I'm fairly new to this whole Hollywood thing, but it doesn't mean that I'm a complete idiot. I pull cable on sets and know some people. None of whom that might be of any consequence, but enough people who have been doing this for a while to know what is right or wrong.
This stuntman/actor TJ Austin approached me to "fix" this low budget vampire movie written by EW Bradfute and told me all I had to do was transpose the dialog written in Microsoft Word into screenplay format using Final Draft. So I figured it would be a fast job, and he offered two grand.
So I'm thinking, wow!!! A fast, quick and painless two thousand dollars! That's like rent plus gas money for an entire month--I'm poor and I live in the boonies. So I agreed to do the work. But before anything took place, my first question was regarding the terms of our working contract. Like any professional out there, you need to decide on what the compensation is going to be before you go on and complete the work.
Then he comes back to me a few days later, and states that he had a fight over money with the original writer, and now he needs to change the script enough so that we can write a brand new story without EW Bradfute's book and avoid getting sued.
I don't know about you, but it all sounded weird to me. You don't have an argument over money and then decide to cut someone out. This isn't how the film industry works here.
Reluctant, I asked that he sign a transfer of liability contract just in case we get sued halfway through production--in which he never did, and for good reason.
During this entire time, I'm wondering if we would ever get this project off the ground. So since now he needs a new script, I asked for some money up front. He refused, saying that he was going through a tough time with his ex-wife and kid, and going on and on about all the big name players who were going to be involved, and that money will not be an issue for us once we make this a big hit. He used my personal connection with a girl he used to date--a very dear friend of mine, and I just let it slide. He offered to pay for my WGA fees and everything sounded so great and rosy, I let everything go and began to write.
Now, I have to admit, half of this was my fault:
1. I did the work without a contract seeing as how he used to date a friend of mine, and figured he was a stand-up person.
2. He preached on about how someone else on the project owed him money and he would never do something like that to a fellow brother and that he would eventually pay me. And I ate that up.
3. He name-dropped a lot and promised me that I could name my own price for the next film because he was going to make this a trilogy. And I ate that up too.
4. He said that Val Kilmer, Anthony Micheal Hall, were slated to act and Paramount Vantage was going to distribute the film internationally, and that I would get $ 20K for the completed script, and 6 percent on the back end. Wow! I definitely ate that one up...
5. In exchange for such a low purchase price, He would make me DP and first AD. DEAL MAKER! SOLD!
Don't get me wrong, the only published work that I have ever done was staff writing for a lame TV show, and the college newspaper--ghost writing doesn't count as it is all hush-hush. So I was excited to be the sole writer for this film.
He said he needed the script in a week, I know this is insane, but I planned the outline in a day and wrote the script in 72 hours. Not my best work here, Not really something I am proud of, and more than anything, I was nervous about the legal repercussions that might ensue with this EW Bradfute character.
I believe that a person is only as good as the person's word, so 7am that morning, when he wanted the script, I had it ready and sent it over in an email.
He read it through and said some good things, which made me worry even more, if I can pull 90 pages of bullshit out of my ass and impress this guy, is this amateur hour? Should I not be working with such a simpleton?
Either way, he was working on getting me paid. So who cares right?
Weeks pass, I get no money.
He calls me back and asks me to change the script for some commercial reasons, asks that I include a motorcycle chase scene so that we can get sponsors from another bike company, asks that I make more female characters since he promised some friends that they could participate.
Now.... my mentor has been in this business for 35 years, his father was a DP, and his grandfather was a writer and helped start the WGA, and he said that if someone is going to use your writing as a tool for their financial growth, the price goes up, that you are entitled now to ask for more money because they want to USE you to make money.
Right?
If this is going to be about product placement and shelling out favors to friends then the price has to go up. My compensation needs to match my work.
He spits some game about WGA scale. I ignore his email and decide that we should meet face to face again.
I get upset. I call around and he never calls back.
So I take it upon myself to contact this EW Bradfute character, and Victor C. Anderson, who was originally slated to be one of the producers, and we have a long drawn out conference call. They shed some light. I find out that THERE WAS NO MONEY WHAT SO EVER, AND THAT TJ AUSTIN WAS NEVER AUTHORIZED TO SOLICIT WORK OR HIRE ANYONE.
The lights dim, my hearing numbs, and I suddenly felt weak... did I just get conned? I was more hurt and saddened than I was angry, and any anger really I had towards myself for being so stupid and trusting and gullible especially towards someone I don't even know.
I call my friend, and she tells me the reason they broke up was because he was just another name-dropping bullshitter. He was full of himself, that he just cared more about his own reputation and denied her as being his girlfriend. That's pretty shitty if you ask me, I should really punch this guy.
Now don't get me wrong, I have never heard of this person. But if you are well connected and lined up with some big name people in this business, you don't need to name-drop. Anyone with any kind of political prowess or green lighting power doesn't need to do that in my book.
So I look him up on IMDB.
Great. No producing credits. Just uncredited stunt work and some sparse acting.
Just another asshole trying to break above the line at the expense of other people.
I went to a convention a few years ago, took a few classes, and this one particular class lecturer said to me "there are only about 400,000 people who work in this industry on a regular basis, that's actors, crew, producers, directors, anything across the board, and if you screw one person, EVERYONE WILL FIND OUT."
I get impatient. I call some more people. He becomes hesitant to give out contact information, but gives me a number to Shara Nickell--which was bogus mind you, I had to get it from him again because he "misspoke" a number. She calls and we have a drawn out conversation together, she is understanding and a bit more diplomatic, she offers 2K for a year option, 5K for a renewal, and 10K for a purchase. I agree, and meanwhile I am sending nasty hate letters to TJ Austin and finding out all types of negative experiences that others have had working with him while I interact with some of his co-workers. Come to find out that with most writers, 2K will buy a month! 20K is more reasonable for a year's option. And reputable producers will ALWAYS pay WGA scale.
Shara gets wind of my emails to TJ, she sends me an email later stating that my volatile behavior might jeopardize the production and that working together might be a problem.
I called Dee Dee Bigalow and she had no idea what the fuck I was talking about--even if TJ said she was supposed to be a producer on this project. Simon Johnson, another apparent producer for the film, has no idea either. He never even called me back with an answer.
Damn, Looks like I was horns-waggled. I should have known....
I panic... So I need to get paid here, I call TJ, no answer, I email, no answer.
I contact my attorney and he considers it "theft of services and conspiracy to defraud."
That his silence and lack of response to defend himself is an admittance of guilt.
To Sue or not to Sue????
That is the question...
I'm not in this game to sue people or ruin their reputation, but if you go to a gas station and tell the clerk, "I'll pay you if I make it to my destination." he's going to laugh, or call the cops, or both.
Lesson learned. Never work without a contract. Never let personal connections cloud your judgement.
And as for you TJ and Shara, Karma is a motherfucker.
If anyone wants proof, I have all emails and phone interactions on record. Just leave a comment and your email and I will forward the material.
