Empire Talent and Modeling Agency reviews and complaints

MARISA AND EMPIRE ARE BOTH COMPLETE SCAMS. THEY HAVE NO WAY OF HELPING YOU IN THE INDUSTRY, EXCEPT TO TEACH YOU THE KIND OF PEOPLE TO LOOK OUT FOR. I'm a L.A. based fashion photographer, and I make a living "testing" (building models books) for agencies. When I first started out in photography I lived In Arizona and was earning my BA in Photography from U of A and working in the Phoenix area. It was during this time I first met Marisa when I approached Empire for work. Marisa offered me a job photographing her talent for 100 dollars per session and said that after a few shoots she would pay me $200. This is extremely low pay, but I was eager to make money in the industry, and excepted the position (typically testing starts at $350). Marisa was collecting the money from the talent and paying me with a check. By the time I was photographing the third person I had received enough comments about price, that I suspected she was charging a considerable amount more for my services. I asked the talent how much he paid for the photographs and he said, "800 dollars, I hope all that money is going to you." I had three more of her talent to photograph that day and asked each one of them what they paid, and all stated they paid 800 for the shoot. All were also very unhappy to know how much Marisa was making from the photographs. I told the talent that she shouldn't be trusted, finished my job, collected my money, and never returned her emails or calls again. AGENCIES SHOULD NEVER MAKE PROFIT FROM PHOTOS. YOU SHOULD NEVER PAY AN AGENCY ANYTHING EXCEPT THE AGREED PERCENTAGE THEY COLLECT WHEN YOUR GETTING PAID FROM A JOB THEY BOOKED.

AS A SCREENWRITER - I gave her a feature screenplay back in 2008 (luckily it's registered with the WGA) she said she'd shop it around. After trying to get ahold of her and no answer after a few months I left a message on her machine that I no longer needed her. A few days ago I emailed her about representation, this is what she wrote:

"As the only literary agent in AZ, you can only imagine how busy I am. Unfortunately, without upfront compensation, I cannot take the time or expend the effort to shop your project. The process is extremely time consuming, especially if the contacts you have are not receptive to your work. It would be my duty to find industry professionals who would be interested in producing, marketing and distributing your project.

I could not accept any new script-shopping projects without collecting a $6000. fee for a six month producer/rep contract. When you break it down, a contract from Aug 1st 2010- Feb 1st 2011 is less than $250. a week for my time and effort, which can lead to huge amounts of money, recognition and the start of a lucrative career in the entertainment industry for you."

I sent an email back that I was frustrated with her lack of communication and her arrogance in having me pay an upfront fee.

She replied:

"The fee is paid for a "producer representation" contract, as I clearly stated at the end of my email. I would NOT be shopping it in the capacity of agent. If you knew anything about this business, you'd know producers get paid upfront, not as commissioned agents. But I guess you don't know everything..."

THIS WOMAN SHOULD NOT BE IN BUSINESS!

I signed with Marisa years ago and after having a lawyer read over our contract I was advised to rescind that contract. Needless to say I canceled that contract with in 24 hours, luckily. I had a friend also sign with her who was given the run around about jobs and pay. I advise everyone, especially those with kids, to stay away from Empire Talent and Marisa for that matter.

I too visited Marisa who told me Tuscon Model Group is a scam and she is one of 6 licensed people in AZ. She is not listed on SAG or AFTA as she stated. She also wanted me to pay $400 on the spot to hold my space since the photographer was going out of town and the remainder when the pictures were taken. She also told me she is a paralegal and her husband is a lawyer and they could help me get back my down payment from Tuscon. She offered to call them and I told her since their price was only $640 I would go ahead and take the pictures with them. She called me and emailed me later telling me she got a job she could send my daughter on that pays $1000 and that I really needed to come take the pictures. I told her we will use the money already paid and we never heard from her again. We were also offered a one year contract and was told we could not work for anyone else. I too agree that the positive comments were written by her and her cronies and they need to be stopped and i also believe she is a con artist.

Man you guys just don't get it without a portfolio you can not get work and like someone else said why in the world would a casting director pick someone with a simple snapshot that makes them look ok? Casting directors look through thousands of pictures and if you do not have something special about your picture it imediatly goes into the trash. This is not a scam just because you can't seem to find work doesn't mean that the agency is to blame. There are millions of people trying to get into this buisness and odds are you wont make it. Don't take it out on the agency just take your time you don't become a rockstar over night and if you think you do then boy you don't know crap about how this industry works.

This complant is fake I just recently signed with empire and met marissa she is an extremly nice lady and no you do not have to pay anything. They recomend their photographers because in the business of acting and modeling your picture is your ticket without a good picture you don't get jobs that's how this industry works. You also do not have to use their photographers you are allowed to use whoever you want. I did use their photographer and yes you get 5 pictures that are retouched and blown up but you get to keep the rest of the pics (which was over 300 for me) you just don't get them professionally retouched. Also she does have you do stuff when you come in for an interview. She asked me to read a few comercials. And I just started and already there's a Target add that they want me to audition for. Just because your kid isn't getting jobs doesn't mean the agency is fake there's just not a huge market for very small kids.

its funny how every real complaint here is immediately followed by a sorry attempt at trying to make this business sound like a good one. its obvious this person is a con artist and even comes on here trying to clean up her rep every day. you can believe she is doing it so no one is able to use it in court against her. for every bad post there is a fake satisfied customer who for some reason has the same type of wordplay and vocabulary as all the other people defending her. if someone takes her to court you really need to track the i.p. addresses in this blog because i am sure they are somehow connected to these two women...

I must comment that I am currently using Empire Talent as an agency for my son. First of all she did not insist on using a specific photographer nor has she requested any money from me. She doesn’t get paid unless my son gets a job and gets paid. She has booked jobs for him so I am unsure why there are complaints being made. Any agency will advise you need photos done. Your choice where to have them done is a benefit of using Empire because not all agencies let you choose your own photographer. Also there are many agencies out there that make you pay them to look for jobs where as I have not had to pay any money other then commission when my son gets jobs.

Oh yeah, not to mention that YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO GET A PORTFOLIO FOR CHILDREN UNDER 4. Marisa being in the business for such a long time should have known that. But know she talks about it being the best investment she paid for HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Well I am taking her to court and suing her and making sure she will never scam another person. I am taking it all the way to the top. I am calling the cops and everything. PEOPLE WE NEED TO UNITE TO GET MARISA IN JAIL!

OKay... I am tired of all the comments about Marisa being a saint. She isn't she is a scam. Her photographer looked like white trash and had some crappy camera and the pics were crap. Then on top of paying $800 the photographer wanted more money for the pics that were crap. Second, she doesn't say you need her photographer, but she does push you, so don't give me the bs that she doesn't. I would say whatever sounded good for Marisa if I was getting a chunk of the money she was making. Second, what she is doing is not legal. Other agencies have actually been prosecuted for what she is doing. SMALL CLAIMS COURT PEOPLE! ALMOST EVERYONE WHO IS A VICTIM OF MODELING AGENCIES WIN! REPORT TO BBB, CALL ALL THE NEW STATIONS AND REPORTS WHO WILL LISTEN, AND CALL THE COPS!