How can I deal with this problem with my acting agent?

H

harmonica44

Not sure which forum I should post this in, but I have a problem with my agent who gets me acting jobs, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to handle it.

Basically I got a lead acting gig, after auditioning for a movie being shot. I taped my own audition, then gave it to my agent, and then she sent it in.

They liked it, I got the job, and I was told to be at a certain address on a certain date, to start shooting the first scene.

However, a couple of days before the shoot, I found out that the shoot is going on in a completely different city. The name of the street of the location is the same name of a street in my city so it was confusing.

However, I think I am on bad terms now with the agent because of this. It is only two days till the shoot, and I don't think it's worth traveling that far, for the movie, on such short notice, without any travel expenses paid for or anything. What do you think?

Should I politely just tell them it was a mistake cause of the same street name, and I was given no information from my agent about going to a different city till it was very late? Or how should I approach this?
 
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If you were just cast in it yesterday or today, in my opinion it's OK to say you can't do it.
But if it was longer ago than that, you made a commitment and you need to keep it. You'll be screwing the producer, and will make yourself AND your agent look bad in the process. This means you'll seriously damage your chance of getting work in the future.
 
I was cast two months ago, but it was only now that I got the message to meet in a different city. Should I just send them an email saying I am really sorry, I had no information about it being that far away, and will not be able to make it in time? What if I just got a different agent in the future and applied for different jobs? I know I made a commitment but can some sort of understanding be made, if there was a mix up in the city, or that I was not informed till now?

I mean I feel bad about it of course, but at the same time, it was an innocent miscommunication and mix up, and it will cost more money to travel to the other city, than I am being payed for the production. I feel that if they were just upfront with me at first about telling me it was not in my area at all, it would have been more understandable.
 
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If they changed the location, it's OK to cancel.
If you simply misunderstood, suck it up and figure out how to get there.
Or accept that you're not going to be getting any gigs via that agent any more.
 
I didn't get the exact location till now. However, the production was scheduled to shoot in that city the entire time, but I didn't know that, as I was either misinformed, or not informed at all, and assumed it was my city. But the exact location I just got a few days ago. I thought it was my city, cause the street name was the same, as a street in my city, till I did some more research.

I asked my agent a few times way before, where is the shoot, and she said she will let me know what address to come to, when she gets the information. So I waited a few weeks for that to come in, but I had no idea it was in a different city this whole time. I wish she could have at least given me the city way back, cause I could have said no, then.
 
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It will be unprofessional to back out. Put yourself in their shoes. You are shooting a film in 2 days! The lead actor that was cast 2 months ago pulls out because he didn't take the time to check the full details of the location, or blames his agent. Either way, bad stuff man. Make the gig!
 
I asked for the location before twice way back. They said they will get me the info, once they know. But they wouldn't even tell me the city. So I feel they could have at least told me that out of professional courtesy when asking me to come on board, if that was not asking too much?

I am putting myself in their shoes, and in the shoots I have done, I always specified the city, immediately. Putting myself in their shoes, why would they hire someone from a different area, and not even tell them till a few days before the shoot? So I feel like I may be more professional in letting the actors know where it is, knowing where my actors lived, and knowing all this stuff about them beforehand and letting them know way in advance.
 
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It's 2 days away, even if they messed up you screw them royally by backing out being the lead. You can be the "better man" and make the gig.

I would ask they pay for your travel/lodging due to the miscommunication/lack of communication issue.

How far is it???
 
You could be blackballed for bailing 2 days before a shoot. They'll say you don't know what you're booking when you book it and back out days before.
 
Blackballed? As in blacklisted?

It's a few hours away, but it's just an instructional video where I am only being payed $75 for a four hour shoot. I would have to drive at night on the icy winter highways, and that's not safe.
 
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As in word of mouth, you'd not get jobs in their circle. How far is the location?
 
I'd call and speak to the producer immediately and try to smooth it out. Let him know what happened, and check on the alternatives. Perhaps they have an actor in line to use and tell you no worries and apologize to you, or if they are left in the lurch, try to arrange travel/lodging through them.

I'd call directly, looks like your agent already fouled up. They will appreciate the direct call.

That's all I got man. Take it or leave it.
 
Was the city not cited in the casting call?
No offence, but in here you often come across to me as a poor reader. So maybe you missed that detail from the start (or maybe not).

However: you are one of the only people in here who keep on complaining about actors who don't show up. And now you consider to be that guy that doesn't show up?
About 20% of your posts seem to be about that you are afraid to look unprofessional and hurt your reputation. And now you are considering to look like a flaking amateur AND DESTROY your reputation before you got a change to really build it.

In Dutch there is saying: a good reputation arrives walking and leaves on a horse. In other words: destroying your reputation will me much and much faster than you can build it.
(Like Mel Gibson: destroyed his own reputation (built over a few decades) in a few minutes and it took him about a decade to shoot a new movie.)

So, you are at a real crossroad now.
Will you back out and be that actor you always fear and complain about?
Then you can probably bury you dreams for now or forever.
Or will you be motivated to do the best job you can and make yourself and your agent look good?
Then you might end up in a nice movie, get to know more people who might ask you for other projects (with better pay or not) and build a nice portfolio and network. A network of people who might be able to help you with your projects in the future. :)

It is up to you.
If you take the blue pill you will just wake up tomorrow and go on with your life. Except for your angry agent nobody will call you ever again. (The agent will only call you to call you names, btw.)
If you take the red pill. You life might change. Follow the white rabbit and it might take you to new adventures...

This is the call to adventure.
Are you sure you are ready?
 
4 hour drive? Ask if you can sleep over at a crew member's couch if they can't provide a hotelroom.
You can even arrive the night before the shoot: making you look far more rested the next day.
 
WalterB said:
Was the city not cited in the casting call?
No offence, but in here you often come across to me as a poor reader. So maybe you missed that detail from the start (or maybe not).

However: you are one of the only people in here who keep on complaining about actors who don't show up. And now you consider to be that guy that doesn't show up?
About 20% of your posts seem to be about that you are afraid to look unprofessional and hurt your reputation. And now you are considering to look like a flaking amateur AND DESTROY your reputation before you got a change to really build it.

In Dutch there is saying: a good reputation arrives walking and leaves on a horse. In other words: destroying your reputation will me much and much faster than you can build it.
(Like Mel Gibson: destroyed his own reputation (built over a few decades) in a few minutes and it took him about a decade to shoot a new movie.)

So, you are at a real crossroad now.
Will you back out and be that actor you always fear and complain about?
Then you can probably bury you dreams for now or forever.
Or will you be motivated to do the best job you can and make yourself and your agent look good?
Then you might end up in a nice movie, get to know more people who might ask you for other projects (with better pay or not) and build a nice portfolio and network. A network of people who might be able to help you with your projects in the future. :)

It is up to you.
If you take the blue pill you will just wake up tomorrow and go on with your life. Except for your angry agent nobody will call you ever again. (The agent will only call you to call you names, btw.)
If you take the red pill. You life might change. Follow the white rabbit and it might take you to new adventures...

This is the call to adventure.
Are you sure you are ready?
Click to expand...

I didn't actually get to see a casting call. The agent emailed me personally, and said how would you like to audition for a gig, I said sure, the agent sent me some lines to say, and I auditioned and send it in online. But I didn't actually get a casting call from her, so all I got was the info she gave me which was not much. She kept saying the producers were not giving her a lot of info and I had to wait. So I waited till now, just a couple of days before the shoot, and the info is finally here.

I guess I just feel like it would have been more professional of them to find out what city I am in, or ask me, so they would therefore not inconvenience, but also not inconvenience themselves. If I were producing, I would want to know where all the actors reside in.

As for me complaining before about actors not showing up for me, I always knew that the actors lived in the same city as me, and I always told them what city I was shooting in right away. I also payed for their gas money and all.

As for asking the information from the producer directly, the producer keeps on dealing through the agent, and not me. So I would have to ask the agent for the producer's contact information, but the time it will take for the agent to get all that for me, will be a few hours at least, maybe more.
 
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You are making excuses. NOT a producers job to assume because you are 4 hours away you didn't know the job location. Actors can fly across the globe.

I think you are on here looking for a way out, as in, someone to agree with you.

Think of the production first. And it's 2 days away right? You wouldn't want this happening to your production.

Call the producer immediately! Don't wait man. This prod. is about to happen. You guys get on the horn and figure it out. No sense asking us really.
 
Okay then. So is it normal for the producer not give the location of the city for two whole months, and only give it two days before the shoot, without any type of compromising?
 
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Call the producer and work it out. The more you chat on here the more you screw them on time.
 
Well the agent has the producer's contact information. So I will have to get it from her, since she didn't give to me before and I had to keep dealing through her.

I mean if an actor has to fly around the world, usually the producer will tell the actor that in advance, wouldn't they?

I mean suppose they told me it was in a different country around the world, only two days in advance, and never told me before. Am I suppose to spend thousands on flying there too? I mean where does it end, before you can say they miscommunicated to you?

I will get the contact info from the agent. What if the agent asks me why I want to contact the producer directly, without her being in the loop? What should I tell her?

If I have to tell ask my agent directly and ask if it is okay for the production to try to find a new person, how should I go about it?
 
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