Modeling Agency News: American Modeling Industry Headlines

"So you think you have a cute kid? Maybe want to see if they can make some money for their college savings account by modeling or being in movies. In our area, parents are being approached and told their children have a future in modeling--for a price. Darihan Mills is a lovely 6-year-old. "I get stopped quite regularly with Dariahn about how pretty she is, (and) how she should be a model," said her mother Kathy Mills. So she wasn't really surprised when a well-dressed woman stopped her at a local mall, commenting on her daughter's looks. "She handed me a card and said she's with Wilhelmina Scouting Network and 'We're here scouting today,' " Kathy Mills said. Kathy told us she's usually pretty skeptical, but she recognized the name Wilhelmina thinking it was part of the famous New York modeling agency."¹

"We went to the Bellevue office of Wilhelmina Scouting Network. A few publicity stills decorate the walls, but no one here would talk on camera. We met Anthony Travis outside. He's anxious to come up with the down payment to get his modeling career going. And while we talked with him, another woman approached us asking us for directions to Wilhelmina's office. "I'm taking my daughter... are you?" the woman said to Travis. The woman's 'daughter' claims she was scouted. And in just two days on the Web site, she got four job offers. "Abercrombie and Fitch, the Gap, Banana Republic... promotional work," she said. "I believe in what they're doing for my daughter and that they can get her work outside this area," the mother said. But guess what? She's not really just a mom looking for information. "She's the office director for Wilhelmina Scouting Network," Kathy Mills said. "She's one of the ladies that we first saw there when I went there with my daughter." The scouting network claims it has no record of the so-called daughter in their database but they admit the 'mother'--Kim Hance--is their office manager. The charade troubles Kathy Mills."²

1. Emily Langlie, "Big Lights, Shattered Dreams," KOMO TV News, July 10, 2003.
2. Ibid.

Runway to Nowhere

"Since last year, the Better Business Bureau has processed more than 700 complaints against the company nationwide. Customers assert that they're rushed into buying. That the company takes the money of naive young people, knowing full well that the investment won't pay off. That there are no big-shot modeling firms or filmmakers tapping into Options' talent database. In fewer than three years, the Cleveland franchise has changed names five times, along with that of its corporate parent. Last fall, Options became Trans Continental Talent. By March, it was known as the Wilhelmina Scouting Network. With each change, the lofty pitch grew--how the company's chairman, Lou Pearlman, is the hitmaker behind 'N Sync, the Backstreet Boys, and O-Town. How the company is the official scouting firm for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. How its latest name--Wilhelmina Scouting Network--is synonymous with a world-famous modeling agency."¹

Stratford police warn of bogus modeling scam targeting young girls

"Stratford police say a man has been targeting young girls over the phone, asking them if they want to pose for a bogus modeling agency. According to police, the man has tried to lure at least three girls ages 10 to 13 by claiming he works for the Connecticut Modeling Agency. In one case they say he asked if a girl would pose n*de. Police say each time the man called from a different pay phone. They traced one call back to a phone on Main Street and Barnum Avenue in Stratford, and another call came from a pay phone at Wal-Mart in Shelton. No one has fallen for the scam yet, but the caller still is considered a threat. Police ask anyone with any information about the phony caller to contact the Stratford Police Detective Bureau at 385-4140."¹

1. "Stratford police warn of bogus modeling scam targeting young girls," News 12 Connecticut, Feb. 13, 2004.

Buyer beware for modelling hopefuls

"Modelling agent Liz Bell is tired of disappointing wannabe models who have spent thousands of dollars on modelling classes when it's apparent they have no future in the industry. "They come to me after spending two, three, four thousand dollars on classes, pictures and attending conventions and expect me to take them on, but I can tell right away that there's no potential," she said. "I try to let them down gently and always say, 'I'm not the right person for you,' instead of saying, 'You're not right for me.' And this happens all the time." It's one of the reasons Bell is wary of modelling and talent conventions like the one rolling into town in March. In preparation for the March convention, Model and Talent Search Canada is hosting free auditions tomorrow night (Jan. 20) at the Sheraton Wall Centre on Burrard Street at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m."¹

"Girls will attend these auditions and the people holding them are not that picky," she said. "Then they wait for a call back and that's when it starts to cost money, whether they have any talent at all or not." Bell said typically, one person at the show will be singled out as having "the" look or talent, and every agent at the show will bid for that person. "It will be that one girl from Trail that everyone wants." The rest will often continue to waste time and money on classes, pictures and conventions, on the basis of hopes fed by unscrupulous modelling and acting schools and convention organizers. Bell said sometimes even when she's frank with a potential client, the client or her parents refuse to believe her. "Just a few days ago, a woman came in here with her daughter and told me about all of the money she's spent on classes and conventions. When I said she didn't have the look we needed, the mother went on and on in this middle-European accent, 'How can you say that? Look at this body. My daughter, she has a beautiful body. Stand up and show her. Look at this body.'"²

1. Sandra Thomas, "Buyer beware for modelling hopefuls," Vancouver Courier, Jan. 20, 2003.
2. Ibid.

Model agencies settle lawsuit

"Two prominent New York model agencies have settled a federal class-action lawsuit, in which a group of models accused several agencies of conspiring to fix commissions charged for booking assignments. Wilhelmina and Ford reached settlements in recent days, according to officials with those agencies. They join the IMG agency, which surprised the industry in April when it settled. "We want to focus on running the business, which we are doing well, not being involved in this trial," Dieter Esch, Wilhelmina chairman, said yesterday. "It was more economical to settle."¹

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