Here's a good one for ya.
I got a alert on LA Casting last week, but since I didnt feel right about it I said no thanks. On Monday I got a e-mail that practiclly begged me to come audition and gave me a phone # to call and set a time.
They said it was for a principals part in a upcoming feature and that the pay was $400.00 for one days shoot. It also said that I had been recomended by a Director that I had worked for last week. I tried to call the Director to check it out but got his voice mail. The address was in a prominant area in LA. I went and got there a hour early due to traffic conditions ( drove in from Palm Springs). The audition was sceduled at 6:00. While waiting to go in I got a call from the "Director" of this new project saying that the audition had to be moved due to unforseen circumstances , so could I go to thier other office? It was in Studio City. I arrived there at 5:58. It was a office building. I've been to dozens of auditions in that area. I went in and found the office, the sign on the door read: "Sonical Casting". I went in and was instantly on gaurd. this was a empty office. A young man 18 or 19
introduced himself as the "Director" and asked me to step in to the audition room. He was the only one there.
I started asking questions right away.
He seemed to be very nervous and could not answer my questions . Finally I turned on my villian persona and demanded the truth about why I was here. At 6'2" ,230 lbs. and looking for all the world like a contract mafia killer ready to do him in he crumbeled.

Now here's the good part.
He was a film student from Long Beach State and wanted me to do a read from his script to get footage for a class assignment.
There was not a feature in the works and there was no pay. Then he had the cahonies to ask if I would do the read since I was already here and would I come to his class next week to do it again as part of a on going Directors experience class.
I was livid.
The fault is my own for not doing more homework on this ficticious "Sonical Films". Turns out the first alert was real and this punk lifted my contact info from one of his classmates desk.
Live and learn. Needless to say I gave him a very stern lecture about honesty.
As a former USMC DI I know a few things about intimadation and getting my point across verbally.
Oh, by the way the Director who I worked for called me at about 9:00 last night to tell me he was sorry to miss my call but was shooting and had just finished . He said he had shared the contact info with a student who was a PA on our shoot last week, but had told him that I was probably to busy to help out with a student project.

I hope this is a once in a lifetime experience.

Thanks for letting me sound off.

Dutchman,

I am sorry read of your terrible ordeal, what a waste of your time, energy and money (gas)!! I would definitely give Long Beach State a call and track down the department head and let he/she know your thoughts and how unprofessional one of their students behaved. I truly feel they need to know how this student represented himself! The film department should be educating these kids how to handle castings, especially non-paying student productions!

You have every right to be flaming mad, anyone in your situation would have been!

Give that college a call and let them know your thoughts!

I think that is why it's best when people start acting when they are 18. You know why? They can put up better with the BULLSHIT better!! I feel you. I would have done my nut- I have before at these little punk-ass bitches who jerk us around!! "I have my mommy and daddy's money. I don't really have to worry about anyone but myself and even then not very much as my mommy and daddy pay all my bills so I don't know what it's like to have stuff better and more important to do then DRIVE for hours with the price of gas being what it is!!" Grrrr. This topic is a hot button issue for me in cae you couldn't tell!! Here is a BIG tip. If you can't get ahold of someone to talk to first and you can't get a script beforehand, never waste your time. In my beginning days, I once drove to La Mirada in peak hour traffic from Beverly Hills- took forever- and it was meant to be to read for the lead in a thesis film. I get there and these teenagers tell me the script is not even finished, that it is not for the lead anyway but for an unpaid voiceover part! FUME FUME FUME. Okay, end rant. LOL!!!

Rant away sister!