Bigfoot Entertainment

Bigfoot Entertainment often posts online for full-time positions in Cebu, Philippines. Be aware that their contract makes certain bizarre demands. Here is their contract. See section 6 and 10-2 about them holding your passport hostage, and deducting your wages for what Bigfoot deems infractions.

Here's a copy of the most interesting parts of the contract they make you sign. Part 6 is about the passport. The most interesting parts are in bold.

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Bigfoot You
STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE AS CONSULTANT
1. TERM. Bigfoot Entertainment (BVI) Ltd. (╲Bigfoot╡) hereby engages You and You
accept such engagement subject to the terms and conditions of this agreement (╲Agreement╡).
This agreement may be terminated by Bigfoot at any time in the event of (a) Your failure to perform the services for any reason, (b) Your incapacity or inability to perform the services hereunder, (c) material breach of this Agreement, (d) intentional wrongdoing, malfeasance, fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation, gross negligence, commission of a crime, or the like ("for cause"), and for any reason other than
╲for cause╡. The term may be extended by mutual agreement of the parties. In addition to any other remedies available under law or equity, if You terminate prior to the end of the term, you shall be required to reimburse Bigfoot for the prorated cost of any pre-paid, roundtrip airline ticket and bonus/relocation fees set forth on the 1st page of this Agreement. For purposes of this Agreement, "Affiliate" means any entity controlled by or under common control as Bigfoot, or any entity owned or controlled by the majority member or shareholder of Bigfoot.
2. SERVICES AND DEDICATION. You shall be fully dedicated to Bigfoot and as such
You shall not engage in any other employment, side jobs, ╲moonlighting,╡ or any other business without disclosing to Bigfoot. Further, You must not assist any person or organization in competing with Bigfoot or its affiliate, or in hiring any employee of Bigfoot or its affiliate.
You agree to perform any and all Services required by Bigfoot in Your position
to the best of Your abilities as such Services are commonly performed in the motion picture industry. Your Services may be specifically defined, but are not limited to, the tasks and duties listed in a Schedule A, and require Your
initial. You are also expected to be an ╲all rounder╡, and occasionally will be
asked to fill in other positions that might be similar or more senior without any adjustment in pay.
You shall supply all the necessary tools, equipment and supplies commonly used
in the industry to perform such Services. Upon request, You agree to provide to Bigfoot or Bigfootâ•˙s representative a written, catalogued inventory of all tools, equipment and supplies You supply,if any. Bigfoot is not liable for loss or damage of such tools, equipment, or supplies as You provide, except in cases of gross
negligence on the part of Bigfoot.
You are obligated to own a GSM phone and local SIM card, which should already be working within 3 days upon start date/arrival. You shall bear own costs of phone calls up to $60.00 per month. Bigfoot shall pay the amount exceeding $60.00 if itemized list is provided. You are required to have your own laptop, an external harddrive with minimum capacity of 1TB, a thumbdrive or more of at least 8GB, a digital camera (as needed for the position), and a credit or debit card while
working for Bigfoot.
Owing to the essential nature of the business, You are required to respond to
all calls made by representatives of Bigfoot in relation to the performance of Your duties. Your availability via mobile phone at all times is of paramount importance. Bigfoot reserves the right to cut your salary / fee to 40% of the day rate of the agreed level in case You are not contactable by mobile phone in spite of repeated attempts. You are obliged to immediately take care of the repair of mobile phone or replacement in case of loss, this is everybody's core obligation, Bigfoot is not going to provide any assistance. In case You are using pre-paid service, keep sufficient credits in Your phone at all times.
If You are assigned a Vonage adaptor from Bigfoot, You are responsible to ensure
that it is connected to the Internet at all times, connect a landline phone to it, and in case you travel, youâ•˙re obliged to bring the device with you to ensure that youâ•˙re always connected to the phone system.
3. PAYMENT AND BENEFITS. In full consideration of Your fully performing Your
obligations under this Agreement, You shall receive a compensation from performing Your Services for Bigfoot (╲Fee╡). You accept that said Fee is based on a ╲No Work, No Pay╡ policy. You shall not be entitled to any benefits,
coverages, or privileges, including without limitation, social security,unemployment, worker's pension payments, or other such similar benefits as are or may be made available to employees of Bigfoot or its affiliate.

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Production Day is defined as a SHOOT day for FEATURE FILMS with a minimum of 12
hours excluding lunch. Non-Production Day is defined as a non-shoot day for Feature Films, and a shoot or non-shoot day for all other productions, with a minimum of 8 hours excluding lunch. Therefore, payment for Production days shall ONLY be claimed during shooting/filming days for FEATURE FILMS, unless there is special
approval from the Producer. All other productions, as well as preparatory work,
are constituted as Non-
Production days.
Bigfoot does not pay additional compensation for any hours that would be considered ╲overtime╡ in the motion picture industry for media production projects. Should You work beyond the previously mentioned number of hours, You will be compensated with shorter work days within a time frame of 5 preceding or 5 subsequent work days.
Bigfoot shall process payment of Your Fee every end of the month, and payment for the final month of the term shall be prorated up to the end date specified in the cover page of this
Agreement. Fee shall be paid through wire transfer, Paypal, and/or US check. Upon request and with reasonable advance notification, Bigfoot agrees to pay up to $500 of Your fee in the local currency. Amounts less than $1,000 shall be paid only through Paypal, US check, or in the local currency if not greater than $500. Bigfoot is not
responsible, and will not reimburse, any fees or expenses arising from any transaction with Your local or foreign financial institution.
Should You render services to an affiliate of Bigfoot, separate invoices should be sent to concerned affiliate and Bigfoot. Your payment shall be made by both the affiliate and by Bigfoot.
4. WORK HOURS. You are required to inform Your immediate supervisor ahead of time in case You would be absent from work for any reason. As directed by Your Immediate Superior or as necessitated by Your responsibilities, You might be required to work evenings and/or weekends on occasion. You are required to log in for work at any time within 0800 hours to 1000 hours in the morning, wherein You are to render at least 8 hours of work per day from Monday to Saturday, excluding meal breaks of 1 hour each
per day. All staff who missed to log shall be reported by HR to their respective department head. The latter shall verify the report and advise HR whichever appropriate action to take. For unjustified lack of logs, sanctions are as follows: (a) Email Warning at the first incident, and (b) $30 administrative charge for manual time sheet adjustment, for every succeeding incident. You may be assigned a different
schedule by Your immediate supervisor. You are obligated to submit time sheets at the end of every day with a detailed description of tasks accomplished. Bigfoot reserves the right to exclude days from pay for which no time sheets have been submitted within 24 hours after the work day.
5. TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION, AND VISAS. You shall only be provided a round trip ticket between your country/place of origin and work base on the first contract and none for succeeding contracts.
Accommodation arrangements are to be independently made. Should you be renting with our affiliate ╲Bigfoot Properties, Inc.╡, as a landlord, in light of your work relationship with Bigfoot, the customary security is waived, but you agree to authorize Bigfoot to pay out damages that otherwise will be covered by the security deposits from your Fee when your lease ends or expires.
In the event that Youâ•˙ll be asked to travel abroad for Bigfoot, You accept reasonable economy class accommodations and airfare. No flights shall be booked with United Airlines, United Air Express, and Tiger Airways and airfare quotes from Qatar Airlines should only be included when it offers the cheapest option. You are required to comply with Immigration and Visa procedures. Expenses incurred for delays in travel due to personal negligence shall be at Your own expense, and also those days in which a travel delay occurs due to your negligence shall be excluded from payment. Further, Bigfoot shall pay for the travel day if work is performed within the same day, otherwise travel days are not paid.
Bigfoot shall facilitate and pay for the Special Work Permit (╲SWP╡) required for You to work in the country, though You are responsible for any expenses relating to any visa extensions required to fulfill this Agreement. Bigfoot agrees to facilitate and pay for any permits, visas, extensions, or travel administration for any locations required by any projects outside of the Philippines. You must have a valid

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Bigfoot You
passport throughout the duration of the Term. You agree to allow Bigfoot to hold
Your passport to facilitate and process such actions. Any fees or expenses resulting from a stay in the Philippines or any other location beyond the term of this Agreement are Your sole responsibility.
6. CONFIDENTIALITY. You acknowledge that by virtue of being a contractor of Bigfoot, You shall have access to confidential information. Accordingly, You agree that during Your Services with Bigfoot and thereafter, without limitations of time, that You shall not disclose or reveal any of the confidential information to any third party whatsoever or use the same in any manner except in connection with the business of Bigfoot or its affiliate. You agree not to access information relating to corporate matters of Bigfoot or its affiliate that are not generally known to, or disclosed to the public which have no relation to, or are not necessary in the performance of, Your Services. Upon termination of Your Services with Bigfoot, You shall return to Bigfoot or its affiliate all documents, papers,and data in any form relating to Bigfoot or its affiliate.
7. NON-SOLICITATION. You agree that, during the Term of this Agreement and the 1 year period after termination of the agreement, You shall not: (i) persuade or attempt to persuade any person providing services or goods to Bigfoot or its affiliates to cease or reduce the amount of business it does with Bigfoot or its affiliates; (ii) persuade or attempt to persuade any customer or client or potential customer or client to cease or reduce the amount of business it does with Bigfoot or its affiliates; (iii) solicit for You or any person or entity other than Bigfoot the business of any customer or client who did business with Bigfoot or its affiliates during the term of this Agreement; or (iv) persuade or attempt to persuade any past or present director, officer or employee of Bigfoot or its affiliates to leave Bigfoot's or its affiliates' employ or to become employed by any person or entity other than Bigfoot.
8. INVENTIONS AND COPYRIGHTS. All works that You create subsequent to contracting with Bigfoot and in connection with Your Services with Bigfoot, shall be considered to be
works created in the course of this Agreement with Bigfoot and shall constitute work-for-hire. In the event a work is not construed to be work-for-hire, You agree to assign, and will assign to Bigfoot or its affiliate, all rights and interests in
any designs, inventions, improvements, trademarks, or copyrightable subject matter or proprietary information which You conceive, either solely or jointly with others and either on or off Bigfoot's premises, (a) while providing the Services to Bigfoot or its affiliate, (b) with the use of the time, materials or facilities of Bigfoot or its affiliate, or (c) relating to and derivative of any product, service or activity of Bigfoot or its affiliate of which You have knowledge (the "Developments"). You agree that You have no proprietary interest in any Developments, including any patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret rights as described above. Any and all programs, inventions and other works of authorship developed by You while performing Services for Bigfoot or its affiliate pertaining directly to said Services are created for and owned exclusively by Bigfoot or its affiliate and You cannot make/take copies of photos/work. You agree that You shall not register, file or obtain any patent, copyright or trademark covering any of the Developments in Your own name and further agree to provide reasonably necessary assistance to protect, enforce or perfect Bigfoot's or its affiliate's rights and interests in such patents, copyrights and trademark throughout the world. Further:
a. Any portion of the Productions may be copied, reproduced, marketed, distributed and used in any manner, form or medium now known or hereafter derived by Bigfoot or used in any other manner at Bigfoot's sole discretion, without any right or claim in or thereto by You.
b. You further agree that Bigfoot is the sole owner of the Developments or Productions, and that You shall have no claims or rights to any royalties or other fees in any manner relating to Bigfoot's use, sale, marketing or exhibition of the Developments or Productions in any form or medium.
c. You hereby waive, and Bigfoot hereby has the right, to assert on behalf of You, Your moral rights or any equivalent rights regarding the form or extent of any alteration to the Developments or Productions (including, without limitation, removal or destruction) or the making of any derivative works based on the Productions in any medium, for Bigfoot's purposes.
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d. You assign the right to use Your name and likeness in connection with the
promotion and marketing of Bigfoot and its affiliates as well as in connection with the exploitation and distribution in any manner of any work in which they appear. You grant Bigfoot and assigns, the perpetual non-exclusive right and the right to grant to others the right, to disseminate, display, reproduce, publish and make any other uses of the Your name, voice, and likeness, and biographical material concerning You in connection with the advertising, merchandising, publicizing and the exploitation
of any of the services or materials created by or for Bigfoot, its affiliates
and assigns, in any medium. You hereby consent and agree to participate in all of the above filming and exploitation and hereby grant to Bigfoot, in perpetuity and throughout the universe, the right to use Your name, voice and likeness in connection with all of above for no additional consideration.
9. EXPENSES. It is the policy of Bigfoot to require You to be very cost
conscious concerning all expenses incurred in connection with activities on behalf of Bigfoot or its affiliate.
After receiving the 1st pay, consultants who earn a minimum monthly Fee of at least $2,000.00 per month or equivalent thereof for other currencies and higher, are expected to spend personal funds and/or use personal credit or debit cards for pre-approved work-related expenses of up to 15% of the minimum monthly Fee, to be liquidated through an expense report.
All cash or credit out of pocket expenses incurred by You in connection with the
Project will be reimbursed only to the extent that they are approved by the Producer and/or Executive Producer, and verified by original itemized receipt. In the event that no receipt can be generated, a photograph of the purchased item(s) in addition to an itemized and signed list of purchases must be submitted. There will
be no exceptions. All purchases and rentals executed through Bigfoot will be
made by purchase order, invoice, or production credit card, which must be approved by department heads.
You shall provide Bigfoot or its affiliate copies of all receipts, invoices and
other documentation relating to expenses You incur on behalf of Bigfoot or its affiliate. Bigfoot shall reimburse any expense(s) You incur on behalf of Bigfoot within 7 days of receipt of official expense report and supporting receipts, invoices,
and/or documentation.
10. POLICIES. As a Contractor assigned to work inside the premises of Bigfoot,
You are expected to abide by the rules and regulations of Bigfoot. It is understood that non-compliance or a violation of any policy may result to Your suspension or termination of this Agreement. You shall safe keep and use for work-related purposes only, all equipment and utilities issued by Bigfoot. You are required to back-up all
files, store such files in a separate location and to make available all source
files that allow editing of any music, videos and other material documents made by You. You are not authorized to install any software on equipment not owned by You, other than the ones approved by Bigfootâ•˙s system administrator. You
shall not use Bigfootâ•˙s email system, email addresses or computers to send spam,
commercial emails, emails containing harassing, sexually explicit, libelous, slanderous or illegal content. Moreover, You shall be required to return all equipment issued by Bigfoot and turn over all files and passwords, upon termination of the Services with Bigfoot.
a. Statements. You are hired as an independent contractor and have no right or
authority to represent or act as an agent of Bigfoot. You shall not make any written or oral statement on behalf of Bigfoot or any of its affiliates. Use of letterhead or stationary of Bigfoot or its affiliates for external communication is contingent upon the approval of the CEO or the Chief of Bigfoot. In the event You are asked to or permitted to provide any statements on behalf of Bigfoot or its affiliates, such
statement shall strictly adhere to Bigfoot policies and You are required to inquire as to those policies prior to any such permitted communications. You shall be liable to Bigfoot for the greater of a penalty in the amount of $250.00 or the total damages arising from the breach of this provision.
b. No Kick Back Policy. Bigfootâ•˙s policy for all its affiliates and consultants
not to accept any gifts, and report any attempts to provide cash, cash equivalents, gifts or any other freebies worth more than $5.00 from affiliates, contractors or other individuals or corporations that seek to business with Bigfoot.
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c. Requirements. List of requirements are given prior to start of the Term,
which includes medical clearance and background information. You shall be responsible for the cost of acquiring said requirements. At Bigfootâ•˙s discretion, Your fee shall not be paid until all of the requirements are submitted. This Agreement may be forfeited in case said requirements are not met; there are erroneous disclosure of facts; and in case requirements and background investigation results do not meet with Bigfoot standards.
d. Production Policies.
1. Phone Usage. You may not use a mobile phone while on set, and the ringer must be set to silent (no vibration or ringtone), during the shooting of any scene in which sound is being recorded. You shall be liable to Bigfoot for the greater of a penalty in the amount of $250.00 or the total damages arising from the breach of this provision (including without limitation, the cost of reshooting any shot).
2. English Only. It is mandatory that only English be spoken on the set. Any
violation of this rule shall result in a deduction of $20 for each violation. This policy shall be waived in the event that the parties cannot speak English in a clear, comprehensive manner.
3. Transportation. If You shall provide Your own transportation to and from the
locations at which Your services are to be rendered in connection with the Project, and/or if You use Your own vehicle in connection with the production of the Project, then You further agree that any personal vehicle used will be adequately insured for collision damage, liability damage and property damage belonging to third parties, all in such amounts as are reasonably necessary. You agree to provide Bigfoot with proof of insurance and valid driverâ•˙s license. You hereby indemnify Bigfoot and Bigfootâ•˙s representatives against any and all liability and claims whatsoever in connection with Your automobile or transportation during the term of this Agreement.
4. Production Meals. It is Bigfootâ•˙s policy that meal expenses are personal in
nature, and generally Bigfoot does not pay for such. On large feature film productions, Bigfoot may â•„ at its sole discretion â•„ provide meals as a voluntary incentive, such provision is on a case-by-case basis and does not constitute any obligation for future days whatsoever.
5. Damages. Bigfoot will not credit crew members that caused material damage to
the quality of the production, including additional costs resulting from negligence or disobedience of standing policies. Bigfoot reserves the right to charge damages resulting from gross negligence against crew compensation.
11. INDEMNIFICATION. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Bigfoot and its
affiliates from any claims, judgments, suits, actions, damages or fines arising from any gross negligence, willful misconduct, or serious malfeasance or omission, on the part of You.
12. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement is governed by the laws of Hong Kong. Any controversy or dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts having jurisdiction for Hong Kong, SAR. The successful party to any litigation or other proceeding relating to this Agreement shall be awarded costs and expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees).
You consent to the service of process out of any of the aforementioned courts in
any such action or proceeding by the mailing of copies thereof by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, to You at the address set forth for You in this Agreement, such service to become effective 15 days after such mailing.
13. NOTICES. Any notice to be given hereunder shall be in writing and be deemed
given if delivered personally or sent effective upon 4 days after by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or upon delivery by overnight courier recognized in the United States (DHL, Airborne, and Fedex hereby deemed approved) to the appropriate party at its address as set forth herein, or at such other address as
either party may, from time to time, in writing, designate in accordance with this Section. For notice to be effective, a required facsimile copy must also be sent to Jeffrey W. Berkman, General Counsel at +1.212.208.0991.
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14. SEVERABILITY AND SURVIVAL. This Agreement contains the full and complete
understanding between You and Bigfoot with reference to the within subject matter, supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, written or oral, and cannot be modified except in writing and signed by both parties. No breached provision shall nullify or modify any other part of this Agreement.

DO NOT WORK FOR PUNCH TV!!

My fellow hard workers in the TV/Film Industry, If you ever come across an ad for work opportunity from a "TV NETWORK" called "PUNCH TELEVISION NETWORK" DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT work for this place. They claim they are the largest network to launch since FOX Television, and yet they haven't even launched!!. They laid off a lot of people without paying them. It's been more than a month and yet they still claim they have no funds to pay their people! They will squeeze the work out of you, and they will leave you hanging without pay!! SPREAD THE WORD!! SAY NO TO PUNCH!!

Location: EVERYWHERE!!
Compensation: THEY WILL NOT PAY YOU!!!

Zeus Zamani / AZ FILM STUDIOS

Editor note: certain names have been removed from this post as there is no reason to believe anyone is responsible for the bad check aside from the production company whose name is on the bad account.

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I worked nine days in September 2010 on "SOMEBODY HELP ME 2" which was shown on BET on Halloween night 2010.

I receieved my paycheck which was returned as NOT SUFFICIENT FUNDS from the Producer Zeus Zamani of AZ FILM STUDIOS in Los Angeles, California.

I have contacted him thru e-mail and telephone which only led me on.
examples: The check is in the mail - I am so sorry.
I mailed you a check I am surprised you did not receive it
I 'll mail you a check next week.

Here it is November 2010 and now he is not answering his phone or not returning calls
or e mail. I went to Wells Fargo where Zeus Zamani has the checking account and have been turned away - not enough to cover the check.

Since I have been running into some crew who I have worked with on other projects.
I have been getting feed back that the Director/Producer, Chris Storkes is also a flake in not paying his crew or production bills. I wish I had known this before hand.

Here is a list of Producers on "SOMEBODY HELP ME 2". Watch out for these people and get paid in advance for you work.

[ed: name removed] Director/Producer
Zeus Zamani Producer AZ FILM STUDIOS, Los Angeles, CA
[ed: name removed] Producer
[ed: name removed] Producer
[ed: name removed] Producer
[ed: name removed] Co-Producer

And last but not least shame on you [ed: name removed] for placing the voice messages on the producers contact numbers.

Shame on you BET for allowing "SOMEONE HELP ME 2" to be shown on your network
that does not pay the crew their paychecks.

Idin Roshan Productions

Watch out for Idin Roshan Productions LLC, aka IRP and of course the owner of the company Idin Roshan. The company is located in New York City and bills itself as a provider of crew people. He'll hire you and make you sign all kinds of forms and agreements and then will violate many of the stipulations in the agreement, the main one being that crew will be paid in 30 days. He will claim that your invoice was improperly addressed or had the wrong date on it or asked for immediate payment when he dictated thirty days.

He is a man of many interesting excuses. After several assignments for a religious broadcast his excuse was that he was having problems with his bank. He eventually paid for some of the days.

He rented my HVX200 many times, in each case he held onto it for several days past the rental day so he could download the files from the camera to his hard drive. I cut him plenty of slack and only charged the one day in each case.

Each time I asked when I would be paid he hemmed and hawed and looked for issues with my invoices to delay payment. Once his debt went below $5000.00 I explained that I needed to know when I would be paid so that I could plan my spending. He emailed back that he would pay me when he felt like it and accused me for harassing him. I in turn explained that I would be taking this to Small Claims Court.

Small Claims Court is a really simple process. File the complaint, organize your evidence and appear in court on the assigned day. Once in court you are advised to allow an arbitrator to decide the case. We had our court date and Idin Roshan requested a hearing by the Judge. The Judge heard the case, reviewed the evidence and ruled in my favor. Of course Roshan tried to claim that my work wasn't up to his standards. The Judge asked why he paid me for so many jobs if that was the case. Roshan said he felt sorry for me. I could see the expression on the Judge's face from neutral to a WTF look.

The defendant has the right to appeal the verdict, which is what Roshan did. The plaintiff, when the case has been ruled in his favor, can require that a bond be posted to cover the amount of the settlement. To make this happen the plaintiff must freeze the defendant's bank accounts. I did all this and put IRP and Idin Roshan in a position where he would now be telling a new crop of crew that he was having problems with his bank.

In the end he dropped his appeal, which would have cost him a lot and paid what he owed me plus interest.

This guy is very difficult to deal with. He is a master of delaying tactics. He appears honest and of course he is not. Watch out for him.

Craig Nobles / Swagg Media

Craig Nobles runs Swagg Media... Swagg Media streams a number of RnB and Hip Hop artist performances and events live to the web, hiring a crew of about 10 people each time. For the last few months Craig Nobles has simply refused to pay his crews for their last few gigs. Word on the street is that he was paid from his clients, but spent the bulk of those monies on his Amex bill, just blowing the crew off. When you can get hold of him he will hem & haw or just lie about the state of payment... he owes some people thousands... he may be hiring new crews because his established crews will not work for him until he pays us for previous work. He is not a man of his word.

Sheldon Robins

Back in February I worked on a pickup day on a movie called C.L.A.S.S. The producer, who is also the writer/director/actor etc. is Sheldon Robins. I was covering for a friend on the shoot who had Jury duty (lucky him) and I showed up to the set unawares of what shady practices were really going down. The first half of the day was pretty normal and it wasn't until the AD called grace for lunch that things started to get weird. First off, lunch was served from El Pollo Loco without silverware, so the whole cast and crew had to sit around eating comfort fast food with their hands like medieval barbarians. At that point I was a little perturbed, but still on board for the rest of the day. As the day waned on, there was no end to the shooting in sight. We ended up putting in a solid 16 hours without OT. I was promised at the beginning of the day that I would be paid in cash, but near wrap I overheard the LP talking about needing to cut checks. I asked her that I would like to be paid in cash, but she jest referred me to Sheldon who said that no one was getting cash and that the checks would be fine. I took his word for it, but oh was I wrong to trust.
I deposited the first check the next day only to have it bounce by the end of the week, costing me both the lack of payment but also a bounced check fee from my bank. I called Sheldon and the Production company the movie is being made under and was told that the account had been reconciled and that I should redeposit my check. I did so only to have it bounce again which resulted in another bank fee. At this point I was pretty lvivd so I tried to call Sheldon who after not picking up told me through a series of texts that he was at Cannes promoting the film and wouldn't be back for a week or so. I found it humorous that this guy that seemed to be having such financial trouble paying his crew was able to fly himself to France for several weeks at a time.
Once a week or so had passed I started calling and texting Sheldon who would either ignore my calls or told me to call the office. I called the office where the secretary told me I would have to talk to Sheldon. She would patch me through to his work line where I would get a voicemail. For over two months now I have been trying to get ahold of Sheldon only to be told he's "In a meeting" or "Out of the office" on a daily basis by the secretary.
After four months of waiting and calling I dropped a line by the Line Producer from the shoot who called me back saying that I wasn't the only person from that day that hadn't been paid and that she wanted to reassure me that this wasn't the way she did business. She even gave Sheldon a call for me, but no luck.
So as of now, five months later from the shoot day, I still haven't been able to get a ahold of Sheldon or anyone at the office for that matter that can help me with my issue. I had to eat the bounced check fees and the lack of an expected paycheck. I really hope that others out there will read this and realize what a shady character Sheldon Robins is and that they should never work for him in the future or support any of his endeavors. If you see the movie C.L.A.S.S. on the shelves anywhere, make sure not to get suckered into supporting cheapskates like Sheldon. People like him prey off of the hard work of film industry professionals and leave a trail of lies and deceit behind while seeming to come out squeaky clean.

Deon Taylor Enterprises / Roxanne Avent / Deon Taylor

Mod update 07/11/10: Payment has now been made thanks to this blog

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I just wanted to share this tale with you. It's from a job in Sacramento, but the company hires out of LA from time to time too.

The company name is Deon Taylor Enterprises and the hiring party is Roxanne Avent and Deon Taylor.

On February 9th and 10th Deon Taylor Enterprises rented one Canon 5D camera package from me, and one identical package from my associate Devin Doyle at a rate of $350.00 a day per camera package. On February 11th we both sent in invoices for $700.00 a piece to their representative Roxanne Avent. After the standard 30 days had passed and we still had not received our payment we started to call and inquire as to what the issue was with not receiving our payment and what the status of such payments were. Since then we have spoken to two accountants, one of which I believe was explained to me as having been fired (and I've now as of today 4-28-10 discovered that the new accountant was fired as well), who both at first promised our payments were being processed immediately. After waiting for several more weeks we started calling again and were told that our payment was pending. I began to try to ask to speak with Roxanne who was always "busy" as the accountant Yen told me. So I called Roxanne's cell number and left messages asking for her to return my call to discuss the status of the payment, which were all never returned. Eventually after waiting months past due on the payment I sent in a formal letter asking for the payment and for some sort of contact from the company to please explain what was going on. Since then I have heard nothing from either Roxanne or Yen and have since decided that this should best be settled with the help of a mediator. To date I still have not been able to get in touch with Roxanne or have been told by Yen when our payments would be made.

Just figured it would help others if you added these cheapskates to the list.

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07/11/10

Hey,
So I just wanted to say thank you again for posting the thing on Deon Taylor as I'm pretty sure the reason they paid me was because of your posting on the site as they called about two weeks ago asking me to take the 'blog' down now that I had been paid. Bastards.

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10/07/11

To Whom It May Concern;

I wish I had seen your blog before working for Deon Taylor
Enterprises. They got me too, and I am STILL waiting on my payment.