The #webseries gold rush is here and the scammers are coming out of the woodwork to find ways to take your money and make your showbiz dreams come “true”!
Don’t throw money at scammers, throw money at your show and do it smartly!
The new scam is the “producers rep” out there finding people with web series and dreams and scamming them for money. It’s a scam I came across when a screenwriter contacted me about getting her $13,000 back from a producers rep about four years ago.
The writer didn’t know how things work - you don’t pay a person up front to shop a script to potential buyers. Agents and managers get a percentage at the point of sale, they are not hired on a retainer basis to shop your script and then take 20% of that sale. Agents get 10%, managers usually get 15%, nothing up front, no retainer, no paying for their expenses and they only get paid when YOU get paid.
Yes, producers reps do shop finished feature films and no, I am not talking about that, I’m talking about screenplays and web series.
The producers rep who is currently skimming film festivals and contests looking for naive web series creators and producers runs the following scam - pay $15,000 up front to have them on a retainer and then they will shop your show to networks and other potential buyers - at least that’s what they tell you.
On top of the $15k, they also want 20% of the sale.
This is a bad deal. This is not ethical. This is a scam designed to capitalize on your drive to “make it” and they are counting on you throwing reason out the window to make you feel like you are in the game. Yes, they may have credits, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t scamming you.
You can tell your parents and friends that you attached a producers rep to your project and they, also being naive, will think that sounds like a big deal.
It’s not. It’s a scam, it’s a waste of money. And the producers reps out there, just like managers, do not have to deal with labor laws dictated by the state of California as talent agents do. You sign a contract to put these producers rep scumbags in charge of your project and they are protected to the limit of your budget to hire a lawyer.
Here’s the amazing thing - The producers rep I heard was running this scam with web series creators IS THE EXACT SAME PRODUCERS REP who was running the scam with the writer four years ago - same person, same company name!
Why am I not naming them? A former assistant at this company got in touch with me and confirmed there were unethical tactics being used and that the company is extremely litigious.
I’ve been threatened with a defamation and libel lawsuit as the result of a video protest channel I set up on YouTube against Robert J. Dutil, a conservator who declined to board up two houses in Hollywood I lived across the street from. So, I’ll pass on naming them now.
The producers rep’s name rhymes with ‘gauge.’ (Welcome to plausible deniability)
Three other ways you can waste money making a show:
There’s the #webseries consultants - they charge by the hour to tell you how to market a show and you will hear the word ‘brand’ coming out of the hole in their face, along with lots of other buzzwords, until they crack the next hour of paid advice that YOU will pay. Don’t pay these people to make you feel more legit, question WHY you need them at all - be a good producer!
Bottom line: If you don’t have an audience, no brand will care.
If you’re paying to read how-to articles on a web site, you are wasting your money. There is so much FREE information about web series and filmmaking and marketing out there on blogs and even on YouTube. I know, because that’s where I answered all kinds of questions I had and I continue to find answers, free.
If you are pitching to a person at a film festival and at the end of your pitch, that person tells you about a contest you can pay to enter with your web series, thank them for their time and WALK AWAY.
Contests and festivals featuring web series will grow in number as the story of a few shows that made the jump from the web to TV are used as bait by people looking to line their pockets with your money. They did the same thing with screenplay contests and “pitchfests” - “sell your idea to Hollywood and make millions!”
Be smart, be cautious, be a good producer and do your research.
Don’t be afraid to say no and walk away from ANYTHING that smells like a bad deal.
I know, you really want to be successful and that’s what all these people are counting on, while they are profiting off your dream to be successful.
Best advice I was given when I had a lot of vultures circling a feature script I wrote - do not attach anyone to a project who does not bring value to that project. It is also possible that potential buyers see an attachment to your web series, like a producers rep, as a reason not to get involved.
This has been a public service announcement by Joe Wilson.
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