Curtain Up...

Stephen Spielberg with some Cainiacs

Oh boy.

 

Since I last posted a blog entry, my company has COMPLETELY exploded... And I mean that in a good way. It has been absolutely insane. Once we finished shooting "St. James Place" with Tom Hanks, directed by Stephen Spielberg, things just got bigger and bigger and BIGGER... Since August, my talent has appeared in 49 television shows and 23 feature films. Plus, there are countless commercials, industrials, web series, print campaigns...the list goes on and on. It is really exciting for me to watch the success just snowball. It's a lot of fun watching and listening to the reactions of people that are cast and working. Some of the parents are just amazing, and their gratitude is humbling.

 

I wouldn't be able to do any of this without my trusty sidekick, Shannon. She is absolutely my foil, my counterpart, my sanity.  She lets me bounce ideas off of her every Saturday morning, and has really helped me shape what my company has become. It's thanks to her husband, Joe, that Shannon and I have been working together so well. Joe, whom I've known since age 11, was the first to approach me and tell me that he wanted to work with me. Joe is calm and warm and approachable... Just like Shannon. The three of us comprise the core of  Cain Talent.

 

I've recently added Alena for all of the resume services and Kevin to work with me AND Shannon when we get inundated with work. Stephanie and Heeral are joining on as our very first interns, with the hopes that we will open Cain Talent - LA in August of 2015.

 

Cainiacs working on St. James Place

If not for the talent roster, Cain Talent wouldn't be doing as well as we are. We have 270 people on our talent roster, and we still  run out of people to submit for projects. Over the past year, our talent has collectively earned over $333,000. It is exciting for me to watch the college funds of the young kids on my roster grow. (Including my own 6 year old twins, who have both earned quite a lot of money over the past two years!) I have plenty of room on my talent roster for people that want to join. If you are interested in learning more about Cain Talent, you can just visit the Cain Talent website. We actually introduced a bunch of different services in addition to joining the full roster: Background services for adults; background services for kids, even a Test Drive to see if you like what Cain Talent has to offer.

 

Something that we currently have in development is COMKWAT: Creative Opportunities Managed for Kids with Amazing Talents. This is a non-profit organization (we are currently applying for 501c3 certification) that helps kids further their endeavors in arts and entertainment. One of the things that COMKWAT does is raise money for the $3000 SAG-AFTRA initiation fee for the kids that become must-join status while on the Cain Talent roster.  (A must-join is someone that worked enough union jobs to not only become eligible to join SAG-AFTRA, but actually MUST join in order to work any union - or, in layman's terms, "big" - jobs.)  $3000 is a LOT of money for people to pay for anything, let alone for their child to join a union.

 

HOWEVER, there are so many benefits to join SAG-AFTRA. I have personally been a member of SAG-AFTRA since 2002. That's 12 years! The great thing about SAG-AFTRA is that once you're in, you're in for life-- As long as you pay your dues. It's sort of like the Mafia in that respect. Members can become vested and earn a pension, qualify for health benefits, etc. Plus, we get better treatment and higher pay rates when working on a production.  Furthermore, SAG-AFTRA members have a better chance of landing principal roles. (To people not in show biz, that's speaking roles.) AND a better chance of getting an agent. The list goes on and on.

 

Isabella L., age 10

Today is Christmas Eve. One of our kids, Isabella, received her "Must-Join" letter. She is the very first person on my talent roster to get one of these letters. Honestly, I didn't even realize that she was in her OK-30, and now she just has until January 15 to work as many SAG-AFTRA jobs as she can before she HAS to join. (OK-30 is the time period of 30 days from the time you work your first union job after receiving your SAG-eligible letter that you are able to work SAG-AFTRA jobs without joining. Once the 30 days is up, you have to join SAG-AFTRA in order to work union jobs.) Think about this: You're a parent that wants to encourage your daughter to follow her dreams. You just finished the most expensive season of the year. Your kid can't work because production comes to a stand-still between December 21 and January 5, so she isn't earning any money toward her initiation fee. Your child only has 10 days total that she can work in order to earn money toward the $3000 initiation fee that she MUST pay in order to continue following her dreams. And, yeah, your kid is just 10 years old.

 

That is the situation that Isabella's parents find themselves in. It's the situation that so many other parents of kids on my talent roster are going to find themselves in very, very soon. If we all pull together, we will be able to raise the $3000 for Isabella very quickly and get her into SAG-AFTRA.

 

If you are able to contribute, even if it is just $1, then please click the link below. Merry Christmas!

 

 

So, Let Me...

Wow. Two blog posts from me in one day. How lucky are you?

I'm writing this blog entry because I got a letter from the Better Business Bureau from a mom that is angry that I removed her children from my talent roster. The reason I removed her children is because statements she made about her 13 year old daughter made me extremely uncomfortable. I don't want to deal with someone that makes me uncomfortable. They are, after all, representing my company when they go to auditions.

I have over 85 people on my talent roster. I am posting this so that they can respond to the allegations that Ms. Beer makes against me and my company. Once it is published on the Better Business Bureau website, I will be suing her for libel.

Here is the letter I received from the BBB of Metro NY:

You can click on it to make it bigger. Once it goes live on the BBB website, I will link it. I made my own notes in it.  This is the response that I sent to the BBB:

Ms. Beer made comments to me about her 13 year old daughter, which made me very uncomfortable. She referred to her daughter as an "adult" when I called her a child, insisted that she wear makeup to an audition, and referred to her as being "of child bearing age." I felt as though the child's welfare would be compromised, and Ms. Beer would do anything to get her daughter cast, especially since she bragged how her 13 year old was "constantly mistaken for being at least 16." I have been in this industry a long time, and I know that women are taken advantage of, promised stardom in return for sexual favors. I do not want to be responsible for any situation that Ms. Beer may put her daughter in.

As Ms. Beer stated, I refunded her $50 fee for each child ($100 total) immediately and removed them both from my roster. There never was a signed contract, as neither on of her children earned the minimum $750 required to enter into a one year contract. Ms. Beer continued to email, call and text me. I filed a complaint for aggravated harassment with the 5th precinct of Suffolk County, and they furthered the complaint to the Shrewsbury Police Department. (I am happy to scan copies of this complaint and police report.) 

As for making promises and not delivering, that is completely and totally untrue. People on my talent roster get work all the time, and I have plenty of people that will speak on my behalf. You can view the work that I am casting my talent in at http://www.facebook.com/CainCastingLI.

Ms. Beer threatened me. She threatened to defame my company if I didn't add her children back to my roster. I work with parents that will do anything for their children; not parents who will do anything to get their children famous. I truly feel that Ms. Beer would put the ideas of fame and fortune before the welfare of her children, and I will not work with someone like that.

I do not have any money or personal property from Ms. Beer. I did a lot of work for her two children, yet did not keep any of the money to cover my costs or time. It is my company and my choice not to work with her.

A note to all parents reading this: ALWAYS put your children first. Don't compromise their welfare to make them famous. Putting a 13 year old in makeup and a mini-skirt just spells trouble.

Rather than telling you all about the different projects that I have gotten talent on my roster involved in, I invite them to comment and "testify" for themselves.

Enjoy.

-C