Hello, Bonnie. I found your email on the Showfax site because I had a question. I’m reading your book Self-Management for Actors, and just finished the part where you talk about pirated breakdowns.
How would I know if I was actually presented with an illegal breakdown?
If I joined Actors Access or Showfax, and was allowed to see many different breakdowns, could one of them be illegal? How would I know? (Especially because Actors Access is free. Isn’t it?)
You also said, “When we want to receive your submission, we will make our breakdown accessible to you.” Don’t people trying to sell illegal breakdowns to actors make it accessible to them too?
Do you only get pirated breakdowns through email? Are illegal breakdowns never on reputable sites? If they are, how would I know?
Thanks. 🙂
Awesome questions! Thank you for this email. 🙂 Let’s walk through these questions one by one.
You would only know that it’s an illegal breakdown if you are keeping up with what is typically presented through the legal channels and suddenly felt a sense of, “this is too good to be true” about something. And even then, if the casting office is looking for a very specific type of actor on a legitimate project and cannot find what they’re looking for via the traditional methods, they may release a breakdown outside of their usual channels. So, this isn’t a fail-safe deal, here.
The way *I* learned that my breakdowns were being stolen from Breakdown Services and then sold to actors on other websites is that one of the actors who submitted on a long-since cast-and-wrapped film submitted and included a print-out of the breakdown from the scammy site, and I could see the exact language I had used in my breakdown (when posted, legitimately, at Breakdown Services) but tweaked just enough to make folks believe this was an opportunity that still existed. Because the actor printed the page from the skeevy scam artist’s website, I could see exactly who had published the stolen-and-edited breakdown I had released, and that’s how I created my personal policy of always releasing breakdowns on Actors Access, because that action — since Actors Access breakdowns are free to view — would devalue the breakdowns and prevent bad guys from stealing and selling. Yes, it means I have to do more filtering, but it’s worth it. Scammers suck.
Okay, but how do YOU know? Well, Actors Access will only ever post breakdowns that were intended by the casting office to go out in front of members of Actors Access. Period. The breakdowns there are going to be ones you know were meant for you to see, because Actors Access is the actor-level portal for the “agent and manager-only-level” breakdowns that are put out a Breakdown Services. If casting directors did not want you to see those breakdowns, they would not go out at Actors Access. They would go out only at Breakdown Services, to subscribing agents and managers. Do those breakdowns get stolen and sold elsewhere? Absolutely. See above. Just know, if you get access to those, you’re not meant to see them. NOT because casting directors are evil and don’t want you to have information, but because there are projects at a level you needn’t see… YET. That’s not a bad thing! It’s a part of the filtering process.
Yes, you can skim Showfax and look at the sides that are out there and see projects that are casting — even if their breakdowns were not put “out there” for actors to see at Actors Access — because sides will be posted (not always, but most of the time) for actors, managers, agents, etc., to see, so that they can prep their read. That’s not the same as being sold stolen breakdowns. That’s just smart-actor research. 🙂 I recommend it. Strongly.
Nothing posted at Actors Access has been “stolen” and repurposed, since browsing the Actors Access listings is free. It’s the sites that charge actors anywhere from $20 to $75 per month to SEE “real Hollywood breakdowns” that you need to watch out for. It’s the unsolicited emails that land in your inbox, trying to sell you access to the “agent level breakdowns” that should get your spidey senses tingling.
Sure, people selling stolen breakdowns are trying to “make breakdowns accessible to you,” but they’re doing so with the idea that you may actually have a shot at getting in on those casting opportunities. THAT’S NOT UP TO THEM! So, please know, they’re giving you access to information — NOT opportunities. If you feel you MUST look at stolen breakdowns, please only do so for the sake of information. Don’t try and crash, get in, angle for a chance, etc., because that’s not what they’re for. Study trends. Be aware. Fine. But anyone who says they’re selling you ACCESS? You’d better be sure.
Dreams are precious. Don’t let skeevy scam artists who steal information and re-sell it to you deprive you of living the magic of your life’s dreams.
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001481.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.