Should Actors Get Paid to Audition?

I don't think they should pay to audition.....however the self tape stuff that came up during COVID really eliminates beginners from the mix because it does cost to do that. So maybe somehow some self tape places could do freebies, or the union could work it into a contract.

Should I get paid to apply for a job and go to an interview?

It would probably cut down on needless cattle calls

Local theater? No. Big Netflix movie? Yes.

Paying an actor to audition is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

In that case, I should be paid to apply for jobs and submit my resume.

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Many actors do the paying for auditions using a different form of currency.

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If it is the type of audition Bryan Singer provides, then yes, the victims are entitled to restitution.

Only if they have to present hole and still don't get the job.

No, and nor should they get paid residuals. How many of you get paid forever for a project you worked on in 1979? Our bosses make millions on our skills, yet we don't share the wealth. We get paid for doing the initial work on it.

[quote]Should I get paid to apply for a job and go to an interview?

I would actually love for someone to argue for this, even if I don't think I'd ultimately agree. It would be an interesting exercise, and might be more convincing than you'd think.

I don't audition. I field offers.

So yeah they'd cancel cattle calls.

It's a bullshit idea.

Studios already cast most of the major roles in summer blockbusters through "offer only" A-list assholes like Chris Pratt, Paul Rudd, and Bradley Cooper. Give them another reason to skip auditions, and you'll never see fresh talent get a shot. They'll stop auditions altogether and pack their casts with known actors willing to take scale pay.

[quote]No, but they shouldn't be expected to pay 100's to make an audition tape that no one is going to watch, which is the point of contention here.

I literally have no idea why this is a sticking point for actors. I have a friend who has been quite lucky and successful. She got her biggest job to date in a fairly large (and heavily memed) role on the Walking Dead and she got it though an auction tape years before the pandemic. She works fairly steadily but during the earlier part of the pandemic and now during the strike, she frequently teaches acting at a University. She has an MFA. She really did study to become an actor.

She was telling her students BEFORE the pandemic that they shouldn’t be afraid to audition via tape, and she always lets them know that’s how she got her biggest job.

But this idea that each tape costs hundreds of dollars to make? No. It can be a one time investment in an inexpensive but good camera, microphone, lights and a backdrop. It’s definitely cheaper than flying to every audition or moving to LA to be a waiter where you end up getting fired because you’re constantly having to ask for time off to go to an audition.

It’s a one time investment in equipment that you need to apply for jobs and it actually saves you time and money. It’s really no different than non-actors spending a couple hundred dollars on a suit that we may only ever wear to a job interview.

And I’ve seen her audition tapes. She isn’t renting out a studio and hiring a camera and sound man every time she needs a tape. Lord, they look like they were filmed with a brand new iPhone and some lights she got on Amazon. They look very good but they don’t and weren’t meant to look like they were filmed by an Oscar winning cinematographer.

Tiktokers literally do this every day and it doesn’t cost them hundreds of dollars to film every 30 second thought that crosses their brain.

Audition tapes sound WAY easier than going to in-person auditions. She literally tells other actors that follow her online to not sweat the audition tapes, but be serious about keeping their headshots current and excellent. And she has some favorite photographers and whenever they are in town, she always lets her followers know they are around and available for headshots and which days because she thinks they are better photographers and reasonably priced and she shares everything she’s learned doing this for the last 20 years.

R11 Oh please we are talking about creative intellectual property. This is not the same as working corporate for an established brand or the government sector. I cannot believe you made that absurd comparison.

First or second audition, no.

Third audition, maybe.

Fourth or more, yes.

What is…an audition?

G, surely you know this term. You know all sorts of things I’ve never had to learn. Like how to sit in an awards studio audience and smile when they don’t call your name again.

Have you ever done an “audition”?

And who is this “Merly” at r13? Are they making fun of me? G, I’ve never been made fun of before so you know I don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like, but you do. It feels kind of exhilarating. Like someone likes you and are making coy jokes about you. Is that what it’s like for you too when they write things like “in her most ham fisted work to date” about you in Variety? Is it as thrilling as this is?

WTF? Should everyone be paid for a job interview?

No.

No, but they should at least provide fresh coffee and pastries at the audition.

Who gets paid for job interviews? Where would they get the money to do that? They’ll simply audition less people to save money and give it to more or less the first person that turns up whether they’re actually any good or not.

This idea sounds very communist, so no I don't support it.

R21 is a obviously a joke because you can't expect more than what is normally expected at a job interview.

I charge $19.00/hr. + Uber fare to interview at companies. I do so well that I never actually accept the occasional job offer.

"... and she got it though an auction tape years before the pandemic"

Days Of Thunder or Steel Magnolias?

Actually, it has been part of the standard SAG contract since the 1940s—enforcement was always an issue.

Take a moment to read the comments under the Deadline story —there’s interesting & different perspectives on the evolution of the audition. Process…far more edifying than the comments on this thread to date.

[quote] fuck Deadline and all the other industry mouthpieces.

I miss Nikki Finke, who wasn't a mouthpiece for anyone.

Now Deadline is a shitty, badly written and edited bulletin board for PR releases, and leans right to boot (they salivate over Bill Maher's every word)

If I don’t get the part, I’ll need to charge for the casting couch session too!”

Of course they should be paid! I just submitted a grant application for compensation for time spent updating my LinkedIn profile, and for reorganizing my resumé, and for reading some articles about developments in my industry sector.

"If I don’t get the part, I’ll need to charge for the casting couch session too!”

Rose, I already gave you $500 for a trip the powder room.