- Report: #625189
Complaint Review: Michael W Fox Vault Model & Artist Management Llc - Portland Oregon
Reported By:
Ogirl77 -
Eugene, Oregon, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Michael W Fox Vault Model & Artist Management Llc
1722 NW Raleigh St Portland, 97209 Oregon, United States of America
Phone:
5038416250
Web:
http://vaultmgmt.com/
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good?
Michael W Fox, Vault Model & Artist Management Llc Michael Fox Con-Artist, Liar, Thief Portland, Oregon
Please believe all the reports on here. I am a mother of one of his clients. My daughter is quite young, and we met with Micheal just to see what was out there and test the waters if you will, I thought it might be nice for my daughter to do a few photo shoots and add to her college fund, no big deal. I wasn't expecting for her to be the next big star, on the contrary I just thought a few jobs would be nice.
We met with Michael in his dirty office downtown Portland. He kept saying how the cleaning crew was off that week, like he was embarrassed, but I get the feeling there was no "cleaning crew". He was very pushy and a classic "fast talking salesman" even at that first meeting I realized he was probably full of it, but I just couldn't figure out what the scam was- basically he takes a few pics of you, (or your child) or has you send some pics to him, then fill out your basic stats, and then its $180 for a year on his website. He calls it a $15 a month maintenance fee. For that he is supposed to tell you when auditions are and submit your info for bookings. I know it doesn't cost that much to run a website but I figured why not? He might as well get some $ for his trouble doing all the legwork to find out when and where the casting calls or whatever are. Honestly $180 isn't that much money, so again I figured why not give it a try.
Well I can tell you, you would be better burning your $180 to keep warm or give it to a bum on the street, do anything with it other than give it to him. All he does is put your (or in my case, my daughter's) picture and stats on his website, and then he just emails you a bunch of junk. From what I can tell he is linked up with this Jana person who offers an "acting class" every week, whether its acting or walking or whatever, for hundreds of dollars. He's even sent some emails to tell me to "register" for other casting sites that require membership fees- he must make a commission. I did get one email that was asking for UNPAID extras so I guess that was technically a casting call, and another that was for a tv show that was filming a "rooftop pool party" and needed girls 18-25 who looked good in a bikini. Really? how does that apply to my 2 year old child? Is he so lazy that he can't even sort his address book to send things to the proper clients? He also continually references his "staff" but its just him, and him alone.
So, again, I went into this fully knowing that nothing would probably come of it, I figured if my daughter got one job it would be fun for us and she'd make a little $$ to invest for college. I would just like to save others their money- especially if you are older and seriously looking for this as a career, DO NOT GET INVOLVED with this guy- save your money and do it yourself!
In closing, below is a copy of an email he sent with the subject line reading
"FREE MONEY GIVEAWAY!!!"
To the Vaulted-
I know we have been sending you all a bunch of opportunities for classes and photoshoots as well as some casting opportunities. It is completely up to you if you want to involve yourself with any of these opportunities. It is in your best interest to be prepared and have great photo's as well as continue to audition. It is a fiercely competitive market and we keep seeing basically the same large grouping of clients booking. They are usually the ones with great pictures, training, network and keep involved. I know that myself and the staff have really tried engaging our clients and asking for your help in marketing you. Many of you have taken us up on the offer and we have been able to help many of you focus and get together a game plan for your career.
If you are not currently working or feel you do not have all the tools to be marketed correctly we need to have a meeting and figure out how to get you those tools. I have heard from many clients that they can't afford classes or photoshoots. That is fine but if you want to succeed in this industry we must have the basic tools to market you. You can always be working on scenes & monologues on your own for free. Getting out and shooting digital photo's of yourself is free and will keep you working on your best angles and poses as well.
We have grown and will continue that rise with the help of all of our incredible talent. Vault Management clients have been picked because we feel each one of you is marketable and is a bookable talent. We will help assist you in any way we can to make you more marketable. If you feel you are not getting the attention or help you need to assist you then call and set up your appointment.
Sorry, as usual the phones are going bonkers so I am writing this scattered email during long pauses. The point is GET INVOLVED, STAY INVOLVED, DON"T GET DISCOURAGED, DO THE WORK, FOCUS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah- BOOK, BOOK, BOOK, BOOK!!!!!!!!!
The link below is for Todd Freeman who is one of Portland's top film makers. He has put together this reel showcase that has been receiving great response from Lana Veenker casting.
http://www.portlandactorshowcase.com/
Peace & Love,
Michael W. Fox
I know we have been sending you all a bunch of opportunities for classes and photoshoots as well as some casting opportunities. It is completely up to you if you want to involve yourself with any of these opportunities. It is in your best interest to be prepared and have great photo's as well as continue to audition. It is a fiercely competitive market and we keep seeing basically the same large grouping of clients booking. They are usually the ones with great pictures, training, network and keep involved. I know that myself and the staff have really tried engaging our clients and asking for your help in marketing you. Many of you have taken us up on the offer and we have been able to help many of you focus and get together a game plan for your career.
If you are not currently working or feel you do not have all the tools to be marketed correctly we need to have a meeting and figure out how to get you those tools. I have heard from many clients that they can't afford classes or photoshoots. That is fine but if you want to succeed in this industry we must have the basic tools to market you. You can always be working on scenes & monologues on your own for free. Getting out and shooting digital photo's of yourself is free and will keep you working on your best angles and poses as well.
We have grown and will continue that rise with the help of all of our incredible talent. Vault Management clients have been picked because we feel each one of you is marketable and is a bookable talent. We will help assist you in any way we can to make you more marketable. If you feel you are not getting the attention or help you need to assist you then call and set up your appointment.
Sorry, as usual the phones are going bonkers so I am writing this scattered email during long pauses. The point is GET INVOLVED, STAY INVOLVED, DON"T GET DISCOURAGED, DO THE WORK, FOCUS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah- BOOK, BOOK, BOOK, BOOK!!!!!!!!!
The link below is for Todd Freeman who is one of Portland's top film makers. He has put together this reel showcase that has been receiving great response from Lana Veenker casting.
http://www.
Peace & Love,
Michael W. Fox
See? Everything has a pitch at the end that is really just asking YOU for more $$
Again, stay away from this guy. He is such a rip off, I feel so bad for those out there who are really trying to make a career of this and putting their hope in him.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Ogirl77
Eugene,Oregon,
United States of America
Really? I don't know what I am talking about?
#2Author of original report
Mon, September 19, 2011
For anyone who doubts the reports that Vault Management and its owner/ "talent scout" aren't unethical, please read the article below, Micheal has been arrested on sex abuse charges! His "client" was 16.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/06/portland_modeling_agency_owner.html
On sex abuse charges no less!! He is a horrible person, all around, KEEP YOUR DAUGHTERS AWAY FROM HIM!!
Rachelle
Portland,Oregon,
U.S.A.
The original poster has no idea what she is talking about
#3Consumer Suggestion
Fri, September 16, 2011
I am a Portland area theater professional, who frankly could care less if you work with Vault or not. I am not affiliated with Vault in any way other than having met Michael a few years ago. It is your duty to investigate the various agencie in Portland to determine the best fit for you. Based on your comments, I can tell that you have no idea what you are doing, and I advise you and your daughter to abandon dreams of a career in modeling or acting until you figure out how the business works. Posting your picture and stats on a website, is called marketing. Casting people look at these websites and find talent that they MIGHT be interested in and then request an audition from there, if they think that the talent MIGHT be a fit. Seriously, everything Michael said in that e-mail is true, You have been given valuable information about the way the industry works. It's not his or anybody else's scam or fault. The "Jana person" that you refer to, is not only a well known acting teacher, she is a very accomplished actress. You might want to reserve your condescending remarks until you have checked out her resume. Everyone he listed is not only legitimate, but in some cases extremely influential in the industry. You don't have to pay the money to be listed on Casting Frontier which is the primary source for casting shows like "Leverage", but your daughter will be competing with others who did, and they will be cast and she will not. It's that simple. Every aspect of this field is expensive. Training, photographers, printers, marketing all of that stuff costs money, but it is necessry to get cast. The only exception is your agent or manager who only gets paid when you get a job. They do not get a commission from the other professionals that they refer you to, but if a manager or an agent doesn't direct you to others in the industry who can give you the tools you need to get these jobs then they haven 't done their job. This is not something you get into as side gig, this is a career, that the people involved with invest alot of time, money and energy, and frankly we really only want to work with others who have done the same. If you don't like it, then do the industry a favor go away and don't waste our time. If I knew who you were I would put your daughter at the top of my DO NOT CAST EVER list, regardless of how talented or cute she may be. I have an idea if we ever crossed paths, your lack of knowledge would be pretty recognizable. Again, I am not saying yay or nay about Vault management. I was looking up something else, and ran across your comment, and I just thought I would share some facts with you at no charge.
Ogirl77
Eugene,Oregon,
United States of America
Update from Original Poster
#4Author of original report
Wed, August 04, 2010
The response is cute and simply validates my point. You are basically paying someone to fill up your email inbox with crap that a simple online search you could find out yourself for free. I don't know about you but I get plenty of spam already, why should I pay for more? Again, not a huge deal to me, it was more of an experiment, and I actually could afford to spend the money on classes and the like if they at all appeared to be beneficial.
As a mom I just feel for those teenagers who are putting their hopes and dreams in this "talent agency". I guess you could consider this posting more of a public service announcement. So, a word to the wise, save your money, take your own pictures or have a friend help you and set up your own website on Myspace or Facebook. Did you know if you are a Comcast Internet Customer, you can create your own website for free using their service? Then scour Craigslist for unpaid extra work to pad your resume, there's stuff on there all the time, and voila, you have pictures, a website where you can market yourself, and actual experience in the business. Then maybe a legitimate agency will scoop you up- and by legitimate, I mean one that won't ask you for a dime. Trust me, they are out there, and they are all too classy to do business with Vault.
If you don't believe me, simply take a meeting with him, and then ask yourself, if I make it big, would I want this person representing me? Is this the kind of image I want to project? That uneasy, queasy feeling in your gut is telling you NO! Trust your instincts.
Vault Management
Portland,Oregon,
United States of America
Talent Agency NOT a Casting Director or Producer.
#5REBUTTAL Owner of company
Wed, August 04, 2010
Vault Model & Artist Management is a full service talent agency that submits our clients to Casting Directors and Companies looking to hire talent for Film, Television, Commercials, Industrials, Print and Catalog.
We do not make jobs or have any control over what jobs are available. We use multiple marketing tools to get our Vault Management clients seen and booked for jobs. The first tool is having great photos. Something every single person must need BEFORE ever being submitted for any jobs. We do NOT sell photo shoots! We can guide you to some of the industries best photographers if you need assistance. We do not receive any commissions or kickbacks from the list of photographers we suggest. Here is the following photographers we currently suggest (Portland).
Aimee Gonzales
Carl Evans
Don Conrad
Cully Wright
Sean Mendiola
Quavondo
Adrian Adel
Joey Stalone
Levy Moroshan
Paul Hernandez
Tyler Bahner
Beth Feiner
Please feel free to contact any of these Photographers for professional photos and you will be able to ask them directly if we take any profit. (WE DO NOT.)
The second tool is having great training and or the ability to do the job. We have found through experience that the Actors and Models with great training book more, do a professional job and continue to work. The people who do NOT have great training and experience usually have a very difficult time booking jobs. We work with the top acting coaches in Portland and find that they not only train the talent but a lot of the Coaches have been invaluable in also finding bookings for the clients. We do NOT receive any commissions or kickbacks from the list of Coaches we suggest.
Here is the following Coaches we currently suggest (Portland).
Jesse Vint
Jana Lee Hamblin
Katie O'Grady
Robert Blanche
Todd Freeman
Todd Robinson
Barbara Kite
Shelley Lipkin
Please feel free to contact any of these Coaches for professional coaching and you will be able to ask them directly if we take any profit. (WE DO NOT.)
We do NOT have you sign up for ANY paid sites to market you. The sites we ask our clients to sign up for are Casting Frontier (Lana Veenker) and Now Casting both websites that Casting Directors book our clients through. They are BOTH FREE PROFILES.
The bulk emails that we do send out to all of our clients include free castings, classes, job offers, updates, etc they are to keep our clients informed. We do not make any money on Photo's, Classes or Representation.
As far as the Vault Management website we use a stellar web design company that designed and constantly updates our site. If you do not want to be on the Vault website don't be. If you don't want to take the job seriously and get great photos and training that is fine. We can only book our talent using the marketing tools that they provide us.
Once again we love to work with all types of talent and look forward to assisting in any way that we can. I try and not be a jerk or pushy but I guess I fail on that account at times. I own the company and I wish that I could waive my magic wand and make my clients book. I can't do that actually!!! This is the most competitive business in the world and without the most basic tools it only makes it more difficult for you.
Anyway stay focused on your goals and I do believe that anything is possible...
Sincerely,
Michael W. Fox
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