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ABC6 INVESTIGATION: Dream Makers
Chris Boardman
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Thursday, Mar 4 at 1:19 AM Concerned Grandmom wrote ...
Hello-People from the Mt Laurel NJ Westin Hotel Meeting-I was there with my grandson. Before I left, I researched the company and discovered the scam. My grand;s mom and I told my grand that if the company (because of the name difference) tried to push acting classes we would have him go to a better acting company for classes. Please note that Lilly "changed her name" to something like Sharon. I heard her. Yet, she is the same one on the ABC Investigation named Lilly! She is the one who stood at the front of the group that gave the speech. Why would she lie except because it is a scam. She is the same one reported to have been caught and convicted already of stealing.
38639018Tuesday, Mar 2 at 9:35 AM Amanda from Bucks County wrote ...
These people go by multiple different company names, that alone is a red flag. They lie from the door saying that these are auditions for a show or commercial when in reality its an audition to take acting classes in which everyone gets into. Which by the way are extremely overpriced. anyone telling you that you have 2 hrs to pay thousands of dollars in full obviously don't have your best interests at heart. A real acting company wouldn't apply pressure like this. Just from reading some other posts, you can see that this is done a lot throughout the year. So their marketing of "once in a lifetime opportunity" is yet another lie. I heard of people going to FL and the company being no where in sight. I would be extremely careful. ABC did a good job with their investigation. Anyone looking for acting classes should pursue locally and do their research. Good luck everyone !!
38511509Monday, Mar 1 at 10:31 PM Gwenn wrote ...
We are in the process of going to Orlando with our son, now we are not so sure...we see everyone writing basically the same thing about ACT or THE being a scam but it seems everyone is only talking about the money part....can anyone tell me if they have gone to one of the events that they talk about and what is the scam...do they not show up at the place you are to be at or is it something else...I realy would like to know before we head down there at the end of March.... any info would be appreciated...thanks!
38495281Sunday, Feb 28 at 3:02 PM Astonished from Philadelphia wrote ...
Today I almost went to audition for this scam in Mt. Laurel, NJ. Yesterday, I came home from drama practice and my dad said he had signed me up to meet with an agent. I was excited and eager to go. This morning I took a closer look and started to google. Within five minutes I found astonishing information. I finally found the web address on the bottom of the Email they sent me in very small print. When I typed it in, I realized the agency was called, The; which I had already heard about by reading your comments. I picked up my phone and told my mom and dad everything. I'm no longer attending the audition and I'm glad I did my research before I came. Good luck!
38427946Tuesday, Feb 23 at 4:02 PM 2/28/2010 Phila & Mt Laurel Area wrote ...
THIS IS HAPPENING in MT Laurel, NJ Please research ACT, The And Lily Neda and make an informed decision. I confronted Lily yesterday at the Westin Hotel in Mt Laurel, NJ with print outs of what I found. She did not say one word to defend herself and she did return my pics & forms. She threatened to call the police on me, "I said go ahead, I'm within legal bounds and I would love to tell them what you're doing in their town. Then I was told that she wasn't going to call the cops. (Think about that for a minute) Hopefully, I was able to help 3 people make an informed decision. I also gave the information to the Westin's GM and passed the moral obligation onto him. Ultimately the decision is one's own but the hight pressure sales tactic that was used at the conference leaves one with very litle time to research.
38129592Monday, Jan 18 at 1:37 AM Imakidwithadream wrote ...
i came today, auditioned, i got so fed up on my looks and how i did i was depressign eeryoen roundme! it gets kids (and me) all judge mental and my dad looked it up and saw rite thru it PLEASE! DO NOT ME AND MY MOM ALMOST DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
35827567Monday, Jan 11 at 9:22 PM anonymous in boston wrote ...
i auditioned in boston at the westin hotel too and met lily. she called me beautiful and photogenic, and although i messed up my audition i got a callback i was reccomending it to a friend and googled it to see if i could find a website. when i couldnt i googled lily to find all this... now im not sure about going to orlando to see her
35346327Monday, Dec 28 at 10:02 PM Scammed in Mt. Laurel, NJ wrote ...
There was an advertisment on the radio for your child to audition and they mention Disney and Nickelodean as if your child could get on a show. Call this number right away they say and get a spot for an audition. We did and went and honestly got involved in the hype of it all. They go by "The" pronounced "Tay" and yes we were very naive and got a callback for our daughter to attend an event in Orlando, FL in March 2010, of course they got our money first. I will be contacting the Attorney Gen'
34504534Saturday, Dec 12 at 11:16 PM mamma wrote ...
We just went thru this tonight at Cherry Hill, NJ. Of course my daughter had "the look"...exotic...we got the "interviewer" personal phone number! Oh and by the way we would have to be back by tomorrow with $2800. Thank you for the heads up!!!!
33572731Wednesday, Nov 25 at 1:49 AM Marcella wrote ...
I am glad I did the research before taking my son to the auditions in Austin, TX...beware...do not go the audition at the Renesance Austin Hotel, Sat, Nov 28, 2009!
32644184Monday, Nov 23 at 9:21 PM ray hunt central fall wrote ...
the police from central fall need investigation they always we need service dont care becauce we live on central fall and we are latino if ask for help police station luck other side and a said for service just talk with intimidetion scraem said shup up wait moustof time love bring ticket city hall have 1000 citizen week for ticket just latinos Im poor no my fault I wish tell more but go talk central fall citizen
32571561Monday, Nov 23 at 6:17 PM Fernando Trevino wrote ...
The company THE came to Austin.. also promoting the exact same issues.. and a lady who identified herself as Susanna...pronounced Zuzanna.. was also promoting the same sales pitch.. funny.. my wife missed a call.. which came out of Houston.. and for someone who is an international talent scout.. she had a Houston number. I feel bad for my 9 year old.. to learn about scams that early in life.. Im glad yall were here.. and i was just about to get the money too.. Im glad I didn't. thanks
32563204Friday, Nov 13 at 4:16 PM Suckered in Boston MA wrote ...
This Company is now "THE". The woman on the video is the same one I met with at the Westin Hotel in Boston MA this past weekend - I never - ever pressured my daughter into anything. She hounded me to take her after hearing the radio commercial. These people are sooooooo good at what they do that I signed a contract. I sent a certified letter in the amount of time they requested - so I hope I get my money back.... The reason people get scammed - is they keep changing their name!!
32075821Monday, Jun 15 at 7:05 PM anonymous reply wrote ...
the last person who wrote anonymous as their name said that kids are forced to do this. im a kid. and i had to beg for my mom to let me go to this. every kid there was smiling. about three looked like they didnt want to be there. guess what? kids WANT to be famous. duhhhh. r u stupid?? its almost every kids dream. Of course i was devastated when i found out it was a scam. and the sad thing was, i was on the callback list. dont say everyone was on the callback list, because the girl before me and
23852732Thursday, Jun 11 at 2:19 PM ANONYMOUS wrote ...
It's a hard pill to swallow and denial is stronger than realizing, that all of you are vicariously living through your kids, especially the young ones. Child services should be called to investigate you and your motives. Protect kids and don't let them work. You are acting "holy" by trying to expose some company, which no one cares for. Somebody should expose you on NationalTV for endorsing child labor. And don't even dare writing that there are laws, what laws????Again, ACTING=WORK.PROTECT KIDS
23594489Wednesday, May 13 at 4:25 PM Hallie wrote ...
Continued) and can pick kids out. she picks them out based on how they look and if there look is cheap. They have lots of people involved in this sceem.DO NOT let them fool you they fooled me and i was let down and very upset. Its ashame that they are able to advertise this and that nickolodean or disney has not stepped up and taken control. Once again thank and be careful if you have a gut feeling go with it. Becareful!
21384444Wednesday, May 13 at 4:22 PM Hallie wrote ...
(Continued) This place called ACT is a total scam and they think its funny. These so called "classes" are actually held in a hotel. i dont know about you but that is def. not worth 10,000. Lily neda or Lily verdu used to actually be a real estate agent and had her license taken away. when i went to meet her all she had to say is " its all about the look. you either have it or you dont. and i am going to tell you the truth" She is very mean and upsetting and says how she flys all over.
21384289Wednesday, May 13 at 4:17 PM hallie wrote ...
(continued) They rush you so fast you dont even have time to think and research these people. They also make you fill out forms so that if you do make the callback they have everything and they keep everything. All pictures and address. VERY SCARRRYYY!!!! These people are so fake and its very disapointing and disgusting, watching our kids be let down. I would like to know how they got these celebirtys to say things for them. Thank you for reading this, and please becareful. :)
21383914Wednesday, May 13 at 4:13 PM Hallie wrote ...
i went to this audition in phily and it was so fake. i of course made the call back and had to meet with lily and all she wanted was money. she was very rude and pushy. this is a scam and they make it seem so real and i actually got my hopes up to become famous and i found all this stuff and my dreams were crushed. when i was reading the comerical the so called "agent" had music playing and he couldnt even hear me. VERY FAKE! PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THIS AS I DID!!!!!!!!
21383739Tuesday, May 5 at 1:44 AM Anonymous wrote ...
SCAM! DEFINITELY! SCAM! DEFINITELY! SCAM! DEFINITELY! SCAM! DEFINITELY! SCAM! DEFINITELY!
20926867Tuesday, May 5 at 1:25 AM =) wrote ...
will answer all of your questions. http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/18494106/index.html http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/18494106/index.html http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/18494106/index.html http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/18494106/index.html http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/18494106/index.html http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/18494106/index.html http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/18494106/index.html http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/18494106/index.html http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/18494106
20926558Tuesday, May 5 at 12:20 AM Anonymous wrote ...
Posted by Creme i've seen the commercial on tv. I attended the audition with my daughter and Lily Neda was very rude and unprofessional. I was notified that my daughter made it on their list at 3:30pm. i went in to meet her at 5:45pm, the first thing she asked was which program i was goin to pay for (ACT school). she was very pushy and wanted the PAYMENT IN FULL. I WAS RUSHED TO MEET HER AND WAS TOLD I HAD TO PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WITHIN 2 HRS WANTED MORE INFO,KICKED OUT AND TOLD US NOT TO A
20925211Tuesday, May 5 at 12:20 AM Anonymous wrote ...
Posted by Creme i've seen the commercial on tv. I attended the audition with my daughter and Lily Neda was very rude and unprofessional. I was notified that my daughter made it on their list at 3:30pm. i went in to meet her at 5:45pm, the first thing she asked was which program i was goin to pay for (ACT school). she was very pushy and wanted the PAYMENT IN FULL. I WAS RUSHED TO MEET HER AND WAS TOLD I HAD TO PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WITHIN 2 HRS WANTED MORE INFO,KICKED OUT AND TOLD US NOT TO A
20925206Tuesday, May 5 at 12:19 AM Creme wrote ...
i've seen the commercial on tv. I attended the audition with my daughter and Lily Neda was very rude and unprofessional. I was notified that my daughter made it on their list at 3:30pm. i went in to meet her at 5:45pm, the first thing she asked was which program i was goin to pay for (ACT school). she was very pushy and wanted the PAYMENT IN FULL. I WAS RUSHED TO MEET HER AND WAS TOLD I HAD TO PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WITHIN 2 HRS WANTED MORE INFO,KICKED OUT AND TOLD US NOT TO AUDITION 4 NXT YR.
20925202Friday, Apr 17 at 11:43 PM hollywood watcher wrote ...
Freelance journalist working on a story for investigative magazine on child acting and schools that claim to help. If you have information of interest, please write me at hollywoodwatcher (at) lycos (dot) com.
19813266Tuesday, Apr 14 at 3:12 PM angela wrote ...
You should know that GEORGE GAMMON WORKED for STANLEY ROBINSON from PMAA that went under. Both Companies used the same TV Commercial and Radio Copy
19573387Friday, Apr 10 at 9:40 PM Dee in Baltimore wrote ...
This is happening here in Baltimore, MD too! I think when people catch on in one city they move on the next city. Shame on them for wasting to many people's time.
19432836Saturday, Apr 4 at 7:49 PM Danielle wrote ...
Dakota, that is completely FALSE. Acting classes are NOT a requirement - ESPECIALLY for children! Kids are NOT required to know what slating and cold reads are - especially the younger ones who CAN'T read. What 9-year old could POSSIBLY grasp the Meisner technique? YOU are the asset, and your agent should be investing in YOU. Invest in YOURSELF, so that when you do visit reputable agents in NYC/LA, they won't have reason to turn you down!
19126821Tuesday, Mar 17 at 8:01 PM BizParentz Hypocrisy wrote ...
Matt: You mentioned BizParentz as a resource. I became disillusioned with them when they were part of a “Young Hollywood Cruise” last year. (http://www.pr.com/press-release/65784) They were shills for a program they typically would rant against (“event for young actors looking to break into the industry” and representing a casting associate as a “casting director.”) The killer was “Prices begin at $999 per person.” Seems classic bait and switch. Think $999 was typical?
18176961Tuesday, Mar 17 at 8:58 AM Anonymous wrote ...
Not burst anyone's bubble, but this is more common than just this one story. In New York and LA, in backstage, there are TONS of scams that go out to people and people fall for it, not just children, but adults too. Point is if you want a class, you have to look for it. An agent won't look at you without training and especially not in small cities. They will go to NYC or LA to find the real talent because that's where its concentrated. This should be a national story not just local.
18138897Friday, Mar 13 at 8:23 AM Beverly Paradis wrote ...
Our son has been taking classes at ACT Phoenix since November 2008. He has auditioned for two movies with Fox and we just got back from California where he signed on with a talent agent. He has auditions 2 to 3 times a month with agents and casting directors. He loves his classes and we are happy with ACT. We signed him up because they do have auditions for the students. We have been pleased with ACT.
17962296Monday, Mar 9 at 10:47 AM Matt Bowers wrote ...
Dakota, The point is they are not advertising on the merits of the school alone. If it was a school built on its reputation (of less than 2yrs) they would not need to employ the bait and switch. They advertise getting your child a spot on Disney or Nick and then try to sell you overpriced classes taught by unqualified teachers. Did you see the info the report uncovered about their talent scout, Lily Neda??Please do you homework and you will also realize how much you overpaid.
17728497Saturday, Mar 7 at 10:21 AM Dakota wrote ...
Well maybe you guys should take it from a student who actually atended A.C.T. In my opinion I thought it was an excellent expierence and i dont think many of you people are understanding that you NEED acting classes before you get any type of job and if the advirtizments didnt say that your child would become a star I doubt any of you would sign them up for it. But overall I think it was great you learn sooo much about acting and the industry and it rally builds your self isteem.
17665481Saturday, Mar 7 at 3:47 AM Anonymous wrote ...
be carefull
17661211Friday, Mar 6 at 11:17 PM Matt Bowers wrote ...
PLEASE ALSO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE RI ATTORNEY GENERAL and the Better Business Bureau, ACT operates out of Phoenix. ...... ATTORNEY GENERAL Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch in RI. 401.274.4400 Follow the voice prompt for the consumer protection division. Even if you didn't already give ACT/THE (..whoever)a credit card you can still file a complaint. The more that call the more visibility we give this issue. http://www.riag.state.ri.us/civilcriminal/consumerprotection.php
17654841Friday, Mar 6 at 10:55 PM Matt Bowers wrote ...
Check out these links for more information http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/TheScamACT/ http://bbs.backstage.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9611031/m/631106681 http://bbs.backstage.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9611031/m/772108031 http://bbs.backstage.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9611031/m/769104621 AND this really good resourse http://www.bizparentz.org/ Parker, Thank you for covering this story!
17654171Friday, Mar 6 at 1:09 PM TC wrote ...
We went to this at the convention center last year. They set it up as an audtion, with appt. times and your child recieving a number. They usher you into a room and create hype with recorded presentations of supposedly successful actors saying how great ACT is and children being led out to be audtioned by a talent agent. We found, after being given a packet with lots of legal paperwork, that it was just a sale pitch for acting lessons. It was disappointing for all and cost us $15 in parking.
17624586Friday, Mar 6 at 12:52 PM Mom2uzi wrote ...
Bravo to you for investigating these scam artists. And thanks to the parents who agreed to share their stories. It's so important to sperad the word about ACT.
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