Audition scam

[ranger100]

Hi
Did anyone else go to the CGTV auditions this weekend (7th Dec) at the Hammersmith Novotel?
They said that the select 30-40 out of the 300 kids that they see. I reckon they select everyone in the hope that you'll pay the $5000 to send your kid to LA for a week. If 200 people sign up, they've made themselves an easy $1m.
My kid got "the call" the following morning to say that they had made it. Did yours??

My dcs recently went on a week long excursion that taught them some amazing skills. They socialised and learnt lifelong skills! It cost a cheap-for-the-price $5000!

admittedly I just sent them to school for the week and blew the $5000 on hats for me, but still. We all grew as people

Oh and Adrian is great too.

I see that none of the enthusiastic posters have any information on the visa requirements for non-US nationals and the (exceptionally) limited onwards opportunities for those who do not have US residency.

This is a UK site, with an overwhelming majority members being UK/EU nationals.

I ask again: are visa procedures to act (legally) in USA a part of the course? Is any assistance given to secure the required visas (for child-chaperone)? Do any of the invited agents ever sponsor such visas? If so, how many have they secured in the last 5 years or so?

Wow, 'slebs' seen on Nickelodeon and Disney. Uh-may-zing.

Who really would pay 5k for that from the UK?

Marvellous thread.

Anyone got a link to a course like 'Passing as a Brit 101' (a steal at only $5,000) to which we could direct all our lovely new posters?

I'm willing to run training courses in Sarcasm 101 and How not to give yourself away by being enthusiastic about things 101

A snip at $3995

I haven't bothered getting my son (who acts professionally) an agent because we live way too far from London to make it anything other than hassle to be expected to go to auditions at short notice. Why the hell would someone in the UK even want an agent in the US? It would be a complete PITA. What are you going to do? Fly repeatedly between the UK and US for auditions? Er no.

And kids "networking"? Seriously??? :Shudder:

My DD went on one of these courses in Skegness. I paid £90000000 but it was THE BEST experience of her life. She got personal coaching from Bob Carolgees and Rust Lee.

I couldn't recommend it more highly

My DS went on a CGTV course and it was FANTASTIC!!!??!! Adrian is the re-incarnation of Jesus Himself and the training was so amazingly good that my DS went on to have great success in the movies! Ever heard of Sir Laurence Olivier? That's my DS!!!??!

It would never have happened without CGTV. Thanks Adrian!

I don't think you need to go to America for a headshot. Even one taken by a photographer personally recommended by Adrian

I like the sound of the Skegness one - glad it's recommended (but did you get a headshot?)

My DS went to an audition where he performed a specially choreographed dance, designed to perfectly highlight his particular talents. It is a homage to the interpretative dance of Bottom and during it he pays tribute to that sensitive classic by re-creating the famous "vodka margarine on the Christmas pudding" scene by lighting one of his own flatulent emissions. As I am sure you appreciate this requires some preparation.

On the day the judges were overwhelmed. One was moved to tears and another one said he had never seen anything of that standard in all of his career.

DS was immediately offered a no-strings-attached deal to go to Hollowood. All we have to pay is $20,000, all other expenses will be met by the studio! This is SO not a scam! We are so excited - DS is going to be a massive star.

See, Howard, easily spotted sarcasm. I call Brit!! :o

So, NorwegianMother, what brought you to British mumsnet to talk about CGTV on this fine Thursday afternoon?

And how did you get past the visa issues with it being a training course? A previous poster said that would need a specific visa (I know nothing about it). Did you enter the US under illegal false pretences or did you declare all?

Amazing.

It's like a cult.

Balloon, I'm so happy for you!

Forgot to say that he has now done the program 10 times and actually we live on Mars so have to factor in the spaceflight to get to an airport on Earth from which we can even fly to LA and STILL it's a bargain and NOT A SCAM or anything o no.

hej, Norwegianmother, that's fantastic. Are your children US citizens? If not, please explain how you went about getting the appropriate visas (this was not a holiday/tourism temporary entry trip) and how you went about getting them work permits so that a US agent could get them work in the US. How long did it take, and were you able to find a US sponsor?

My breath is bated....

it is particularly curious that Norwegianmother refers to ESTA.

Which is a concession specifically for tourism or business and is not to be used for people wishing to take up education or training, or to seek employment, for example by registering with agents for acting jobs.

"When must I obtain a visa to travel to the United States? •If you intend to arrive in the United States aboard a non-signatory air carrier.
•If you intend to visit the United States for more than 90 days.
•If you believe any grounds of inadmissibility of the Immigration and Nationality Act § 212(a) apply to you, you should apply for a nonimmigrant visa before traveling to the United States. Although you may be inadmissible to the United States, you may qualify for a non-immigrant visa and waiver, which may allow you to travel to the United States.
•If you are traveling to the United States for a purpose other than short-term tourism or business."

Ooh ooh, I've noticed an incongruency in Norwegianmother's post (just call me Columbo)

Just one more thing NM, you say, "Norwegians to get an ESTA for some weeks stay and at the program you get information of how to do if your child gets jobs here."

I notice you use "here" instead of "there". I put it to you NM, that you are in fact, American (or it's just a typo, definitely one of those two things)

Aha! :strokes chin:

Norwegianmother needs a better script writer.....

This is fun.
Seriously thinking about paying Chris $3995 for her training courses too.

For you Denzel, I'll throw in "Basic manners 101" you may be under the impression that you only need to apologise where you were at fault! Not so! Learn how to say, "oh I'm terribly sorry." When a stranger stands on your foot! Just been barged into? No problem, "I'm awfully sorry, all my fault."

Also on the course as an added extra, "What is irony and why is it funny?"

Have our American friends given up on us?

I didn't actually think this was a scam until they started posting. I thought an American company hadn't thought through visa implications and had seen Britain as a new potential market.

After the influx, I'm thinking it's probably a scam. At the very least the company doesn't seem to care that Brits could spend all that money only to be denied entry because they were honest at customs. A horrible situation to find yourself in.

I hope American Immigration are aware of the incorrect advice CGTV are peddling. You'd think that would be some kind of "incitement to enter the US illegally" law that they could be prosecuted under.

Who knows.

If only the US government constantly monitored the internet in some way, maybe, just maybe... (Irony 101 ) Do you think buzz words might attract them?

TERRORISTS WHATEVER YOU DO don't ATTACK THE USA!

Piglet John knows everything. I am constantly in awe of his awesomeness and a bit in lurve too.

My DD doesn't need any acting classes from anyone no matter how experienced or qualified they are. I swear that when she looks you in the eye and tells you "It wasn't me" she could be awarded all the Oscars and plaudits that ever existed in the universe.

All this for only $milliontysquillionty that it's cost to raise her so far

I am available for coaching and you won't need a Visa to visit me

Bottom line is this, at the top of the thread a post was made accusing CGTV of being a scam, and the little spark was fed by other uninformed posts. When it was brought to our attention that this thread existed, the families of kids who have participated shared their own experiences of the actual program and how useful and fun it is for the kids. It's not the scam it's being accused of.
No, most of us parents don't know about the Visa issues, nor do I really care. That's up to you to figure out. It's up to every parent to figure out if it's worth it for their kid to go. Maybe it's not worth the hassle for you Brits. Fine. But don't accuse CGTV of being a scam when it's not, just because you can't find the value for "you". Maybe it's not worth the effort from your Brit point of view, but it is by far and away worth it from stateside.
Again, as someone who went through the program with my daughter, I would (and probably will) do it all over again in a heartbeat - no hesitation. The program gave us everything it promised and my daughter has enough fond memories to last her a lifetime.
I found Adrian to be very genuine, helpful, and very good at relating to his students very real training with his partners, actual American celebrities. Actors who are in the business right now in Hollywood. Just because you "haven't heard of them in Britain" doesn't lessen the fact they are well established in the industry.
If their program doesn't work for you in Britain, so be it. That doesn't make them a scam. It just makes it unfortunate for you.