good on you, I had dealings with a similar character some years ago, these people are truly evil, they are manic liars who prey on a continuous stream of normal ethical people.. The best way to expose these people are through forums like this as they find it impossible to deny their unscrupulous actions. Once exposed these people will usually threaten legal action but they will never follow through as they know they are morally corrupt and will never succeed.. This man will keep doing what he is doing until enough people in the industry are aware of him, then he will disappear off the radar and re invent himself somewhere else and start all over again.. Keep up the pressure on this lowlife and he will soon get the message the film industry doesn't tolerate maggots. Cheers

I thought scums like this would only subsist in Asia, where professionalism in the film and video industry is in many ways in its infancy. In Asia, unions are quite non existent, and even if they exist, they are instruments of the influential and, in some cases, dare I say corrupt few. I would expect freelancers in America to be protected by unions?

Yeah I wish unions were way stronger here, but corporations and lobbyists have a good job at crushing them!

@Oedipax

haha so the grass isn't greener on the other side. In Asia, such stories about payment defaults are very common. In fact, not getting paid has become a rite of passage for many young rookies who are trying to break into the industry. It's almost as if, if you haven't had the experience, you haven't been working hard enough.

@forkazoo Interesting. I don't know if Virginia even has a film makers union. I'm a member of the Virginia Production Alliance but that;s a far cry from a union.

Let us commiserate residents of "right to work" states. I love how they worded the law to make it seem like it helps out the workers.

An update for my deadbeat debtor. He has now told me that on Jan 11th myself and my friend are being paid for our work. One of the people who found my post (and I gave them his contact info) tells me that she will be paid on the 11th as well. Lets see if this happens.

@forkazoo

Well, I know first hand how they killed the Michigan film industry and others... It was rather easy for them actually:

+Studio productions must use union workers

+No union workers in Michigan

+Unions will not set up branches in states they don't like (probably the states that refuse to give them kick-backs)

= No industry

Same formula with the UAW and the auto-industry. Workers demanded more than their services were worth = less money towards research and development = American cars become shitty and uncompetitive = people turn elsewhere = industry collapses

Isn't it clear to see that they simply want to OWN the industry? More states = More competition and options = bad for current system. Even though, this is what naturally must happen for improvements to take place. You want better films made cheaper? You want to see more productions taking more risks on new ideas? Wouldn't it be nice if ticket prices weren't $15? Tired of fucking sequels and dumb franchises? Stop the controlled system. Allow natural competition. Competition is the antithesis to corruption.

Not to mention, even in hollywood, the unions are the single driving force behind the exorbitant production costs and the convoluted nature of modern production. Remember, it's in the union's best interest to complicate the process and have as many "assistants" and "positions" as they can possible create. It's more money in their pockets from dues. Inefficiency and over-saturation of workers mean $$$ for the union bosses. Think about it. Same corrupt coin... different side. Unions are legal thuggery. And they do it all in the name of "the workers". That's how they get away with it all. I can't believe people actually fall for it still.

That being said, I do believe in a "form" of unionism for dangerous or easily expendable positions and "unofficial" bargaining. Because "unofficial bargaining" is just exercising free speech. But anyways, nearly all film jobs require talent/skill. And in a free-market, the skilled positions can simply just walk away from projects and screw over the studios if they're being exploited. It won't take long for the shenanigans to stop when this happens...

My solution for unions? Make it so they can only collectively bargain AGAINST things, and not FOR them... This will solve allot of problems right there. Protection of workers AND assurance that natural innovation and competition can take place.