Expert: Dan Pepper - 6/4/2011

Question
I was approached by a "friend" who I've known for a long time to take an opening in an adult film that was being produced by one of his co-workers at the studio he works for. I told him to have the guy from the casting agency e-mail me the stuff and I ended up trying to take the job. Since it came from someone I knew I didn't think I had to worry about it being legitimate. All the correspondences were signed using Viacom and Vivid labels. After I turned in my submissions I received an e-mail stating they found evidence that I was a dancer and I could have no club affiliations for 90+ days in order to be considered for the job. (I'm sure I'm not the first stripper to cross-over to porn). I'm an independent contractor and there are no public records stating where I am employed or what I do. I'm starting to believe that it was actually my "friend" just trying to scam the pics/vids (he did a very elaborate job of it too). How can I protect myself from being scammed again and who do I talk to about legal recourse since this guy premeditated violating my privacy by fraudulently representing himself as a big company to obtain adult content starring me?

Answer
Jody,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience.  As you have learned, there are unfortunately a number of shady characters in this business.

To answer your first question, one good way to protect yourself is to have a reputable manager or agent working to protect your interests and ensuring you work only with reputable production companies.  We work with a few, and also have talent management in-house that may be able to help you.

For your second question, I'd need some more information about what occurred, what was sent to you, etc.  

Feel free to contact me through my website at http://www.adultwebsitelawyer.com to discuss either situation.

Cheers,
Dan