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Report: #1357120

Complaint Review: Gary Spatz - the Playground - century city California

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  • Reported By: actor — beverly hills California USA
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  • Gary Spatz - the Playground century city, California USA

Gary Spatz - the Playground Playground acting school The Playground Should be called the PREY ground and Spatz should be ashamed of himself/ jailed century city California

*Consumer Comment: SCAM DONT LET YOUR CHILD BE A VICTIM

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SCAM    SCAM    SCAM

 

this acting conservatory (not they do not call themselves a talent agency as those are more regulated by law) is a ripoff  SCAM in letters 100 feet tall.  They PREY on parents beliefs that thier kid is the greatest --they promise 15-20000 per national commercial if only you spend 2000-5000 for acting lessons diction lessons etc etc....  all BULLS*.  acting lessons do not cost that much --google/ look up any other agency out there and you will see the typical  fee is 350-400 for ten weeks of classes - one hour per week ..but i digress.  The "talent" scouts make a wide range of promises about the tens of thousands one could make doing commercials...and it all sounds too good to be true.  well guess what ..it is too good to be true.  they also say there is a money back garuntee...yeah right..once they have your money you have been duped..you will never see that money back and you wont make tens of thousands of dollars.  this is highway robbery without a gun.   remember boys and girls these "talent" scouts are basically actors ..and actors make a living by pretending to be something they are not...basically convincing LIARS 

 

the typical scam --they approach mother and daughters or sons at a mall or shopping center or wherever and say how beautiful she is or how handsome he is and how she could make tens of thousands of dollars maybe even pay for college from a single commercial.  this is BULLS*.  google for yourselves what the SAG rate is for a national commercial.  The SAG AFTRA pay scale for a national commercial for a Class A campaign with all the bells and whistles for a principal performer (not an extra) is $627.25 for the first 13 weeks of running for the next thirteen its $143.95 for the third thirteen weeks $114.25 and for any 13 week span after that $54.75   so lets say you are lucky enough for your child to be the principal actor in a commercial for an entire year.   woohoo boys and girls you will get approxiamtely $1000 .  thats it ...and you paid 3-5000 for "acting" lessons.  Now on top of this there ar the SAG AFTRA fees...after you do a commerical / ad you have a 60 day grace period where you can work on union projects...after that 60 days,  to continue working you will have to pay an initiation fee of $3000 to sag aftra (just the initiation not the continuing fees every year) ...oh wait that means you are now down $2000 and again the 5000 to this rip off gary spatz prey ground conservancy.   thats  $8000 you  have paid so you can make scale ($1000)  on ONE commercial  you can find this ifnomration anwyerhe one place is reference.com   ask what is the sag-aftra pay scale for a national commercial and you will see these same numbers as proof of what the pay scale actually is.

 

again the pay for a principal actor (not an extra) for a years commercial is $1000 NOT TENS OF THOUSANDS

 

now heres even more they dont bother to tell you:    that $1000  gets taxed..oh yes boys and girls the IRS wants their money..so there goes 18 -40%    say is just 18% since its such a low income anyway..  then there is your agent fees (10%) , 10-15% more for a manager  , 5 % for a lawyer another 5% to a business manager and low and behold your $1000 becomes - approximately half that sum or $500    oh and then theres the coogan laws for child actors where 15% gets set aside until your child actor becomes of age..so yoru left with about $350-400  and you spent a minimum of  4000 to this scam conservancy ...and 3000 to sag aftra..  so now youve paid nearly $8000 to make $400  feeling stupid yet?

 

but again they are preying on  your belief that your kid is the greatest thing since sliced bread, the next rhianna or christina aguilera etc etc.  they will throw out all kinds of names of child actors that "went" to their conservancy....no proof of this but they will thorw out thirty - forty names...most of which have NEVER heard of Gary Spatz.  ..they will also say disney is lookign for a child just like yorus...well yes they are  they ALWAYS are...but you dont have to spend thousands for that to happen..just find a reputable manager get soem ehadshots for $150-$300..and they will send your kids info to various reputable agencys who will if the client wants invite you to auditions --if you must spend money on acting lessons..then find a reputable acting school.. spend no more than $400-$500 for ten weeks.  keep in mind in hollywood its all about the look...no one gives a crap about diction or speaking or as all this can be dubbed if they want a different voice..its done all the time.  also your child willprobalby change their mind after 6-8 weeks and no longer want tobe an actor ...as kids are constantly changing thier minds as to what they want to be / do when they grow up--so why spend thousands on a "conservancy" when ou can get lessons for much much less

 

they sell this BS conservancy school as a way of buidling your childs confidence in public speaking etc..well its a confidence scam all right...the worst kind. con art is the only art these peopel are sellling and if you buy into it without doing any of your own research then you are beyond stupid....

 

Think about it if it was so easy to make 15000-20000 for a commercial simply by paying these lying pieces of s* $4000  every actor in los angeles new york etc woud be flocking to this coservancy, beating down thier doors, the prey ground wouldnt have to resort to sending out "talent " agents to malls shopping centers etc to get talent.   every actor for hundreds if not thousands of miles would be going there beating down their door to get this wonderful opportunity...rather than waiting tables....hell even i would do it...if i could spend $4000 to make $16000 sign me up now.  but i dont live in fantasy land i live in the real world.   (i or anyone else would  be much better off buying $4000 worth of lottey tickets.)

 

its a SCAM.   a terrible heartbreaking SCAM.      if you fall for it..you are naive and stupid.  do your own research, google pay scale national commercials...look around at thier auditions at thes "conservancys" ask yourself honestly do you really believe all these kids including yours will becoem a succesful working actor?  do you live in fantasy land?  do you really want to spend yoru childs college education money on this pipe dream?  that even if your lucky enough to land a comemrcail it cost you more than you will ever make back?  if you do i have this bridge in brooklyn id love to sell you...and this tower in paris that is going to the scrap yard soon if i dont sell it

 

i know there are rebuttals on here ---from their employees...and they shoud all be arrested, prsoecuted  and jailed....along with GARY SPATZ to put a stop to this extortion of parents beliefs that their child can do anything., is the most special kid anywhere.  

 

SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 02/20/2017 04:15 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/gary-spatz-the-playground/century-city-california/gary-spatz-the-playground-playground-acting-school-the-playground-should-be-called-the-1357120. 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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#1 Consumer Comment

SCAM DONT LET YOUR CHILD BE A VICTIM

AUTHOR: Brenda - (United States)

POSTED: Wednesday, January 09, 2019

Beware of this company, a total scam! 

THE SET UP

It all starts with the first contact at a mall or public place were the “scouts” are on the hunt for children. These people are basically out of work actors, so they are very convincing. They prey on kids and parents that look like they can afford to pay for over priced acting classes. (they never mention that fact, but is is printed in small letters on the invite you are given)

They will approach you and say something like “oh, your son/daughter is so cute. Have you ever thought about getting in tv, commercials or film?” You're excited and your child is certainly excited with the prospect of being discovered. (they count on this) and the pitch begins. The scouts then invite you to attend a special audition were you can meet industry professionals and maybe even an ex Disney star who is also down on their luck looking for a paycheck for an hour or two of their time.

 THE FAKE AUDITION

You decide to load up the family and are all set to attend what seems to be an incredible opportunity. 

After arriving you discover there are many families just like you, all wanting their big chance to be discovered. After a quick dog and pony show, dropping names of supposed past students and the success they have achieved, your child goes on stage and reads a 3 line commercial. You are then rushed over to one of their admission reps. They inform you if your “lucky” you’ll get a call and a second chance to meet with them one on one. 

 THE CALL BACK

Hello, this is ____ from The Playground, Ive got some great news!, you are one of the few kids that have been selected to come back for a second and final interview. (at this point they may or may not mention the fact that there is ALLOT of your money involved. 

 THE SECOND INTERVIEW- TIME TO BREAK YOUR CHILDS HART

You and your family are in a small office plastered with photos of child stars, the real fun begins. 

The sales rep with begin to flatter your child and go on about how great they are and what a great look they have. Your child is so excited and about to burst, then the other shoe drops. Oh, but little Johnny needs training. “You cant possibly think you can get into this business without training? Everybody needs classes.” The cost can be between $3000 to $6000. You will then most likely ask if you can go home and think about it. (most people would). They have this covered. “Well, if you’r not serious and don’t want the spot, someone else will.” (the take away). Of course this is a tactic and if you say no your child is devastated and thinks you have just kept them from being the next big star. Explain to them this place is not real and you will find one that is. Tell them they are too talented to go with the first place that wants them. 

 NOT SO FUN FACTS ABOUT THE PLAYGROUND

  1. They accept and call everyone. To prove this point, go to the phony audition with another family and don’t tell them you are together. You will both get the same call about how special you are.
  2. They hold these additions every weekend and are very well known for churning hundreds of students a month.
  3. If they were so reputable and so many agents were in fact referring their children and clients to them, then why would they have to rely on stalking children in malls. They would have a waiting list and a line out the door. Think about it. 
  4. The teachers are also out of work actors that rely on this scam to pay the rent. If they were truly successful, you don’t think they would be doing this to pay the bills do you?
  5. The cost of classes here are so way over priced. Now they will tell you the “you get what you pay for” or “we don’t charge much more than other classes and our classes are the best and Gary is bigly better.” 
  6. The owner Eric Rottman has been involved in acting scams for decades. He was the founder of O’Brian -Rottman Studios in Dallas and Los Angeles, both we shut down for fraud and misleading sales practices. Google it. Same exact business model.
  7. Do yourself and most importantly your child a favor. Go home, research and call around. Also, go to The BizParentz Foundation website, it is a non-profit corporation providing education, advocacy, and charitable support to parents and children engaged in the entertainment industry. If you still want to do business with Gary, Eric and this group of scam artist, trust me they will be more than happy to take your money. Also, goggle Gary Spatz, The Playground Los Angeles and put the word scam after the name. You will be amazed.
  8. They will most likely say that all the bad posts and reviews are from people that never attended the classes or it is one of their competitors trying to discredit them.

 

 The bottom line is this. This company preys on children and the uninformed. They are very good at what they do, if they weren’t they would not still be in business. 

Find a company that has a legit business model and truly cares about your child.

 

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