Complaint Review: Be Productions / gonnabe.com / CHILD TALANT AGENTS - Santa Ana, San Diego, Bay Area California
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- Author Confirmed
- Be Productions / gonnabe.com / CHILD TALANT AGENTS Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana, CA Santa Ana, San Diego, Bay Area, California U.S.A.
- Phone:
- Web:
- Category: Talent Scouts
Be Productions, gonnabe.com CHILD TALANT AGENTS Be Productions is a fraud and scam. STAY AWAY Santa AnaSanta Ana, San Diego, Bay Area California
*UPDATE EX-employee responds: To All Past and Present Be. Members
*Consumer Suggestion: Be Productions Is A Scam and a Rip-Off/Closed in Northern California with NO NOTICE!
*Consumer Comment: Every story has two sides
*Consumer Comment: BE PRODUCTIONS/GONNABE.COM IS A SCAM
*Consumer Comment: Buyer beware but it's not a complete scam
*Consumer Comment: We were treated fairly
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I was in the Westminster Mall with my 13 year old daughter when we were approached by a scout from Be Productions. Myself along with my wife and our three daughter went to their initial screening process at their very elaborate warehouse in Santa Ana, CA that was decorated with pictures of child actors all over the place. They even led us to believe that Milley Cyrus was a product of their program. They consistently mention her name and tell the children they "are going to meet her." All of the children went through what appeared to be a very legitimate screening process in front of three talent agents and a very expensive Cannon XL2 production camera which broadcasted on a 60" plasma T.V.
After having the children read a script for some very well known companies in front of a camera we were called into an office where we met with a "Talent Agent" named Jo Anna. Jo Anna claimed she has placed "Thousands" of children in commercials as well as in T.V. shows and movies. She talked with our daughters then thanked us for our time. She stated she would call us if they were interested in our daughter(s).
The initial screening test was on a Sunday. On the following Wednesday, Jo Anna called and told my wife they had reviewed the videos and felt one of our daughters would be a great asset to their production. Jo Anna set up an appointment for the following Thursday. She requested both my wife and I be there along with our daughter.
After receiving a call from my wife, I called Jo Anna and asked her some very straight forward questions:
1. Was this a scam,
2. Was this going to cost us any money out of our pocket,
Jo Anna assured me they were a very legitimate company and proceeded to name bomb Milley Cyrus and a few other child actors. She went on to tell me what a scam other agencies like Powers and Barbrazon were. How they wanted thousands of dollars from you and never delivered. She said we would not be paying them and our daughter would be getting acting jobs. Jo Anna did however, tell me that my daughter would need to take some acting classes, but they did not offer them there. They would make referral to another company or we could find someone on our own if we wanted.
On the following Thursday, my wife,myself and our nine year-old daughter went to this "Second Call" meeting. Upon arrival, we were seated in the main screening room along with about eight other families. They showed us movie trailers, commercials, and television shows staring all kinds of well known child actors. After the videos and several names being bombed they went after the children emotions by asking "Who wants to be on T.V."?, Who wants to meet Milley Cyrus and other celebrities"?
After the children were all pumped up on excitement and peanut butter and sugar cookies we were all called into the Talent Agents office one family at a time. Once inside they went after the children's emotions again getting the all fired up. After a long drawn out speech they broke out the price list (the one that I was assured didn't exist).
The price scales were broken down into three groups. The fees were from $2,200.00 to $4, 995.00. As she (the co-founder and "B" rated actress) explained the pricing to us.
In an effort to be nice (because my daughter was in the room) I said my wife and I would need to discuss this as it was a lot of money. She and this other lady in the room with a camera left. We asked our daughter to step outside of the office so my wife and I could talk. When the agents came back in we told them we could not afford to do it and thanked them for their time. We were then presented with a three month payment plan and was told since I owned a small commercial production company they would extend an industry price break for our daughter. THey knocked off a whopping $500.00 for the big plan.
We told them this was not going to work. After some serious hard pressure sales, the co-founder asked me in front of my daughter "don't you care about your daughters future"? "Don't you want to make her dreams come true"?
My wife and I stood up and left. After we walked out our daughter told us " when I was in the hallway, the lady you were talking to told me to tell you I really wanted to sign up and that if you signed me up I would be good."
This place is a scam and should be sued. What they do with the children's emotions and the positions they put the children in unacceptable. I will be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau as well as forwarding a complaint letter to Milley Cyrus publicists, Disney, and all of the others they named bombed.
STAY AWAT FROM THESE PEOPLE.
Paul
Anahaim, California
U.S.A.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 03/14/2008 01:52 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/be-productions-gonnabecom-child-talant-agents/santa-ana-san-diego-bay-area-california/be-productions-gonnabecom-child-talant-agents-be-productions-is-a-fraud-and-scam-stay-a-317806. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content
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#6 UPDATE EX-employee responds
To All Past and Present Be. Members
AUTHOR: My Talent Service - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, June 19, 2009
Many Be. members have asked us, What is My Talent Service? and/or What happen to Be.?
My Talent Service is the preferred customer service provider for Be.
My Talent Service is here to help service all existing members. We will assist ALL past and present members with their questions pertaining to showcasing, scheduling, event participation, talent improvement, website instruction, and inside industry information. Our job at My Talent Service is to help make your memberships a worthwhile experience for you and your family.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact us at any of the emails or numbers listed below.
My Talent Service Contact Information
Customer Service: (310) 282-2914
Office Fax: (310) 861-0638
Scheduling Email: talentservice@mytalentservice.com
Liz
Email: lizb@mytalentservice.com
Office: (310) 282-9968
Cell: (310) 488-5601
Cristina
Email: cristinal@mytalentservice.com
Office: (310) 282-9962
Cell: (310) 490-6653
Martin
Email: martinh@mytalentservice.com
Office: (310) 282-8836
Cell: (310) 488-6285
Debbie
Email: debram@mytalentservice.com
Office: (310) 282-9906
Cell: (310) 433-1396
#5 Consumer Suggestion
Be Productions Is A Scam and a Rip-Off/Closed in Northern California with NO NOTICE!
AUTHOR: Jack0424 - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Saturday, May 30, 2009
Be Productions closed all Northern California Offices with no Notice. I have several posts on RipOff reports about problems with Be Productions..including them selling our contract on the same month that we signed,to Monterey Financial Services,who are now making threats of collections. You can also read my blog for the whole story:
http://beproductionsscam.blogspot.com
#4 Consumer Comment
Every story has two sides
AUTHOR: Jazzhorn - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, March 10, 2009
I have seen both side of the story concerning Be productions. If you check out any company I'm sure you will find both positive and negative experiences. No one is perfect. Granted, when I signed my daughter up iot cost more than I had planned, but it is still cheaper than other "classes". I paid $75 for pictures. My other daughter shelled out $300 for the same thing. There are alot of kids going through this program and their may not be as many openings, but I am confident that my daughter will succeed. I also see that most of the bad experiences are in San Diego. I'll take my chances.
#3 Consumer Comment
BE PRODUCTIONS/GONNABE.COM IS A SCAM
AUTHOR: Jason Sullivan - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, January 04, 2009
This company is indeed a scam. Think of them as the diet pill scam of the entertainment world, which they are far from being any part of. They pay blogs and bloggers to post pre-written, positive articles about themselves in order to cover it up. If you search for them, you will see all the random blogs, which are practically identical to one another, on different sites. I happen to know one of they're ex-employees who left the company because they couldn't handle working for a company that "lies to children". This person saw first hand on a day-to-day basis what went on within the company and was feeling guilty for being a part of it. After talking to my friend about tey're experience working for Be Productions, I decided to do my own investigatory work. I went to their site and signed up my "son" for a screentest. I was called in and brought a friends child. The entire screentest process was completely chaotic and unprofessional. None of the people there including the "director" knew anything. To top it off, I heard two of the staff talking outside about how they wouldn't have to deal with "that family" again because they're income wasn't high enough and they wouldn't be called again anyway. BIG OOOOPS! In closing, this company and they're services are a COMPLETE SCAM.
#2 Consumer Comment
Buyer beware but it's not a complete scam
AUTHOR: Mostly Jim - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, September 11, 2008
My family just went through the first two stages. We are not going to join, but I don't think it is a complete ripoff.
To be sure there is a strong sales job, and they don't tell you about the "membership" and the sign-up fee until the end.
Their audition standards are not high, but they're not negligible. The original report notes that they only invited one of 3 daughters to return. Based on my estimates from the number we saw at the audition, the number at our sales pitch, and the number of sales pitches, I'd guess they called back 1/4.
It's an interesting business model. They get a guaranteed profit up front from the membership fees, The rates for additional services are not unreasonable, even if they inflate their advantage by comparing themselves to the priciest professionals. It's not entirely novel; a search turned up several other operations offering classes and seminars for actors/models, with a sliding scale of fees based on membership level.
I don't think it's in their interest to be a complete scam - word will get out and kill the goose. However, this is a competitive business, and I'd be surprised if more than 10% of the kids they enroll end up with more than tow or three jobs. In the end, looks, talent, and the energy invested will still make the difference.
#1 Consumer Comment
We were treated fairly
AUTHOR: Js In Bay Area - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, April 03, 2008
I also enrolled my daughter in this program, however, no one ever approached us in a mall. My daughter had been modeling for 2 years already and we were referred to one of the owners by a well known photographer. My daughter took the acting classes and money camp and already had some really good modeling experience. Initially, I, too was disappointed. I felt as though once we were done with the classes, she had fallen through the cracks. However, once I started to voice my concerns over this, we were treated very fairly. It did take more than one contact, but, I have to say, we were able to meet with the owners and they were very forthright with answers to all of our questions and absolutely stepped up to the plate to address all of my concerns.
Yes, it did cost me a pretty good sum of money, but by now, my daughter has been cast in one of their television shows and, no, it was not due to our meeting with the owners. Once we were on set, it was obvious that she got the part on her own. It seems that almost every day something new and good has come from this alliance with Be.Productions since then. That is a big compliment from me because I was not happy. It takes time and patience to start a career in acting. If you continue to persevere, than, eventually, you start to make inroads.
Additionally, I think that this company has grown very fast and while the owners are prepared for and anticipated this, I think the staff is a bit overwhelmed and that is the cause of a lot of the breakdown in communication, at least with us it was. Perhaps better training of the staff and some organizational methods would solve some of these problems the other people are talking about. I can only speak about my own experience with Be and the owners. I has turned out to be a very positive one for me and more importantly, my daughter. She's happy and that makes me happy.
And, no, I am not an employee of this company. I paid my hard earned money like anyone else.
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