anyone who uses star seach casting?

Question

ok so we signed my newphew up on this web site called STAR SEARCH CASTING. its says it has casting directors that look at your profile and contact you with tv,movie,or commercial roles. i was just wondering is this some kind a shitjoke website? he hasn't been contacted once. has anyone signed up on this site and had success? any tips for him. hes 8

Answer 1

I've never heard of them, but it's definitely not how things are normally done in the industry. Re: Star Search Casting, the links below have both sides of the story so it's up to you who you believe.

Normally you get an agent and they get casting notices called breakdowns and if they see something your nephew would be good for they send his pic & resume to the casting director who decides if he/she thinks he may be right for the project. If it's a yes, they schedule an audition and go from there.

My advice is always to go the tride and true method. Going without an agent means that you do not have someone working on your nephew's side. You need an advocate knowledgable in the industries ins and outs to help you get legitimate auditions, navigate your way through contracts, etc. That's what the agent is for. That's why they get 10% of your nephew's paycheck, because they do all their work UPFRONT at their OWN cost, not yours. If your nephew has a great look, personality, & talent to boot and they don't have another client like him then they may yake a chance that he can make them some cash, because that's what it all comes down to. With companies like Star Search... they're getting paid up front. What are they doing to continue working for your nephew? Why should they do anything if they already have your money?

If you want to find a legitimate agent to represent you for commercials, TV & film go to Sag.org. Use the dropdown menu on the right labeled 'resources' and choose 'agent information'. On the next screen, on the left choose 'Find a SAG franchised agent' and follow the directions. You can look up agents all over the US, but there are higher concentrations where the work is (Los Angeles, NY, IL, FL, GA etc.)

Then you can send them your headshot, resume, and a cover letter stating that you are seeking representation and wait to see if they call you in for an interview.

Once you have an agent, they will get you the auditions, but until then you can check out actorsaccess.com. You can also see if your state has a film alliance. Sometimes they post audition information for projects filming locally. For theatre, you can go to backstage.com or http://www.actorsequity.org/castingcall/... If you find the audition on the Equity site, you still may be able to go, as long as their not taking appointments from equity actor's only :-) On backstage.com you have to pay to get all of the info, but the initial search is free and you may be able to see enough info to find out the rest on your own without paying. There's also Kids Background Talent if you're in Los Angeles. You do have to pay a fee to join there, but that is standard with background agencies in the industry. However, he would likely work on some well known shows and get some good on-set experience out of it. He will also get paid :-)

Good luck!

Answer 2

Unbelievable that someone would stoop so low. And the benefit to them of removing those starred questions? Okay, obviously that would be a drawback to having your questions and answers public. The plus side of having them public is that anyone can read the answers, and someone might really benefit from the information. The person deleting these questions is probably watching to see what you star. That person could report the question, but wouldn't YA make it so the only person who can delete the question is the person who posted it? Otherwise, everyone whose questions are public is open to that happening. Doesn't seem fair. Is there someone who's supposed to monitor the activity on here and make sure stuff like that isn't happening? The only other person who might be able to delete questions is a moderator who finds the question offensive. That said, one topic that seems okay to some people (say religious or political in nature) might be seen as offensive by others but is not worthy of being deleted. So where do you draw the line on offensive? So how do you find out who's doing this? Why would someone be stalking you? What can the rest of us (and you in the future) do to prevent something like this from happening?