[NEohioPAL]Emergency casting for Rob Lucas

[Christopher]

James, Sadie, Rob and NEOPALers,

It is unfortunate that the Northeast Ohio motion picture arts community, while smaller then, has turned in a few short years, into a feeding
frenzy for unscrupulous opportunists.  Four years ago, a scam in the area would have meant that someone made the humorous mistake of thinking we
had a thriving film and video community to prey on, rather than the approximately 20 filmmakers and less than 100 actors with film credits it
actually made up.  As everybody knows, it has grown exponentially thanks to the hard work and quality productions (for the large part) that have
come out of this area.  However, with that growth comes attention, and attention doesn't always manifest itself in positive strokes.

It is with the sad and frustrating reality that malignant and sometimes felonious activity mires our small community with the need for caution
that I must stand and get counted with "Sadie," the college student.  While I know nothing about her, and can't even fully warranty the sincerity
of her concern (she could be Rob pulling a strange but interesting publicity stunt for all I know), I feel obliged to doing my tiny part to make
NEOPAL a forum where artists and artists-to-be can alert others of suspect activity and call to question the legitimacy of claims made by people,
especially since a small but malicious minority of the claimants are preying on the good intentions and artistic hopes of thousands of people on
this list.

I don't have the benefit of having Rob's original email, so am restricted to what's available to me in the quoted writings.  I know little of Rob
Lucas, despite my 16 years in this community, which says nothing of his legitimacy, and fans of Rob's would say speaks volumes about my ignorance
of his work.  My issue is not with Rob, or "Sadie" suspecting him.  Rather, I feel the concerns "Sadie" expresses in her email are of such import
as to outweigh the potential damage to Rob's reputation, which should be minimal if he's the revered artist Mr. Renner knows him to be.  To be
frank, I too suspected Rob's email based on it's wording, and thought it was another startup producer new to the casting process, until I saw his
name and the familiar respelled "jackass" email addy, certainly fitting the esteem Mr. Lucas wants associated to him (?).  Since this is a
community of rapid growth, and his email was targeted to young actresses who weren't even working four years ago with the original 20 or so of
us, "Sadie" certainly can't be faulted for not knowing who he is.  Which takes us to another issue.

My credits, Mr. Lucas' credits, Mr. Renner's recent successes, or any filmmaker's prior experience says ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about our character.
If you think it does, try Hollywood on for size... with a kevlar body condom.  Credits only say something about the consistency of our work, or
lack thereof.  As Sadie qualified her lack of familiarity of Mr. Lucas' work, her concern it seems transcends the issue of his stature in the
community, and calls to question the wording of his casting call, which someone of his experience should have refined considerably, despite the
emergency nature of his request.  And come on... what college girl, if they'd never heard of him, would sent their photos and phone numbers to a
guy who calls himself jackass (sic)?  She's not doubting his sincerity (which would have been entirely appropriate given what I remember of his
request) but rather his methods.  She obviously feels it is her civic duty to inform other young women that emails that look like his deserve
scrutiny, regardless of whether his in fact does or not.  That, or Rob in my imaginary publicity stunt writes as a woman very well.

In independent film where you can't assume anybody knows your name, the burden of proof rests on the producer to prove his legitimacy prior to
asking for information that would give any stalker posing as a producer the tools (photos/phone #s) to lurk college campuses like the Marquis De
Sade with a Spiderman webcaster... a college girl would have to be Venus in Furs to want to fall for that, given what it looked like.  And for
the vast majority of readers who don't even know what imdb.com is, check it out.  All three of the filmmakers mentioned by name in this tome
happen to be listed on it.  IMDB stands for Internet Movie Database.  Forgive me for sounding like I give nobody credit, but it's easy to
understand how Sadie might not have heard of it, since she was also to have known about Mr. Lucas, but didn't.  I'm not one to judge, but it
seems it's Mr. Lucas who should apologize for allowing our mutual friend Mr. Renner to come to his aid against a nameless college coed who is
trying to stop her colleagues from becoming a storyline on Law & Order SVU.

As for me, I apologize for taking up download time on this message.  Let's aim for giving the artists in this community the best we have, which
for the actor/filmmaker relationship means reliable, consistent and professional performances and presentations from actors; and a feeling from
the outset that our sets are a safe place to help fulfill actors' dreams on the part of local producers.

James, all my best
Sadie, be proud of standing up for what you thought was right.  I hope you're not actually Rob
Rob, what can I say?
NEOPALers, Sincerely,

Christopher K. Young
Shallow Focus Entertainment
www.shallowfocus.com



james renner wrote:

> I'd like to weigh in on this if I may.  Here is the original posting by
> sadie118 at juno.com:
>
> I make no claims to have any knowledge about the legitimacy of your message
> for
> EMERGECNY CASTING for a college female.  However, as a college female, I
> find
> your message to be highly suspicious.  Not only did you fail to affiliate
> yourself with an independent film company, you also failed to ask for a
> resume
> -an indication that you are searching for faces, not actresses.  Young women
> are
> in a vulnerable position, and must constantly be on look out for
> victimization.
> I would caution anyone against sending their picture and phone number to an
> unknown email address.  Although your email may in fact be legitimate, and
> intentions genuine, requesting phone numbers and pictures from young women
> through email is not an appropriate action.
>
> Sincerely,
> A college student.
>
> My response:
> First, I will gladly vouch for Rob Lucas.  He has worked on high-profile
> Hollywood-produced films in the Cleveland area for years.  He has always
> finished a project he set out to make, and most are award-winning successes.
>   I have watched his films, and they're some of the finest in town.  As
> recently as this week, Rob Lucas helped me and a friend film a full-length
> documentary in New York City.  During the trip, he talked a lot about this
> project and I personally reccommended he post a call for actresses on this
> messageboard.  Furthermore, I have read the script and unlike most local
> attempts, it's engaging and entertaining.
> Secondly, you make wild allegations about this man without taking 30 seconds
> to consult iMDB to see a list of his credits.  Next time you want to bring
> down "the man", Sadie, please do some cursory research. There are plenty
> other people who post on this board that deserve your rebukes.  Please
> reserve your soapbox for them.
> For all those 20-year old actresses looking for some legit work in this
> city, I would highly suggest you send your info to Rob at ja-cas at prodigy.net
>   And, Sadie, an appology would be appropriate.
> Sincerely,
> James Renner
> Director, Stephen King's "All That You Love..."
> Staff Writer, Scene Magazine