This outfit advertized on the radio about a wonderful opportunity for children to "audition" for acting jobs. With their roster of tv stars from Disney, they led parents to believe that their children were actually vying for a Disney spot. *I* assumed (naughty me) that they were looking for extras for a film to be shot in the Spokane area! I don't believe *now* that Disney has anything to do with this... I would hope not anyway.
We arrived at the designated spot, cleverly held at the INB performing arts center in Spokane with our daughter in tow. I was very surprised that we were all (lots of hopeful parents and theirexcited children) made to sit and listen to pep talks about perseverance, how hard it is to break in to acting, how actors are never "discovered" any more blah blah BLAH! Then what were we doing there? This didn't sound like an "audition" at all. A red flag went up on our way in because the signs all said "Celebrity Actors Camp." Actors CAMP??? I should have walked out then... Pep talks about how stupid we all were (paraphrasing) for believing the radio ads were another red flag.
When said pep talks were done (kind of reminded me of those "free vacation" offers at the pizza parlors back in the day. You know the ones where they promised you a prize if you sat through their sales pitch to get you to buy timeshares or campground memberships..) we finally got lined upto get the brochurefeaturing the PRICE of this wonderful opportunity, and another pep talk about "supporting our childrens dreams!" Remember Celebrity Actors Camp wasn't advertizing for TRAINING, acting school, symposiums on acting, or anything else that cost thousands of dollars, they were advertizing "auditions." The "auditions" were to determine ability to pay as far as I could tell. "Auditions" my A$!
I still can't figure out where Phil Lewis of Mr. Moseby on Suite Life on Deck fame fitted in to the scheme of things. They must have paid him a fortune to come here in personand try totalk hopeful parents into shelling out thousands of dollars for this "opportunity." Doesn't he make enough money on the TV show?
Because our daughter doesn't recognize scams, we went through with the "audition." Of coursePhil Lewisjust loved her! (uh huh) They wanted her back so long as we could pay them between $1,750 and $5,500 dollars (in cash, no checks;another red flag) for it. They were absolutely rude and nasty when we told them we couldn't pay. (We weren't there to look into PAYING for any services, remember it was an audition to see if they would pay my daughter to appear in a Disney production! We were TRICKED into attending.) The "Z" lady wrote a big X through the paperwork with a flourish while my devastated daughter observed. Nasty! So much for loving children. They kept the head shot for their garbage can no doubt. They have not answered my e-mail to them as yet. Big surprise right?
At the very least this company, if it is one, is using deceptive advertizing tactics to get people in there and then usinggullible children to coerce the parents into paying. Since there is NOTHING on this company good, bad or indifferent is must be a fly-by-night outfit. Their ads say nothing about what their true purpose is... This is not an "audition" by any stretch of meaning. It's a ploy to sell you something. They should be up front about what it is that they are after.
If I was lookingto spend $5,500 dollars on acting class, we would already have found a local place to do just that. And the $5,500 is the STARTING POINT. Then there is the "invitation only Summer Camp" which is at least $3,000 more! It was like pulling teeth to find this out. THEN there was a "Pilot Camp" also by invitaion only, which God knows how much it is. They even have a special hotel where you can stay while you are playing around with this; starting at $99 per night! I assume "invitation only" means that your bank account is fat enough to cover it, not that your child is any good at acting. Pictures are included and makeup, but not PRINTS or hair! Or you can pay $600 for a couple of snapsand some makeup if you don't buy the $5,500 course.
In researching this company, I came across another company called THE pronounced Tay. The whole scam is disturbingly familiar to this one including one person who appears as a benefactor in both THE and Celebrity Actors Camp. His name is David Delouise from Wizards of Waverly Place. His father was actor Dom Delouise. Doesn't he have enough money without having to prey on childrens hopes and dreams either? Do these people really NEED the thousands of dollars they are bilking parents out of?
Anyway since then some reputable people have assured me that this is indeed a scam. Hollywood doesn't operate the way that these scammers would have you believe... You can get better acting classes in your area for much less money. There are real talent agents near wherever you are. AGENTS not scammers, as in affliliations with SAG and AFTRA! Which I never heard a single word about in the whole spiel at "Celebrity Actors Camp."
Final thought about the scam called Celebrity Actors Camp... Any time somebody wants "cash up front, no checks" as these people informed me, you can pretty well believe that they are going to take your money and it will be much harder to get it back when the subterfuge is discovered.
Other numbers associated with this are (909) 427-9547 (Celebrity Actors Camp web site) which comes up as belonging to a person, Melodee Griffin with an address in Long Beach. The number of the nasty woman we spoke to at the phony "audition" is (310) 651-4401 which comes up as an unknown Beverly Hills number. No way do I think that this woman lives in Beverly Hills, with her cheap clothes and bad makeup, but what the hay, you can get a cell phone with any prefix you want on it! Maybe she does live there, I just have a hard time believing it!
Just my opinion folks. Since I did NOT pay these people, and have NOT been through the program, I hope that it is all true, that they are helping these kids achieve their dreams. It just doesn't look like it from my point of view, it looks like a scam.
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