Bit of Advice | Bit of Advice |
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Entertainment Advice
For three sterling do-it-to-yourself projects, click on each of the following links, one at a time, of course. How to Screw Up an Acting Career How to Screw Up a Technical Career 
1. Never pay an agent an "administrative fee" or a "registration fee" or a "booking fee" or any kind of fee for the "privilege" of having that agent represent you. It is against the law in Florida. Don't take classes or "training" seminars from agents. Those are also forbidden by law. Most agents know this. Some try to get away with it anyway. Any agent who demands such a fee or insists upon you spending money for any reason whatsoever should be reported immediately to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (the DBPR), Northwood Centre, 1940 North Monroe St, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0750; phone 851/922-4977. (Be sure you file your complaint on their own forms -- you can download them. Otherwise they will pretend they never heard of you. And if you care to, fax, email or mail us a copy. ) The practice of charging such fees is specifically and explicitly prohibited under 468.410 of the Florida Talent Agency Statute: "Prohibition against registration fees..." Anyone who charges them, therefore, is a crook. Treat them accordingly. 2. Never allow yourself to be intimidated by threats like, "I'll see to it that no agent in the state will work with you." That, too, is a clear violation of the Talent Agency law. It's a felony, in fact. The agent can, and should, lose his or her license for doing it. Get the statement on tape if you can; get it in front of a witness or two. Then blow the whistle. Such agents have no place in the entertainment industry. 3. Under no circumstances are you required to use a particular agent's photographer, or attend a particular agent's classes, or buy anything pushed on you by an agent -- not books, not photos, not tote bags, not makeup kits, not listings on CDs or the Internet or in some worthless "talent book," not videos, not "white cards," not address labels, not chewing gum, not anything! These practices are also specifically forbidden by law in Florida. In fact, NEVER buy photos from or through a talent agent. |
