If someone cold calls you out of the blue, IT'S A SCAM!!! No one EVER calls someone and says, hey, I'll make you a star! To all those people who say that it's not a scam because they got legit work, well, since they are using real listings, some people will luck out and get real work. Heck, back in the day, I got some modeling work off of Lou Perelman's site, and he's in jail now for scamming BILLIONS out of people. But you are NOT building a career this way!
The fact is, you can get the same info and submit yourself for jobs for a lot less money by using Actors Access, which for a year's subscription is $68. Plus, by using Actors Access, you give yourself legitimacy, since that is the site that ALL legitimate agents and casting directors use. If Explore Talent does submit you, which I think it won't, it will only be for the worst sort of jobs: extra work, low-paying promotional work, etc. You certainly would NOT be considered for major projects. If Explore Talent would go so far as to say they represent you, I think the average casting director or agent will think: PASS. The fact that they don't seem to show any discrimination on how they submit you is a major red flag. IF a casting director routinely sees women being submitted by a company for male roles, for instance, that casting director will subsequently ignore ANY and ALL submissions from that company. So if you go with Explore Talent, you will RUIN your chances for a career!
A career is built by networking and building relationships, not by posting on a site. You get considered for roles because a casting director knows you and your work. If you are just looking for occasional paying work for extra money and some fun, that's fine (but Actors Access is still better and cheaper) but if you are serious about your career, you NEED to MOVE to LA or NYC (or even Chicago), get professional headshots done, get some training, get an Actors Access account, then go to networking seminars and physically MEET agents and casting directors. I'm going to LA in a few days to do just that.
I haven't been scammed by this company. I only got coldcalled while I was preparing commercial copy for my LA trip (so I'm ticked off by having my concentration destroyed by this BS and my time wasted), but it is such an obvious scam, that I felt I had to report it. I didn't even bother emailing my friends, because it is such an obvious scam that if any of them fell for it, they're an idiot.
Obvious tipoffs:
1. The guy on the phone was unable to speak clearly and pronounced my name wrong.
2. There was a lot of background noise typical of call centers. While casting and talent agencies are also busy places, the noise is different. There is more phone ringing and fewer voices talking, not the general buzz of office drones in hundreds of cubicles. Agencies tend to be in very small offices, so the ambient noise is more distinct.
3. He was obviously reading from a script and wasn't very good at it.
4. Legit people never bother to ask "How are you doing?" before their spiel. They're too busy. An agent or casting director will never call unless they know who you are specifically and want you for a specific purpose. Most legit calls I get start with "Are you available on Friday at 1 PM?"
5. He said, "It says here you have an interest in modeling or acting." Ok, NO legit person in the business CARES that you have "an interest in modeling or acting". That is ASSUMED. If you have an interview with an agent and start rattling off about your "interest in modeling or acting", they are going to think "green" and "clueless" and write you off.
People fail with Explore Talent not because they are lazy, but because the company is a scam. I'm willing to bet that all those "jobs" people say they are getting are not worth putting on a resume. If people fail with Actors' Access, then maybe you can say that they are lazy.
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