Absolute Talent Management - Eric Rottman - Pat Obrien Modeling Scam Photo Scam Acting Classes RIPOFF Beverly Hills California

he is not a agent,all you need to do is find a legit. agent yourself and go to a photographer yourself and tell them you need photo's for a modeling or acting agent,then write a resume about yourself including d.o.b, height, weight etc... and submit that to all the talent agents and if they are interested in you they will contact you,you dont need to waist alot of money on a middle man,that cant do anymore than you can do yourself,i found all this out the hard way and spent alot of money for no reason,so take my advice and go directly to all the good reputable agents in your area,also you wont be paying a manager fee and a agent fee,you will just pay the agent,and a agent wont ask for money for classes or photo's,they just tell you what you need to do,so you dont need a manager unless you become a famous superstar in the future,than you probably would be contacted by very reputable talent managers,and not pat o'brien that feeds off the bottom of the barrel.

I am a father of a daughter who went through the Pat O'brien, Absolute Talent Management. It is not a rip-off. It is however, HIGH RISK. Yes Pat does bring in a lot of children, sets them up with photos and classes and charges, though he has told me that is getting less and less, obviously because of the economy and many other competitive options.  He is not a rip-off... but I will say, he is perhaps too hopeful and positive with kids, that may not necessarily have any chance. Granted he'll take everyone's money, but he'll also give everyone a chance! He tries to get everyone representation, he sends out all of his talent who put the money, time, effort... But none of this will guarantee a success. My daughter still had to do a 'cold read' for an agent setup by Pat. She made it! The agent is busy getting us auditions. We even landed 1 commercial! Real money! But its still a tough, many many audition thing... and that's only 1 child out of his 100s he 'manages'.  Again, not a rip-off... but very HIGH RISK. 

And I did come into this thinking it was a rip-off! My wife decided to do it! But our daughter is a good actor, high energy, skill & great timing and she's into it. Most kids are not into it but dragged! Pat is very distracted with all he's trying to do, but you can still talk to him, I'm sure he deals with a lot of frustrated parents... but I've been to his Beverly Hills office, his Studio lot office, 20 times or so, and never seen anything untowards, lot of hopeful parents, no screaming or angry ones. And he's gotten checks to me in a timely manner from the 1 commercial success story. Even driving one over, with his kids in the car! 

I'm very cynical, the one thing I guess I'd say to Pat is... quit being so nice to ALL the kids who want to try! Quit taking all their money! But the truth is, Pat makes a living... letting everyone at least try. Its up to parents to decide if their kid really REALLY wants to do it, and has the skill, talent and that special something... and parent wants to persevere. 

I know one mom, not with Pat, but at my daughter's school, she spent year after year, classes after classes, indie, plays, talent shows, all this stuff for her daughter... year after year, and daughter did have that special something, high energy... just a few in our whole school, and BAM! She landed a Target commercial... (and some older stuff too), but that commercial paid for all those years! But how many others have tried this, and still no pay off... statistically? Most. 

Maybe this parent had a bad experience, but I know several people who had a great experience, including myself and my son. He was "discovered" in a mall, I was given a card, and we went to the casting call. They picked a few kids and my son was one of the lucky ones, they offered him acting classes and headshots. They paid for everything, I never paid for anything except for the second set of headshots that were about $300 (less than anyone else). They also paid for an acting coach Gary Spatz who is very well known. My son got picked up by an agent right away..Absolute talent invited several of them to wahtch the "showcase" which was where all the kids did the stuff they learned in the acting classes. My son had several agents that wanted  him..and he was very busy with auditions. His 3rd audition, he landed a McDonalds commercial, then tropicana, and on and on..and he actually has co-stared in a Movie that was nation wide. I had a great experience..if my son was nervous about an adition, absolute would have us go to thier office to talk and practice running lines. They never asked for money..the only thing they got was 10% of what my son made..which is the normal fee a manager gets. We now live in TX, and I wish I could find Pat for some advice:) George wants to get started here in TX. I know several mothers who also had a great experience with this agency..sometimes the child is not ready for acting..and sometimes the parent has to just be ok with that and not blame other people. My other son is a horrible actor..and never got into it, either you have it or you dont. Also, I know other people had to pay like $1,500 but that was the cost of the classes..they had really, really good teachers. They were teachers that were professional actors, and I mean HUGE actors..well known ones. We didn't have to pay because we just didn't have it, and they saw something in him and took a risk..they were never pushy EVER..it was like a family and I miss it.

Hi, I was searching this site (rip off)today to look up a particular modeling agency for children. To my surprise I found a report on Absolute talent.

My problem is that what Paula has reported is so shocking because my daughter has been with Absolute Talent for almost five years now. We took a break for the past year because they kept us pretty busy with auditions.

She was signed with La Model and Absolute as her management.

I too was in the mall with her at the time of scouting. I too was very hesitant at first because of prior experience with other agencies.
But we paid the fee for the photos and the classes. I did not think the photos were the best but it was done and I rolled with it. My daughter landed four jobs thru them. A Disneyland commercial, A California Disney commercial, She was featured in a limited too catalog and she also booked with unionbay and was seen in a major department stores across the country.

I must say that Absolute can us some work in a couple of areas, they did in the begining come off rather unsincere. But I must say they are not ripping me off and I do not believe they are ripping anyone elso off. Pat is the nicest man,and has always been kind towards me and my daughter. And when my daughter ran out of photo cards, he actually shot her himself and told her that if she came to the office she could help out and not worry about paying for them.
we spent all of an hour stapling papers for Pat. I don't believe he is ripping anyone off.
These agencies have to charge a fee for photos and classes because the child is exactly that, a child and rather tempromental. They can not invest in every kid that has the look or the personality simply because these kids may not want to continue in a months time. You can not force a child to do much especially infront of a camera at auditions.
My daughter had a audition that required her to skate and needless to say she did terrible because she was nervous and in that industry they don't have time for nervous. She never wanted to audition for anything again. We took some time off and came back later.

This industry is not a gaurantee, and with that there business can float or crash.

So I say most defintely there are crooks out there but I have to say honestly that Pat and his business have been pretty good to my kid.
You sometimes have to take a chance with this stuff and thats life but if it doesn't feel right by all means step back. Find someone who has dealt with the agency personally, ask to talk with some of the clients they have. I would think if they don't want you talking to there standing clients then run. But Absolute is not a rip off.