by starman on Fri Apr 25, 2008 10:40 am
It is well known that Central Casting has 80% of the TV shows which they cast the Background for and that very little of the work gets put on their hotlines. The same goes for the casting of feature films. That's because they give away most of the work to the Calling Service they are associated with across the street - Extras Management. But there are plenty of other Calling Services, and since you only pay for one Calling Service, the system is blatantly unfair,
Look at it this way:
John joins Calling Service A.
Mary joins Calling Service B.
Abdul joins Calling Service C.
Suzette joins Calling Service D.
Corinna has no Calling Service.
The casting of Background for a new movie is given to Calling Service B. There are up to 50 SAG spots to be filled in any SAG affiliated movie (80 in the New York zone). So Mary and others who have joined Calling Service B get all the work. John, Abdul, Suzette and others who have joined Calling Service A, C or D and Corinna and others without a Calling Service are OUT OF LUCK!.
It is against State and Federal Law to pay for any job, including Acting jobs. However, these Calling Services get around the law by saying you are only pay for them to make the phone calls. In reality, every Actor knows you are paying the Calling Services to get you Acting work.
Many Actors I have spoken to say these Calling Services usually just give you enough work in a month to barely make their fee worthwhile. When you threaten to quit the Calling Service because of lack of work. Oh, suddenly you get phone calls from the Calling Service with work.
In my opinion, SAG should outlaw Calling Services for all SAG members. This would force the Casting Agencies to put the Acting work on their hotlines or their websites, where it should be, so that all Actors have a fair chance to submit for work.
It is well known that Central Casting has 80% of the TV shows which they cast the Background for and that very little of the work gets put on their hotlines. The same goes for the casting of feature films. That's because they give away most of the work to the Calling Service they are associated with across the street - Extras Management. But there are plenty of other Calling Services, and since you only pay for one Calling Service, the system is blatantly unfair,
Look at it this way:
John joins Calling Service A.
Mary joins Calling Service B.
Abdul joins Calling Service C.
Suzette joins Calling Service D.
Corinna has no Calling Service.
The casting of Background for a new movie is given to Calling Service B. There are up to 50 SAG spots to be filled in any SAG affiliated movie (80 in the New York zone). So Mary and others who have joined Calling Service B get all the work. John, Abdul, Suzette and others who have joined Calling Service A, C or D and Corinna and others without a Calling Service are OUT OF LUCK!.
It is against State and Federal Law to pay for any job, including Acting jobs. However, these Calling Services get around the law by saying you are only pay for them to make the phone calls. In reality, every Actor knows you are paying the Calling Services to get you Acting work.
Many Actors I have spoken to say these Calling Services usually just give you enough work in a month to barely make their fee worthwhile. When you threaten to quit the Calling Service because of lack of work. Oh, suddenly you get phone calls from the Calling Service with work.
In my opinion, SAG should outlaw Calling Services for all SAG members. This would force the Casting Agencies to put the Acting work on their hotlines or their websites, where it should be, so that all Actors have a fair chance to submit for work.
