- Report: #379026
Complaint Review: A.C.T. Academy Of Cinamea And Television - Phoenix Arizona
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A.C.T. Academy Of Cinamea And Television
Two Renaissance Square, 40 N. Central Avenue, Suite 2250, Phoenix, AZ 85004. Also 455 North 3rd Street, Suite 355, Phoenix, AZ Phoenix, 85004 Arizona, U.S.A.
Phone:
877-214-1892
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A.C.T. Academy Of Cinamea And Television Acting School accepted my daughter after a 40 second interview and wanted me to register her in less than 24 hours with a credit card in the amount from $2,000 to $5,000 for six Saturday sessions starting Dec 6, 2008. Phoenix Arizona
A.C.T. Academy of Cinema and Television is a Total SCAM! Last Tuesday, one of the Philadelphia news radio stations advertised if you would like your son or daughter to be the next Hannah Montana or to appear on shows like High School Musical you would need to call 1-877-214-1892 and are one of the first 200 people in your area, you have a free audition for your child.
The audition takes place every 2 hours beginning at 10 AM until 6 PM. I had an appointment for my daughter this past Sunday, October 5, 2008 at the Sheratan Hotel in Philadelphia at 2 PM. It didn't seem right from the very beginning since they didn't even have a list of all who registered and all they did was hand you papers to fill out and sign. They packed the Sheratan's Ballroom of over 300 in attendance. They had music playing from all of the Disney famous shows like Camp Rock and the Jonas Brothers just to keep you thinking about what your child would be auditioning for. They also had a projection screen to show your son or daughter reading the cold read commercial.
Then it all began. The first person to get the audience pumped was Michael Worth. He introduced himself at the National Direct for ACT for New York, LA, Chicago and Phoenix. The second person was a woman by the name of Lilly who had an accent that you couldn't understand but she had a very long speech and also added some jokes in between. She said she would know if you have "The Look". She said she has been in the business for 12 years now and she showed photos of famous individuals that she had found and made famous even to the point of sending them to Paris, France.
The third person was John Shea who is from Frontier Booking International of New York. He was selecting the children by having them do a "Cold Read" commercial. They began calling 4 rows at a time, 2 from the left and 2 from the right. There were three interviewers, one at each table, Michael Worth, Lilly and another woman who didn't introduce herself.
You needed to have a Disclaimer filled out, Registration, and a form for John Shea for the cold read commercial. The registration also needed two recent photos of your child. On the back of the registration, the child needed to state why they wanted to act in 100 words or less. We were told that the interview will take about 40 seconds. What???? How can anyone interview a child in 40 seconds to see if they are really show biz material along with having "The Look". My daugther said a total of 4 words during the interview, her name, age, yes and Thank you.
Mr. Michael Worth asked me if my daughter is called back would I be able to afford her tuition of $2,000 and up. I told him "Yes" and he placed a check mark on my daughter's application. He then in turn handed me a bright yellow paper stating that only the parent who came to the interview must call on Monday. You needed to call based on the first letter of your last name and the times associated with them.
I called at 9:30 AM. 1-877-214-1886. A woman answered and placed me on hold. She asked me my daughter's name and said that Michael is busy on another call and he'll get back to me sometime in the morning. Michael returned my call 20 minutes later and asked me if my daughter had fun yesterday and that she seemed a little tired but she was Called Back. He said that she had the look that he didn't see in any of the children yesterday. He also said that she looked younger than her age and that is exactly what markets out in the entertainment business. He wanted me to come in with my husband to sign my daughter up. He said that we would go over the level that she will be at and that they don't accept personal checks but to bring a credit card.
Since my husband doesn't have a 9 to 5 job, I told him that I would need to call him back as soon as I knew when my husband would be available from work. He gave me his personal cell phone number 602-315-1751. He wanted us to return that day, Monday, with two more photos of my daughter and our credit card. I had asked Michael, how many children were chosen out of the 800 to 1,000 that were seen on Sunday, October 5, 2008. He told me that he was going to call back 95 of them. I never returned his call. Someone did try to call but never left a message. My neighbor had a 4 PM appointment and she has three daughters. She went through the same process as we did but she saw Lilly.
Again, less than 40 seconds, which LIlly did quote that amount of time to everyone in attendance before the interviews began. My neighbor also said yes she was able to afford the tuition and guess what? When she had called them to get the results, all three of her daughters were called back and she was also given an appointment time to come in with her husband and their credit card. She also asked Lilly how many children she was calling back after seeing 800 to 1,000 and Lilly responded with only 25 of them.
They claim that this is a six month training program. It is really six days. It begins on Saturday, December 6, 2008 until April, 2008 and it is on every Saturday for only 4 hours (lowest price of $1,950). Three training days only and three auditions. They also stated that during the auditions, agents from L.A. are flown in for the auditions. There is no guarantee that your child will be chosen for commercials or T.V. shows. They have the Marriott in Phliadelphia booked for the classes during the six months beginning in December 6, 2008. I don't even know if the Sheratan or Marriott know what is going on at their location.
After taking the first six months, the next six months, you could be charged an even higher price since they would need to move your child up to another level.
This is all a SCAM! I have already contacted the radio station in Philadelphia today, Tuesday, October 7th and they had told me that I was the second person in 30 minutes that had called about this. I have also called ABC news and left two messages for Investigation. I also faxed all papers that I have from ACT to the radio station. Someone needs to stop all of this.
I have gone to ACT's website academyofcinemaandtv.com and saw their office space that they call school on their virtual tour. There you will also find another address. They all look legitimate. You can look up their website and also read the brochure that they hand you wilth all of the stars that give great comments about ACT.
Everyone who registered their child yesterday with their credit card are in for a rude awakening. They claim that the Call Backs are by invitation only to attend ACT and therefore are now able to return on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at the Sheratan to meet with Adrian R'Mante - Esteban from the Suite Life of Zack and Cody. The times are 6 PM to 9 PM. They have also had Madison Pettis from Cory in the House meet students from the Level 4 and Level 5 programs ($4,000 & $5,000 tuition) in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm pretty sure that they pay them big bucks to come in to talk with the children and parents, another way to keep them in the program.
Yes, I believe that the FBI and the local police of the city that they are in, need to be contacted ASAP. It's only going to get worse since they are hitting every city. If it wasn't for my neighbor getting the same response I did, I would have probably been the next victim. My neighbor told me that she shouldn't hang with me when she also signed up her kids but I'm so glad she did. We helped each other and now we want to STOP IT before more families get hurt.
M.C.
Mullica Hill, New Jersey
U.S.A.
The audition takes place every 2 hours beginning at 10 AM until 6 PM. I had an appointment for my daughter this past Sunday, October 5, 2008 at the Sheratan Hotel in Philadelphia at 2 PM. It didn't seem right from the very beginning since they didn't even have a list of all who registered and all they did was hand you papers to fill out and sign. They packed the Sheratan's Ballroom of over 300 in attendance. They had music playing from all of the Disney famous shows like Camp Rock and the Jonas Brothers just to keep you thinking about what your child would be auditioning for. They also had a projection screen to show your son or daughter reading the cold read commercial.
Then it all began. The first person to get the audience pumped was Michael Worth. He introduced himself at the National Direct for ACT for New York, LA, Chicago and Phoenix. The second person was a woman by the name of Lilly who had an accent that you couldn't understand but she had a very long speech and also added some jokes in between. She said she would know if you have "The Look". She said she has been in the business for 12 years now and she showed photos of famous individuals that she had found and made famous even to the point of sending them to Paris, France.
The third person was John Shea who is from Frontier Booking International of New York. He was selecting the children by having them do a "Cold Read" commercial. They began calling 4 rows at a time, 2 from the left and 2 from the right. There were three interviewers, one at each table, Michael Worth, Lilly and another woman who didn't introduce herself.
You needed to have a Disclaimer filled out, Registration, and a form for John Shea for the cold read commercial. The registration also needed two recent photos of your child. On the back of the registration, the child needed to state why they wanted to act in 100 words or less. We were told that the interview will take about 40 seconds. What???? How can anyone interview a child in 40 seconds to see if they are really show biz material along with having "The Look". My daugther said a total of 4 words during the interview, her name, age, yes and Thank you.
Mr. Michael Worth asked me if my daughter is called back would I be able to afford her tuition of $2,000 and up. I told him "Yes" and he placed a check mark on my daughter's application. He then in turn handed me a bright yellow paper stating that only the parent who came to the interview must call on Monday. You needed to call based on the first letter of your last name and the times associated with them.
I called at 9:30 AM. 1-877-214-1886. A woman answered and placed me on hold. She asked me my daughter's name and said that Michael is busy on another call and he'll get back to me sometime in the morning. Michael returned my call 20 minutes later and asked me if my daughter had fun yesterday and that she seemed a little tired but she was Called Back. He said that she had the look that he didn't see in any of the children yesterday. He also said that she looked younger than her age and that is exactly what markets out in the entertainment business. He wanted me to come in with my husband to sign my daughter up. He said that we would go over the level that she will be at and that they don't accept personal checks but to bring a credit card.
Since my husband doesn't have a 9 to 5 job, I told him that I would need to call him back as soon as I knew when my husband would be available from work. He gave me his personal cell phone number 602-315-1751. He wanted us to return that day, Monday, with two more photos of my daughter and our credit card. I had asked Michael, how many children were chosen out of the 800 to 1,000 that were seen on Sunday, October 5, 2008. He told me that he was going to call back 95 of them. I never returned his call. Someone did try to call but never left a message. My neighbor had a 4 PM appointment and she has three daughters. She went through the same process as we did but she saw Lilly.
Again, less than 40 seconds, which LIlly did quote that amount of time to everyone in attendance before the interviews began. My neighbor also said yes she was able to afford the tuition and guess what? When she had called them to get the results, all three of her daughters were called back and she was also given an appointment time to come in with her husband and their credit card. She also asked Lilly how many children she was calling back after seeing 800 to 1,000 and Lilly responded with only 25 of them.
They claim that this is a six month training program. It is really six days. It begins on Saturday, December 6, 2008 until April, 2008 and it is on every Saturday for only 4 hours (lowest price of $1,950). Three training days only and three auditions. They also stated that during the auditions, agents from L.A. are flown in for the auditions. There is no guarantee that your child will be chosen for commercials or T.V. shows. They have the Marriott in Phliadelphia booked for the classes during the six months beginning in December 6, 2008. I don't even know if the Sheratan or Marriott know what is going on at their location.
After taking the first six months, the next six months, you could be charged an even higher price since they would need to move your child up to another level.
This is all a SCAM! I have already contacted the radio station in Philadelphia today, Tuesday, October 7th and they had told me that I was the second person in 30 minutes that had called about this. I have also called ABC news and left two messages for Investigation. I also faxed all papers that I have from ACT to the radio station. Someone needs to stop all of this.
I have gone to ACT's website academyofcinemaandtv.com and saw their office space that they call school on their virtual tour. There you will also find another address. They all look legitimate. You can look up their website and also read the brochure that they hand you wilth all of the stars that give great comments about ACT.
Everyone who registered their child yesterday with their credit card are in for a rude awakening. They claim that the Call Backs are by invitation only to attend ACT and therefore are now able to return on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at the Sheratan to meet with Adrian R'Mante - Esteban from the Suite Life of Zack and Cody. The times are 6 PM to 9 PM. They have also had Madison Pettis from Cory in the House meet students from the Level 4 and Level 5 programs ($4,000 & $5,000 tuition) in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm pretty sure that they pay them big bucks to come in to talk with the children and parents, another way to keep them in the program.
Yes, I believe that the FBI and the local police of the city that they are in, need to be contacted ASAP. It's only going to get worse since they are hitting every city. If it wasn't for my neighbor getting the same response I did, I would have probably been the next victim. My neighbor told me that she shouldn't hang with me when she also signed up her kids but I'm so glad she did. We helped each other and now we want to STOP IT before more families get hurt.
M.C.
Mullica Hill, New Jersey
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Drama Free
NYC,New York,
U.S.A.
LISTEN TO WHAT A REAL ACTOR HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE SCAM ACADEMY!!!
#2UPDATE Employee
Sat, December 20, 2008
Here is what scarlett johansen has to say about act: ACT: Thanks for taking the time out to interview for us today, Scarlett. Our students were thrilled to hear that you were going to take part in our series. Scarlett: No problem I think what you guys are doing at ACT is great. And I love to help kids out whenever I can!" ACT: Please share with us how you were discovered and how many auditions you had to go on before booking your first job? Scarlett: I didn't really have a discovery in the way other people had. I booked my first audition at 8 years old and went on about fifteen auditions.. I loved musical theatre and loved performing. I wanted to be in theatre as a child. I did a lot of vocal training. I also took classes at Lee Strasberg and then was cast in a film called North." I played John Ritter's daughter and after that I started booking films. I never acted in television or commercials. My mom was also very supportive; she saw that I was having fun. I still pounded the pavement though. ACT: What was your first job in the business (before you starred in NORTH) and were you nervous or did you feel prepared for your big day? Scarlett: My first job was North" and I wasn't nervous. The film set felt really intimate and whatever kind of anxiety I had, disappeared when the cameras started rolling. I felt it was my moment to shine. I just knew this is what I was meant to be doing. I get nervous when I'm presenting an award, but when I'm on set I don't. ACT: What is one important piece of advice you would give talent who are trying to get started in this business? Scarlett: To constantly re-evaluate what your intentions are and re-access where you are -- set goals for yourself. Setting goals is really important in such an all consuming business. Do you want to be an actor or a celebrity or movie star? ACT: When you first decided that you wanted to be an actor, did you take any type of performing arts classes? And if so, do you feel that it was an important aspect to your success and do you still participate in any classes or coaching? Scarlett: I went to Lee Strasberg and did a lot of improv and movement classes. That was the only professional training I had. Acting is a tool and it gets rusty if you don't use it. It's also important to be able to take experiences from your life and apply them to your work. Developing a character and research is very important for me. ACT: How much did you understand about the business of the biz" when you were auditioning or networking within the industry? Scarlett: That's difficult to say since I started so young. It was a learning process who were the right people to know? When you're a child actor it's about being professional and being able to focus, not to network. When I was starting out it was about building awareness with casting directors and producers, and hopefully making a lasting impression with my work. ACT: Tell us about your worst audition experience and what you learned from it? Scarlett: I had a hard time with commercial auditions, selling stuff, it felt corny going on commercial auditions. My heart wasn't in it and that was a valuable lesson. I learned it was important to go on auditions that felt true for me. If they wanted a cute bubbly kid, that wasn't me, so I never booked a commercial. You should give it your all when you go on an audition, but for me it's important not to audition just for experience. ACT: If you could have done something differently or wished you could have learned something prior to getting into this industry, what would you have done? Scarlett: Don't know that I have any regrets. I love the entertainment industry. It has always been really great to me. It's difficult and challenging, because you never know what's going to happen. It can be exhilarating or disappointing. I've always known this is what I wanted to do. I learn something new or different all the time and that's one of the best parts of what I do. ACT: Do you think training for this industry on the artistic side, as well as understanding the business aspect, is important for any young talent to learn and why? Scarlett: It's important to understand the business side and what you are entitled to as a union member of the Screen Actors Guild, and as an employee of a studio. Training is very important in character development and it's a personal choice where and how you gain that experience. ACT: What is your process for choosing a project or a particular role? Scarlett: First thing I look for in a script is that it is solid, cohesive and attention grabbing. Whether its drama or sci-fi, I have to believe it and believe the characters. I also take into consideration what other actors are attached to the project and who the director is -- I want to make sure I am going into a project feeling safe, and that the director is a creative leader. ACT: What is more important: timing, luck and knowing the right people" in the business OR hard work, exposure, determination and education on the craft? Scarlett: All of the above -- hard work is important being the right age at the right time. You're never going to get a magical audition, you have to come prepped, studied and understand the work. You also need a complete understanding of what is required of you emotionally. It's not just luck, it's also the determination to follow your heart, and make it happen. Scarlett I would like to thank ACT for their commitment to education in the arts. I think what you guys are doing to promote the arts for today's youth is amazing. I also think it's important for the parents to receive information about a business that so few people know a lot about." ACT: Well thank you for those kind words and again, thank you for your time. ______________________________________________________________________ IF ANY OF YOU PARENTS WHO FELT LIKE YOU WERE SCAMMED need to open your ears and pay attention when you make the original appointment, you might not get so confused and much less likely to take your anger, cause by ignorance, out on everyone else! You are auditioning for two different people, TWO PART AUIDTION, an AGENT and a PRIVATE ACADEMY! Everyone is told this when they reserve a seat. The problem is no one listens to anything anymore and everyone wants a free hand-out! All you people who were contacted by the National Director.........THAT MEANS YOUR CHILD DIDN'T MAKE THE CUT WITH THE AGENT, BUT THE ACADEMY FELT YOUR CHILD HAD POTENTIAL! You're LUCKY; most kids don't even make it into the academy! ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY IS 'NO'. So stop screaming SCAM, because it will get you NO WHERE!! If the AGENT is interested in you there is nothing to pay for....Congratulations on your new career! If the ACADEMY is interested in you then you will have the opportunity to review their programs which are tuition based. The AGENT has nothing to do with the PRIVATE ACADEMY and vise-versa. THE AUDITION IS FREE that means NO COST, except maybe a few bucks for parking. Your child had an exciting day auditioning for a REAL agent, getting in front of the camera and learning a lot about the industry and maybe their new career ALL FOR FREE!!!! The Agent only calls one or two kids back if any sometimes (let's face it, not everyone is ready to be an actor/actress). The academy chooses who they think have the best potential. As soon as you people hear that someone is interested in your child you AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME it's the agent. As soon as the programs are presented you immediately ASSUME scam scam scam. Well, YOU ARE WRONG! There are several WORKING ACTORS who have graduated from A.C.T.! You can view their success story at: www.theact.tv!
