Anyone else out there ever been ripped off by an online person representing themselves as an agent. I have. The biggest disappointment was I’m so certain my work is worthy, I couldn’t believe she wasn’t real. She was professional, knew the processes, and totally suckered me.
The biggest disappointment is my work is worthy of an agent. But I am forever jaded.
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Sorry to hear you got ripped off, Michael T Gregory. Was it a screenwriting agent?
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Hey Michael,
I'm always warning others of the scumbags that infiltrate the industry and yet I get warned not to bitter (Truthful) or stand-offish (Cautiously optimistic). Now the biggest rip-off when dealing with agents is that they are all, to some degree, rip-offs. There are no REQUIRED licenses needed to become a literary agent. They mostly just weasel their way into the bedrooms and backseats of "decision" makers and studio head morons that love to greenlight overpriced bombs like The Running Man remake and lose 100's of millions of dollars.
That being said, the biggest rip-offs are stealing your screenplay and then ripping you off out of cash. Never pay an agent anything! They get 10% of what they structure a deal for. Always copyright your work. The process is fairly simple through The Library of Congress. After that, you just can't be just a screenwriter anymore. You should have some rudimentary knowledge on how to construct a business plan which will include, but not limited to a shooting schedule, a budget for Above the Line and Below the line talent, a cast wish list, but don't go for too big of a name because that no longer has any pull with audiences because audiences are becoming sick and tired of being lectured by these celebrities on what they should like as opposed to what they just like. The thing is, there are a lot of morons out there ready to take your money. They say you need to hire a Line Producer. Now you don't. You need to budget for one then when he's hired, he can make the appropriate adjustments.
Thing is that you have to research these people. I have had producers talk a big game and after a little digging have found out that they produced nothing of note. I myself am a director/screenwriter that made a film for $2,200.00 which grossed $4,500.00 on a 3 day/9 show weekend at a privately owned theater. The film featured over 14 locations and over 20 actors so I never lost money, but studios would rather lose $100M than take a gamble on a $1.5M budget action film.
Don't take anyone on face value alone. Do some research or have a trusted friend research them. Everyone says "They know the business," but according to the track record just from 2025 alone, none of these "professionals" know anything about the film industry or they are just to dense to learn from their past mistakes.
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Michael T Gregory so very sorry to hear this. I can see why it feels even more bitter because your work is worthy of an agent. I can see also then how that could have made you more open to this fraudster. I know there was a post a few months ago about an actor who almost got ripped off by an agent.
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Thanks for the feedback. Hindsight being 20-20, I would’ve done lots different. Do you notice there aren’t any agents on this platform?! Hmmm
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Hey Michael, this is Suzanne from the Stage 32 team. I just wanted to let you know I moved your post from Acting to Screenwriting, as it fits much better there. Let me know if you have any questions, and all the best to you!
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Hi Michael, a few times with financers
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Hello Michael T Gregory, a bit of advice that I've heard in shortlisting potential contacts: "There's no humility in showbiz." If they're being shady about their credits, they don't have them. So if you don't see it beyond an email mention, it ain't real.