Actors Access on Blast 🧐

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This week on the Rundown, we’re breaking down all the info you need for the recent class-action lawsuit filed against casting giant Actors Access. Let’s get in depth! ⤵️

Industry News

Actors Access Class-Action Lawsuit

Actors Access is one of the most important casting portals for actors today. Casting directors use the service for projects ranging from big budget thrillers to indie movies to student films to commercials and beyond.

Having an AA profile is free to actors - technically. (This is where the lawsuit comes in.) Here is what you can get as a performer without paying AA a dime-

• Your online casting profile (which contains all the basic info you’d include on your resume)

• Secure access to your Eco Cast Self-Tapes and Eco Cast Live invitations

• Sides and audition updates

• 2 free headshot uploads

• 1 free SlateShot upload

• Role match email alerts

• One profile for every Talent Representative in any location

Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. If you don’t upgrade to Actors Access Plus ($68 a year or $10 a month) then AA will charge you $2 for every audition submission you make. Once you pay to subscribe, you have access to unlimited “free” submissions. However even then, you will still have to pay more since AA charges upload fees. Every time you want to upload new headshots or new footage for your profile- you’ll pay for it.

Filed in LA’s Superior Court, the class-action lawsuit “accuses the platform of predatory conduct, and of charging working actors hundreds of dollars a year for upgrades that they hope will get them noticed” (Variety).

Public interest firm Clarkson Law is behind this suit, as well as a similar one they filed weeks prior against another casting site- Casting Networks. They allege that “by exploiting actors’ desire to live out their dreams, Defendant has inserted itself between actors and casting directors, forcing hardworking actors into paying for the opportunity to apply for a job.”

Clarkson continues- “Thus, even for those actors able to pay their way onto the platform, a significant casting factor becomes have they paid enough. The resultant financial strain and the emotional distress from navigating this pay-to-play system have diminished the fair chance of talent discovery, effectively prioritizing those who can afford to pay over equally or more talented individuals facing financial constraints.”

The lawsuit is seeking an injunction that would ban AA immediately from exploitative practices and also demands that actors who overpaid for subscriptions to be compensated three times the initial amount paid (in accordance with California labor law). These demands are in keeping with the lawsuit filed earlier against Casting Networks.

SAG-AFTRA supports the lawsuit (in fact several board members are listed as plaintiffs) and warned casting sites over 4 months ago that it was illegal to charge a fee to actors seeking commercial auditions. This is a direct violation of California Labor Code 450, also knows as the Fee-Related Talent Services Law passed in 2009 (NY has a similar law in place as well).

Christina Le, a lawyer at Clarkson, stated that these casting sites are “essentially offering to do for producers what they could not do themselves under the law - take money in exchange for the honor of auditioning. Actors who go out and audition for roles are already giving their labor away for free. Adding a pay-to-play requirement on top runs dangerously close to blatant theft.”

Expert Insights

Take a peak into how Hollywood makes some of its most exciting stunts happen with Ryan Gosling, stuntman Logan Holladay, and The Fall Guy director David Leitch.

Reelarc Casting Board

NYC
male, 50-60, any ethnicity
female, 18-26, Caucasian
male, 35-45, African-American
female, 25-35, any ethnicity

LA
male, 50-60, any ethnicity

Box Office Numbers

1. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - 56.5M - 20th Century Studios

2. The Fall Guy - 13.7M (50M total) - Universal

3. Challengers - 4.9M (38.1M total) - Amazon MGM Studios

4. Tarot - 3.5M (12M total) - Sony Pictures

5. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - 2.5M (191.8M total) - Warner Bros.

Trends on your FYP

Bridgerton season three is here - finally (well, part one at least). The press tour has definitely been upped this time around and has given fans lots of moments to make viral. Watch castmates Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, and Claudia Jessie complete Wired’s popular auto-complete interview below:

What We’re Watching This Weekend

🎥 For the Jane Austen readers - Bridgerton season 3, part 1 is now on Netflix

🎥 For Broad City fans - Ilana Glazer’s new film Babes is in theaters today

🎥 For some family fun - If starring Ryan Reynolds, Steve Carell, and John Krasinski in theaters now

🎥 For your British crime thriller fix - The Killing Kind season 1 on Hulu

🎥 For anyone who used to play Cowboys vs. Aliens - Josh Brolin’s Outer Range is back on Prime for season 2

(P.S.- Have a story or industry info you think should be featured on the Rundown? Let us know - [email protected]!)