an inexperienced person who doesn’t know how day rates work. But 4 hours a day is suspicious even for a short film.
  • The poster turned off comments. Scammers do this because they know people will start calling them out in the comments. But insecure people also do this.

I couldn’t annotate this one because as soon as I started, I realized I was underlining the entire thing in red. Let’s look at those emails!

Red Flags:

  • Giant block of text. Most gigs will email at best like two sentences to see if you’re available.
  • Atrocious grammar and spelling. They don’t even spell their email correctly.
  • Wishing you good health. This is America, we don’t have that.
  • Apologizing. For some reason a lot of scam communications start with apologizing for being so busy. Maybe the intent is to make them look like they are in high demand or something.
  • Audition – for a production assistant? Oh no honey. But this detail confirms my suspicion that this was also a copy & pasted scam for an actor as well. Remember how the job post was a “Casting Call”? I bet this same scam showed up elsewhere targeting actors or models.
  • I laughed at “Camera Man.” The term is camera operator. But they probably meant Director of Photography.

Let’s look at the next email!

Red flags:

  • Scammer asking where you live (including the state).
  • Audition and PA again.
  • “Is that rate cool with you?” No. Because it’s fake.
  • Are you available the dates we already established?
  • Why are they asking what you’re currently working on? This is none of their business.
  • Asking for years of experience for an entry level position.

And here is the grand finale:

Red flags:

  • Advance payment – It’s a check phishing scam!
  • Also… sponsors? Wth.

Thanks to the community member who sent the screenshots and reached out with questions about identifying scams.

Sources:

Federal Trade Commission – Consumer Advice: How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Fake Check Scams

SAG-AFTRA just threw their Voice Actors under the A.I. bus

Leave a comment

2023, the year of the strikes.

The combined writer’s and actors strikes, WGA and SAG-AFTRA respectively, won workers more residuals and consulted the affected workers on issues of A.I. usage.

Then, yesterday, SAG-AFTRA dropped this bomb and acted like it was a good thing:

SAG-AFTRA and Replica Studios Introduce Groundbreaking AI Voice Agreement at CES

Replica Studios (Replica), an artificial intelligence (AI) voice technology company, and The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced today the introduction of a groundbreaking AI voice agreement during an event at CES….

This new agreement paves the way for professional voice over artists to safely explore new employment opportunities for their digital voice replicas…

The agreement between the leading AI voice company and the world’s largest performers’ union will enable Replica to engage SAG-AFTRA members under a fair, ethical agreement to safely create and license a digital replica of their voice. Licensed voices can be used in video game development and other interactive media projects from pre-production to final release.

http://www.sagaftra.org

I like that they used the words “fair, ethical, safe” to describe how they were stabbing their membership in the back.

Why do I think that this went behind SAG-AFTRA membership’s backs? Simply because I found out about this because of how many voice over artists called it out, saying, “We didn’t vote OR hear about this. What the hell.” (paraphrasing)

Kellen Goff: Voice actor Five Night’s at Freddy’s (videogame), My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Black Clover

Elias Toufexis: Voice actor Starfield (videogame), Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (videogame), Blood of Zeus

Clifford Chapin: Voice actor in My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Spider-man 2 (videogame)

The technology already exists to sample someone’s voice and create a pretty convincing, if not soul-less replica of their voice. This isn’t only un-creative, it’s also completely un-ethical. This argument has also come up with the advent of deep fakes.

“Typically used maliciously or to spread false information.” Such as when someone made a deep fake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to act like she was impaired. Deep fakes can make it seem like anyone said anything, and that’s very damaging. And do I need to remind you how wrong it is?

Circling back to voice actors, what does this entail? Doesn’t the deal with Replica Studios just give voice actors the ability to sell a digital imprint of their voice? This could be interpreted as the actor’s choice.

This issue was also brought up by SAG-AFTRA membership last year, when it became clear that production companies wanted to pay background actors a one time fee to digitally scan them, and then use that image in perpetuity. That’s forever, babe. That’s multiple thousands of dollars that person will never be able to make. That’s a likeness of them out there that could be made to do anything.

“But, I can’t afford to pay an artist/actor/voice actor/graphic artist for their work! I have to use A.I.!”

What did you do before the days of this technology? Several options: 1. Save up the money or fundraise so you could do your project. 2. Take the time to learn the skills yourself. 3. Reach some kind of deal with the artist you need, like bartering services in kind or deferred payment.

“But Bridget, you say. You don’t work in voice over or animation or videogames.”

I know, anonymous person in my head, but here’s the thing. When you attack one artist, one creative profession like this, you attack us all. And I like videogames and animation and artwork and writing, so I’m going to support the people affected and continue to fight for them.

Hey it’s not all bleak. Recently Wacom (a well known drawing tablet manufacturer) had to apologize for accidentally using AI imagery in their ad campaigns. This cute dragon image falls apart when you really look at it. A tail sprouts from the wrong direction, fur mushes into scales and other weird artifacts are present.

I’m just including the above example, not all 4 that artists uncovered because this post is already bloated.

Artists immediately threw backlash at Wacom. Simply, a company for artists should support them. They had to apologize.

“We want to assure you that using AI generated images in these assets was not our intent.

Here is what happened: Wacom purchased these images through a third-party vendor where it was indicated that they were not AI generated. We vetted the images through a few popular online tools that also indicated that they were not AI generated. However, given the community’s feedback, we are now not sure how the images were created. For this reason, we immediately discontinued their use.”

Wacom’s statement

This $750 Million dollar company can’t claim poverty. They could have commissioned a legion of artists for their marketing campaign.

If you’re like me, you’re going to continue to fight against companies replacing artists with soulless computer interpretations. The next job they take could be yours.

Sources:

SAG-AFTRA and Replica Studios Introduce Groundbreaking AI Voice Agreement at CES

The deal that ended the writers strike: A look at what the 3-year agreement says

Movie extras worry they’ll be replaced by AI. Hollywood is already doing body scans

Doctored Nancy Pelosi video highlights threat of “deepfake” tech

Artists are making creative companies apologize for using AI

A response to community questions concerning Wacom using AI-generated art in US marketing assets

Teachable Moment: The Nxivm Case

Leave a comment

My last post was about separating artist from art. Weinstein was a topical case study of course, but my intention was to ask whether we could still enjoy art created by problematic people. Y’know, the Hitchcocks of the world.

During all the discussions regarding problematic directors and producers, I never felt personally affected, except to put trust in the victims and decry the actions of those who abused their power.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

In 2001, Smallville premiered. The TV series that showed Clark Kent’s journey to become Superman quickly became my favorite. Show runners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, in addition to bringing in a number of classic characters of the Superman mythos, also introduced a couple original characters. One such character was brave and smart. She stopped at nothing to expose the truth, help her friends and make a better world in her own way.

I’m talking about Chloe Sullivan, played by Allison Mack. She was the nascent reporter turned pseudo-Justice League Watchtower. She was my favorite character besides Clark.

Last year I saw someone share an article that didn’t look legit. It stated that Allison Mack had been found to victimize girls and prostitute them for cult leader Keith Raniere. Pimp Mack, they called her. I was sure this article wasn’t true.

This week Mack was arrested. The story was real.

mack

See full article here.

Mack co-founded Nxivm with Keith Raniere. The organization operated under the guise of a mentorship program for young women. The company website states: “NXIVM is a company whose mission is to raise human awareness, foster an ethical humanitarian civilization, and celebrate what it means to be human.”

No. It’s a pyramid scheme meant to trap women, self-branded as a form of self help and entrepreneurial endeavor.

Apparently Kristin Kreuk, the actress who played Lana Lang on Smallville, recruited Mack before eventually getting out of it herself. Kreuk shared in a statement on Twitter that she had joined the group to help with her shyness, assuming it was simply a self help workshop. She closed her statement with how she is “deeply disturbed” and thanked the women who came forward about the violent inner workings of Nxivm.

Mack continued in the group, leveling up to Raniere’s inner circle by luring girls into the pyramid scheme turned sex trafficking ring. Women were encouraged to recruit other women in order to become masters instead of slaves. Girls were branded and made to starve themselves to fit Raniere’s sexual fantasies. These were impressionable women who were seeking to better their careers through what they thought was mentorship.

Emil: Chloe, I couldn’t help but notice that you practically jumped out of your chair when I came in here. I’d prefer that if there were no secrets between us.
Chloe: Then you’re in the wrong business.

Smallville Season 9, Episode 6: Rabid

I usually use this blog to teach about film, but sometimes those teachable moments are less about technique and more about the seedy underbelly of the entertainment industry.

It upsets me to my core that this case has brought to light the dirty laundry of an actress I thought I could admire. It upsets me that it was an actress at all who lured women into this trap.

I look back at her most famous role, that of the dynamic and strong Chloe Sullivan.  I feel betrayed by a person I never met who doesn’t know I exist. She doesn’t owe me an explanation. An actor is not their character. This much is definitely clear here. We must out predators wherever and whomever they are.

We must not throw judgment on the young women who were sucked into this world. Like with any cult, it probably didn’t seem so bad until they were in deeper than they could escape. Maybe that’s even how Mack’s involvement began.

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the people who are the worst at taking care of themselves are the ones the world actually needs the most.” — Chloe Sullivan, Smallville

I hope that young women will take note from this case, and be very careful who they put their faith in for mentorship opportunities and career advancement. Not all who say they are there to help you have your best interests at heart.

Hopefully this will be a teachable moment for Allison Mack too. She could have taken many lessons on doing the right thing from the character she portrayed for ten years. Instead she, like the Weinstein-like men before her, must face consequences for her actions.