Modeling Agency News: American Modeling Industry Headlines

"You're 16, cute, you've got a great body and, even though your mom's reluctant, you sign up with a model agency. You're the next Kate Moss, the agency folks say, and your head is spinning. Next thing you know, you've given them money to manage your career and you walk out the door, dreaming of greatness, catwalks and couture. But even before you get your first call to a photo shoot, you find the friendly agency people have ripped you off and your bank account is about $1,000 lighter. Welcome to the "model scam," the latest black eye in the world's most problem-plagued industry, that's separating teenagers and their families--especially in New York--from their hard earned cash."¹

1. Christine Langdon, "Naive Girls Fall for 'Dream $cam," New York Post, Mar. 24, 2000, p. 24.

Big Dreams, High Prices

"Critics also say Paulson is circumventing a state law that forbids modeling agencies from charging upfront fees. Modeling agencies are not supposed to charge models for anything, including photos, seminars or consultation. An agent's income is supposed to come solely from commissions it gets by finding work for its models. Paulson furnishes photos, consulting and seminars through Hollywood Hotshots, which shares office space with Boom Talent in the Cascades of Carrollwood shopping center. "There's no law that says I can't own an agency and a photography business," Paulson said. "I happen to be a very talented person. Other agents want to bury me. I am a threat because I am so successful."¹

Wannabe Stars Pay The Price

"Thousands of wannabe stars are forking over up to $10,000 to attend a convention that promises a shot at the big time - and offers little in return, The Post has found. "I want my money back!" said Amanda Belle, 16, a Chicago high-school student whose mother paid $6,000 for her to attend the International Modeling and Talent Association's New York convention, which wrapped up at the Midtown Hilton last night. Amanda, an aspiring actress, wasn't picked for interviews with agents. "We paid a lot of money, and we didn't get anything," she said, wiping away her tears."¹

1. Jessie Graham, "Wannabe Stars Pay The Price," New York Post, July 22, 2001.

Two at Talent Agency Get 30 Days in Jail for False Promises

"Two operators of a Beverly Hills talent agency who claimed they could turn children into actors and models have been ordered to spend 30 days in jail for making false promises to parents, who sometimes paid thousands of dollars upfront. Alexander Zafrin, 37, and David Leroy Harris, 48, pleaded no contest in Los Angeles Municipal Court this week to a variety of misdemeanors involving claims that they could secure auditions with Hollywood casting directors. Zafrin, an owner of West Coast Talent Ltd., also was ordered to deposit $75,000 into an account to repay the parents. The agency itself pleaded no contest to four counts of grand theft. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office brought the charges after receiving complaints from 22 families. Since then, 76 more people have come forward with claims that they were misled or bilked by the agency, Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Lambert said. Most of the parents had been enticed by telemarketers to bring their children to auditions sponsored by West Coast Talent, Lambert said. After the auditions, he said, the agency pressured clients to pay fees for acting classes, photo portfolios and the chance to audition in front of casting directors. Lambert said the families never got such auditions."¹

"Sandy Bosnich, one of the original claimants, said she paid $6,000 to West Coast Talent after she was told her three daughters all had the potential for success in commercials. She said the company provided photographs and acting classes but never fulfilled the promise of work. "My family lost a lot of money," she said. Zafrin and Harris, an office manager, pleaded to charges that included making false statements, misrepresenting an employment counseling service as a job placement service, and accepting fees without a contract giving parents the right to cancel."²

1. Kurt Streeter, "Two at Talent Agency Get 30 Days in Jail for False Promises," Los Angeles Times, Jan. 30, 1999.
2. Ibid.

Sex, Lies and Unused Tape: How the BBC's Model Inquiry Went Wrong

"The BBC's reputation for authoritative journalism took a severe knock yesterday when the corporation admitted that its star undercover reporter, Donal MacIntyre, had misrepresented the Elite model agency in an exposé of the fashion industry. After capitulating in a libel action brought by the firm, it may now face criminal action over the conduct of a producer. In his high-profile £1.5m series, MacIntyre claimed that teenage girls were being sexually exploited by model agency executives. Two senior staff at Elite were suspended. But, 18 months after the programme was broadcast, and at the end of a lengthy legal tussle in which a producer was accused of trying to pressure an Elite employee into giving information about his bosses, the BBC has been forced to concede that its portrayal was unfair."¹

1. Matt Wells, "Sex, Lies and Unused Tape: How the BBC's Model Inquiry Went Wrong," Guardian, June 12, 2001.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Distribution/Redirect_Artifact/0,4678,0-505435,00.html

Sordid Allegations: Two Execs Resign From Elite Modeling Agency After Exposé

"Elite, the agency that has represented such top models as Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, said today it had accepted the resignation of two executives after a broadcast documentary showed one of them soliciting sex. Elite Europe chairman Gerald Marie was also shown in the BBC documentary saying that he hoped to seduce contestants in the Elite Model Look contest, in which the average age among participants is 15. "The Elite board of directors has accepted the resignation of Mr. Gerald Marie in his capacity as president of Elite Europe and Mr. Xavier Moreau in his capacity as president of Elite Model Look," the company said in a brief statement."¹

1. "Sordid Allegations: Two Execs Resign From Elite Modeling Agency After Exposé," ABC News, Nov. 26, 1999.

Old Man And The BBC

"And they say teenage models are naïve. In this week's sex and drugs scandal involving Elite Model Management--which saw four senior executives being suspended--the most shocking revelation is the guilelessness of Gerald Marie, President of the agency's European division. Marie (who married Linda Evangelista when she was a teen) propositioned Lisa Brinkworth, a BBC staffer posing as a model. He then gloated to journalist Donald MacIntyre, who claimed to be a star photographer for the incredulously-named Polka Dot magazine. In this week's episode of top-rating BBC investigative show "MacIntyre Undercover", Marie hits on Brinkworth on-camera and boasts to MacIntyre that he's planning to bed the underage contestants in Elite's Model Look contest. Like all Humbert Humberts, Marie is in denial, later telling the New York Post, "What I really told her is I wouldn't fuck her even for a million dollars.she's fat and ugly." Great damage control, Gerald. Marie's boss at Elite, John Casablancas, obviously expects the rest of the world to be as stupid as his lackey. Casablancas told the BBC: "Elite takes its duty of care to all models--especially those of tender years--extremely seriously." He should know: he shacked up with then 15-year-old Stephanie Seymour and later married another of Elite's discoveries, 16-year-old Aline Wermelinger."¹

1. Horacio Silva with Ben Widdicombe, "Old Man And The BBC," ChicHappens, Nov. 24, 1999.

Elite Model Agency Founder Named in Sex Abuse Suit

"John Casablancas, founder of leading model agency Elite, has been named in a sex abuse lawsuit by an aspiring model who claims he made her pregnant at the age of 15, and then arranged an abortion--all more than 15 years ago. Casablancas, 60, whose Elite agency has represented supermodels such as Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, is accused of sexual abuse of a minor. The plaintiff, whose name was not made public, is seeking substantial damages. Lawyers for Casablancas said the allegations were fabricated and were confident the case would be dismissed. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, alleges that Casablancas began sexually abusing the girl in 1988 when she was a finalist in Elite's prestigious "Look of the Year" competition for fresh new faces. The former model said she traveled with Casablancas to New York later that year when it was discovered she was pregnant by him. She alleges she was driven to a doctor's office and an abortion was arranged for her at the behest of Casablancas."¹

1. Jill Serjeant, "Elite Model Agency Founder Named in Sex Abuse Suit," Reuters, Dec. 10, 2002.

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